Using Mediterranean shrubs for the phytoremediation of a soil impacted by pyritic wastes in Southern Spain: a field experiment

Re-vegetation is the main aim of ecological restoration projects, and in Mediterranean environments native plants are desirable to achieve successful restoration. In 1998, the burst of a tailings dam flooded the Guadiamar river valley downstream from Aznalcóllar (Southern Spain) with sludges that contained elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids, polluting soils and waters. A phytoremediation experiment to assess the potential use of native shrub species for the restoration of soils affected by the spillage was performed from 2005 to 2007, with soils divided into two groups: pH < 5 and pH > 5. Four native shrubs (Myrtus communis, Retama sphaerocarpa, Rosmarinus officinalis and Tamarix gallica) were planted and left to grow without intervention. Trace element concentrations in soils and plants, their extractability in soils, transfer factors and plant survival were used to identify the most-interesting species for phytoremediation. Total As was higher in soils with pH < 5. Ammonium sulphate-extractable zinc, copper, cadmium and aluminium concentrations were higher in very-acid soils, but arsenic was extracted more efficiently when soil pH was >5. Unlike As, which was either fixed by Fe oxides or retained as sulphide, the extractable metals showed significant relationships with the corresponding total soil metal concentration and inverse relationships with soil pH. T. gallica, R. officinalis and R. sphaerocarpa survived better in soils with pH > 5, while M. communis had better survival at pH < 5. R. sphaerocarpa showed the highest survival (30%) in all soils. Trace element transfer from soil to harvestable parts was low for all species and elements, and some species may have been able to decrease trace element availability in the soil. Our results suggest that R. sphaerocarpa is an adequate plant species for phytostabilising these soils, although more research is needed to address the self-sustainability of this remediation technique and the associated environmental changes.     

成都龙泉山地区建设用地生态适宜性评价

随着景观格局与生态过程之间的关系日益受到重视,传统的评价方法已经不能满足生态适宜性评价的发展需要。本文以成都市龙泉山地区为例,从景观类型、生态功能、生态价值、土壤侵蚀敏感性和地质灾害敏感性5个方面建立评价指标体系,分别采用最小累积阻力模型和模糊综合评判法描述水平生态过程和垂直生态过程下的生态适宜性,综合两种评价结果进行建设用地的生态适宜性评价。研究结果表明,模型机理的差异使评价结果有着很大的区别,两种方法的综合应用可以有效弥补彼此的不足,本文将研究区的生态适宜性评价结果划分为禁止开发区、严格限建区、一般限建区、重点开发区和优化开发区5个分区,各区的面积分别为259．70km^2、793．89km2、1220．35km2、739．68km2和490．42km2。以往的生态适宜性评价方法往往单一地考虑水平或者垂直生态过程,本文构建的这种综合水平和垂直生态过程的评价方法为生态适宜性评价的方法研究提供了有益的尝试和补充。     

基于安全社会学的高层建筑火灾事故剖析——以上海“11·15”特大火灾事故为例

结合我国基本国情及“11·15”特大火灾事故的具体情况,运用社会学视角,从技术和理性的局限、效益和安全的博弈、人因和制度的瓶颈三个方面透析由高层建筑火灾事故难以解决这一现状暴露出的社会学问题。并提出有利于从深层次上保障人民生命安全和公共财产安全的三点建议：调整引发不安全因素的社会结构;提升有利于确保安全的技术能力;加强政府的社会控制功能。本文针对我国高层建筑火灾事故频发的现状,揭示了“11·15”特大火灾事故带来的警示和反思,就高层建筑火灾防范提出了改进方法,对建筑、消防等部门的管理工作具有一定的参考意义。     

黄山市珍稀濒危药用植物资源及保护策略

归纳<国家珍稀濒危保护植物名录>、<国家重点保护野生植物名录(第一批)>和<国家重点保护野生药材物种名录>,黄山市拥有珍稀濒危药用植物42种,通过对其种类、分布,药用部位、功能主治的介绍,以期为制定黄山市珍稀濒危药用植物的保护措施和合理开发利用提供参考.     

