The importance of ammonium mobility in nitrogen-impacted unfertilized grasslands: A critical reassessment

The physico-chemical absorption characteristics of ammonium-N for 10 soils from 5 profiles in York, UK, show its high potential mobility in N deposition-impacted, unfertilized, permanent grassland soils. Substantial proportions of ammonium-N inputs were retained in the solution phase, indicating that ammonium translocation plays an important role in the N cycling in, and losses from, such soils. This conclusion was further supported by measuring the ammonium-N leaching from intact plant/soil microcosms. The ammonium-N absorption characteristics apparently varied with soil pH, depth and soil texture. It was concluded for the most acid soils especially that ammonium-N leached from litter horizons could be seriously limiting the capacity of underlying soils to retain ammonium. Contrary to common opinion, more attention therefore needs to be paid to ammonium leaching and its potential role in biogeochemical N cycling in semi-natural soil systems subject to atmospheric pollution.     

Quantifying local traffic contributions to NO2 and NH3 concentrations in natural habitats

NO₂ and NH₃ concentrations were measured across a Special Area for Conservation in southern England, at varying distances from the local road network. Exceedances of the critical levels for these pollutants were recorded at nearly all roadside locations, extending up to 20 m away from roads at some sites. Further, paired measurements of NH₃ and NO₂ concentrations revealed differences between ground and tree canopy levels. At “background” sites, away from the direct influence of roads, concentrations were higher within tree canopies than at ground level; the reverse pattern was, however, seen at roadside locations. Calculations of pollutant deposition rates showed that nitrogen inputs are dominated by NH₃ at roadside sites. This study demonstrates that local traffic emissions contribute substantially to the exceedance of critical levels and critical loads, and suggests that on-site monitoring is needed for sites of nature conservation value which are in close proximity to local transport routes.     

Short-term seasonal variability in Be wet deposition in a semiarid ecosystem of central Argentina

The ⁷Be wet deposition has been intensively investigated in a semiarid region at San Luis Province, Argentina. From November 2006 to May 2008, the ⁷Be content in rainwater was determined in 58 individual rain events, randomly comprising more than 50% of all individual precipitations at the sampling period. ⁷Be activity concentration in rainwater ranged from 0.7 ± 0.3 Bq l⁻¹ to 3.2 ± 0.7 Bq l⁻¹, with a mean value of 1.7 Bq l⁻¹ (sd = 0.53 Bq l⁻¹). No relationship was found between ⁷Be content in rainwater and (a) rainfall amount, (b) precipitation intensity and (c) elapsed time between events. ⁷Be ground deposition was found to be well correlated with rainfall amount (R = 0.92). For the precipitation events considered, the ⁷Be depositional fluxes ranged from 1.1 to 120 Bq m⁻², with a mean value of 32.7 Bq m⁻² (sd = 29.9 Bq m⁻²). The annual depositional flux was estimated at 1140 ± 120 Bq m⁻² y⁻¹. Assuming the same monthly deposition pattern and that the ⁷Be content in soil decreases only through radioactive decay, the seasonal variation of ⁷Be areal activity density in soil was estimated. Results of this investigation may contribute to a valuable characterization of ⁷Be input in the explored semiarid ecosystem and its potential use as tracer of environmental processes.     

长江口及其邻近海域表层沉积物分布特征

根据长江口和杭州湾北部沉积物粒度分析数据,研究表层沉积物类型、分布以及分区特征。结果表明：沉积物的分布特征受水动力条件、地貌类型以及泥沙来源等因素的综合影响,长江口表层沉积物在纵向分布上,自西向东粒径从粗到细、分选程度从好至差,在横向上自北港－北槽－南槽,沉积物粒度逐渐变细;水流动力作用强的河槽和波浪作用强的口门浅滩沉积物粒度较粗,水动力较弱的河口边滩及口外海滨区沉积物则较细。根据沉积物分布特征可将长江口及其邻近海域分为河口分汊河段沉积区、河口拦门沙沉积区、口外海滨沉积区和杭州湾北部沉积区等4个沉积区。     

Processes affecting the movement of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) between soil and air in an industrial site in Turkey

Soil and atmospheric concentrations, dry deposition and soil-air gas exchange of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were investigated at an industrial site in Aliaga, Izmir, Turkey. Current-use pesticides, endosulfan and chlorpyrifos, had the highest atmospheric levels in summer and winter. Summertime total (gas + particle) OCP concentrations in air were higher, probably due to increased volatilization at higher temperatures and seasonal local/regional applications of current-use pesticides. Particle deposition fluxes were generally higher in summer than in winter. Overall average dry particle deposition velocity for all the OCPs was 4.9 ± 4.1 cm s⁻¹ (average ± SD). ΣDDXs (sum of p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDD, and p,p′-DDE) were the most abundant OCPs in Aliaga soils (n = 48), probably due to their heavy historical use and persistence. Calculated fugacity ratios and average net gas fluxes across the soil-air interface indicated volatilization for α-CHL, γ-CHL, heptachlorepoxide, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, and p,p′-DDT in summer, and for α-CHL, γ-CHL, trans-nonachlor, endosulfan sulfate, and p,p′-DDT in winter. For the remaining OCPs, soil acted as a sink during both seasons. Comparison of the determined fluxes showed that dry particle, gas-phase, and wet deposition are significant OCP input mechanisms to the soil in the study area.     

