Measurement of air exchange rates in different indoor environments using continuous CO2 sensors

A new air exchange rate (AER) monitoring method using continuous CO₂ sensors was developed and validated through both laboratory experiments and field studies. Controlled laboratory simulation tests were conducted in a 1-m³ environmental chamber at different AERs (0.1-10.0 hr^-1). AERs were determined using the decay method based on box model assumptions. Field tests were conducted in classrooms, dormitories, meeting rooms and apartments during 2-5 weekdays using CO₂ sensors coupled with data loggers. Indoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), and CO₂ concentrations were continuously monitored while outdoor parameters combined with on-site climate conditions were recorded. Statistical results indicated that good laboratory performance was achieved: duplicate precision was within 10%, and the measured AERs were 90%-120% of the real AERs. Average AERs were 1.22, 1.37, 1.10, 1.91 and 0.73 hr^-1 in dormitories, air-conditioned classrooms, classrooms with an air circulation cooling system, reading rooms, and meeting rooms, respectively. In an elderly particulate matter exposure study, all the homes had AER values ranging from 0.29 to 3.46 hr??1 in fall, and 0.12 to 1.39 hr^-1 in winter with a median AER of 1.15.     

三峡库区典型退耕还林模式土壤养分流失控制

选择三峡库区典型退耕还林模式,包括园地(茶园)及林地(板栗)与原有坡耕地对照,观测并分析其土壤养分(氮磷)输出途径及数量情况,以评估实施退耕还林工程对流域土壤养分输出的影响.结果表明:1退耕后土壤养分氮磷年流失量(包括随泥沙和地表径流流失的量)减少;总氮(TN)年输出量从大到小依次为坡耕地(2 444.27 g·hm-2)茶园地(998.70g·hm-2)板栗林地(532.61 g·hm-2);总磷(TP)为坡耕地(1 690.48 g·hm-2)茶园地(488.06 g·hm-2)板栗林地(129.00 g·hm-2);与坡耕地比较,退耕还林模式(园地、林地)总氮、总磷年输出载荷分别减少了68.68%和81.75%.2茶园地、板栗林地与坡耕地相比,土壤养分速效态氮流失量明显减少,硝态氮(NO-3-N)输出总量依次为坡耕地(113.79g·hm-2)茶园地(73.75 g·hm-2)板栗林地(56.06 g·hm-2);铵态氮(NH+4-N)养分输出次序为茶园最大(69.34 g·hm-2),坡耕地次之(52.45 g·hm-2),板栗林地最小(47.23 g·hm-2).3硝态氮、铵态氮主要通过地表径流输出,所占总量比例分别为91.4%和92.2%;总氮和总磷主要通过泥沙输出,所占总量比例分别为86.6%和98.4%.通过退耕还林等措施,该地区地表径流以及土壤侵蚀输出明显减少,土壤养分流失得到有效控制.     

黄土高原纬度梯度上的植物与土壤碳、氮、磷化学计量学特征

选取陕西省延安市的富县、甘泉县、安塞县和榆林市的靖边县、横山县、榆阳区为研究区域,测定和分析研究区植物叶片和不同土层土壤碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)含量,阐明植物叶片和土壤化学计量学特征随纬度梯度的变化模式,为预测黄土高原植物营养元素的限制情况和生态系统的土壤养分状况提供依据.结果表明:1在35.95°~38.36°N的纬度范围内,植物叶片C、N、P含量的变化范围分别是336.95~477.38、18.09~33.17和1.07~1.73 mg·g-1,平均值分别为442.9、25.79和1.37 mg·g-1,变异系数分别为11.9%、17.4%和13.3%;植物叶片C、N、P含量与纬度之间存在显著的相关关系,但植物叶片C含量与叶片N、P含量随纬度的变化存在差异:随着纬度的升高,植物叶片C含量随之降低;而叶片N、P含量随之升高.植物叶片C∶N、C∶P均随着纬度的升高,呈现减小趋势;而植物叶片N∶P与纬度的相关关系并不显著.20~10、10~20和20~40 cm这3个土层土壤C和N的空间分布具有一致性,均随着纬度的升高呈指数减小的趋势,且含量随着土层的加深逐级递减;土壤P的空间分布与C、N不同,随着纬度的升高呈现先增加后减少的趋势.0~10 cm、10~20 cm土层土壤C∶N随纬度的升高变化不显著,20~40 cm土壤C∶N随纬度的升高明显下降;3个土层的土壤C∶P、N∶P均随纬度的升高呈指数减少.3植物C、C∶N和C∶P与不同土层的土壤C、N、P均呈现显著的相关关系,植物N、P与土壤C、N呈现显著的相关关系,而叶片N∶P与不同土层土壤的C、N、P相关关系均不显著.研究表明,植物C、N、P含量与纬度之间存在一定的相关性,而植物与土壤的C、N、P含量之间的相关性并不一致,且与全球尺度相比,黄土高原地区草本植物生长更易受磷限制.     

不同光照条件下浒苔与三种赤潮微藻的竞争

针对苏北浅滩水体浊度高、营养盐含量大、且被大多数学者认为是南黄海绿潮起源的实际情况,本文通过室内培养实验,研究了不同光照条件（0~4500lx）下浒苔与中肋骨条藻、东海原甲藻和新月菱形藻对营养盐的竞争作用;并与苏北浅滩实际水体光照相结合,评估了浒苔与3种微藻在不同深度下的生理状态.浒苔与微藻的竞争,是决定暴发何种藻华的关键因素之一.结果表明,与3种微藻相比,浒苔对光照的适应性更强,最大日均相对增长率为11.91%/d.微藻与浒苔共培养时,生长情况明显劣于单独培养,中肋骨条藻、东海原甲藻和新月菱形藻的生长抑制率分别为30%~46%,3%~44%,25%~41%,并且不同微藻对竞争作用的响应不同.营养盐监测数据表明,对有限营养盐的争夺是浒苔和微藻竞争作用的主要机制,研究结果为苏北浅滩浒苔绿潮的暴发机制提供了依据.     

