Quantifying the environmental impact of ecovillages and co-housing communities: a systematic literature review

Many intentional communities worldwide, such as ecovillages and co-housing communities, have explicit goals of living in an environmentally sustainable manner, and are taking conscious steps towards these goals in response to the widely discussed unsustainability of the global sociotechnical system. There are numerous claims from researchers and community members, in the academic and grey literature, that intentional communities are making significant improvements towards sustainability goals, particularly in terms of environmental impact. However, actual measures of progress, with evidence supporting these claims, are relatively scarce. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of quantitative studies of the environmental impact of intentional communities, including comparisons with relevant “mainstream” communities. The review focused on the two indicators that are most commonly reported in studies of the impact of intentional communities – the ecological footprint and the carbon footprint. This review was undertaken as there is a lack of literature reviews that comprehensively compile existing quantitative studies about intentional communities. In total, the review identified 16 separate studies covering 23 communities and 30 footprint measurements, with publication dates ranging from 2000 to 2014. This is a greater number of studies than in any other literature review of this topic. Taken as a whole, these compiled studies provide strong support for claims of greater environmental sustainability within these communities, and reinforce the need for greater research and exploration of the role sustainability-oriented intentional communities can play in the transition to more sustainable sociotechnical systems.     

DGGE、T-RFLP 、LH-PCR对两种活性污泥的微生物种群多样性分析的比较

采用基于PCR扩增的分子生态技术DGGE、T-RFLP和LH-PCR,对2种典型污水处理系统中的活性污泥（生活污泥、焦化污泥）进行微生物种群多样性分析;并以此比较3种技术的优劣,提出不同应用条件下研究方法的选择依据。根据实验结果：DGGE得到的条带较多,但误差来源也最多;T-RFLP技术较为灵敏,但需要选择适当的内切酶,严格控制酶切条件,并且文库比对误差较大;而LH-PCR操作简单,结果稳定性较高。虽然目前尚无法判断3种方法的准确性,但LH-PCR在活性污泥的微生物种群多样性分析中已显示出潜在优势。     

Effects of acute γ-irradiation on the aquatic microbial microcosm in comparison with chemicals

Effects of acute γ-irradiation were investigated in the aquatic microcosm consisting of green algae (Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp.) and a blue–green alga (Tolypothrix sp.) as producers; an oligochaete (Aeolosoma hemprichi), rotifers (Lecane sp. and Philodina sp.) and a ciliate protozoan (Cyclidium glaucoma) as consumers; and more than four species of bacteria as decomposers. At 100 Gy, populations were not affected in any taxa. At 500–5000 Gy, one or three taxa died out and populations of two or three taxa decreased over time, while that of Tolypothrix sp. increased. This Tolypothrix sp. increase was likely an indirect effect due to interspecies interactions. The principal response curve analysis revealed that the main trend of the effects was a dose-dependent population decrease. For a better understanding of radiation risks in aquatic microbial communities, effect doses of γ-rays compared with copper, herbicides and detergents were evaluated using the radiochemoecological conceptual model and the effect index for microcosm.     

施肥与秸秆还田对太湖稻-油复种系统春季杂草群落特征的影响

掌握不同管理模式下稻田杂草群落特征,可以为杂草综合防治及农田生物多样性的保持提供理论依据和技术途径。借助稻-油复种系统长期定位施肥试验（江苏吴江,始于1987年）,于2007年春季监测长期不同施肥和秸秆还田对农田杂草群落的影响。施肥与秸秆还田对春季稻田杂草群落结构特征存在显著作用。长期有机无机肥配合施用下（化肥+猪粪+秸秆）杂草生物多样性和生物量均下降;长期不施氮肥下杂草总密度显著增高,达1 810 ind./m2;长期不施肥时,田间野老鹳草成为优势种群,其相对密度达879%;全年秸秆还田（化肥+油菜秸秆+水稻秸秆）下,田间优势杂草种群为禾本科的看麦娘,其相对密度达697%;秋熟水稻秸秆还田下杂草生物量下降,而生物多样性显著提高。上述结果表明,通过合理施肥和秸秆还田措施,可以对稻油复种模式中春季杂草群落进行有效调控。     

Accumulation, distribution and cellular partitioning of mercury in several halophytes of a contaminated salt marsh

This work evaluates the role of a plant community in mercury (Hg) stabilization and mobility in a contaminated Portuguese salt marsh. With this aim, the distribution of Hg in below and aboveground tissues, as well as the metal partitioning between cellular fractions (soluble and insoluble) in four different species (Triglochin maritima L., Juncus maritimus Lam, Sarcocornia perennis (Miller) A.J. Scott, and Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen) was assessed. Mercury accumulation, translocation and compartmentation between organs and cellular fractions were related to the plant species.Results showed that the degree of Hg absorption and retention was influenced both by environmental parameters and metal translocation/partitioning strategies. Different plant species presented different allocation patterns, with marked differences between monocots (T. maritima and J. maritimus) and dicots (S. perennis, H. portulacoides). Overall, the two monocots, in particular T. maritima showed higher Hg retention in the belowground organs whereas the dicots, particularly S. perennis presented a more pronounced translocation to the aboveground tissues. Considering cellular Hg partitioning, all species showed a higher Hg binding to cell walls and membranes rather than in the soluble fractions. This strategy can be related to the high degree of tolerance observed in the studied species. These results indicate that the composition of salt marsh plant communities can be very important in dictating the Hg mobility within the marsh ecosystem and in the rest of the aquatic system as well as providing important insights to future phytoremediation approaches in Hg contaminated salt marshes.     