碳源及反硝化芽孢杆菌强化低C/N比景观水体的生物脱氮

实验探讨了添加碳源及投加反硝化细菌对低碳氮比景观水体生物脱氮的影响。结果表明,有机碳源及B.subtilis FS05均能显著促进实验水体的生物脱氮作用,实验水体在28℃静置72 h后,乙醇添加组的TN、氨氮、硝酸盐及亚硝酸盐的去除率分别达到了62.7%、67.0%、69.8%和29.4%,而同样条件下,B.subtilis FS05投加组的去除率分别达到了66.9%、73.4%、66.0%和82.2%。从水质变化趋势可以看出,投加B.subtilis FS05能在更短时间内完成生物脱氮过程,其中,硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐去除速率最快,分别仅需要18 h和12 h。     

辉县市城区环境空气质量现状及污染防治对策

对辉县市城区2006—2011年间环境空气质量监测数据进行了评价,并对城区污染物浓度时空变化进行了分析。结果表明,辉县市城区大气污染主要表现为可吸入颗粒物污染严重,主要是能源结构不合理、锅炉废气污染严重、城区道路保洁方式落后等原因造成的,由此提出了合理规划城市布局、减少结构性污染等对策。     

Evidence for Acidification-Driven Ecosystem Collapse of Danish Erica tetralix Wet Heathland

We report observations of disappearance of Erica tetralix in wet heathland, which is unlikely to be caused by competition, as E. tetralix is dying before its place is taken up by other species. To investigate the causes, we used both old and new data. Results showed that presence of Molinia caerulea and Calluna vulgaris were substantial in the former E. tetralix dominated areas. Measurements of the C/N ratio in the morlayer were between 21 and 26 under the E. tetralix stands. As the expected C/N ratio in a healthy nutrient poor ecosystem like the E. tetralix wet heathland is around 30, this indicates that the ratio is probably decreasing and, correspondingly, the probability of nitrogen leaching from the ecosystem is increasing. The morlayer pH was extremely low—between 3.03 and 3.78. This represents a pH decline since the 1960s, where pH values generally were above 4. This supports the hypothesis that the decrease in morlayer pH is the major factor explaining the disappearance of E. tetralix and that measures to increase pH should be considered as part of the recommendations for relevant future management.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-012-0251-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

C/N和pH值对高温好氧反硝化菌产N2O的影响研究

以50℃高温、好氧条件下能进行高效好氧反硝化的菌株TAD1为研究对象,在不同C/N和pH值培养条件下,对其24 h的反硝化效率和反硝化过程中N2O的逸出量进行了研究。结果显示,C/N和pH值对菌株TAD1的反硝化效率和N2O产生量有明显影响.菌株TAD1最适宜的C/N为9,pH值为7,此时反硝化效率达到99.12%,N2O产生量仅为3.35×10-2 mg/L,N2 O转化率为0.045%,反硝化产物以氮气为主。另外,菌株TAD1不适宜在酸性条件下生长,pH值为6时反硝化效率为83.18%,N2O产生量为13.88×10-2 mg/L,是pH值为7时的4.14倍,是pH值为8时的5.07倍。     

碳源类型及进水量分配对CMICAO工艺脱氮除磷的影响

研究了分别以葡萄糖和乙酸钠为碳源时多点交替进水阶式A2/O(CMICAO)工艺氮磷的去除效果,以及在不同进水C/N比时各进水量分配对脱氮除磷效果的影响.结果表明,在相同的进水COD浓度下,乙酸钠比葡萄糖更适合作为碳源,更能提高脱氮除磷效率.以葡萄糖为碳源时,COD为200 mg/L、C/N比为5、缺氧池与厌氧池进水配比为1∶2时,出水COD、TN、氨氮和TP浓度分别为28.5、10.8、2.1和0.5 mg/L,均达到国家一级A排放标准.若采用葡萄糖作为碳源,投加量以使进水C/N比为5～7.5为宜,外加碳源时缺氧池与厌氧池进水分配比可统一采用1∶1.