The GANE Roof Project: The impact of reduced N & S deposition and experimental warming in an acid grassland

A field-based system used to quantify the response of acid grassland to reduced atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur deposition, and to investigate the effects of elevated soil temperature on acid grassland development is described. The system is based on 12 retractable roofs, covering undisturbed experimental plots of acid grassland and three controls. Nine roofs are used to exclude natural precipitation and three roofs used to retain emitted IR radiation at night. An irrigation system has been developed to simulate natural precipitation, allowing for the application of specific treatment regimes of ambient, reduced nitrogen and reduced nitrogen/sulphur deposition beneath the nine rain exclusion plots. Plant, soil parameters, leachate chemistry and gaseous fluxes are being monitored and initial results on soil water chemistry are described. Warming appeared to enhance nitrate concentrations in soil water but this was not sustained beyond the first year of treatment. In contrast, the deposition reduction treatments decreased soil water nitrate concentrations within a few weeks of reducing deposition. This was not observed for other solutes such as sulphate or ammonium suggesting a more direct link between deposition of nitrate and leaching losses.     

土壤中稀土元素的生态毒性研究进展

为了解稀土元素对农田生态系统的影响,综述了近几十年来国内外有关土壤稀土元素生态毒性的研究进展,包括土壤稀土元素的主要来源途径,稀土元素对农田生态系统中植物、动物和微生物生长、发育、繁殖的影响。高浓度的稀土元素会破坏植物细胞膜的性质和结构,影响植物的抗氧化系统,扰乱植物对矿质营养元素的正常吸收和利用,诱使植物细胞发育不良、染色体畸变等现象发生。稀土元素可影响动物的消化、呼吸、生殖、神经、血液和免疫系统等。稀土元素对土壤微生物数量、种类、群落结构与功能多样性等均有影响。探讨了土壤稀土元素的生态毒性诊断方法,目前常见的植物毒性诊断法、蚯蚓毒性诊断法、土壤微生物诊断法、生物标记物诊断法和遗传毒性诊断法等可用来诊断土壤中稀土元素的生态毒性。提出了以后开展土壤稀土元素生态毒性研究应加强的方面:在群落、个体和细胞水平上研究稀土元素对土壤动物和微生物的影响,加强稀土元素生态毒性诊断新方法和新技术的探讨,进行稀土元素生物有效性与土壤因素关系的研究等。     

放牧与围栏羊草草原土壤呼吸作用及其影响因子

基于静态箱式法连续2a的测定资料,比较分析了内蒙古典型羊草草原放牧与围栏样地土壤呼吸作用及其与各影响因子的关系.结果表明:①围栏内外土壤呼吸作用日、季动态差异不大,但围栏样地土壤呼吸速率明显高于放牧样地,其平均值分别是219.18 mg·(m²·h)^-1和111.27 mg·(m²·h)^-1,围栏样地土壤呼吸作用的升高可能与地下生物量增加和土壤水分改善有关;②对影响土壤呼吸作用的因子分析表明,放牧使土壤水分和相对湿度的影响明显降低,而对气温、大气CO₂浓度和光合有效辐射的影响并不大,且放牧使羊草净光合速率的影响明显增加,而对气孔导度和胞间CO₂浓度影响不大;③围栏样地土壤呼吸作用与各影响因子的相关性从大到小依次为土壤水分、净光合速率、气温、相对湿度、大气CO₂浓度、胞间CO₂浓度、气孔导度和光合有效辐射,其中土壤水分和气温是影响土壤呼吸作用的主要环境因子,净光合速率是主要的生物因子.尽管放牧改变了土壤呼吸速率,但土壤呼吸作用各影响因子的排列顺序基本上没有改变,只是发生了量的变化.     