黄土旱塬24 a不同秸秆还田土壤碳、氮、磷和胞外酶计量特征

探索黄土旱塬区农田土壤碳、氮和磷生物地球化学循环特征,可为农作物高效生产和土地可持续利用提供科学依据和技术支撑.以山西寿阳24 a玉米旱作试验田为对象,研究长期秸秆覆盖还田、直接还田、过腹还田和不还田对土壤元素和胞外酶活性化学计量比的影响,并计算向量角度和长度用于指示微生物面临的资源限制情况,向量角大于45°和小于45°分别表示微生物受磷限制和氮限制,偏离45°越大表示限制程度越大,向量长度越长表示微生物受碳限制越严重.结果表明：(1)长期秸秆还田土壤C/N和C/P分布在9.81～14.28和14.58～21.92之间,均值分别为12.36和17.51,分别较试验初期降低了6.0%和4.2%;土壤N/P分布在1.27～1.57之间,均值为1.42,较初期提高了2.2%.土壤C/N和C/P均呈现出先降低后升高的变化趋势,土壤N/P基本呈现出持平趋势,且不同秸秆还田处理之间土壤元素计量比均无显著性差异.(2)相比24 a长期不还田处理,长期秸秆覆盖还田处理土壤β-1,4-葡萄糖苷酶(BG)和β-1,4-N-乙酰葡糖氨糖苷酶(NAG)活性显著提高了134.4%和107.5%(P<0.0...     

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF VOLLENWEIDER'S NUTRIENT BUDGET MODEL AND OTHER RELATED MODELS1

ABSTRACT: Early attempts at nutrient budget modeling considered only the case where there was no loss of the material by sedimentation, i.e. the substance was assumed to be conservative. Nonstratified and stratified conditions have both been investigated under these terms. An elegant model, taking into account loss of a substance by sedimentation as well as flushing was presented by Vollenweider in 1969. Although this model has several shortcomings, it is particularly valuable because it can have immediate practical value in terms of water management policy development. These basic shortcomings in the model are analyzed and suggestions are made to alter the model to take these factors into account.     

Resource Potentials and Limitations of A Nicaraguan Agricultural Region

Food production has to be increased in a sustainable way to meet the future global demand. A key position is attributed to developing countries. A deepened understanding of their agricultural regions with specific resource endowments and constraints is therefore crucial. In this study we propose a methodology based on material flux analysis (MFA) to assess the resource potentials and limitations of a Nicaraguan agricultural region. We focus on current regional and farm resource management and explore them under two scenarios. Indicators are nitrogen and the degrees of self-sufficiency (DSS) for energy, and the staples maize and beans. As data is scarce, most information is based on interviews with farmers of four categories and key persons, and on literature. The results show that nitrogen management does not differ considerably among categories. Nitrogen is mined mostly from staple plots. Self-sufficiency for beans is given in an average year. Yet, landless and small farmers neither produce enough maize for autoconsumption, nor are they self-sufficient for firewood. Energy supply is also the core problem of the region, since the DSS is 70%. Soil nitrogen stocks last at most for three more generations. Analyses with the scenario technique show that: (a) Unlimited population growth has serious consequences in the near future e.g. severe shortage of energy and food. (b) Alternative farming systems are possible, but they require reducing the population by a factor 2, and thus the creation of jobs in a Hinterland. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Application of micrometeorological approaches to measure methane exchange in a dry paddy field in the western coast of Korea

The exchange processes of CH₄ were investigated in a paddy field in the Hari area of Kang Hwa Island over an 8 day period in late April 2002. The quantification of CH₄ fluxes was made under dry field condition of early spring by concurrently measuring its concentrations (at the two heights of 1 and 5 m) and the relevant micrometeorological parameters. To help elucidate the factors determining the mobilization characteristics of CH₄, the results of our measurement data were examined using a number of approaches. The results of the trajectory analysis indicated that its concentration changed very sensitively with the influence of different source types, as seen from the air mass movement patterns. The concentrations and fluxes of methane, when examined over this short-term scale, showed moderately strong patterns across 24 h period in which higher values tend to occur during morning or evening. The overall results of our field measurements suggest that CH₄ exchange processes in the paddy area proceeded in a fairly complicated manner. The study area behaved as a net source of CH₄ to the atmosphere with a net daily emission rate of 3.6 mg m⁻² despite the fact that downward deposition was observed more frequently than upward emission.     

The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety

INTRODUCTION: Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. METHOD: The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. RESULTS: Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.     

Fingerprinting Global Climate Change and Forest Management Within Rhizosphere Carbon and Nutrient Cycling Processes

As one of the two Principal Subject Editors for ESPR Subject Area 1 'Terrestrial Ecology and Biology / Soil and Sediments: Toxicology-related Subjects' (see pp 287-293), the senior author and his colleague, Dr Chen, present an example of sub-category 4 'Environmental studies of pesticides, air pollution, and management strategies for forestry and plant ecosystems'. Thereby, they inform the ESPR community about the new Australian research project concerning the fingerprints of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling and, subsequently, present an overview on the GCC and forest management fingerprints.