Impact of excess and harmful radiation on energy budgets in scleractinian corals

Using dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory, this paper explores the potential of excess and harmful radiation, notably UV, to cause changes in performance and, ultimately, bleaching in scleractinian corals for a range of ambient nitrogen and (beneficial) photosynthetically active radiation levels. Two negative impacts of radiation are considered: a reduction in the capacity of the symbiont to generate energy through photosynthesis (defined in this paper as photoinhibition); an increase in the costs for the symbiont to remain viable due to repair of damage (defined in this paper as photodamage). Model predictions indicate that although both types of impact reduce the growth potential of host and symbiont, photoinhibition predominantly affects host features, except at very low ambient nitrogen levels, under which conditions the severity of nitrogen limitation is so strong that a reduction in photosynthetic rates due to photoinhibition has minimal impact. In steady state, photoinhibition leads to a reduction in host biomass, and an increase in symbiont density, implying that photoinhibition (as defined in this paper) is unlikely to cause bleaching. In contrast, the impact of photodamage is mostly affecting symbiont features, including a decline in symbiont density. Thus, photodamage may contribute to coral bleaching. Furthermore, the model predicts that, with both photoinhibition and photodamage, an increasing ratio of harmful to beneficial radiation accelerates the suppression of growth rates of symbiont and host, implying that coral health deteriorates progressively faster with increasing harmful radiation, such as UVb.     

基于生物质能的芒属（Miscanthus）植物碳动态和收支研究进展

生物质能（Biomass energy）是最为广泛的可再生能源,其中多年生芒属C4植物（Miscanthus）由于具有巨大碳固定能力而成为潜力巨大的生物质能植物。中国是芒属植物芒草起源中心,但相对于欧洲国家应对能源危机和温室效应而采取的芒草研究与应用来说,仍处于起步阶段。我国长期以来传统的草地利用模式,决定了在南方草地的研究显著少于北方,近年来芒草在华南地区的运用研究集中于生态修复,对草本植物群落基于生态系统水平的 CO2气体交换能力的研究仍然相当缺乏,在二氧化碳浓度持续增长及全球变暖背景下,生物质能植物及其碳汇功能的相关研究尤显重要。我国南方近6700万hm2退化丘陵草坡急待恢复或处于恢复中,草坡地芒属植物符合生物质能植物标准,施肥少,害虫少,农药输入少,能够有效地利用光、水等自然资源。考虑到C4植物具有比C3植物更强的光合作用能力,高光能利用率C4芒属植物的碳固定能力及能源潜力值得重视,但缺乏科学的碳动态和碳收支评估。综述了国内外芒草生物量特征与生物质能潜力研究现状,重点论述芒属植物生态系统水平的碳动态和收支能力研究,探讨了系统水平更客观评估芒属碳源汇（Carbon sequestration）功能的方法,基于生物量过程的研究结果及华南地区草坡研究历史和现状,为草坡地生物质能的合理开发利用提出了相关对策,强调在我国南方开发和利用芒属植物资源具有重要能源价值和经济、环境效益。     

Industrial ecology flows of agriculture and food industry in Finland: utilizing by-products and wastes

Although half of the administrative units in China are said to have implemented their local Agenda 21, the promotion of sustainable communities is not pervasive. In this paper, we adopted a relatively untried mode of analysis and a socio-economic context to illustrate the potentials and failures of China's grassroots local government bodies in achieving sustainable waste management. Our study shows that, among the three main functions of sustainable waste management (ensuring environmental hygiene, provision of recycling logistics and changing the consumption pattern of the local community) for local governments, grassroots local government bodies in mainland China are only able to do the minimum, i.e. ensuring environmental hygiene and handling complaints. One of the reasons for the failure is that, despite the emphasis on capacity building in China's Agenda 21, the reality is that no action is taken to empower grassroots local government. Despite the high profile accorded by the Chinese central government to motivating local governments to formulate their own Agenda 21, local sustainability and waste management performance have little relevance to the appraisal systems of these government agents.     

Analysis of household energy consumption and related CO2 emissions in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City,China

Energy is one of the most important elements required for poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development, and it has a particularly strong impact on households in rural areas. An extensive survey on household energy consumption patterns that interrelates socioeconomic and demographic factors was conducted in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City by using the stratified random sampling technique for 120 households. This study focuses on household energy consumption and the related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the study area. Firewood, biogas, and electricity were identified as the main energy sources of the rural households. This study demonstrates that 100% of the households use firewood, 52% use biogas, and 95% use electricity as fuel types. On average, each household consumed 1752 kg of firewood, 280 m³ of biogas, and 392 kWh of electricity annually. All households generated an annual average amount of CO₂ emissions of 3851 kg, of which 85.08% come from firewood, 7.66% from biogas, and 7.26% from electricity. Family size, income, and educational level were found to be the major factors that influence CO₂ emissions. The results of this study may be useful in explaining the energy consumption characteristics in the rural areas of Lijiang City and are expected to be useful in policy formulation for energy consumption and environmental protection.     

