Sustainable Agriculture: New Paradigms and Old Practices? Increased Production with Management of Organic Inputs in Senegal

Farmers in Sahelian countries are confronted with a variety of soil fertility and management problems. During the last two decades, NGOs have worked with farmers and research institutions to develop and test practices that will increase food production, while at the same time enhance the natural resource base.Since 1987, The Rodale Institute (RI) has worked closely with farmers' associations and government institutions to promote regenerative agriculture-farming systems that prioritize the use of local resources while improving them as they are used to grow food, using agro-ecological methods. The Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute has collaborated in this program as a partner of RI. The Senegal Regenerative Agriculture Resource Center model has been applied as a new and viable approach that builds on traditional knowledge and farmer-to-farmer exchange.Research results on soil conservation and improvement have shown that fields spread with amended animal manure or compost yield greater harvests than fields farmed with traditional methods.     

煤矿危险源辨识与多层评价分级研究

根据煤炭系统生产的复杂特点,提出了采用系统科学的方法,对煤炭生产进行系统的单元划分,采用安全系统科学辨识的方法对危险源进行辨识.在此基础上,提出利用层次分析法和模糊动态评判的方法对危险源进行初次分级,根据危险源的耦合特性,提出二次动态分级的方法,对初次分级进行调整,确定危险源科学、合理的级别,并提出了进一步现实性评价的建议.     

Upland Controls on the Hydrological Functioning of Riparian Zones in Glacial Till Valleys of the Midwest1

Abstract: Identifying relationships between landscape hydrogeological setting, riparian hydrological functioning and riparian zone sensitivity to climate and water quality changes is critical in order to best use riparian zones as best management practices in the future. In this study, we investigate water table dynamics, water flow path and the relative importance of precipitation, deep ground water (DG) and seep water as sources of water to a riparian zone in a deeply incised glacial till valley of the Midwest. Data indicate that water table fluctuations are strongly influenced by soil texture and to a lesser extent by upland sediment stratigraphy producing seeps near the slope bottom. The occurrence of till in the upland and at 1.7‐2 m in the riparian zone contributes to maintaining flow parallel to the ground surface at this site. Lateral ground‐water fluxes at this site with a steep topography in the upland (16%) and loam soil near the slope bottom are small (<10 l/d/m stream length) and intermittent. A shift in flow path from a lateral direction to a down valley direction is observed in the summer despite the steep concave topography and the occurrence of seeps at the slope bottom. Principal component and discriminant analysis indicate that riparian water is most similar to seep water throughout the year and that DG originating from imbedded sand and gravel layers in the lower till unit is not a major source of water to riparian zones in this setting. Water quality data and the dependence of the riparian zone for recharge on seep water suggest that sites in this setting may be highly sensitive to changes in precipitation and water quality in the upland in the future. A conceptual framework describing the hydrological functioning of riparian zones on this setting is presented to generalize the finding of this study.     

Contamination of Oxygen-Consuming Organics in the Yellow River of China

Contamination of oxygen-consuming organics (OCOs) was one of the most serious problems in the Yellow River of China. This study was conducted to analyze monitoring of the data on OCOs contamination for the river in 1980 and during 1992–1999 as well as examining the effect of suspended solids (SS) on chemical oxygen demand (COD_Mn) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) of river water. Several significant results have arisen from the study. First, COD_Mn and BOD₅ of the river water showed an increasing trend from the upper to the lower reaches of the mainstream. BOD₅ values of river water in 1992 were significantly higher than those in 1980 and showed an increasing trend during 1992–1999. Second, OCOs in river water of the mainstream was attributed mainly to point sources; the ratio of point to non-point sources of BOD₅ was about 2.81. The load from point sources showed an increasing trend during 1992–1998. In contrast, the load from non-point sources manifested a decreasing trend during this period; this was caused by the decreasing trend of SS content in river water. The total load of BOD₅ from point and non-point sources displayed an increasing trend during 1992–1998. Third, as the humic substances in SS can hardly be biologically oxidized in natural conditions but can be oxidized by chemical oxidants such as potassium permanganate, COD_Mn was not suitable for being regarded as a parameter reflecting the pollution degree of OCOs in river water with a high SS content.     

Fate and availability of glyphosate and AMPA in agricultural soil

The fate of glyphosate and its degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) was studied in soil. Labeled glyphosate was used to be able to distinguish the measured quantities of glyphosate and AMPA from the background values since the soil was sampled in a field where glyphosate had been used formerly. After addition of labeled glyphosate, the disappearance of glyphosate and the formation and disappearance of AMPA were monitored. The resulting curves were fitted according to a new EU guideline. The best fit of the glyphosate degradation data was obtained using a first-order multi compartment (FOMC) model. DT₅₀ values of 9 days (glyphosate) and 32 days (AMPA) indicated relatively rapid degradation. After an aging period of 6 months, the leaching risk of each residue was determined by treating the soil with pure water or a phosphate solution (pH 6), to simulate rain over a non-fertilized or fertilized field, respectively. Significantly larger (p < 0.05) amounts of aged glyphosate and AMPA were extracted from the soil when phosphate solution was used as an extraction agent, compared with pure water. This indicates that the risk of leaching of aged glyphosate and AMPA residues from soil is greater in fertilized soil. The blank soil, to which 252 g glyphosate/ha was applied 21 months before this study, contained 0.81 ng glyphosate/g dry soil and 10.46 ng AMPA/g dry soil at the start of the study. Blank soil samples were used as controls without glyphosate addition. After incubation of the blank soil samples for 6 months, a significantly larger amount of AMPA was extracted from the soil treated with phosphate solution than from that treated with pure water. To determine the degree of uptake of aged glyphosate residues by crops growing in the soil, ¹⁴C-labeled glyphosate was applied to soil 6.5 months prior to sowing rape and barley seeds. After 41 days, 0.006 ± 0.002% and 0.005 ± 0.001% of the applied radioactivity was measured in rape and barley, respectively.     

