Instream and offstream environmental conditions and stream biotic integrity: Importance of scale and site similarities for learning and prediction

Two different methods to predict biotic integrity were tested and compared in the present paper. The first one tries to predict the fish indices of biotic integrity (IBI) at the state or regional scale based on the most similar observations to a specific target site of interest using the simple to implement k-nearest neighbors (or kNN) method. Two different distance functions were considered to find the k-nearest neighbors: the Euclidean and the Mahalanobis. The second method was applied on the same datasets and consisted of a step-wise multiple regression. The two modeling approaches yielded similar results but kNN proved to be more time-efficient and very fast computationally for the given dataset sizes, which allowed applying a leave-one-out cross validation.In an attempt to reveal the importance of scale in the prediction of IBI, regression models were constructed at the state (or regional) scale and at the more refined cluster of sampling sites scale. Clusters of sites were extracted using Kohonen's self-organizing maps (SOM) followed by k-means clustering of the SOM neurons. Cluster-level regression models, constructed after site patterning, performed better in IBI prediction than global regression models constructed without any previous site patterning. The importance of identifying groups of sites with similar environmental characteristics affecting the IBI was revealed. The combined use of site patterning and regression modeling for IBI prediction also helped identifying important variables acting at the local scale which remain latent at the global scale.     

Evidence for the Stepwise Behavioral Response Model (SBRM): the effects of Carbamate Pesticides on medaka (Oryzias latipes) in an online monitoring system

The Stepwise Behavioral Response Model (SBRM), which is a conceptual model, postulated that an organism displays a time-dependent sequence of compensatory Stepwise Behavioral Response (SBR) during exposure to pollutants above their respective thresholds of resistance. In order to prove the model, in this study, the behavioral responses (BRs) of medaka (Oryzias latipes) in the exposure of Arprocarb (A), Carbofuran (C) and Methomyl (M) were analyzed in an online monitoring system (OMS). The Self-Organizing Map (SOM) was utilized for patterning the obtained behavioral data in 0.1 TU (Toxic Unit), 1 TU, 2 TU, 5 TU, 10 TU and 20 TU treatments with control. Some differences among different Carbamate Pesticides (CPs) were observed in different concentrations and the profiles of behavior strength (BS) on SOM were variable depending upon levels of concentration. The time of the first significant decrease of BS (SD-BS) was in inverse ratio to the CP concentrations. Movement behavior showed by medaka mainly included No effect, Stimulation, Acclimation, Adjustment (Readjustment) and Toxic effect, which proved SBRM as a time-dependence model based on the time series BS data. Meanwhile, it was found that SBRM showed evident stress-dependence. Therefore, it was concluded that medaka SBR was both stress-dependent and time-dependent, which supported and developed SBRM, and data mining by SOM could be efficiently used to illustrate the behavioral processes and to monitor toxic chemicals in the environment.     

滇池沉积物中主要污染物含量时间分异特征研究

基于滇池10个监测点(1991~2010年)表层沉积物中主要污染物(Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Pb、Sn、Zn、TP以及KN)含量数据,利用SOM自组织映射神经网络对污染物时间演变特征进行识别.将1991~2010年分为4个阶段,1991~1995年低含量阶段;1996~2001年高含量阶段;2002~2006年含量波动阶段;2007~2010年含量回落阶段.各沉积物中污染物的变化模式不尽相同,但各类重金属含量峰值多集中出现在1996~1999年、2005~2007年2个时间段内.在污染物含量变化的时序分析基础上,参考入湖污染负荷、污染源普查数据等相关资料,分析人类活动对滇池沉积物中主要污染物的影响,发现人类活动对沉积物中污染物含量变化的影响很大,在污染物排放量大的时期,沉积物中污染物含量也会随之出现明显升高,在采取污染控制及治理措施后,沉积物中污染物含量会随之下降.     

陕西渭北旱塬区农田土壤有机质空间预测方法

准确预测土壤有机质(SOM)含量的空间分布对于改善土壤质量、提高区域土壤管理水平具有重要意义.为探索预测陕西渭北旱塬区农田SOM含量的最优模型,借助地理探测器选取与SOM含量密切相关的影响因子作为建模的协变量,选用普通克里格方法(OK)、地理加权回归模型(GWR)、偏最小二乘回归模型(PLS)、地理加权回归扩展模型(G...     

1985—2005年聊城市土壤有机质的时空变异分析

通过统计及地质统计学方法,研究了山东省聊城市1985—2005年土壤w(有机质)的时空变异性. 结果表明:近20年来聊城市表层土壤有机质共增加了34.31×104 t,但不同土壤类型的增幅不尽相同,本底值较低的土壤亚类有机质增加较多,本底值较高的则增加较少. 2005年w(有机质)插值结果表明,研究区w(有机质)分布存在四周高、中部低的趋势. 聊城市北部、临清县南部以及高唐与茌平县之间部分区域w(有机质)比1985年下降明显,而冠县以南及以北、茌平县东部及南部部分区域的w(有机质)增加明显. 影响土壤有机质时空变异的因素主要为土壤类型和区域内农业种植及生产管理方式的改变.      

