Evaluation of a population mobility,mortality, and birth surveillance system in South Kivu,Democratic Republic of the Congo

Prospective, community-based surveillance systems for measuring birth, death, and population movement rates may have advantages over the ‘gold-standard’ retrospective household survey in humanitarian contexts. A community-based, monthly surveillance system was established in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with a local implementing partner and the national ministry of health. Data were collected on the occurrence of births, deaths, arrivals, and departures over the course of one year, and a retrospective survey was conducted at the end of the period to validate the information. Discrepancies between the two approaches were resolved by a third visit to the households with discordant records. The study found that the surveillance system was superior in terms of its specificity and sensitivity in measuring crude mortality and birth rates as compared to the survey, demonstrating the method's potential to measure accurately important population-level health metrics in an insecure setting in a timely, community-acceptable manner.     

南海重点海洋倾倒区表层沉积物富集特征及其潜在生态风险评价

根据2005南海三个重点海洋倾倒区,即九澳岛重点海洋倾倒区、黄茅岛重点海洋倾倒区、汕头重点海洋倾倒区的监测,分析其表层沉积物重金属的监测资料,采用富集系数法和Hakanson潜在生态危害系数法对其富集度和潜在生态危害程度进行了分析和评价.结果表明:在三个倾倒区表层沉积物所监测的重金属中,Cu和Pb元素的富集度相对最高,Hg和Cd元素的富集度较低,从空间上看,潜在生态危害系数评价结果显示,南海三个重点海洋倾倒区表层沉积物中的重金属对海洋生态系统的潜在生态危害非常轻微,均属于轻微潜在生态危害范畴,其中轻微潜在生态危害程度相对较重的是Cd和Hg元素,Cu和Pb元素的轻微生态危害程度较轻.     

南中国海地区红树林的利用和保护

南中国海具有丰富的浅海和热带的生物多样性,是全球红树林分布的中心之一.南中国海地区红树林面积大约占全球的28%,该区红树植物的多样性为世界最高,共有46种真红树分布于此.由于受人口增加和经济发展的巨大压力,南中国地区红树林资源破坏严重,退化趋势明显.虽然南中国海周边国家过去都实施了相应的海洋环境保护行动计划,然而缺乏区域协调措施大大降低了这些行动的有效性.本文在对南中国海地区红树林资源的利用现状和退化原因进行分析的基础上,提出南中国海地区红树林资源保护与管理的建议,以期能在双边或区域的层面上共同协作,采取适当的措施去扭转南中国海地区红树林生境退化趋势.     

粮食基础设施震后恢复重建关键问题研究

在对汶川8.0级地震后绵阳市粮食基础设施破坏情况调研的基础上,提出恢复与发展并重、粮食基础设施节点与网络并行、推进行业整合和信息化的建设思路,规划了绵阳市灾后恢复重建的维修保障和重建发展项目,并对规划实施效果进行了经济和社会效益分析。     

Topsoil organic carbon mineralization and CO2 evolution of three paddy soils from South China and the temperature dependence

Carbon mineralization and its response to climatic warming have been receiving global attention for the last decade. Although the virtual influence of temperature effect is still in great debate, little is known on the mineralization of organic carbon （SOC） of paddy soils of China under warming. SOC mineralization of three major types of China＇s paddy soils is studied through laboratory incubation for 114 d under soil moisture regime of 70% water holding capacity at 20℃ and 25℃ respectively. The carbon that mineralized as CO2 evolved was measured every day in the first 32 d and every two days in the following days. Carbon mineralized during the 114 d incubation ranged from 3.51 to 9.22 mg CO2-C/gC at 20℃ and from 4.24 to 11.35 mg CO2-C/gC at 25℃ respectively; and a mineralizable C pool in the range of 0.24 to 0.59 gC/kg, varying with different soils. The whole course of C mineralization in the 114 d incubation could be divided into three stages of varying rates, representing the three subpools of the total mineralizable C： very actively mineralized C at 1-23 d, actively tnineralized C at 24--74 d and a slowly mineralized pool with low and more or less stabilized C mineralization rate at 75-114 d. The calculated Q10 values ranged from 1.0 to 2.4, varying with the soil types and N status. Neither the total SOC pool nor the labile C pool could account for the total mineralization potential of the soils studied, despite a well correlation of labile C with the shortly and actively mineralized C, which were shown in sensitive response to soil warming. However, the portion of microbial C pool and the soil C/N ratio controlled the C mineralization and the temperature dependence. Therefore, C sequestration may not result in an increase of C mineralization proportionally. The relative control of C bioavailability and microbial metabolic activity on C mineralization with respect to stabilization of sequestered C in the paddy soils of China is to be further studied.     