基于高通量测序的工业园区地下水和土壤细菌群落结构比较研究

为探究工业园区地下水和土壤细菌群落结构、多样性变化特征,采用高通量测序技术对地下水和土壤细菌16S r RNA基因高变区域进行序列测定。通过对Alpha多样性、物种组成、丰度和群落结构的分析,比较地下水和土壤细菌群落结构的异同。Alpha多样性的比较结果表明,土壤细菌群落多样性和丰富度明显高于地下水,地下水细菌群落多样性指数反映出地下水已受到周边污染源的影响。物种注释结果表明,地下水样品共检出48个细菌门,土壤样品共检出50个细菌门。变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)是地下水细菌群落的优势类群,共占93.54%,且该工业园区地下水细菌群落呈现出典型的淡水种群特征;土壤中优势细菌门为Proteobacteria、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)、Firmicutes和芽单胞菌门(Gemmatimonadetes),共占85.21%。由于地下水和土壤两者的生态系统和理化环境的差异,致使Actinobacteria、Acidobacteria、绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)、硝化螺旋菌门(Nitrospirae)、α-变形菌纲(Alphaproteobacteria)、δ-变形菌纲(Deltaproteobacteria)和Gemmatimonadetes占比在地下水和土壤细菌群落间差异显著,同时使地下水和土壤细菌群落各含有一些特有的优势细菌属(地下水2个,土壤4个)。基于高通量测序技术对工业园区样品的测序结果可以为地下水和土壤环境的生态评价提供方法依据。     

Variations of Bacterial Community Structure in Flooded Paddy Soil Contaminated with Herbicide Quinclorac

The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method was applied to determine the relative genetic complexity of microbial communities in flooded paddy soil treated with herbicide quinclorac (3,7-dichloro-8-quinoline-carboylic acid). The results obtained showed a significant effect of quinclorac on the development of bacterial populations in soils contaminated with different concentrations of the herbicide at the early time after application. In general, however, the number of populations of the same soil sample treated with the same concentration of the quinclorac differed obviously with increasing incubation time within the early 8 weeks. The scale of differences in banding patterns-showed that the microbial community structures of the quinclorac-treated and non-quinclorac-treated soils were not significantly different after 21 weeks of incubation. Quantification, as demonstrated in this paper, was studied by establishing dose-response relationships. Significant pattern variations were quantified. Prominent DGGE bands were excised, cloned and sequenced to gain insight into the identities of predominant bacterial populations. The majority of DGGE band sequences were related to bacterial genera Clostridium, Sphingobacterium, Xanthomonas and Rhodococcus.     

Effects of methamidophos on the community structure,antagonism towards Rhizoctonia solani,and phlD diversity of soil Pseudomonas

A microcosm incubation study using an aquic brown soil from northeast China (a Cambisol in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO Soil Taxonomy) was conducted to examine the effects of different concentrations (0, 50, 150, and 250 mg kg^?1) of methamidophos (O,S-dimethyl phosphoramidothioato) on Pseudomonas, one of the most important gram-negative bacteria in soil. Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) was performed to study the Pseudomonas community structure, an in vitro assay was made to test the antagonistic activity of isolated Pseudomonas strains against soil-borne Rhizoctonia solani, a major member of the pathogens highly related to soil-borne plant diseases, and special primer amplification and sequencing were performed to investigate the diversity of phlD, an essential gene in the biosynthesis of 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2, 4-DAPG), which has biocontrol activity in phlD ⁺isolates. With exposure to increasing methamidophos concentrations, the total number of soil Pseudomonas ARDRA patterns decreased significantly, but with less change in the same treatments over 1, 3, and 5 weeks of incubation. The number of isolated Pseudomonas strains with antagonistic activity against R. solani as well as the diversity and appearance frequency of the strains' phlD gene also decreased with increasing concentrations of methamidophos, especially at high methamidophos concentrations. Applying methamidophos could increase the risk of soil-borne plant diseases by decreasing the diversity of the soil Pseudomonas community and the amount of R. solani antagonists, particularly those with the phlD gene.     

膜生物反应器中生物膜的生长特性

实验采用经甲苯培养驯化而成的单一假单胞菌菌种,通过分析平板式生物膜反应器内,不同阶段假单胞细菌生物膜干重、厚度、活性生物量和生物种群分布的变化,研究生物膜特性与降解效率之间的关系。实验结果表明,在挂膜初期生物膜迅速生长,生物量以及生物膜干重增长很快,有利于甲苯及营养物质的传输,降解效率也快速提升。随着生物膜的生长,生物量及干重也逐步增加,厚度逐渐增加使传质阻力不断增大,生物膜上层微生物的有机底物供应不足,使生物膜上层结构稀疏,最终维持一个甲苯的总传输量与生化降解量的平衡,生物量的生长与衰亡也达到动态平衡,形成了一个较高且稳定的降解效率。     

南美环保与社区事务策略——以厄瓜多尔项目为例

以南美厄瓜多尔项目为例,分析在新的转型石油服务合同模式下,海外项目在环保和社区事务上面临的风险,包括环保许可审批时间长、历史污染处理、保护区内新区块开发审批难、社区补偿和社区冲突等问题。厄瓜多尔项目采用项目管理方法加强环保许可审批,借助审计契机划清历史污染责任,利用合同承诺解决保护区内作业难题,通过与政府沟通、利用政府力量推动工作开展,用法律武器解决社区问题,为项目持续稳定发展奠定基础。