Biomagnetic monitoring of industry-derived particulate pollution

Clear association exists between ambient PM₁₀ concentrations and adverse health outcomes. However, determination of the strength of associations between exposure and illness is limited by low spatial-resolution of particulate concentration measurements. Conventional fixed monitoring stations provide high temporal-resolution data, but cannot capture fine-scale spatial variations. Here we examine the utility of biomagnetic monitoring for spatial mapping of PM₁₀ concentrations around a major industrial site. We combine leaf magnetic measurements with co-located PM₁₀ measurements to achieve inter-calibration. Comparison of the leaf-calculated and measured PM₁₀ concentrations with PM₁₀ predictions from a widely-used atmospheric dispersion model indicates that modelling of stack emissions alone substantially under-predicts ambient PM₁₀ concentrations in parts of the study area. Some of this discrepancy might be attributable to fugitive emissions from the industrial site. The composition of the magnetic particulates from vehicle and industry-derived sources differ, indicating the potential of magnetic techniques for source attribution.     

Evaluation of the field dissipation of fungicides and insecticides used on fruit bearing trees in northern Italy

The dissipation of the fungicides captan, cyprodinil, fludioxonil, dithianon, and tebuconazole and of the insecticides chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion, and malathion was studied, following a single treatment of different cultivars of pears, apples, and peaches. The study was conducted in northern Italy, over two successive growing seasons (2004 and 2005). The treatments were performed by the farmers involved, in line with their usual practice. At various time intervals from treatment to harvest, representative samples of fruit were collected and analyzed for pesticide residues. In some cases, concentrations lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) were found immediately after treatment. In all trials a rapid decline in pesticide concentrations was observed leading to residues at harvest greatly below the MRLs.     

Simultaneous Determination of O- and P- Nitrophenol by First Derivative Spectrophotometry

A simple method by first derivative spectrophotometry is proposed for the simultaneous determination of o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol. The analytes were separated from samples by liquid-liquid extraction (pH = 7.4) as tetrabutylammonium ion pairs into the 1,2-dichloroethane organic phase and subsequently the extracts were evaluated directly by derivative spectrophotometry. Simultaneous determination of both analytes could be carried out using the zero-crossing and the graphical methods for o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol, respectively. The determination ranges were found to be between 0.115 to 3.00 ppm and 0.130 to 3.00 ppm for o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol, respectively. The relative standard deviations were in all instances less than 2.0%. The proposed method was applied to the determination of these compounds in fruit juices.     

Assessment and mapping of environmental quality in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province, China

Heavy metal concentrations in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province were monitored to indicate the status of heavy metal contamination and assess environmental quality of agricultural soils. A total of 908 soil samples were collected from 38 counties in Zbejiang Province and eight heavy metal （Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Cu, Zn, Ni and As） concentrations had been evaluated in agricultural soil. It was found 775 samples were unpolluted and 133 samples were slightly polluted and more respectively, that is approximately 14.65% agricultural soil samples had the heavy metal concentration above the threshold level in this province by means of Nemerow＇s synthetical pollution index method according to the second grade of Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of China （GB15618- 1995）. Contamination of Cd was the highest, followed by Ni, As and Zn were lower correspondingly. Moreover, Inverse Distance Weighted （IDW） interpolation method was used to make an assessment map of soil environmental quality based on the Nemerow＇s pollution index and the soil environmental quality was categorized into five grades. Moreover, ten indices were calculated as input parameters for principal component analysis （PCA） and the principal components （PCs） were created to compare environmental quality of different soils and regions. The results revealed that environmental quality of tea soils was better than that of paddy soils, vegetable soils and fruit soils. This study indicated that GIS combined with multivariate statistical approaches proved to be effective and powerful tool in the mapping of soil contamination distribution and the assessment of soil environmental quality on provincial scale, which is beneficial to environmental protection and management decision-making by local government.     

华北山区温度推算模式和应用

利用华北山区气象站观测的温度与其所在纬度、经度和高度，分山区建立宏观地面气温场方程。采用１：２０万地形图，以１０＇经、纬度为步长，判读其高度值，代入已建立好的方程中，经地形项订正，推算华北山区年、月平均温度、年较差和ΣＴ＇≥１０℃，其精度达极显著水平。计算结果使我们对华北山区热量资源有了新的认识，最后求算华北山区的主要水果最优品质种植上限高度。     

秦岭北麓平原对全球变暖的响应及其对果业发展的影响研究

论文分析了秦岭北麓8县的近41年的气候变化规律,发现该地区气候变化趋势与全国和全球相似,向暖干化方向发展。采用近41年气候特征值对苹果适宜性进行评价,发现该地区并不是苹果生长的适宜区。夏季高温、较高的相对湿度和较短的日照时数是苹果生长的不利因素。结合目前的气候变化趋势,推论出该地区苹果的病虫害将会加重,苹果质量将进一步下降。地区果业发展中,减少苹果栽种面积和优化果品生产结构仍然具有一定潜力。     

环境污染与果树病害

从酸雨污染、重金属污染、大气污染、粉煤尘污染、盐污染5个方面讨论了环境污染对果树的影响,还简单介绍了污染与虫害的关系,同时提出了减少污染对果树影响的主要措施。     

内蒙古河套地区小麦重金属含量与土壤质量的关系研究

依据在内蒙古河套地区采集的小麦茎叶、籽粒及根系土样品,分析了小麦籽粒和土壤重金属污染状况,结果表明:小麦作物中各部位重金属含量大小顺序依次为根系茎叶籽粒,小麦对重金属Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni的吸收能力从大到小的顺序为ZnCuNiCrPbCdHg;小麦籽粒个别土样存在Pb污染问题,需要做进一步的研究和关注;整体上看河套地区为绿色食品基地的土壤,适宜发展AA级绿色食品。     

Using the guild concept in the assessment of tree harvesting effects on understory herbs: A cautionary note

To help determine whether plants should be grouped into guilds for environmental impact assessment, the responses of six members of a guild of deciduous forest herbs to selective tree harvesting were compared. Harvesting operations themselves (tree cutting and skidding) had little effect on five of the six species but the sixth species decreased more in cut plots than in uncut plots. Subsequent microclimatic changes, resulting from tree cutting, also affected guild members differently. In the first year after cutting, two species increased more in cut plots than in uncut plots, while three other species did not change in frequency of occurrence and the sixth species decreased more in cut plots than in uncut plots. This inconsistent response of guild members to tree harvesting suggests that caution should be exercised in using guilds to assess plant response to environmental change.     

中国东北、内蒙古地区茶藨属果树资源的研究

本文对东北、内蒙古地区茶属果树资源进行了调查，初步查明有１９种、２变种、１变型，并对其特征、特性、生境、分布及利用价值进行了研究，总结了驯化栽培的研究结果，提出了开发利用的建议。