Managing the Three-Rivers Headwater Region, China: From Ecological Engineering to Social Engineering

The three-rivers headwater region (THRHR) of Qinghai province, China plays a key role as source of fresh water and ecosystem services for central and eastern China. Global warming and human activities in the THRHR have threatened the ecosystem since the 1980s. Therefore, the Chinese government has included managing of the THRHR in the national strategy since 2003. The State Integrated Test and Demonstration Region of the THRHR highlights the connection with social engineering (focus on improving people’s livelihood and well-being) in managing nature reserves. Based on this program, this perspective attempts a holistic analysis of the strategic role of the THRHR, requirements for change, indices of change, and approaches to change. Long-term success of managing nature reserves requires effective combination of ecological conservation, economic development, and social progress. Thus, the philosophy of social engineering should be employed as a strategy to manage the THRHR.     

Beyond selectivity: Are behavioral avoidance and hormesis likely causes of pyrethroid-induced outbreaks of the southern red mite Oligonychus ilicis?

Secondary pest outbreak is a counterintuitive ecological backlash of pesticide use in agriculture that takes place with the increase in abundance of a non-targeted pest species after pesticide application against a targeted pest species. Although the phenomenon was well recognized, its alternative causes are seldom considered. Outbreaks of the southern red mite Oligonychus ilicis are frequently reported in Brazilian coffee farms after the application of pyrethroid insecticides against the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella. Selectivity favoring the red mite against its main predatory mites is generally assumed as the outbreak cause, but this theory has never been tested. Here, we assessed the toxicity (and thus the selectivity) of deltamethrin against both mite species: the southern red mite and its phytoseid predator Amblyseius herbicolus. Additionally, behavioral avoidance and deltamethrin-induced hormesis were also tested as potential causes of red mite outbreak using free-choice behavioral walking bioassays with the predatory mite and life-table experiments with both mite species, respectively. Lethal toxicity bioassays indicated that the predatory mite was slightly more susceptible than its prey (1.5×), but in more robust demographic bioassays, the predator was three times more tolerant to deltamethrin than its prey, indicating that predator susceptibility to deltamethrin is not a cause of the reported outbreaks. The predator did not exhibit behavioral avoidance to deltamethrin; however insecticide-induced hormesis in the red mite led to its high population increase under low doses, which was not observed for the predatory mite. Therefore, deltamethrin-induced hormesis is a likely cause of the reported red mite outbreaks.     

湿地生态地球化学研究进展

湿地生态地球化学研究是湿地研究的核心内容之一, 是研究其物理过程、化学过程和生物过程及其相互关系以及这些过程与湿地功能的关系.回顾了近年来国内外湿地生态地球化学方面的研究成果,介绍了它的概念,并评述了湿地的生态功能、元素地球化学、生物地球化学、湿地模型和3S技术等新技术在湿地研究中的应用等方面的研究进展.提出了中国湿地生态地球化学研究的优先领域,应加强湿地基础理论研究及在湿地的演化、生态过程、界面过程、预测与评价、信息系统等方面的研究.     

农药毒死蜱的生态风险及其微生物修复技术研究进展

毒死蜱是替代甲胺磷和对硫磷等高毒农药的高效有机磷杀虫剂,在世界范围得到广泛使用.但是,环境毒理学研究发现,毒死蜱对生态环境具有潜在的危险性,甚至被认为具有干扰内分泌的功能,许多国家对毒死蜱在农产品中的残留量有严格的规定.因此,深入研究毒死蜱的生态风险问题是当务之急.对国内外关于毒死蜱的残留活性、生态毒理、降解机制以及生物修复等方面的研究进行了综述,以期对毒死蜱的合理管理和使用提供科学依据.     

基于层次分析法的再生水补给型城市河湖水生态修复技术评价指标体系及其应用

由于城市水资源严重紧缺,再生水作为补给城市河湖景观水体的重要水源,用量逐年加大,随之带来的水环境问题也引起关注,往往需要采用适宜的技术和工程改善水质。然而对于现有的生态修复技术和工程,缺少相应的评价方法和指标体系对其修复效果和工程技术进行综合有效的评估。通过大量的文献及实地调研,结合再生水补给型城市河湖的特点,构建了包含环境效益、技术管理与维护及社会经济功能3个系统、7个准则和19个指标的再生水补给型城市河湖水生态修复技术评价指标体系,采用群组决策的层次分析法（AHP）确定各指标的权重,重要性排序前5位的指标依次是：藻类多样性、水生植物覆盖度、DO、TLI、PI（COD）。以北京市陶然亭湖水生态修复工程为例进行综合评价,研究结果表明,现阶段陶然亭湖水生态修复工程综合评分为3.35分,评价结果属于良。陶然亭湖经过水体生态修复后,水生态系统结构较好恢复;所选工程技术适宜;人员及经济投入适中;对周边环境产生较大正面影响;工程可优后进行推广     