牛栏江污染物源解析与空间差异性分析

牛栏江-滇池补水是缓解滇池生态用水短缺的重要工程,对牛栏江流域主要污染源与空间差异性的识别分析,将有助于进一步改善牛栏江的水质. 采用CFA(对应分析)对牛栏江流域污染源进行解析识别,结果表明流域内TN、NH₃-N(氨氮)等污染物主要来源于嵩明县境内,TP、氟化物等污染物主要来源于寻甸县境内. 在CFA分析的基础上,采用HCA(层次聚类分析)和SOM(自组织映射神经网络)对4个监测点、10种污染物指标进行分析,以识别空间分布的差异性和相似性,并且评价各指标的空间分布特征及监测点代表性. 结果表明:4个监测点中,TP、氟化物、砷化物、Vph(挥发酚)在寻甸县境内的七星桥污染最严重;TN、NH₃-N在牛栏江上游嵩明县境内的四营污染最重. 结合流域污染负荷调查可知,寻甸县的磷负荷最大,占流域总负荷的58.73%,七星桥的TP污染贡献大于其他3个监测点,与七星桥TP污染最为严重相符合. 该研究结果可为牛栏江流域实施进一步的分段治理提供决策支撑.      

Effects of Land Management Change on Spatial Variability of Organic Matter and Nutrients in Paddy Field: A Case Study of Pinghu,China

The Household Responsibility System initiated in the late 1970s in China has brought a profound change to its rural economy. The shift from the collective farming system to individual family farms has changed land management. The change, including fertilization and crop systems, may have significant effects on soil quality and agro-environmental sustainability. However, very little research is being carried out on the impact of reformed land tenure systems on the spatial variability of soil nutrients. In this study, geostatistics was applied to analyze changes in the spatial variability of soil organic matter and nutrients in paddy fields in Pinghu County, China after 20 years of land management change. In 1984 and 2002, 617 and 131 locations were selected, respectively, for collecting surface soil samples to analyze soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK). From 1984 to 2002, variability of the SOM and TN changed from strongly to moderately spatial-dependent, and the variability of AP remained weakly dependent on space, but that of the AK changed from moderately to weakly spatial-dependent. That the trend of the variability of four soil properties in 2002 became weaker than that in 1984 showed that the extrinsic factors (soil management practices, such as fertilization) weakened the effect by intrinsic factors (soil formation factors, such as soil parent materials) owing to a long period of land management change. The temporal geographic maps of the SOM and nutrients spatial distributions suggested that the concentrations of the SOM and nutrients had been changed to different extents during the period. Significant increase in AP and decrease in AK were noted. The changes were likely due to the imbalance between N, P, and K fertilizers and increased grain yield.     

Can machines recognise stress in plants?

In this paper we show that chlorophyll a fluorescence signals analysed with the self-organizing map (SOM) can be used as a routine tool for the monitoring and classification of pea varieties (Pisum sativum) according to their degree of resistance against drought stress. Fluorescence kinetics measurements were obtained from non-stressed plants. The aim of this study is to evaluate the applicability of artificial intelligence techniques in eco-physiological research. Our goal is to provide a fast tool that will contribute to the knowledge needed to develop strategies that would help to decrease the impact of environmental stress in agriculture and forestry.     

潜在泥石流的界定与判识——以金沙江流域溪洛渡库区为例

选择在建的溪洛渡库区作为研究区域,通过详细的野外考察,确定金沙江流域溪洛渡库区干流共有现代活动泥石流沟57条。利用Matlab构建SOM神经网络模型,依据这57条泥石流样本,选择流域面积、主沟长度、相对高差、沟床比降、平均坡度、相对切割程度、圆状率和侵蚀程度等8个指标,对干流46条沟谷进行预测。预测结果分为：①非泥石流沟有19条,分布在雷波-永善三角台地上;②低危险潜在泥石流沟有14条,分布在库区尾端;③高危险潜在泥石流沟有13条,分布于库区中间位置。预测结果可以为库区生态修复和工程治理提供依据。     

Influence of pyrene combination state in soils on its treatment efficiency by Fenton oxidation

Interactions of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) with soil organic matter (SOM) determine their combination state in soils, and therefore strongly influence their mobility, bioavailability, and chemical reactivity. Contact time (aging) of an HOC in soil also strongly influences its combination state and environmental fate. We studied Fenton oxidation of pyrene in three different soils to reveal the influences of SOM, contact time, and combination state on the efficiency of vigorous chemical reactions. Pyrene degradation efficiency depended strongly on the dose of oxidant (H(2)O(2)) and catalyst (Fe(2+)); the greatest degradation was achieved at an oxidant to catalyst molar ratio of 10:1. Pyrene degradation differed among the three soils, ranging from 65.4% to 88.9%. Pyrene degradation efficiency decreased with increasing SOM content, and the aromatic carbon content in SOM was the key parameter. We hypothesize that pyrene molecules that combine with the compact net structure of aromatic SOM are less accessible to Fenton oxidation. Furthermore, pyrene degradation efficiency decreased considerably after aged for 30 days, but further aging to 60 and 180 days did not significantly change degradation efficiency. The Fenton oxidation efficiency of pyrene in both unaged and aged soils was greater than the corresponding desorption rate during the same period, perhaps because Fenton reaction can make pyrene more accessible to the oxidant through the enhancement of HOCs' desorption by generating reductant species or by destroying SOM through oxidation.