Shoreline Development Drives Invasion of Phragmites australis and the Loss of Plant Diversity on New England Salt Marshes

Abstract:  The reed Phragmites australis Cav. is aggressively invading salt marshes along the Atlantic Coast of North America. We examined the interactive role of habitat alteration (i.e., shoreline development) in driving this invasion and its consequences for plant richness in New England salt marshes. We surveyed 22 salt marshes in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and quantified shoreline development, Phragmites cover, soil salinity, and nitrogen availability. Shoreline development, operationally defined as removal of the woody vegetation bordering marshes, explained >90% of intermarsh variation in Phragmites cover. Shoreline development was also significantly correlated with reduced soil salinities and increased nitrogen availability, suggesting that removing woody vegetation bordering marshes increases nitrogen availability and decreases soil salinities, thus facilitating Phragmites invasion. Soil salinity (64%) and nitrogen availability (56%) alone explained a large proportion of variation in Phragmites cover, but together they explained 80% of the variation in Phragmites invasion success. Both univariate and aggregate (multidimensional scaling) analyses of plant community composition revealed that Phragmites dominance in developed salt marshes resulted in an almost three-fold decrease in plant species richness. Our findings illustrate the importance of maintaining integrity of habitat borders in conserving natural communities and provide an example of the critical role that local conservation can play in preserving these systems. In addition, our findings provide ecologists and natural resource managers with a mechanistic understanding of how human habitat alteration in one vegetation community can interact with species introductions in adjacent communities (i.e., flow-on or adjacency effects) to hasten ecosystem degradation.     

我国潮滩环境的近期研究现状和展望

随着我国经济的迅速发展，对资源的重视程度开始加大。潮滩是我国相对研究较少的区域，近几年潮滩环境的研究主要集中在潮滩地貌定量化和模型化，新技术在潮滩沉积机制研究中的应用和潮滩环境的物质循环研究。本文在分析成果的基础上提出了我国当前潮滩环境研究应解决的问题和粗略的提出了解决对策。     

Modelling of water quality of Minjiang estuary

In order to establish economic development region at Mawei districtwhich is nearby downstream of Minjiang river and to answer the question of impact of economic development on water quality of Minjiang estuary, the analyses of hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics of Mawei reach of Minjiang tidal river, a two-dimensional mathematical model has been established and simulation of water quality was studied. The results show that the flushing time of a conservative pollutant during dry and raining period are 12 and 7 days respectively from Mawei to Minjiang mouth, the decay rate constants of BOD and NH3-N are 0.1 to 0.4 and 0.18 to 0.45 d-1 respectively. The capacity of dilution and assimilation for pollutants is larger.     

Short-term effects of environmental factors on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps

ABSTRACT

Aurelia is a jellyfish genus common in coastal and estuarine habitats, that are typically affected by human pressures such as heavy metals contamination. Mercury is one of the most dangerous due to its high toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. In this paper, we tested for the first time the independent and combined effects of a level of mercury allowable by European regulation in force and hyposalinity on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps, mirroring a realistic scenario. Both mercury (0.07?µg/L, Maximum Allowable Concentration) and salinity (18 and 23 PSU) and the combination of the two factors stimulated the asexual reproduction increasing the number of polyps and buds during the 41 days of experiments. The increment of the asexual reproduction and the absence of suffering and mortality suggest that levels of mercury below the concentration fixed by the law and hyposalinity conditions could promote jellyfish proliferations, according to the hormesis hypothesis.     

河口潮滩沉积物对氨氮的等温吸附特性

以长江河口滨岸潮滩为研究对象 ,运用模拟实验的方法 ,研究了潮滩沉积物对氨氮的等温吸附特征 .结果表明 ,在模拟实验上覆水中氨氮的浓度 ( <1 40 μg·ml- 1 )范围内 ,沉积物对氨氮的吸附呈线性特征 .长江河口潮滩沉积物对氨氮的吸附系数在 3 81— 9 0 0之间 ,且与沉积物中有机碳 (TOC)的含量有良好的相关关系 (相关系数r =0 779,α =0 0 5 /) ,揭示了有机质控制着长江河口潮滩沉积物中氨氮的吸附行为 .模拟实验结果还发现 ,在淡水控制区域内 ,潮滩沉积物中固定态氨氮的含量处在 1 6 68— 33 73μg·g- 1 (dw)之间 ,而在海水所控制的潮滩沉积物中固定态氨氮的含量在 0 5 7— 6 36μg·g- 1 (dw)之间 ,这可能反映了研究区域内潮滩沉积物中固定态氨氮的含量主要受盐度控制     

