Systematic Temporal Patterns in the Relationship Between Housing Development and Forest Bird Biodiversity

As people encroach increasingly on natural areas, one question is how this affects avian biodiversity. The answer to this is partly scale‐dependent. At broad scales, human populations and biodiversity concentrate in the same areas and are positively associated, but at local scales people and biodiversity are negatively associated with biodiversity. We investigated whether there is also a systematic temporal trend in the relationship between bird biodiversity and housing development. We used linear regression to examine associations between forest bird species richness and housing growth in the conterminous United States over 30 years. Our data sources were the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the 2000 decennial U.S. Census. In the 9 largest forested ecoregions, housing density increased continually over time. Across the conterminous United States, the association between bird species richness and housing density was positive for virtually all guilds except ground nesting birds. We found a systematic trajectory of declining bird species richness as housing increased through time. In more recently developed ecoregions, where housing density was still low, the association with bird species richness was neutral or positive. In ecoregions that were developed earlier and where housing density was highest, the association of housing density with bird species richness for most guilds was negative and grew stronger with advancing decades. We propose that in general the relationship between human settlement and biodiversity over time unfolds as a 2‐phase process. The first phase is apparently innocuous; associations are positive due to coincidence of low‐density housing with high biodiversity. The second phase is highly detrimental to biodiversity, and increases in housing density are associated with biodiversity losses. The long‐term effect on biodiversity depends on the final housing density. This general pattern can help unify our understanding of the relationship of human encroachment and biodiversity response. Patrones Sistemáticos Temporales en la Relación entre Desarrollos Urbanos y la Biodiversidad de Aves de Bosque     

Priorities for Improving the Scientific Foundation of Conservation Policy in North America

Abstract:  The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantively in science-policy issues. Additionally, the section is developing a North American Biodiversity Blueprint, which spans the continental United States and Canada and is informed by natural and social science. This blueprint is intended to clarify the policy challenges for protecting continental biodiversity, to foster bilateral collaboration to resolve common problems, and to suggest rational alternative policies and practices that are more likely than current practices to sustain North America's natural heritage. Conservation scientists and practitioners can play a key role by drawing policy makers' attention to ultimate, as well as proximate, causes of biodiversity decline and to the ecological and economic consequences of not addressing these threats.     

中国村镇生活垃圾的养分与重金属含量特征及其农用潜力分析

对全国12个省份72个典型村镇进行了生活垃圾采样调查,系统分析了我国农村生活垃圾的基本理化特性、养分含量与重金属特征及其农用潜力。研究表明:我国典型村镇生活垃圾含水率为(53.68±8.84)%,p H为7.11±0.56,有机质含量为(49.04±10.49)%,C/N约为43∶1,C/P约为144∶1。除C/N略高外,其余特性均适合进行堆肥化处置。我国典型村镇生活垃圾中重金属As、Hg、Pb、Cd、Cr,Cu和Zn含量分别为(7.645±8.729),(0.737±0.480),(21.798±17.606),(3.356±11.012),(108.632±84.011),(36.834±10.905),(80.093±42.237)mg/kg。与国内相关标准相比,只有Hg、Cd超标,最大超标率分别为29.17%、43.75%;与欧美相关标准相比,仅有Cd、Cr超标,最大超标率分别为25.69%、37.50%。     

Phosphorus recovery from municipal and fertilizer wastewater: China's potential and perspective

Phosphorus (P) is a limited resource, which can neither be synthesized nor substituted in its essential functions as nutrient. Currently explored and economically feasible global reserves may be depleted within generations. China is the largest phosphate fertilizer producing and consuming country in the world. China''s municipal wastewater contains up to 293,163 Mg year of phosphorus, which equals approximately 5.5% of the chemical fertilizer phosphorus consumed in China. Phosphorus in wastewater can be seen not only as a source of pollution to be reduced, but also as a limited resource to be recovered. Based upon existing phosphorus-recovery technologies and the current wastewater infrastructure in China, three options for phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge, sludge ash and the fertilizer industry were analyzed according to the specific conditions in China.     

Ambient volatile organic compounds pollution in China

Owing to rapid economic and industrial development, China has been suffering from degraded air quality and visibility. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors to the formation of ground-level ozone and hence photochemical smog. Some VOCs adversely affect human health. Therefore, VOCs have recently elicited public concern and given new impetus to scientific interest. China is now implementing a series of polices to control VOCs pollution. The key to formulating policy is understanding the ambient VOCs pollution status. This paper mainly analyzes the species, levels, sources, and spatial distributions of VOCs in ambient air. The results show that the concentrations of ambient VOCs in China are much higher than those of developed countries such as the United States and Japan, especial benzene, which exceeds available standards. At the same time, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of various VOCs are calculated. Aromatics and alkenes have much higher OFPs, while aromatics have higher SOAFP. The OFPs of ambient VOCs in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Changchun are very high, and the SOAFP of ambient VOCs in the cities of Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Changchun are higher.     

