Assessment of Environmental Water Demands (EWD) of Forests for Two Distinct Indian Ecosystems

Sustainable use of water and land resources requires that these scarce resources be appropriately allocated among various competing human activities. Worldwide, there is a realization now that sustainable river basin management should be accorded the highest priority, because it deals not only with technical, but also with ecological and socioeconomic aspects, and thus calls for a multidisciplinary and integrated approach. However, most of the policy and planning documents have either remained silent, or have made only implicit reference to the importance of environmental water demand (EWD) and its quantification. Therefore, in the light of its importance, a methodology has been evolved in this article for quantifying EWD for various forested areas in two distinctly different Indian river basins: Brahmani (humid zone) and Sabarmati (dry zone). The article analyzes and discusses EWD estimates at three different spatial levels: river basins, states, and districts within them, and finally presents a comparative analysis of all these results. Findings of the present study will be immensely useful in understanding various ecological issues connected with water resource projects and proposals in these river basins.     

Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast

Geographical areas constitute the basic implementation locus for integrated coastal zone management strategies and activities. Because the definition of territorial planning objectives may be affected by socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, one of the main steps in the process involves dividing the coast into homogeneous environmental management units (HEMUs). This article presents a general and simple method for regionalizing the landside of a coastal zone into HEMUs and illustrates it through application to the Catalan coast. Socioeconomic and natural (biophysical) subsystems were selected as the most appropriate dimensions of the regionalization process. Dimensions were described using 11 spatial themes, which were managed in a geographic information system environment that proved to be an adequate tool for the purpose. A final coastal zone map of four classes of HEMUs connected to local administrative units was obtained, and because it reflects the current natural and socioeconomic dynamics, it can be considered as an initial step in the planning process for the Catalan coast. Although the proposed method was developed based on the characteristics of the Catalan coast, it is general enough to be adapted and applied to most developed or developing coastal areas.     

Effect of Cadmium on Microbial Activity and a Ryegrass Crop in Two Semiarid Soils

Soil pollution with Cd is an environmental problem common in the world, and it is necessary to establish what Cd concentrations in soil could be dangerous to its fertility from toxicity effects and the risk of transference of this element to plants and other organisms of the food chain. In this study, we assessed Cd toxicity on soil microorganisms and plants in two semiarid soils (uncultivated and cultivated). Soil ATP content, dehydrogenase activity, and plant growth were measured in the two soils spiked with concentrations ranging from 3 to 8000 mg Cd/kg soil and incubated for 3 h, 20 days, and 60 days. The Cd concentrations that produced 5%; 10%;, and 50%; inhibition of each of the two soil microbiological parameter studied (ecological dose, ED, values) were calculated using two different mathematical models. Also, the effect of Cd concentration on plant growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne, L.) was studied in the two soils. The Cd ED values calculated for soil dehydrogenase activity and ATP content were higher in the agricultural soils than in the bare soil. For ATP inhibition, higher ED values were calculated than for dehydrogenase activity inhibition. The average yields of ryegrass were reduced from 5.03 to 3.56 g in abandoned soil and from 4.21 to 1.15 g in agricultural soil with increasing concentrations of Cd in the soil. Plant growth was totally inhibited in abandoned and agricultural soils at Cd concentrations above 2000 and 5000 mg/kg soil, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the concentration of Cd in the plants and the total or DTPA-extractable concentrations of Cd in the soil.     

Communicative Aspects of Environmental Management by Objectives: Examples from the Swedish Context

Management by objectives (MBO) is a technique for integrating ecological concerns into national political and administrative structures. Politicians determine environmental objectives and interim targets to be implemented and assessed by civil servants in national, regional, and local contexts. Well-developed organizational communication is a prerequisite for MBO. However, communication-related obstacles can arise when using MBO in public environmental management. We examine communicative aspects of environmental MBO, looking specifically at the implementation, administration, and assessment of Swedish environmental quality objectives. Our argument is illustrated by quotations from individual and focus group interviews. We conclude that communicative problems may arise, because different actors interpret messages from different perspectives, depending on their agendas, prior knowledge and experience, and positions in the administrative system. It is crucial to recognize the dialogical aspects of communication, by involving the receiver of a message in a process of response. In addition, the different timeframes underlying different arguments could contribute to misunderstandings between actors involved in handling environmental issues. In assessing the achievement of environmental objectives, indicators are used as communicative tools. It is important to investigate whether and how these indicators contribute to the de- and recontextualization of environmental objectives.     