Potential environmental impact of dissolution of raw phosphate in sea water of the Gulf of Aqaba

Dissolution of raw phosphate (apatite) in sea water of the Gulf of Aqaba was investigated through lab incubation experiments. Three types from three different sources (Al-Hasa, Al-Abyad and Esh-Shydiya) have been used for these experiments. Impact of quantity, grain size, and source (type) of raw phosphate on dissolution rate were studied. Statistical analysis shows significant differences between the results obtained from comparing each two weights; as weight of apatite increased, dissolved inorganic phosphate-phosphorus (DIP) and fluoride in sea water solution increased. The differences between the dissolution rates of raw phosphate from the three sites were not significant while the differences between the different grain size fractions were significant. Dissolution rates were inversely related to particle size. Using a worst-case scenario, a conservative estimate of the maximum increase in DIP in seawater of the Gulf of Aqaba due to the apatite particles lost to the sea during ship loading resulted in DIP concentrations of 0.03 μM per year. As the residence time of the water in the Gulf of Aqaba is about one year, the DIP concentration will not increase by more than 0.03 μM under the estimated annual quantity of exported phosphate. Fluoride will not increase by more than 0.03 mg/l under the same conditions.     

有效磷含量对硝酸铵溶液热安全性的影响

为了了解硝酸磷肥生产过程中,硝酸铵溶液中加入磷酸一铵的安全性,通过自制实验装置,研究了有效磷含量对质量分数为85%的硝酸铵溶液热分解的影响。结果表明,质量分数为85%的硝酸铵和磷酸一铵混合溶液的临界爆炸温度高于纯质量分数为85%的硝酸铵溶液,稳定性更好;磷酸一铵抑制硝酸铵的热分解,随着有效磷含量的增加,硝酸铵混合溶液临界爆炸温度升高;升温速率对硝酸铵混合溶液的临界爆炸温度影响很大,随着升温速率由2℃/min升高到3℃/min,质量分数为85%的硝酸铵混合溶液的临界爆炸温度升高,不易发生爆炸,安全性更好。研究结果对硝酸磷肥的生产安全有一定的指导意义。     

磷酸银/树脂复合物的制备及其对亚甲基蓝的光催化降解

以聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)为稳定剂,采用化学沉积法制备了磷酸银/树脂复合物,降解亚甲基蓝,研究其光催化活性,并对样品进行了XRD和SEM表征。探讨了不同的光源、催化剂投加量、PVP含量、p H值等因素对亚甲基蓝降解率的影响。结果表明,在太阳光(夏天早上9点到11点的阳光)下,偏酸介质中,催化剂用量为0.8 g/L,PVP质量分数为0.01%的磷酸银/树脂复合物,液面高度为15 cm的条件下对亚甲基蓝有最佳降解效果。     

新型纳米结构铈锰复合氧化物的磷吸附行为与机制研究

采用共沉淀法制备了一种新型铈锰复合氧化物吸附剂,对其进行了表征,并对磷吸附行为与机制进行了研究.表征结果分析表明,此氧化物由纳米级颗粒组成;铈锰复合氧化物中的铈氧化物有类似水合氧化铈的无定形结构;BET比表面积为157 m2·g-1,等电点为6.5.吸附实验结果表明,Langmuir吸附等温线模型可以更好地拟合铈锰复合氧化物对磷的吸附,最大吸附量为28.6 mg·g-1(p H=7.0);铈锰复合氧化物对磷具有较高的吸附速率,更符合准二级动力学模型;溶液p H对铈锰复合氧化物吸附磷的影响较为明显,随p H升高,吸附量降低;离子强度则影响不大;共存阴离子对吸附影响的大小顺序为Si O2-3CO2-3Cl-≥SO2-4.通过对铈锰复合氧化物吸附磷前后Zeta电位和红外谱图(FTIR)分析,可以推断磷在铈锰复合氧化物表面发生了特性吸附,磷酸根主要通过取代复合氧化物表面的金属羟基而被吸附去除.     

基于esp基因和JCV标记的MST方法在五大流域典型水源地中的应用

非点源污染目前已经成为影响水体环境的重要污染。微生物源示踪技术(microbial source tracking,MST)是解决非点源污染的一项新技术,它可以确定污染的宿主来源。肠球菌esp基因和多瘤病毒JCV可以作为检测水体中人源粪便污染的分子标记,其灵敏度和特异性都很高。为分析五大流域水源地是否受到人源粪便的污染,对辽河、海河、淮河、长江和黄河五大流域典型水源地水样进行采集和检测,选取人源粪便特异病原微生物肠球菌的esp基因和多瘤病毒JCV建立了相应的MST分子检测方法。结果表明,五大流域的典型水源地采样点均有可能受到了人源粪便的污染,可为当地相关部门提供技术支持和数据参考。