惠济河底泥重金属污染特征及潜在生态风险评价

连续5 a对惠济河(开封市区段)8个断面的底泥样品中Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd及Cr 5种重金属的浓度进行分析,并采用单因子污染指数法、综合污染指数法、地积累指数法、潜在生态风险指数法进行生态风险评价。监测结果表明:8个断面中除最上游孙李唐庄桥断面底泥未受重金属污染外,其余断面底泥均有不同程度的污染,以皮屯桥断面底泥污染最重,达严重污染。综合污染指数法评价结果表明:惠济河底泥Cd为重度污染,Cu和Pb为轻度污染,Zn为轻微污染,Cr为无污染;除皮屯桥断面底泥综合污染指数高达6.74外,其他断面综合污染指数为0.55~1.89。地积累指数法评价结果表明:惠济河底泥首要重金属污染物为Cd,平均流域地积累指数高达3.50,处于污染等级4,即偏重度污染;此外,Cu、Pb偏中度污染,Zn轻度污染,Cr无污染。潜在生态风险指数法评价结果表明:惠济河底泥中Cd为强生态危害,其他重金属为轻度生态危害;重金属污染综合评价为强生态危害,这主要是Cd浓度过高造成的,其最高潜在生态风险因子达2 233.50,出现在皮屯桥断面。     

Thermodynamic investigation of the effect of oxygen and hydrogen chloride potential upon generation and decomposition behavior of dioxins

The thermodynamic equilibrium of the C‐H‐O‐Cl system has been calculated to elucidate the generation and decomposition behavior of dioxins, and is discussed from the viewpoint of the oxygen and hydrogen chloride potential. The dioxins behavior is greatly dependent on the oxygen potential, i.e. higher temperature and oxygen potential lead to the complete decomposition of dioxins, while low hydrogen chloride potential under insufficient oxygen condition leads to an increase of multi‐chlorine displacement of dioxins.     

An evidence of salinity impact on the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fishes collected from the Messolonghi lagoon in Greece

The impact of salinity and water exchange rate on the accumulation of heavy metals in the benthic fish Zosterissesor ophiocephalus, collected from the shallow sublagoons Tholi and Paleopotamos, was studied. Both sublagoons are influenced by the intensive agricultural activity of the surrounding area in terms of the chemical substances’ drainage, and by the untreated sewage discharges of an urbanized area with Paleopotamos being affected in lesser extent. Paleopotamos is characterised by restricted water renovation, resulting to much higher salinity than Tholi. The bioaccumulation of the heavy metals studied (Manganese, Zinc and Copper), reveals differences among the metals with females showing higher values. Specimens from Paleopotamos showed statistically significant higher bioaccumulation of the heavy metals in both sexes, which is attributed to the extremely high salinity of this sublagoon.     

Diversity,endemism and economic potential of wild edible plants of Indian Himalaya

SUMMARY

The rich plant diversity of the Indian Himalaya is utilized by the native communities in various forms as medicine, edible/food, fodder, fuel, timber, agricultural tools, etc. Among these, wild edible plants form an important source as a supplement/substitute food in times of scarcity for native communities. Because land holdings are small and subsistence agriculture prevails, the natives gather many wild plants for food. This paper presents an inventory of wild edible plants of Indian Himalaya used by local communities. Over 675 wild plant species, representing 384 genera and 149 families, are used as food/edible and their various parts are either consumed raw, roasted, boiled, fried, cooked or in the form of oil, spice, seasoning material, jams, pickles, etc. The species were analysed for diversity in different phytogeographical provinces, altitudinal distribution, endemism, origin and potentials. West Himalaya shows the highest diversity (50.96%) of edible plants and East Himalaya the maximum number of endemics (18 taxa) and wild relatives of economic plants (39 taxa). Mass scale propagation, dissemination of information packages to local inhabitants to ensure that wild edibles remain as a resource for income generation, and strategies for conservation and management are recommended.     

Composition of Floating Debris in Harbours of the United States

As part of a programme to characterize floating anthropogenic debris in the aquatic environment, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted 18 field surveys in the harbours of major metropolitan cities of the east, west, and Gulf coasts of the United States and the Mid-Atlantic Bight. the surveys were designed to provide information on the types, relative amounts, and distributions of aquatic debris in different geographic regions of the United States. Neuston nets (0.33 mm mesh) were used to collect surface debris during outgoing tides on two or three consecutive days in selected areas of each city. After each net tow, the debris, which ranged in size from small resin pellets to large plastic sheeting pieces, was identified, categorized, and counted. the data are being used to qualitatively characterize aquatic debris in coastal metropolitan areas, to examine potential regional variations, and to tentatively identify potential sources.     