Biochemical biomarkers and overall health status of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to nickel and chromium

This study examined the effects of nickel and chromium exposure on two biochemical biomarkers, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and acetylcholinesterase (ACHE), in parallel with an indicator of overall health, Scope for Growth (SFG), in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to evaluate their ecological relevance and to assess their potential use as biomarkers of Ni and Cr pollution. SFG integrates major physiological responses into an index that represents the energy status of the animals and is considered an ecologically relevant biomarker. Following exposure to a range of Ni and Cr concentrations effects of Ni and Cr were evident on GPX and SFG but not on ACHE. Accumulation in the mussels’ tissues increased according to exposure concentrations. Adverse effects on the energy status and induction of GPX were found at the higher exposure concentrations while possible hormetic effects on the energy status and moderate GPX suppression were associated with lower exposure concentrations. Nevertheless GPX was negatively correlated with SFG suggesting that GPX responses reflect the overall health of the organisms and thus show potential as an early warning signal of population level effects of Ni and Cr. On the other hand, our results indicate that ACHE is not a suitable biomarker for Ni and Cr pollution.     

Long-run dynamics of renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions and economic growth in the European union

This paper examines long-run and short-run dynamics of renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and economic growth in the European Union. This study employs cointegration tests, Granger causality tests and vector error correction estimates to examine the direction of Granger causality, the long-run dynamics of economic growth and energy variables on carbon emissions. This study analyses time series data from the World Development Indicators over the period from1961 to 2012. The results of this study support a link between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, industrialization, exports and CO₂ emissions in the long-run and short-run. The results support that the sign of the long-run dynamics from the endogenous variables to the CO₂ emissions variable is negative and significant, which implies that the energy and environmental policies of the European Union aimed at curbing CO₂ emissions must have been effective in the long-term. Furthermore, renewable energy consumption and exports have significant negative impact on CO₂ emissions in the short-run. However, industrialization and economic growth have positive impact on CO₂ emissions in the short-run. The results suggest that both economic growth and industrialization must have been achieved at the cost of harming the environment. The finding suggests that the increasing consumption of renewable energy tends to play an important role in curbing carbon emissions in the region.     

迎难而上大力推进新疆污染减排工作

在深刻论述新疆地区近年来开展节能减排和总量控制工作情况的基础上,针对我区污染物总量控制工作所面临的形势和问题进行了认真总结,并结合我区今后经济发展要求,为确保完成“十一五”总量控制目标,认真做好“十二五”总量控制工作,提出了加强污染源监督管理、完善考核制度、推进大集团战略及提高环境准入条件等8个方面的对策和建议。     

艾比湖水体中氯离子测定方法分析

用氯离子选择电极法测定艾比湖水体中氯离子的含量,对测定条件进行了探讨。结果表明,标准曲线在1.0×10-1~1.0×10-4mol/L内呈良好的线性关系,回收率为96.4%~103%,RSD为3.41%~4.34%,该方法简便、快速、准确,在实际工作中应用效果较为满意。     

ICP-MS法同时测定地表水中18种金属元素

以115In-103Rh为双内标校正系统,采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法同时测定地表水中铜、锌、硒、砷、汞、镉、铅、铁、锰、钼、钴、铍、锑、镍、钡、钒、钛、铊等18种金属元素,优化了测量同位素、内标元素等试验条件。18种金属元素在0μg/L～100μg/L范围内线性良好,检出限为0.006μg/L～0.123μg/L,标准样品的测定值均在保证值范围内,平行测定的RSD为1.7%～4.2%,实际水样加标回收率为89.0%～100%。     

Response of the Ascorbate-Peroxidase of Selenastrum capricornutum to Copper and Lead in Stormwaters

The green alga Selenastrum capricornutum expresses a uniqueascorbate peroxidase, that responds to copper and lead. Attemptswere made to test if this peroxidase could be used to monitor thelevels of copper and lead in natural waters. When S.capricornutum was exposed to a stormwater sample, the specificactivity of the peroxidase in the cell extract was commensuratewith the combined copper and lead contents in the sample. Theperoxidase responses were also correlated with the 96 hr biomasstoxicity assay of S. capricornutum. However, unlike thebiomass toxicity assay, the peroxidase activity was not affectedby the anions in the samples. The use of this peroxidase can beused as a marker for testing heavy metal toxicity in the water.