Microbiological and mycotoxicological contamination in Slovenian primary grain production

This study was aimed at investigating the contamination of grains, which are grown and used for animal diets by Slovene farmers. A total of 107 samples were examined for mesofilic aerobic molds and yeasts. The leading contaminants among molds were from Fusarium spp., detected in 73 samples, mostly in maize (50). In accordance with the European Feed Microbiology Organisation criteria, 68% of all tested samples were of the quality level I, with normal microbiological flora, and 9% of samples were estimated as quality level IV and not suitable for animal feed. Using liquid and gas chromatography methods, the presence of various mycotoxins (expressed as 12% of moisture content) was found in 77% of all samples; mostly deoxynivalenol (71%) in concentration of 150–14,420 µg kg^?1, followed by zearalenone (32%, 20–640 µg kg^?1), fumonisin B1 (31%, 10–4863 µg kg^?1), fumonisin B2 (22%, 10–1629 µg kg^?1), while HT-2 and T-2 toxins were found in low concentration in two samples, and aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A in one sample. By statistical evaluation, significant positive correlations were noted between the presence of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone as well as between fumonisin B1 and B2.     

Effect on benthic communities of a major input of organic matter and other pollutants (coast off Barcelona,Western Mediterranean)

Benthic communities on soft bottoms off Barcelona, at and around two main pollution sources, the mouth of the Besòs River and the outlet of the submarine pipeline draining wastewater and organic sludges from the wastewater treatment plant of Sant Adrià del Besòs, have been studied. Samples were obtained with a Van Veen grab from 36 stations covering a 100 km² grid, between 10 and 70 m in depth. The effect of both pollution sources is clearly seen both at the species (the following macrofauna groups have been studied: Polychaeta, Mollusca, Echinodermata and Crustacea Decapoda) and community levels. The distribution of species and individuals numbers, species diversity and a pollution index, and of some selected (indicator) polychaeta species, all clearly define the degree of environmental degradation and the extent of the areas under the influence of the organic pollution.     

Does low N-mineralisation rate in soils under grass help limit nitrate leaching in summer?

This paper aimed to confirm the hypothesis that rates of ammonification and net mineral-N production in soils under grass in summer are low and this, rather than nitrate uptake by plants, reduces mineral leaching from soils in summer. Six sets of soil samples were collected from under mown grass on the University of York campus in the UK. Samples were taken from two depths in late summer (August) and late autumn (November) to compare seasonal differences in N species transformations when field-moist soils were incubated for a week at ambient outdoor temperatures after prior removal of vegetation. Ammonification and net mineral-N production rates were low in August in spite of warm temperatures. Net mineral-N production rates were also low in November. The results agreed with those of an earlier study in a different year after considering weather differences between years. They support the hypothesis that litter accumulated over autumn/winter will be minimally mineralised and retain N before the temperature rises in spring. The study shows the merit of measuring concentrations of mineral-N species in both fresh soils and soils incubated at ambient outdoor temperatures after removing plant material to eliminate plant N uptake effects. The results suggest that soil C% and N% are more important than soil C:N ratio alone in understanding controls on N transformations.     

Changes in CO2 flux for different recovery processes of desertification in the alpine meadows of Northwest Sichuan北大核心CSCD

Desertification has emerged as a serious threat to the alpine meadows of Northwest Sichuan in recent decades. Artificial vegetation had certain effects on desertification recovery, while how the CO2 flux changed and its reasons are still unclear. During the growing season in 2016 (i.e., from July to September), we selected the desertified alpine meadows with different recovery degrees, including the early stage of restoration, the middle stage of restoration, the late stage of restoration, and control (the unrecovered desertification meadow) as four transects. CO2 flux was measured by the instrument LI-8100, and the microenvironment factors that affected CO2 flux changes were analyzed. The results showed that the carbon sequestration function of desertified alpine meadows gradually increased with the degree of recovery. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were -1.61, -3.55, and -4.38 μmol m-2 s-1 in the early, mid-term, and late transects, respectively, and the most dramatic changes occurred from the early stage to mid-term stage, increasing by 120.50%. Both ecosystem respiration (ER) and soil respiration (SR) were enhanced significantly with restoration (P < 0.05). In mid or late July, NEE, ER, and SR reached their maximum values, and thereafter, the indicators varied to near zero (P < 0.05). During the whole growing season, the daily dynamic in CO2 flux for the control alpine meadow was mild and retained the trend of continuous release all day, but that in the desertified alpine meadow was a single peak pattern. Moreover, with restoration process, the peak of CO2 flux increased and reached a peak in the late stage of the recovery process. The regression analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between CO2 flux and vegetation coverage, aboveground biomass, and soil moisture (0-5 cm) (P < 0.01), and a weak correlation with 0-5-cm soil temperature (P < 0.01). This indicates that topsoil moisture (5 cm) is a more significant factor for CO2 flux than topsoil temperature during the growing season in the restoration of desertified alpine meadows in Northwest Sichuan. In general, the vegetation recovery significantly improved the carbon-sequestration ability of the desertified alpine meadows during the growing season in Northwest Sichuan, and at the middle stage of restoration, the carbon-sequestration ability improved significantly due to vegetation restoration and increase in topsoil (0-5 cm) moisture. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