采用Dolphin技术治理河道水质的探索

介绍了Dolphin技术的原理、特点,采用该技术对河道水处理后,水质有很大的改变,水体能见度明显提高,臭味被遏制,藻类显著减少,而且无污泥和异味,对氨氮和高锰酸钾指数的去除率均在50%左右。     

Fiscal spending and the environment: Theory and empirics

During economic crises, governments often increase fiscal spending to stimulate the economy. While the fiscal spending surge may be temporary, spending composition is often altered in favor of expenditures on social programs and other public goods which may persist over time. We model and measure the impact of fiscal spending patterns on the environment. The model predicts that a reallocation of government spending composition towards social and public goods reduces pollution. However, increasing total government spending without altering its composition does not reduce pollution. We empirically test these predictions for air and water pollutants showing that they are fully supported.     

Spatially distributed modeling of the long-term carbon balance of a boreal landscape

Spatially and temporally distributed information on the sizes of biomass carbon (C) pools (BCPs) and soil C pools (SCPs) is vital for improving our understanding of biosphere-atmosphere C fluxes. Because the sizes of C pools result from the integrated effects of primary production, age-effects, changes in climate, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, N deposition, and disturbances, a modeling scheme that interactively considers these processes is important. We used the InTEC model, driven by various spatio-temporal datasets to simulate the long-term C-balance in a boreal landscape in eastern Canada. Our results suggested that in this boreal landscape, mature coniferous stands had stabilized their productivity and fluctuated as a weak C-sink or C-source depending on the interannual variations in hydrometeorological factors. Disturbed deciduous stands were larger C-sinks (NEP₂₀₀₄ = 150 gC m⁻² yr⁻¹) than undisturbed coniferous stands (e.g. NEP₂₀₀₄ = 8 gC m⁻² yr⁻¹). Wetlands had lower NPP but showed temporally consistent C accumulation patterns. The simulated spatio-temporal patterns of BCPs and SCPs were unique and reflected the integrated effects of climate, plant growth and atmospheric chemistry besides the inherent properties of the C pool themselves. The simulated BCPs and SCPs generally compared well with the biometric estimates (BCPs: r = 0.86, SCPs: r = 0.84). The largest BCP biases were found in recently disturbed stands and the largest SCP biases were seen in locations where moss necro-masses were abundant. Reconstructing C pools and C fluxes in the ecosystem in such a spatio-temporal manner could help reduce the uncertainties in our understanding of terrestrial C-cycle.     

Knowledge gain and behavioral change in citizen-science programs

Citizen-science programs are often touted as useful for advancing conservation literacy, scientific knowledge, and increasing scientific-reasoning skills among the public. Guidelines for collaboration among scientists and the public are lacking and the extent to which these citizen-science initiatives change behavior is relatively unstudied. Over two years, we studied 82 participants in a three-day program that included education about non-native invasive plants and collection of data on the occurrence of those plants. Volunteers were given background knowledge about invasive plant ecology and trained on a specific protocol for collecting invasive plant data. They then collected data and later gathered as a group to analyze data and discuss responsible environmental behavior with respect to invasive plants. We tested whether participants without experience in plant identification and with little knowledge of invasive plants increased their knowledge of invasive species ecology, participation increased knowledge of scientific methods, and participation affected behavior. Knowledge of invasive plants increased on average 24%, but participation was insufficient to increase understanding of how scientific research is conducted. Participants reported increased ability to recognize invasive plants and increased awareness of effects of invasive plants on the environment, but this translated into little change in behavior regarding invasive plants. Potential conflicts between scientific goals, educational goals, and the motivation of participants must be considered during program design.     

具有危险源性质的复杂系统安全行为演化研究

为解决具有危险源性质的复杂社会技术系统安全行为演化动力机制问题,针对系统生命周期长、影响因素多的特点,以日本福岛核泄漏事故为例,创建扩展型功能共振模型,用于描述系统内安全事故影响因素的作用过程。而后将系统相关主体分为实施方、业主方和第三方共3类,运用演化博弈方法深入研究发现,三方所承担的安全执行成本、安全处罚成本及事故成本之间的数量关系变化是系统安全行为演化发展的动力,3类成本失衡引发的监管机制失效是导致此次核泄漏事故的根源,并据此提出保持政府独立性和权威性、限制业主行为、建立项目责任主体终生追溯机制和采用立体处罚方式的建议。     

基于可持续发展的西北少数民族贫困县主体功能区划分初探

西北贫困县中,少数民族县占了很大比例。这些少数民族贫困县大都地处偏远、生态环境脆弱、资源承载能力较弱,可持续发展水平低。进行主体功能区规划是增强可持续发展能力、促进区域协调发展的重要手段。本研究依据国家和省级主体功能区规划的要求,结合西北少数民族贫困县现状,构建主体功能区划分指标体系;以新疆木垒哈萨克自治县为例,在整个...