基于3S技术的区域生态廊道模拟及优化

以北京市朝阳区为例,运用3S技术并参考现有资料,对北京市朝阳区现有生态廊道状况进行了分析研究,并运用生态服务功能价值理论和耗费距离模型,模拟建立了北京市朝阳区潜在生态廊道模型。研究结果表明,研究区内生态环境受到了一定的破坏,景观破碎化严重,斑块聚集度虽高,但连接度不够,廊道连通性较差,许多重要的生态斑块没有足够的廊道连接,没有形成良好的生态网络,廊道的规模也达不到标准,服务范围较小。为修复现有廊道来维护区域生态安全,强化生态服务功能,建议北京市朝阳区生态廊道适宜宽度阈值：河流生态廊道植被宽度一侧至少30m以上,道路生态廊道植被宽度一侧至少60m以上,绿带生态廊道植被宽度一侧至少500m以上。     

Prices vs quantities with multiple pollutants

We examine the choice of policy instruments (price, quantity or a mix of the two) when two pollutants are regulated and firms' abatement costs are private information. Whether abatement efforts are complements or substitutes is key determining the choice of policies. When pollutants are complements, a mixed policy instrument with a tax on one pollutant and a quota on another is sometimes preferable even if the pollutants are identical in terms of benefits and costs of abatement. Yet, if they are substitutes, the mixed policy is dominated by taxes or quotas.     

Inverse uncertainty characteristics of pollution source identification for river chemical spill incidents by stochastic analysis

Identifying source information after river chemical spill occurrences is critical for emergency responses. However, the inverse uncertainty characteristics of this kind of pollution source inversion problem have not yet been clearly elucidated. To fill this gap, stochastic analysis approaches, including a regional sensitivity analysis method, identifiability plot and perturbation methods, were employed to conduct an empirical investigation on generic inverse uncertainty characteristics under a well-accepted uncertainty analysis framework. Case studies based on field tracer experiments and synthetic numerical tracer experiments revealed several new rules. For example, the release load can be most easily inverted, and the source location is responsible for the largest uncertainty among the source parameters. The diffusion and convection processes are more sensitive than the dilution and pollutant attenuation processes to the optimization of objective functions in terms of structural uncertainty. The differences among the different objective functions are smaller for instantaneous release than for continuous release cases. Small monitoring errors affect the inversion results only slightly, which can be ignored in practice. Interestingly, the estimated values of the release location and time negatively deviate from the real values, and the extent is positively correlated with the relative size of the mixing zone to the objective river reach. These new findings improve decision making in emergency responses to sudden water pollution and guide the monitoring network design.

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Genotoxicity detected in wild mice living in a highly polluted wetland area in south western Spain

A field study was carried out in the south of the Iberian Peninsula in an industrial area in the neighbourhood of Huelva city, SW Spain, and in a natural area (Do?ana National Park) for comparison, to estimate the genetic risk induced by environmental pollution in wild mice. Genotoxic effects in a sentinel organism, the Algerian mice (Mus spretus) free living in the industrial area were compared with animals of the same species living in the natural protected area. The single cell gel electrophoresis, or Comet assay, was performed as a genotoxicity test in peripheral blood of mice. Our results clearly show that mice free living in the contaminated area bear a high burden of genetic damage as compared with control individuals. The results suggest that the assessing of genotoxicity levels by the Comet assay in wild mice can be used as a valuable test in pollution monitoring and environmental conservation.     

Influence of tidal regime on the distribution of trace metals in a contaminated tidal freshwater marsh soil colonized with common reed (Phragmites australis)

A historical input of trace metals into tidal marshes fringing the river Scheldt may be a cause for concern. Nevertheless, the specific physicochemical form, rather than the total concentration, determines the ecotoxicological risk of metals in the soil. In this study the effect of tidal regime on the distribution of trace metals in different compartments of the soil was investigated. As, Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations in sediment, pore water and in roots were determined along a depth profile. Total sediment metal concentrations were similar at different sites, reflecting pollution history. Pore water metal concentrations were generally higher under less flooded conditions (mean is (2.32 ± 0.08) × 10⁻³ mg Cd L⁻¹ and (1.53 ± 0.03) × 10⁻³ mg Cd L⁻¹). Metal concentrations associated with roots (mean is 202.47 ± 2.83 mg Cd kg⁻¹ and 69.39 ± 0.99 mg Cd kg⁻¹) were up to 10 times higher than sediment (mean is 20.48 ± 0.19 mg Cd kg⁻¹ and 20.42 ± 0.21 mg Cd kg⁻¹) metal concentrations and higher under dryer conditions. Despite high metal concentrations associated with roots, the major part of the metals in the marsh soil is still associated with the sediment as the overall biomass of roots is small compared to the sediment.