Sensitivity analyses of woody species exposed to air pollution based on ecophysiological measurements

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Air pollution has been of a major problem in the Pearl River Delta of south China, particularly during the last two decades. Emissions of air pollutants from industries have already led to damages in natural communities and environments in a wide range of the Delta area. Leaf parameters such as chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf area (LA), dry weight (DW) and leaf mass per area (LMA) had once been used as specific indexes of environmental stress. This study aims to determine in situ if the daily variation of chlorophyll fluorescence and other ecophysiological parameters in five seedlings of three woody species, Ilex rotunda, Ficus microcarpa and Machilus chinensis, could be used alone or in combination with other measurements for sensitivity indexes to make diagnoses under air pollution stress and, hence, to choose the correct tree species for urban afforestation in the Delta area. METHODS: Five seedlings of each species were transplanted in pot containers after their acclimation under shadowing conditions. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were made in situ by a portable fluorometer (OS-30, Opti-sciences, U.S.A). Ten random samples of leaves were picked from each species for LA measurements by area-meter (CI-203, CID, Inc., U.S.A). DW was determined after the leaf samples were dried to a constant weight at 65 degrees C. LMA was calculated as the ratio of DW/LA. Leaf N content was analyzed according to the Kjeldhal method, and the extraction of pigments was carried out according Lin et al. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The daily mean Fv/Fm (Fv is the variable fluorescence and Fm is the maximum fluorescence) analysis showed that Ilex rotunda and Ficus microcarpa were more highly resistant to pollution stress, followed by Machilus chinensis, implying that the efficiency of photosystem II in I. rotunda was less affected by air pollutants than the other two species. Little difference in daily change of Fv/Fm in I. rotunda between the polluted and the clean site was also observed. However, a relatively large variation of Fv/Fm appeared in the other two species, particularly in M. chinensis, suggesting that they were more sensitive to air pollutants than I. rotunda. The mean LA was reduced for all species growing at the polluted site. The mean LMA for all species exceeded the sclerophylly threshold given by Cowling and Campbell and increased for those under pollution stress, which could be explained as one of the acclimation strategies for plants to air pollution stress. Little difference in leaf chlorophyll content was observed in F. microcarpa and M. chinensis, while remarkable differences were found in I. rotunda growing at the polluted and the clean site. Content of leaf carotenoids was largely reduced in I. rotunda growing at the polluted site, but increased in F. microcarpa and M. chinensis, compared with plants growing at the clean site. Plants growing at the clean site had a lower leaf N content than those growing at the polluted site. In addition, species with a higher resistance to pollution stress showed less difference in leaf N content than those sensitive species. CONCLUSION: Based on Fv/Fm measurements of the three woody species, I. rotunda showed the highest resistance to air pollutants from ceramic industries, followed by F. microcarpa. M. chinensis was the most sensitive species to air pollution, had lowest capacities to cope with the air pollution stress, which was consistent with visual injury symptoms observed in the crown profiles of plants at the polluted site. Fv/Fm, LAM, LA, leaf pigments and N content could be used alone or in combination to diagnose the extent of the physiological injury. The ratio of Fv/Fm, however, was the best and most effective parameter. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: Tree species which have higher air-pollutant resistance, as diagnosed by such ecophysiological parameters, should be considered first and planted widely for urban afforestation or forest regeneration in areas where the forest was seriously degraded or forest health was markedly effected by the same kind of air pollutants.     