南海北部大气气相多溴联苯醚的含量及来源

通过"实验三号"开放航次在南海北部采集了32个大气样品,用气相色谱/质谱联用仪分析了样品中的多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)同系物,并对其含量、组成特征、空间分布及主要来源进行了研究.结果表明,南海北部大气中7种PBDEs总浓度为0.07～35.9 pg.m-3,四溴(BDE-47)和五溴(BDE-99和-100)化合物为主要组成,分别约占PBDEs总量的51.5%和36.9%,显示工业五溴联苯醚的使用是其主要来源;中国东南沿海和菲律宾附近PBDEs浓度较高,南海靠近越南中部海域大气PBDEs含量较低.后推气流轨迹分析指出:我国东南沿海,特别是珠江三角洲,以及我国台湾和菲律宾等地区陆源污染物的外溢是引起南海北部地区PBDEs浓度较高的主要原因.     

华北平原玉米-小麦轮作农田N2O交换通量的研究

以华北地区冬小麦-夏玉米轮作农田为研究对象,运用静态箱法对正常施肥及正常施肥结合秸秆还田农田N2O交换通量进行了连续1 a对比研究.正常施肥及正常施肥结合秸秆还田样地N2O全年的累积排放量分别为7.61 kg.hm-2和12.6kg.hm-2,其中秸秆还田引起N2O排放明显增加主要发生在玉米生长季节.两种处理样地在玉米季N2O的排放量占全年累积排放的57%～86%,表明华北玉米-小麦轮作体系中N2O排放主要集中在玉米季.各次施肥后10 d内N2O的累积排放量约占全年总排放量的71%～88%,显然现有化肥极大促进了华北农田N2O排放.     

东海大气气溶胶中二元羧酸的分布特征及来源

大气气溶胶中的二元羧酸因其在全球气候变化中的潜在作用而受到广泛关注.利用2011年5月12日-6月6日在东海采集的气溶胶样品,分析其中水溶性二元羧酸及常量离子浓度,探讨东海气溶胶中二元羧酸的时空分布特征及来源.结果显示东海大气气溶胶中乙二酸、丙二酸和丁二酸的浓度分别为26.0～1475.5 ng·m-3、0.1 ～61.4 ng·m-3和0.1～132.4 ng·m-3,乙二酸在这3种二元羧酸中的贡献最大,为88.3％.东海气溶胶中二元羧酸浓度的昼夜变化不显著.空间分布整体呈现近海高、远海低的趋势.气团的来源和迁移路径以及气象因素影响气溶胶中二元羧酸的分布,气团来自污染较重的陆源时气溶胶中二元羧酸的浓度较高,气团来自清洁的海洋源时,二元羧酸的浓度则较低;阴雾天气时气溶胶中二元羧酸浓度相对较高,降雨发生时二元羧酸的浓度较低.二元羧酸与常量离子的相关性分析表明,自然源和人为源释放的挥发性有机物质在液相中氧化生成二元羧酸是东海大气气溶胶中二元羧酸的主要源,而汽车尾气和生物质燃烧的一次排放、海洋源以及碱性粗颗粒吸收气体二元羧酸不是主要源.液相中乙醛酸氧化形成的乙二酸和长链二元羧酸氧化形成的乙二酸对东海气溶胶中乙二酸的贡献分别为41％和59％.     

论泥炭纤维素碳同位素组成作为东亚季风强度变化代用指标的可行性:吉林3个临近发育的泥炭地泥炭剖面的横向比对

降雨量通常与东亚季风强度成正比,而植物纤维素碳同位素组成又与降雨量成反比,因此泥炭纤维素碳同位素比值通常作为东亚季风强度变化的代用指标。由于季风影响的广泛性和区域性,临近发育的泥炭地植物纤维素碳同位素序列应该高度相关。为了验证这种假设,我们系统比较了吉林3处泥炭地3个泥炭剖面苔草纤维素2000年来的碳同位素序列。14 C时标控制的3个序列不呈现有意义的相关关系。不同时段,如过去500年、1000年、1500年和2000年来序列的长期趋势也不相关,序列中包含的周期完全不同。这些事实说明3处剖面苔草纤维素碳同位素比值记录的是当地性的而不是区域性的气候或环境信号,将泥炭纤维素碳同位素比值作为东亚季风强度变化的代用指标的合理性值得怀疑。