Ex situ collections and their potential for the restoration of extinct plants

The alarming current and predicted species extinction rates have galvanized conservationists in their efforts to avoid future biodiversity losses, but for species extinct in the wild, few options exist. We posed the questions, can these species be restored, and, if so, what role can ex situ plant collections (i.e., botanic gardens, germplasm banks, herbaria) play in the recovery of plant genetic diversity? We reviewed the relevant literature to assess the feasibility of recovering lost plant genetic diversity with using ex situ material and the probability of survival of subsequent translocations. Thirteen attempts to recover species extinct in the wild were found, most of which used material preserved in botanic gardens (12) and seed banks (2). One case of a locally extirpated population was recovered from herbarium material. Eight (60%) of these cases were successful or partially successful translocations of the focal species or population; the other 5 failed or it was too early to determine the outcome. Limiting factors of the use of ex situ source material for the restoration of plant genetic diversity in the wild include the scarcity of source material, low viability and reduced longevity of the material, low genetic variation, lack of evolution (especially for material stored in germplasm banks and herbaria), and socioeconomic factors. However, modern collecting practices present opportunities for plant conservation, such as improved collecting protocols and improved cultivation and storage conditions. Our findings suggest that all types of ex situ collections may contribute effectively to plant species conservation if their use is informed by a thorough understanding of the aforementioned problems. We conclude that the recovery of plant species currently classified as extinct in the wild is not 100% successful, and the possibility of successful reintroduction should not be used to justify insufficient in situ conservation.     

Cost‐effectiveness of conservation payment schemes for species with different range sizes

Payments to compensate landowners for carrying out costly land‐use measures that benefit endangered biodiversity have become an important policy instrument. When designing such payments, it is important to take into account that spatially connected habitats are more valuable for many species than isolated ones. One way to incentivize provision of connected habitats is to offer landowners an agglomeration bonus, that is, a bonus on top of payments they are receiving to conserve land if the land is spatially connected. Researchers have compared the cost‐effectiveness of the agglomeration bonus with 2 alternatives: an all‐or‐nothing, agglomeration payment, where landowners receive a payment only if the conserved land parcels have a certain level of spatial connectivity, and a spatially homogeneous payment, where landowners receive a payment for conserved land parcels irrespective of their location. Their results show the agglomeration bonus is rarely the most cost‐effective option, and when it is, it is only slightly better than one of the alternatives. This suggests that the agglomeration bonus should not be given priority as a policy design option. However, this finding is based on consideration of only 1 species. We examined whether the same applied to 2 species, one for which the homogeneous payment is best and the other for which the agglomeration payment is most cost‐effective. We modified a published conceptual model so that we were able to assess the cost‐effectiveness of payment schemes for 2 species and applied it to a grassland bird and a grassland butterfly in Germany that require the same habitat but have different spatial‐connectivity needs. When conserving both species, the agglomeration bonus was more cost‐effective than the agglomeration and the homogeneous payment; thus, we showed that as a policy the agglomeration bonus is a useful conservation‐payment option.     

Fault detection and diagnostics of a three-phase separator

A high demand of oil products on daily basis requires oil processing plants to work with maximum efficiency. Oil, water and gas separation in a three-phase separator is one of the first operations that are performed after crude oil is extracted from an oil well. Failure of the components of the separator introduces the potential hazard of flammable materials being released into the environment. This can escalate to a fire or explosion. Such failures can also cause downtime for the oil processing plant since the separation process is essential to oil production. Fault detection and diagnostics techniques used in the oil and gas industry are typically threshold based alarm techniques. Observing the sensor readings solely allows only a late detection of faults on the separator which is a big deficiency of such a technique, since it causes the oil and gas processing plants to shut down.A fault detection and diagnostics methodology for three-phase separators based on Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) is presented in this paper. The BBN models the propagation of oil, water and gas through the different sections of the separator and the interactions between component failure modes and process variables, such as level or flow monitored by sensors installed on the separator. The paper will report on the results of the study, when the BBNs are used to detect single and multiple failures, using sensor readings from a simulation model. The results indicated that the fault detection and diagnostics model was able to detect inconsistencies in sensor readings and link them to corresponding failure modes when single or multiple failures were present in the separator.     

