Human–environment interactions: learning from the past

The analysis of palaeoenvironmental archives—sediments, archaeological remains, tree-rings, documents and instrumental records—is presented as a key element in the global scientific endeavour aimed at understanding human–environment interactions at the present day and in the future. The paper explains the need for the focus on palaeoenvironmental studies as a means of ‘learning from the past’, and presents the rationale and structure of the IGBP-PAGES Focus 5 programme ‘Past Ecosystem Processes and Human–Environment Interactions’. The past, as described through palaeoenvironmental studies, can yield information about pre-impact states, trajectories of recent change, causation, complex system behaviour, and provide the basis for developing and testing simulation models. Learning from the past in each of these epistemological categories is exemplified with published case-studies.     

Evaluation of Urban Sustainability in Specific Sectors in Latvia

In Latvia, the concept of sustainability is only slowly gaining recognition. An analysis of Development Plans prepared by the four largest cities of Latvia indicates that sustainability is presented as one of the guiding principles. However, a comparison of Development Plan policies against the urban sustainability issues reveals a great deal of ambiguity and contradiction.At the municipal level, planners and politicians lack indicators to gauge whether the long-term goals of Development Plans and the principles of sustainable development are being achieved. As a consequence, the broad public is deprived of the opportunity to assess for itself the process of development in relation to Development Plan policies, thus limiting accountability in development decision-making. Relevant statistical data collected on a regular basis are required to create sustainability indicators reflecting sustainability issues, to supplement and replace existing statistical compilations pertaining almost exclusively to economic growth and consumption. Development and utilisation of sustainability indicators can be an effective instrument for promoting the values of sustainable development amongst politicians, planners and the broad public and for enhancing accountability in decision-making.     

The Spatial Dimension of Landscape Sustainability

Sustainability indicators are mostly derived from parameters which are, in the spatial dimension, more or less distribution-free. In the majority of cases, the indicators are based on statistical data on production, consumption, pollutants emission, land use, etc. This statistical approach is liable to mask sustainability risks which are primarily caused by specific spatial and temporal patterns of landscape and land use structure, such as degradation of soil functions, disturbances in the landscape's water balance, and losses in functional habitat quality.Sustainability risks due to ecologically non-adapted spatial landuse patterns require measures on regional to local scales, based on disaggregated, spatially explicit indicators. Depending on the respective planning and decision level, different levels of spatial aggregation/disaggregation have to be considered.In the concept presented here, a differentiated approach is proposed. For an aggregated assessment of landscape sustainability, long term monitoring of the dynamics of water flow and matter load at the outlet point of river catchments is recommended. A prerequisite for analyzing those measurements in terms of the catchments' land cover and land use pattern, as well as changes thereof, is a Geographic Information System (GIS) holding relevant up-to-date geodata sets. For a spatially more detailed indication of sustainability risks, an approach of GIS-based functional landscape assessment was demonstrated in a regional case study.The results show GIS on regional to local scales together with satellite remote sensing data on land cover and landuse to be a powerful data basis for spatially explicit landscape evaluation, provided that suitable models for assessing specific landscape functions are applied.     

生活垃圾热解气化二噁英生成指示物浓度分布及关联模型研究

生活垃圾热解气化过程中二噁英在线监测关联模型缺失.本文研究了不同反应气氛、氯源条件下生活垃圾热解气化过程中二噁英及指示物氯苯、多环芳烃的排放特性,利用SPSS软件量化二噁英与前驱物氯苯、多环芳烃之间的相关性.结果表明,由于还原性气氛的抑制,热解气化条件下二噁英毒性当量要比氧化性条件下低60倍.此外,12种氯苯中1,2,3-TrCBZ (1,2,3-trichlorobenzene)可作为城市生活垃圾热解气化烟气中二噁英含量的优选指示物,并建立了气相PCDD/Fs (Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans)与1,2,3-TrCBZ浓度的线性相关模型.16种多环芳烃中BKF（苯并荧蒽）和DbA （二苯并蒽）与二噁英总量、毒性当量的关联性一般,R2在0.7左右.本研究可为热解气化条件下二噁英在线监测关联模型的建立提供理论指导.     

Silver recovery as Ag0 nanoparticles from ion-exchange regenerant solution using electrolysis

Many silver(Ag)containing consumer-products(e.g.textiles)release Ag into the environment,posing ecotoxicological risks.Ag recovery mitigates environmental hazards,recycles Ag,and leads to sustainability.In the present work,Ag has been recovered as Ag~0nanoparticles from the spent solution(thiourea(TU)～0.5 mol/L pH～1.1–1.2,and Ag～550 mg/L)obtained from the regeneration of an Ag-loaded resin using a simple undivided electrolytic cell.The reclaimed regenerant solution has been recycled and reused in a closed-loop scheme over multiple cycles.The process parameters,i.e.,current(0.05 A)and stirring speed(600 r/min),have been optimized for Ag recovery of～94%and TU loss of～2%.The reclaimed regenerant solution has been shown to regenerate Ag-loaded resin samples with90%regeneration efficiency over 4 cycles of consecutive extraction and regeneration.The recovered Ag~0nanoparticles are monodisperse,consistently spherical in shape,and have a mean diameter of～6 nm with standard deviation of the Gaussian fit as～2.66 nm.     