厌氧-好氧生物滤池处理城市污水试验

研究了生物滤池处理城市污水的性能特点,结果表明:厌氧-好氧生物滤池去除城市污水中的CODCr、SS和NH4+-N等具有较好的效果,当进水CODCr、SS和NH4+-N分别为23、112mg/L和56mg/L时,水力停留时间8h,曝气强度在0·5~0·6L/(m2·s)时,CODCr、SS和NH4+-N的去除率分别在90%、80%和75%以上。     

有机磷农药对缢蛏[Sinonovacula constricta (Lamarck)]显微结构的影响

在实验室模拟缢蛏的生长环境,研究乐果和三唑磷对缢蛏的毒性效应.以气相色谱法测定缢蛏体内有机磷农药的含量,并通过光镜观察有机磷农药对缢蛏鳃和消化腺显微结构的影响.结果表明:缢蛏体内乐果和三唑磷的含量随着水体中有机磷农药的增加而增加,有很好的剂量-效应关系,但是无线性相关性.乐果和三唑磷对缢蛏鳃显微结构的影响是:鳃丝变短,鳃丝间隔和基底膜结缔组织增生,鳃孔、血管腔堵塞;不同的是:在乐果胁迫下,上皮细胞纤毛脱落严重,而三唑磷胁迫下,上皮细胞纤毛增生.乐果和三唑磷对缢蛏消化腺显微结构的影响主要表现为腺细胞界限模糊,腺泡水肿变形、部分坏死;结缔组织增生,细胞间质疏松,出现许多空泡;有机磷农药的浓度高时消化腺细胞变性、坏死,细胞质囊泡化.     

改性沸石(Na-Y型)对Ni2+的吸附行为

将天然沸石熔融制得新型改性沸石(Na-Y型),研究Na-Y型沸石对Ni2 的吸附行为.结果表明,对Ni2 的饱和吸附量,Na-Y型沸石为31.04mg·g-1,而天然斜发沸石和Na型沸石(NaCl改性)仅为3.60mg·g-1和7.64 mg·g-1.Na-Y型沸石对Ni2 的等温吸附行为符合Freundlich方程.对溶液中Ni2 的吸附量在初始阶段(0-5h)快速上升,而后趋于平缓.共存阳离子对Na-Y型沸石吸附Ni2 的影响为:Co2 》Ca2 》Fe3 》 K .     

电催化同步降解水中硝酸盐氮和有机氯化物的研究

在利用电化学反应器单独脱硝脱卤的电催化实验基础上,对电化学催化方法同步脱硝脱卤进行研究.试验采用化学沉积法负载钯-铜合金(4∶ 1)的多孔钛板作为电解反应器阴极,电解硝酸盐氮(NO-3-N)和五氯酚(PCP)的混合溶液.结果表明: PCP的脱卤效果与单独脱卤时相似,但PCP的存在对NO-3-N的还原脱除有明显影响.PCP在钯原子上的竞争性吸附抑制了NO-3-N还原反应的中间产物NO-2-N继续还原,导致在反应初期出现NO-2-N的积累;随着PCP的充分还原,前期积累的副产物NO-2-N可以逐渐被降解.分批试验和推流试验结果表明,利用多孔钛板负载的钯-铜二元合金电极,选择合适的反应参数,可有效地脱除水中的硝酸盐氮和卤代有机物.     

液相络合-铁屑还原-酸吸收回收法脱除烟气中的NOx

用"Fe2 螯合剂吸收-铁屑还原-酸吸收"回收法脱除烟气中的NOx,研究了铁屑脱硝过程的影响因素,确定了脱硝过程的合适工艺条件,并对络合脱硝溶液的再生和循环利用进行了研究.结果表明:最佳工艺参数为:络合脱硝溶液中Fe2 EDTA浓度20mmol·l-1,pH值6.0,温度65℃;在此条件下,用两个反应器串联,对O2含量为10.5%的模拟烟气可取得90%以上的脱硝效率.     

大型海藻与赤潮微藻以及赤潮微藻之间的相互作用研究

研究了2种大型海藻石莼(Ulva pertusa)和江蓠(Gracilaria lemaneiformis)对2种赤潮微藻:东海原甲藻(Prorocentrumdonghaiense)和塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandum tamarense)生长的影响以及2种微藻之间的相互作用,结果发现:①在大藻(石莼或江蓠)-微藻(东海原甲藻或塔玛亚历山大藻)的共培养体系中,石莼和江蓠均能明显影响与其共培养的微藻的生长,石莼对微藻生长的影响强于江蓠的作用.②在东海原甲藻-塔玛亚历山大藻的双藻培养体系中,东海原甲藻的生长受到明显的抑制作用,最终被完全灭杀;体系中塔玛亚历山大藻的生长未受到明显的影响.另外,塔玛亚历山大藻的培养液滤液能明显抑制东海原甲藻的生长,但东海原甲藻滤液对塔玛亚历山大藻的生长几乎没有影响.实验室条件下模拟二者相互作用的结果显示,塔玛亚历山大藻对东海原甲藻的抑制作用是其被后者抑制作用的17倍左右.③在大藻(石莼或江蓠)-东海原甲藻-塔玛亚历山大藻的多藻培养体系中,东海原甲藻和塔玛亚历山大藻的生长变化与它们在共培养体系中的变化非常类似.半数致死时间(LT50)法的检测结果显示:多藻培养体系对东海原甲藻的联合作用是协同作用,而对塔玛亚历山大藻的作用是相加作用.