云南粳稻耐低磷特性的主基因加多基因遗传分析

磷高效水稻培育是提高土壤潜在磷利用效率的一种途径,通过对云南粳稻耐低磷特性的主基因加多基因遗传分析,可以明确耐低磷特性主基因的存在、对数及遗传效应的大小,为磷高效育种提供理论依据。本试验通过云南主栽粳稻品种合系35(Oryza sativa)与耐低磷极强早旱谷(Oryza sativa)配制P1、P2、F1、F2或F3世代,在云南省农科院进行低磷胁迫试验,对耐低磷鉴定和主基因加多基因联合遗传分析,结果表明:早旱谷的分蘖和株穗产量基因受两对主效基因 多基因相互配合遗传控制的,两对主基因间存在上位性效应,两主基因间效应差异较大。分蘖力F2主基因遗传率为58.82%~72.13%,F3主基因遗传率为45.88%~57.96%;株穗产量F2主基因遗传率60.94%~83.08%,F3主基因遗传率为62.20%~75.80%。因此育种中应当充分重视主基因的利用,利用主基因应以第一对主基因的加性效应为主,对后代耐低磷性状的选择宜从F2代开始,杂交的后期世代也要注意耐性的选择。     

中国旅游业碳排放的影响因素分解及脱钩效应

采用广义迪氏指数分解法（GDIM）分解2000~2017年中国旅游业碳排放的影响因素,并在此基础上采用Tapio脱钩因果链模型分析旅游业碳排放的脱钩效应.结果表明：旅游业增加值、旅游业能源消耗量和旅客人次数是旅游业碳排放的促增因素,增加值能源强度和人均旅游业增加值是旅游业碳排放的促降因素,增加值碳强度、能源消耗碳强度和人均旅游业碳排放对旅游业碳排放的促增和促降作用在研究期间均有出现;旅游业能源消耗量的累积促增效应最大,为2030.13万t,增加值能源强度的累积促降效应最大,为103.29万t;旅游业碳排放的脱钩状态不佳,但近年来有所改善;人均脱钩弹性波动剧烈,节能弹性的变化是其波动的主要原因.     

应城市农村居民点人口和用地规模预测

预测2020年应城市的农村居民点人口规模和用地规模。分别利用自然增长法、时间序列分析法和灰色系统等方法预测2020年应城市的农村人口规模;利用人均定额指标法预测2020年应城市农村居民点的用地规模。研究结果显示:(1)利用自然增长法预测2020年应城市农村人口规模为62.74万人;(2)利用时间序列分析法预测2020年应城市农村人口规模为64.4万人;(3)利用灰色系统法进行微分方程模型拟合,预测2020年应城市农村人口规模为65.48万人;(4)通过以上三种方法的预测结果比较得出2020年应城市农村人口的平均规模为64.2万人;(5)利用人均定额指标法预测2020年应城市农村居民点用地规模将达7704 hm~2。研究结论为应城市城乡建设用地增减挂钩项目开展奠定坚实基础。     

Potential Misuse of Avian Density as a Conservation Metric

Abstract: Effective conservation metrics are needed to evaluate the success of management in a rapidly changing world. Reproductive rates and densities of breeding birds (as a surrogate for reproductive rate) have been used to indicate the quality of avian breeding habitat, but the underlying assumptions of these metrics rarely have been examined. When birds are attracted to breeding areas in part by the presence of conspecifics and when breeding in groups influences predation rates, the effectiveness of density and reproductive rate as indicators of habitat quality is reduced. It is beneficial to clearly distinguish between individual‐ and population‐level processes when evaluating habitat quality. We use the term reproductive rate to refer to both levels and further distinguish among levels by using the terms per capita fecundity (number of female offspring per female per year, individual level) and population growth rate (the product of density and per capita fecundity, population level). We predicted how density and reproductive rate interact over time under density‐independent and density‐dependent scenarios, assuming the ideal free distribution model of how birds settle in breeding habitats. We predicted population density of small populations would be correlated positively with both per capita fecundity and population growth rate due to the Allee effect. For populations in the density‐dependent growth phase, we predicted no relation between density and per capita fecundity (because individuals in all patches will equilibrate to the same success rate) and a positive relation between density and population growth rate. Several ecological theories collectively suggest that positive correlations between density and per capita fecundity would be difficult to detect. We constructed a decision tree to guide interpretation of positive, neutral, nonlinear, and negative relations between density and reproductive rates at individual and population levels.     

