Impacts of atmospheric pollution on the plant communities of British acid grasslands

Air pollutants are recognised as important agents of ecosystem change but few studies consider the effects of multiple pollutants and their interactions. Here we use ordination, constrained cluster analysis and indicator value analyses to identify potential environmental controls on species composition, ecological groupings and indicator species in a gradient study of UK acid grasslands. The community composition of these grasslands is related to climate, grazing, ozone exposure and nitrogen deposition, with evidence for an interaction between the ecological impacts of base cation and nitrogen deposition. Ozone is a key agent in species compositional change but is not associated with a reduction in species richness or diversity indices, showing the subtly different drivers on these two aspects of ecosystem degradation. Our results demonstrate the effects of multiple interacting pollutants, which may collectively have a greater impact than any individual agent.     

CHEMISTRY RESPONSE OF TWO FORESTED WATERSHEDS TO ACID ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION1

ABSTRACT: The deposition and chemistry of precipitation were estimated for one year in two forest ecosystems in the South-Central United States. Precipitation, throughfall, litter leachate, and soil leachate were analyzed for a small catchment of pine-hardwoods in southeastern Oklahoma and for a catchment of loblolly pines (Pinus taeda L.) in northern Mississippi. In the pine-hardwood forest, 98 percent of the acid deposition was neutralized, 50 percent in the forest canopy, and 48 percent in the forest floor. In the pine forest, 75 percent of the acid deposition was neutralized, all in the forest floor. The pine-hardwood ecosystem accumulated sulfate, nitrate, and ammonia ions, and lost base cations. During seasons of deficient precipitation, dry deposition appeared to enrich the concentrations of hydrogen, nitrate, sulfate, and ammonia ions in throughfall samples at both locations.     

GEOLOGIC INFERENCE FROM “FLOW NET” TRANSMISSIVITY DETERMINATION: THREE CASE STUDIES1

A graphical inverse method for determining the regional transmissivity distribution was applied to three field problems. The study areas were the Hanford Site, Washington; the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado; and the Nevada Test Site, Nevada. This method can aid in flow system conceptualization by revealing the location of bedrock controls for groundwater flow. It is a valuable tool for aiding the hydrogeologist in asking questions about the nature of trends in the pattern of transmissivity values. Quantitative estimates of regional transmissivities can be used as starting points for further parameter refinement. Sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation shows that quantitative estimates of transmissivity can be obtained when measurement error in the hydraulic head does not cause a large error in the hydraulic gradient.     

The Fernow Watershed Acidification Study: Ecosystem Acidification, Nitrogen Saturation and Base Cation Leaching

In 1989, a watershed acidification experiment was begun on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia, USA. Ammonium sulfate fertilizer (35.5 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹and 40.5 kg S ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) was applied to a forested watershed (WS3) that supported a 20-year-old stand of eastern deciduous hardwoods. Additions of N and S are approximately twice the ambient deposition of nitrogen and sulfur in the adjacent mature forested watershed (WS4), that serves as the reference watershed for this study. Acidification of stream water and soil solution was documented, although the response was delayed, and acidification processes appeared to be driven by nitrate rather than sulfate. As a result of the acidification treatment, nitrate solution concentrations increased below all soil layers, whereas sulfate was retained by all soil layers after only a few years of the fertilization treatments, perhaps due to adsorption induced from decreasing sulfate deposition. Based on soil solution monitoring, depletion of calcium and magnesium was observed, first from the upper soil horizons and later from the lower soil horizons. Increased base cation concentrations in stream water also were documented and linked closely with high solution levels of nitrate. Significant changes in soil chemical properties were not detected after 12 years of treatment, however.     

西天山科其喀尔冰川消融径流的水化学分析

为了研究西天山科其喀尔冰川融水径流的基本化学特征,2003-06～2003-09在研究区取样(冰面径流、冰面湖水、河水及大气降水),结果表明:①本区各类水体都呈碱性,pH值大小顺序为:河水>冰面径流>冰面湖水>大气降水>7.②各类样品总离子浓度的顺序为:河水>大气降水>冰面湖水>冰面径流.冰面径流中的各项离子浓度均低于其它3类样品的相应值,平均仅是河水的24%;阴、阳离子分别以SO₄^2-和Ca²⁺为最大.③由于降水过程中有物理变化和化学反应的作用,不同降水形式中降雨的各项离子浓度(NO₃^-除外)均比冰雹和雪中的相应离子浓度大;④对不同海拔高度水样分析表明,各项离子浓度“高程效应”十分明显,3 900m以上区域,冰面径流中各阳离子浓度逐渐向冰川冰中各相应离子浓度逼近.     