改善深圳河水质的补水方案及生态影响初步分析

深圳河旱季天然径流量小而污染负荷高,为了改善河流水质,在削减入河污染物的同时有必要采取补水措施。利用水质模型,计算了不同污水处理率下,分别以污水资源化再生水、珠江口海水和大鹏湾海水为补水水源时,深圳河达到基本不黑臭所需的补水量。讨论了补水方案对河流水质、盐度、水动力条件的改变及其对生态系统的影响。研究表明,引海水对河流生态系统的冲击不容忽视。而污水资源化是较优的补水方案。     

基于AHP-FCE模型的制药废水处理技术综合评价

制药废水由于具有水质复杂、COD高、有毒有害物浓度高、可生化性差、色度高等特点,处理十分困难。目前制药废水处理技术种类较多,且各项技术均具有各自的特点。为选择合适的制药废水处理技术,构建了制药废水处理技术评价指标体系,确定了评价标准,并采用层次分析法与模糊综合评价法相结合的评价方法(AHP-FCE)对国家水体污染控制与治理科技重大专项(简称“水专项”)研发的13项制药废水处理技术进行了综合评价。结果表明:升流式厌氧污泥床-膜生物反应器(UASB-MBR)组合技术是制药废水处理较优的可行技术,其次为两级分离内循环厌氧反应器和复合氧反应器-好氧反应器(ABR-CASS)生物强化处理技术。研究结果可以为制药企业选择合适的废水处理技术提供支持。     

铁路隧道弃渣的本地资源化利用

针对某大型铁路建设过程中产生大量弃渣以及建设过程中建材短缺的问题,以其典型段为例,对沿线弃渣的数量、性态等方面进行了分析,并进行了针对性规划,给出了具体的隧道弃渣利用方向和调配规划。结果表明,该段隧道产生的弃渣绝大部分都可符合相关工程的利用要求,在对典型段隧道所产生的弃渣经过合理规划后,该段弃渣的利用率理论上可达100.00%。在国内目前常规的隧道弃渣利用方式基础上,针对铁路工程,基于工程建筑材料、地方产业对隧道弃渣资源化利用进行统筹分析,提出了以隧道利用为主、其他工程利用为辅,兼顾地方产业利用的多层级隧道弃渣利用模式。本研究可为保障该大型铁路绿色环保工程提供参考。     

Linking landscape development intensity within watersheds to methyl-mercury accumulation in river sediments

An indicator of the disturbance of natural systems, the landscape development intensity (LDI) index, was used to assess the potential for land-use within watersheds to influence the production/accumulation of methyl-mercury (MeHg) in river sediments. Sediment samples were collected from locations impacted by well-identified land-use types within the Mobile-Alabama River Basin in Southeastern USA. The samples were analyzed for total-Hg (THg) and MeHg concentrations and the obtained values correlated to the calculated LDI indexes of the sampled watersheds to assess the impact of prevalent land use/land cover on MeHg accumulation in sediments. The results show that unlike THg, levels of MeHg found in sediments are impacted by the LDI indexes. Overall, certain combinations of land-use types within a given watershed appear to be more conducive to MeHg accumulation than others, therefore, pointing to the possibility of targeting land-use practices as potential means for reducing MeHg accumulation in sediments, and ultimately, fish contamination.     

Hot Spots of Perforated Forest in the Eastern United States

National assessments of forest fragmentation satisfy international biodiversity conventions, but they do not identify specific places where ecological impacts are likely. In this article, we identify geographic concentrations (hot spots) of forest located near holes in otherwise intact forest canopies (perforated forest) in the eastern United States, and we describe the proximate causes in terms of the nonforest land-cover types contained in those hot spots. Perforated forest, defined as a 0.09-ha unit of forest that is located at the center of a 7.29-ha neighborhood containing 60–99% forest with relatively low connectivity, was mapped over the eastern United States by using land-cover maps with roads superimposed. Statistically significant (P < 0.001) hot spots of high perforation rate (perforated area per unit area of forest) were then located by using a spatial scan statistic. Hot spots were widely distributed and covered 20.4% of the total area of the 10 ecological provinces examined, but 50.1% of the total hot-spot area was concentrated in only two provinces. In the central part of the study area, more than 90% of the forest edge in hot spots was attributed to anthropogenic land-cover types, whereas in the northern and southern parts it was more often associated with seminatural land cover such as herbaceous wetlands.