流域水质预警体系研究与应用进展

流域水质预警是水质监控管理的重要组成部分,完善的流域水质预警体系可为流域水污染处理提供充足时间和所需信息,有效削减水污染对水环境造成的影响.对国内外的流域水质预警体系研究进展分别从预警体系目标、预警指标、预警阈值及模拟模型4个方面进行了综述,并且对目前国内外典型流域水质预警体系进行了分析.结果表明:流域水质预警体系目标主要从流域水体功能和水体污染风险2个方面进行考虑;预警指标可分为物化和生物毒性指标2类,生物毒性指标可弥补物化指标的不足,但不能完全替代,二者联合并施是未来预警指标筛选的发展方向;预警阈值的制定依据环境质量标准、排放标准、水质现状及污染源特征等信息,采用单指标多次报警、多指标联合报警或物化与生物毒性指标联合报警等方式,可提高预警体系的稳定和可靠性;污染物迁移转化模型已有一些成熟应用,但大部分模型依然需要大量的参数和历史数据才能保证准确性,因此对于大型流域难以适用.目前我国还未有国家层面完整的流域水质预警体系和相关流程在应用,特别是缺乏可靠的污染物迁移转化模型.未来应从建立典型流域水质预警体系着手,集成地方流域成熟应用的污染物迁移转化模型,逐步完善国家层面的流域水质预警体系,为我国流域水质安全提供保障.      

Reach‐Scale Comparison of Habitat and Mollusk Assemblages for Select Sites in the Clinch River with Regional Context

Several hypotheses, including habitat degradation and variation in fluvial geomorphology, have been posed to explain extreme spatial and temporal variation in Clinch River mollusk assemblages. We examined associations between mollusk assemblage metrics (richness, abundance, recruitment) and physical habitat (geomorphology, streambed composition, fish habitat, and riparian condition) at 10 sites selected to represent the range of current assemblage condition in the Clinch River. We compared similar geomorphological units among reaches, employing semi‐quantitative and quantitative protocols to characterize mollusk assemblages and a mix of visual assessments and empirical measurements to characterize physical habitat. We found little to no evidence that current assemblage condition was associated with 54 analyzed habitat metrics. When compared to other sites in the Upper Tennessee River Basin (UTRB) that once supported or currently support mollusk assemblages, Clinch River sites were more similar to each other, representing a narrower range of conditions than observed across the larger geographic extent of the UTRB. A post‐hoc analysis suggested stream size and average boundary shear stress at bankfull stage may have historically limited species richness in the UTRB (p < 0.001). Associations between mollusk assemblages and physical habitat in the UTRB and Clinch River currently appear obscured by other factors limiting richness, abundance, and recruitment.     

Extending the EU Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria to solid bioenergy from forests

Solid bioenergy from forests plays — and is expected to continue to play — a key role to fulfil the renewable energy targets at the European Union level. When the Renewable Energy Directive was enacted, sustainability criteria were incorporated solely for biofuels and bioliquids. Sustainability criteria for solid bioenergy are also needed in order to prevent wood and primary forest residues from posing additional environmental risks to ecosystems. Acknowledging this, the European Commission has been working on extending the biofuels and bioliquids provisions to solid biomass. An internal draft was circulated in August 2013 which addressed the ways to both balance and mitigate the risks in three main topics: biodiversity; sustainable forest management; and greenhouse gases. This paper presents a set of criteria and indicators, developed during workshops with experts from Governments, scientific institutions, businesses and NGOs, that may be considered by the EU to assure that solid biomass from forests is obtained in an environmentally sustainable way.     

Investigating the sustainability of the global silver supply,reserves, stocks in society and market price using different approaches

The authors have collected data for the silver market, shedding light on market size, stocks in society and silver flows in society. The world supply from mining, depletion of the remaining reserves, reducing ore grades, market price and turnover of silver was simulated using the SILVER model developed for this study. The model combines mining, trade markets, price mechanisms, populations dynamics, use in society and waste and recycling into an integrated system. At the same time the degree of sustainability and resource time horizon was estimated using different methods such as: 1: burn-off rates, 2: peak discovery early warning, 3: Hubbert's production model, and 4: System dynamic modelling. The Hubbert's model was run for the period of 6000 BC–3000 AD, the SILVER system dynamics model was run for the time range 1840–2340. We have estimated that the ultimately recoverable reserves of silver are in the range 2.7–3.1 million tonne silver at present, of which approximately 1.35–1.46 million tonne have already been mined. The timing estimate range for peak silver production is narrow, in the range 2027–2038, with the best estimate in 2034. By 2240, all silver mines will be nearly empty and exhausted. The outputs from all models converge to emphasize the importance of consistent recycling and the avoidance of irreversible losses to make society more sustainable with respect to silver market supply.