Economic Growth,Climate Change,Biodiversity Loss: Distributive Justice for the Global North and South

Abstract: Economic growth‐the increase in production and consumption of goods and services‐must be considered within its biophysical context. Economic growth is fueled by biophysical inputs and its outputs degrade ecological processes, such as the global climate system. Economic growth is currently the principal cause of increased climate change, and climate change is a primary mechanism of biodiversity loss. Therefore, economic growth is a prime catalyst of biodiversity loss. Because people desire economic growth for dissimilar reasons‐some for the increased accumulation of wealth, others for basic needs‐how we limit economic growth becomes an ethical problem. Principles of distributive justice can help construct an international climate‐change regime based on principles of equity. An equity‐based framework that caps economic growth in the most polluting economies will lessen human impact on biodiversity. When coupled with a cap‐and‐trade mechanism, the framework can also provide a powerful tool for redistribution of wealth. Such an equity‐based framework promises to be more inclusive and therefore more effective because it accounts for the disparate developmental conditions of the global north and south.     

我国煤矿生产与安全投入的计量分析

煤炭生产活动中既有市场产出又有安全输出,而煤炭生产和安全投入之间的关系反映了经济发展和职业安全之间的关系。在近二十年国内煤矿生产数据的基础上,分析煤炭生产和安全之间长期的相互作用关系,根据多元统计回归分析,建立了煤炭生产模型,并使用Eviews软件进行了脉冲曲线分析和方差分解分析。最后基于分析结果,对我国煤矿生产和安全投入现状提出了改进意见。     

Energy-Saving Effect Calculation and Implementation Strategy Study on the Industrial Structure Adjustment in Western China

The western region is an important strategic base of energy in China. The average per capita possession of fossil energy in the west is twice that in China. On the basis of the analysis of the mechanism how industrial structure adjustment affects energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), the energy input-output table of western China was designed and compiled. Combining multiobjective planning techniques, setting energy-saving, economic growth, and laborer's income growth as the goals, setting basic input-output relations, production capacity, and labor as the constraints, the multiobjective optimization model of western energy input-output was constructed. The results of industrial structure optimization of western China show that: with technology and product price remaining unchanged, the adjustment of the industrial structure can reduce energy consumption per unit GDP by 2.7%, at the same time ensuring the average annual increase of GDP and laborer's income of western region in excess of 8%. It indicates that industrial structure adjustment is an effective method in accomplishing the aim of energy saving. Finally, policy suggestions from four angles, such as industrial chain and financial policies, were put forward.     

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products found in the Great Lakes above concentrations of environmental concern

The monitoring of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has focused on the distribution in rivers and small lakes, but data regarding their occurrence and effects in large lake systems, such as the Great Lakes, are sparse. Wastewater treatment processes have not been optimized to remove influent PPCPs and are a major source of PPCPs in the environment. Furthermore, PPCPs are not currently regulated in wastewater effluent. In this experiment we evaluated the concentration, and corresponding risk, of PPCPs from a wastewater effluent source at varying distances in Lake Michigan. Fifty-four PPCPs and hormones were assessed on six different dates over a two-year period from surface water and sediment samples up to 3.2 km from a wastewater treatment plant and at two sites within a harbor. Thirty-two PPCPs were detected in Lake Michigan and 30 were detected in the sediment, with numerous PPCPs being detected up to 3.2 km away from the shoreline. The most frequently detected PPCPs in Lake Michigan were metformin, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan. To determine the ecological risk, the maximum measured environmental concentrations were compared to the predicted no-effect concentration and 14 PPCPs were found to be of medium or high ecological risk. The environmental risk of PPCPs in large lake systems, such as the Great Lakes, has been questioned due to high dilution; however, the concentrations found in this study, and their corresponding risk quotient, indicate a significant threat by PPCPs to the health of the Great Lakes, particularly near shore organisms.     

农村规模猪场提高母猪年繁殖率的综合技术

本文对如何提高规模养猪场母猪的年繁殖率进行认真的分析,并提出了一些切合实际的生产技术措施。