Relation of lead adsorption on birnessites with different average oxidation states of manganese and release of Mn^2＋/H^＋/K^＋

The characteristics of Pb2+ adsorption on the surface of birnessites with different average oxidation states (AOS) of Mn, synthesized under acidic and alkali conditions, were investigated. The results indicated that the amount of adsorbed Pb2+ increased with the increase of Mn AOS in birnessites. The amount of Pb2+ adsorbed positively correlated with the amount of released Mn2+, H+, and K+ (r = 0.9962 > 0.6614, n = 14, α = 0.01). The released Mn2+, H+, and K+ were derived mostly from the corresponding catio...     

碱性矿化水灌溉对土壤溶质运移的影响

经过连续几年的灌溉试验可知,应用2.5 g稬-1以下的低矿化水灌溉是安全的,超过此值土壤积盐和碱化明显。灌溉后,土壤中溶质运移受多因素影响。在阳离子分布中,水平方向Na+随灌溉水矿化度增大而增多,Ca2+、Mg2+变化不大;土壤剖面上,从表层至60 cm土层,先以Ca2+、Mg2+为主,过渡到Na+、Ca2+、Mg2+共同占优,再发展为以Na+占优。阴离子的分布中,水平方向,随灌溉水矿化度增大HCO3-增多;土壤剖面上,从表向里,先以Cl-或SO42-为主,过渡到C1-、SO42-、HCO3-均分局面,再发展以HCO3-占优。灌溉后土壤pH值在0~20 cm变化不明显,大于20 cm土层有一定增加。土壤中的SAR和ESP均以大于1.5 g稬-1的碱性低矿化水灌溉后增加明显,碱化层由下向上抬升,小麦田碱化速度快于玉米田。     

阳离子交换树脂富集衍生气相色谱法测定二甲基胂酸

实验发现,碘化二甲基胂(IDA)具有很好的色谱挥发性,在5％,10％SE-30柱上可得到较好的色谱峰。二甲基胂酸(DMA)碘化后生成碘化二甲基胂(IDA)。本文提出了新的碘化萃取体系:SnCl_2-KI(1moI/l)-HCl(6mol/l)-甲苯。该体系具有转化率高、干扰少的优点。实验还发现,经过阳离子交换树脂富集,有效地消除了低浓度时,DMA转化中或转化后的分解或吸附对测定的影响,从而提高了分析结果的准确度。     

Impact of cadmium and nickel on ion homeostasis in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract

Toxicity of heavy metals to living organisms is a worldwide research topic. Although, much has been discovered about cadmium and nickel impact on biological systems, a lot still remains unclear. We used inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy to address the question of the effect of two different heavy metals nickel, and cadmium on intracellular ion balance. Increase or decrease of the content of several essential cations including Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was determined. Our results revealed that the cell exposure to high nickel and cadmium concentrations led to significant elevation of Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ levels in the yeast cell, while the content of K⁺ decreased. Correlation analyses showing in the presence of nickel and cadmium strong positive correlation among each tested element (Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Fe³⁺) except for K⁺, demonstrate the significant impact of heavy metal treatment to ion homeostasis of the cell. Our data indicate that acute nickel and cadmium contamination leads to substantial ionome misbalance in yeast.     

一种高效回收水环境中汞的方法

高效合成了3种新型芳酰胺类萃取剂(编号为1、2、3),利用原子吸收和原子荧光手段,研究了它们对水环境中Pb~(~(2+))、Fe~(2+)、Hg~(2+)、Cd~(~(2+))、Zn~(2+)、Cu~(2+)、Mn~(2+)、Ni~(2+)这8种金属离子的液-液萃取性能,并横向比较了这类萃取剂结构中配位基数目对萃取性能的影响。结果发现,这3种萃取剂对Hg~(2+)较其他金属离子均具有较高的萃取率和分离因子,其中萃取剂1可将Hg~(2+)从这8种金属离子中完全分离出来;三聚体2能从Hg~(2+)、Cd~(~(2+))、Zn~(2+)、Cu~(2+)、Mn~(2+)、Ni~(2+)这6种金属离子中完全分离出Hg~(2+);除Fe~(2+)外,二聚体3能从其余7种金属离子中完全分离出Hg~(2+)。这3种萃取剂的萃取能力随配位基数目增加而增强,但未呈现出正比关系,并对可能原因进行了初步分析。这类新型萃取剂的选择性能,在高效回收水环境中的汞离子方面具有潜在应用价值。