祁连县天然草地地上生物量及草畜平衡研究

论文利用2013—2014年的MOD13Q1数据、草地地上生物量鲜重实测数据、多年降水数据和统计年鉴数据,建立了祁连县草地地上生物量与牧草鲜重的遥感监测模型以及不同季节放牧草场的理论载畜量模型,分析了天然草地草产量年内动态变化与载畜量平衡状况并对草畜调控进行模拟。结果表明：MODIS增强型植被指数EVI的指数函数可以较好地模拟祁连县草地地上生物量鲜重,精度达到71%;年内牧草生长呈单峰曲线,7月草地可食产量达到峰值 2 322.61 kg/hm²,12月最低,为702.06 kg/hm²;祁连县冷暖季平均可食鲜草产量分别为1 728.14和1 604.70 kg/hm²,年可食鲜草总量分别达到7.74×10⁸和7.82×10⁸ kg;暖季、冷季和全年的理论载畜量分别为1.517 8、0.637 0和0.931 4羊单位/hm²,暖季、冷季和全年的超载率分别为101.70%、261.19%和149.22%;保持现有的家畜数量,需在暖季草场和冷季草场分别补饲牧草0.36×10⁸ 和7.17×10⁸ kg;保持现有草场,则暖季草场和冷季草场分别需要减6.68×10⁴和53.64×10⁴羊单位;暖季不进行补饲,冷季草场家畜在减少40%的情况下,依旧需要补饲1.17×10⁸ kg。     

海河流域草地生态系统服务功能及其价值评估

草地生态系统为人类提供了畜产品和生命支持两个方面的多种服务功能,但人们常关注产品提供功能而忽视生命支持功能。研究采用联合国千年生态系统评估框架,构建了海河流域草地生态系统服务功能的评估指标体系,并以2005年为基准年,运用市场价值法、影子价格法等多种方法对海河流域草地生态系统进行经济价值评估。结果表明,海河流域草地面积为6.67×10¹⁰ m²,提供产品、固碳、保持土壤、净化环境等8项服务功能的总价值为2 216.28×10⁸元,单位面积价值为3.32元/(m²·a)。其中,提供产品的价值量最大,占总价值的31.3%,其次是固碳和营养物质保持功能的价值,分别占总价值的26.8%、22.2%。海河流域草地生态系统除了具有重要的产品提供功能外,固碳、营养物质保持等生命支持功能的巨大经济价值也不容忽视,平衡兼顾草地生态系统的产品提供功能和生命支持功能有助于促进海河流域经济社会发展与生态保护的协调。     

Towards democratic and effective forest governance? The discursive legitimation of forest certification in northern Sweden

Forest certification, particularly that of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), is frequently claimed to constitute an effective and democratic private governance arrangement for responsible forestry. It has, however, recently been questioned whether this view holds true for the northernmost countries, which have traditionally been presented as successful examples of forest certification. Yet there is little research on the perceived legitimacy of forest certification at the local level, which is where the standard implementation takes place. This paper examines how the perceived legitimacy of forest certification is created as well as challenged at the local level in Sweden, drawing on Steffek's [2009. Discursive legitimation in environmental governance. Forest Policy and Economics, 11, 313–318] conceptualisation of discursive legitimation and Bernstein's [2011. Legitimacy in intergovernmental and non-state global governance. Review of International Political Economy, 18 (1), 17–51] definition of legitimacy as well as semi-structured interviews with forest companies, reindeer husbandry (indigenous Sámi) and environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). The results reveal that local ENGOs question the FSC's decision-making process and results, while both the ENGOs and reindeer husbandry see few opportunities to influence long-term forest management. These findings highlight the difficulties of managing power asymmetries in certification and the challenges involved when certification standards are translated from policy to practice.