长江口潮滩芦苇根表铁膜磁性特征及其环境意义

湿地植物根表铁膜对包括重金属在内的物质迁移转化具有重要作用,其氧化铁组成研究备受重视,但利用环境磁学方法进行表征的研究还未见报道.本文对长江口潮滩植物芦苇根系及周边沉积物进行了磁学分析,并结合沉积物粒度、漫反射光谱等测试,对芦苇根表铁膜的磁性矿物组成进行了系统研究.结果表明,芦苇根表铁膜磁性矿物主要包括磁铁矿和赤铁矿.由于沉积物不同深度氧化还原环境的不同,铁膜磁性矿物组成存在垂向差异.研究柱样24 cm深度以上,由于相对氧化的环境,铁膜磁性矿物除磁铁矿外,还有较多的赤铁矿贡献;24 cm深度以下,因根系处于相对还原的环境,磁性矿物以磁铁矿为主.与沉积物相比,24 cm以上深度铁膜中亚铁磁性矿物含量较低,24 cm深度以下则相反,反映铁膜和沉积物磁性矿物来源不同.本项研究表明,磁性测量方法有助于认识湿地植物根表铁膜的矿物组成,对湿地生物地球化学过程研究具有重要价值.     

新型潮汐流人工湿地在分散型生活污水处理中的应用研究

为了克服人工湿地存在的供氧能力不足、总化学需氧量(TCOD)去除率不高及生物硝化不完全等问题,采用新型的潮汐流人工湿地(TF-CWs)处理分散型生活污水。TF-CWs由四级人工湿地构成,以潮汐流方式运行(运行周期为8h),以提高DO供给量;并以从建筑固体废弃物中回收的砾石和粉煤灰为填料,以强化除磷效果。结果表明,出水水质基本满足《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918—2002)一级A标准,其中NH+4-N、TP的达标率均为100%,TCOD的达标率为98.31%;TF-CWs采用潮汐流方式运行,提高了DO供给能力,强化了对NH+4-N和TCOD的去除效果,其平均去除率分别达到96.78%、86.98%;以建筑固体废弃物粉煤灰砖制成的粉煤灰颗粒为填料的人工湿地对磷的吸附性能良好。TF-CWs可作为分散型生活污水的有效处理工艺之一,而且为建筑固体废弃物的资源化利用提供了新途径。     

Mercury cycling and sequestration in salt marshes sediments: an ecosystem service provided by Juncus maritimus and Scirpus maritimus

In this study two time scales were looked at: a yearlong study was completed, and a 180-day decay experiment was done. Juncus maritimus and Scirpus maritimus have different life cycles, and this seems to have implications in the Hg-contaminated salt marsh sediment chemical environment, namely Eh and pH. In addition, the belowground biomass decomposition rates were faster for J. maritimus, as well as the biomass turnover rates. Results show that all these species-specific factors have implications in the mercury dynamics and sequestration. Meaning that J. maritimus belowground biomass has a sequestration capacity for mercury per square metre approximately 4-5 times higher than S. maritimus, i.e., in S. maritimus colonized areas Hg is more extensively exchange between belowground biomass and the rhizosediment. In conclusion, J. maritimus seems to provide a comparatively higher ecosystem service through phytostabilization (Hg complexation in the rhizosediment) and through phytoaccumulation (Hg sequestration in the belowground biomass).     

不同溶氧条件下九龙江口湿地沉积物一水界面氨氮释放与氧化规律

摘要：沉积物中氨氮（NH4^＋-N）的释放与氧化是河口湿地生态系统氮素生物地球化学循环的关键过程。本文通过室内模拟,构建饱和（BH）、好氧（HY）、缺氧（QY）和厌氧（YY）等四种上覆水溶氧（DO）条件,研究九龙江口湿地两种沉积物（红树林、光滩）中NH4^＋-N在沉积物-水界面的释放与氧化规律。结果表明,不同溶氧条件下,两种沉积物氨氮的释放、氧化存在显著差异。首先,红树林沉积物上覆水NH4^＋-NN的累积释放量是光滩沉积物的1．9-4．5倍,其中红树林沉积物上覆水NH4LN释放量分别达到1．64mg（BH）、2．07mg（HY）、3．47mg（QY）和3．20mg（YY）,而光滩沉积物则分别为0．85mg（BH）、1．00mg（HY）、0．77mg（QY）和1．27mg（YY）。在较高DO条件下两种沉积物NH。’一N均呈低释放状态,而在较低DO条件下则呈高释放状态。另外,四种溶氧条件下红树林沉积物NH4^＋-NN的释放速率（N43．73-78．51mg-m^-2-d^-1）和氧化速率（N26．19-40．68mg-m^-2-d^-1）均高于光滩（分别为N14．50-19．22mg-m^-2-d^-1和N8．89-22．53mg-m^-2-d^-1）,原因可能是红树林沉积物微生物种类丰富,群落多样性更高,矿化和硝化作用强烈。本文明晰了不同溶氧条件下河口红树林湿地沉积物NH4^＋-N的迁移转化过程,可促进滨海湿地的生态保护以及近海水域富营养化的控制。     

滨海沼泽湿地转化为养殖塘对其碳储量的影响

以闽江河口为研究区域,配对采集芦苇(Phragmites australis)湿地、短叶茳芏(Cyperus malaccensis)湿地和互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)湿地的植物、土壤(0～100cm)及由其围垦而成的水产养殖塘沉积物(0～100cm)样品,测定其有机碳含量,计算生态系统碳储量...