四川及重庆蕨类植物区系组成、特有现象和珍稀种类

四川及重庆为我国蕨类植物最丰富的区域之一,总计有52科,141属,约880种。鳞毛蕨科、蹄盖蕨科和水龙骨科是最重要的3个科,其种数占本区种数的50.5%,金星蕨科、中国蕨科和铁角蕨科在本区也有较多的种类分布。在本区主要的属为耳蕨属、鳞毛蕨属和蹄盖蕨属,它们的种数都超过50种,合计占本区种数的22.8%,其次有铁角蕨属、瓦韦属和毛蕨属,其种数都逾25种,而有近85%的属不足10种。热带成分的属在本区占53.9%,但它们的区系存在度不大;东亚分布的属占16.3%,其区系存在度相对较大;温带分布的属占12.7%。本区无特有科;仅光叶蕨属1个特有属,还有6个中国特有属;有387种为中国特有种,约占本区种数的44%。特有种的32%为本区特有,其余以与中国西南片区（占22.5%）和整个南方片区（占26.1%）共有为主。本区被列入国家重点保护的珍稀濒危蕨类植物有10种,其中1级3种,2级7种。     

人类活动对川东平行岭谷区岩溶地下水化学性质季节变化的影响

以川东平行岭谷区典型岩溶槽谷--北碚槽上为研究区域,通过对8月和11月的岩溶地下水水化学性质研究,发现槽上岩溶地下水的化学性质呈现明显的季节性：电导率、矿化度、SO42-浓度及HCO3-浓度都是8月大于11月,与气温和降水量的变化相对应,也与人类在8月份对土地利用的强度大于在11月份对土地利用的强度相对应。研究区地下水的化学性质与人类活动对土地利用的季节差异具有比较明显的对应关系,为进一步认识岩溶地下水的时间变化规律提供科学数据,也有利于认识人类活动对生态环境产生的影响,从而采取更加合理的措施来治理和保护岩溶地区有限的地下水资源,满足人们的生活和生产需要。     

Detection of DDT and its metabolites in two estuaries of South China using a SPME-based device: First report of p,p′-DDMU in water column

A solid-phase microextration-based sampling method was employed to determine the concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and its metabolites, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDE) and 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethene (DDMU), in two estuarine bays, Daya Bay and Hailing Bay, of South China. Six DDT components including p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDD, p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDMU were detected in Hailing Bay, while only p,p′-DDD was found in Daya Bay. p,p′-DDD was the most abundant DDT component in both bays, sharply different from the previous finding in the water column of the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA that p,p′-DDE was prevalent. In addition, the occurrence of p,p′-DDMU (with a range of 0.047-0.21 ng/L in Hailing Bay) has not been reported around the globe, and its presence in our study region appeared to stem from dehydrochlorination of p,p′-DDD, favored under aerobic conditions, but further investigations are clearly needed to confirm the mechanism for generation of DDMU in estuarine environments.     

The Value of Linking Mitigation and Adaptation: A Case Study of Bangladesh

There are two principal strategies for managing climate change risks: mitigation and adaptation. Until recently, mitigation and adaptation have been considered separately in both climate change science and policy. Mitigation has been treated as an issue for developed countries, which hold the greatest responsibility for climate change, while adaptation is seen as a priority for the South, where mitigative capacity is low and vulnerability is high. This conceptual divide has hindered progress against the achievement of the fundamental sustainable development challenges of climate change. Recent attention to exploring the synergies between mitigation and adaptation suggests that an integrated approach could go some way to bridging the gap between the development and adaptation priorities of the South and the need to achieve global engagement in mitigation. These issues are explored through a case study analysis of climate change policy and practice in Bangladesh. Using the example of waste-to-compost projects, a mitigation-adaptation-development nexus is demonstrated, as projects contribute to mitigation through reducing methane emissions; adaptation through soil improvement in drought-prone areas; and sustainable development, because poverty is exacerbated when climate change reduces the flows of ecosystem services. Further, linking adaptation to mitigation makes mitigation action more relevant to policymakers in Bangladesh, increasing engagement in the international climate change agenda in preparation for a post-Kyoto global strategy. This case study strengthens the argument that while combining mitigation and adaptation is not a magic bullet for climate policy, synergies, particularly at the project level, can contribute to the sustainable development goals of climate change and are worth exploring.     

Levels and pattern of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in eggs of Antarctic seabirds: Endemic versus migratory species

Chinstrap and gentoo penguins are endemic species that live year round south of the Antarctic Convergence. South polar skua is a migratory seabird that can be observed in Antarctica during the breeding season (i.e., austral summer). This study compares concentration and pattern of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in eggs of seabirds breeding at King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. PBDEs in south polar skua eggs are approximately 20 times higher than in penguin eggs suggesting that skuas are more exposed to contaminants during the non-breeding season when they migrate to waters of the northern hemisphere. The pattern of PBDE congeners also differs between south polar skua and penguin eggs. The latter exhibited a pattern similar to that found in the local biota. In contrast, the congener pattern in south polar skua eggs suggests that birds breeding at King George Island may winter in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.