Solar energy for electricity and fuels

Solar energy conversion into electricity by photovoltaic modules is now a mature technology. We discuss the need for materials and device developments using conventional silicon and other materials, pointing to the need to use scalable materials and to reduce the energy payback time. Storage of solar energy can be achieved using the energy of light to produce a fuel. We discuss how this can be achieved in a direct process mimicking the photosynthetic processes, using synthetic organic, inorganic, or hybrid materials for light collection and catalysis. We also briefly discuss challenges and needs for large-scale implementation of direct solar fuel technologies.     

Efficacy of created and restored nesting sites for the conservation of colonial Laridae in the South of France

By rapidly modifying key habitat components, habitat restoration is at risk of producing attractive cues for animals without providing habitats of sufficient quality. As such, individual fitness components, such as reproduction, could be reduced and restored habitats could become ecological traps. This risk notably appears by using artificial constructions in restoration projects, yet few studies have evaluated their efficacy in a robust way. We investigated this by analyzing 154 islets that were created or restored to improve the conservation status of 7 colonial Laridae species in the South of France. From 2007 to 2016, we compared occupancy dynamics and breeding parameters of these species between the restored sites and 846 unmanaged nesting sites. We also explored species’ preference for different nesting site characteristics and their respective effect on breeding parameters. Restored nesting sites were 2–9 times as attractive as unmanaged sites for all species except the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Colonization probability was up to 100 times higher in sites already used by other species the previous year and increased with distance to the shore until >0.2 when distance was over 250 m. Abandonment probability was 29–70% lower when breeding was successful the previous year in all species except the Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). Productivity and breeding success probability were 2 times higher on managed sites. Distance from the shore was an important attractive characteristic of artificial nesting sites in all species. Other nesting site characteristics had species-specific effects on colonization, abandonment, and breeding success. Our results indicate that managed nesting sites are successful conservation tools for colonial Laridae in the Mediterranean and do not act as ecological traps. Our study showed that testing the ecological trap hypothesis is a robust way to evaluate the success of restoration projects of breeding habitats.     

活性污泥中硝化螺菌(Nitrospira)的富集及其动力学参数

采用连续进水的进水方式对污水处理厂活性污泥系统中的Nitrospira富集培养并对其相关动力学参数进行研究.结果表明,在控制反应器亚硝酸盐浓度不高于2 mg·L~(-1)的条件下可以成功富集出以Nitrospira为优势种属的活性污泥,其最大比亚硝酸盐氧化速率(以N/VSS计)为48.72 mg·(g·h)~(-1).荧光原位杂交结果显示Nitrospira占活性污泥总微生物量的75%左右,而Nitrobacter仅占总微生物的0.1%.此外通过对Nitrospira在20℃时的动力学参数进行测定,结果表明Nitrospira的最适生长温度为30~35℃,温度修正系数τN为1.046,其基质半饱和常数KS和氧半饱和常数KO分别为(0.32±0.03)mg·L~(-1)和(1.52±0.09)mg·L~(-1).Nitrospira动力学参数的研究为污水处理厂的设计运行及工艺优化提供理论参考.     

Removal of perfluorinated surfactants from wastewater by adsorption and ion exchange——Influence of material properties,sorption mechanism and modeling

Perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) has attracted increasing concern in recent years due to its world-wide distribution, persistence, bioaccumulation and potential toxicity. The influence of sorbent properties on the adsorptive elimination of PFOS from wastewater by activated carbons, polymer adsorbents and anion exchange resins was investigated with regard to their isotherms and kinetics. The batch and column tests were combined with physicochemical characterization methods, e.g., N_2 physisorption, mercury porosimetry, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, titrations, as well as modeling. Sorption kinetics was successfully modelled applying the linear driving force(LDF) approach for surface diffusion after introducing a load dependency of the mass transfer coefficient βs.The big difference in the initial mass transfer coefficient βs,0, when non-functionalized adsorbents and ion-exchange resins are compared, suggests that the presence of functional groups impedes the intraparticle mass transport. The more functional groups a resin possesses and the longer the alkyl moieties are the bigger is the decrease in sorption rate.But the selectivity for PFOS sorption is increasing when the character of the functional groups becomes more hydrophobic. Accordingly, ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction were found to be involved in the sorption processes on resins, while PFOS is only physisorptively bound to activated carbons and polymer adsorbents. In agreement with the different adsorption mechanisms, resins possess higher total sorption capacities than adsorbents. Hence, the latter ones are rendered more effective in PFOS elimination at concentrations in the low μg/L range, due to a less pronounced convex curvature of the sorption isotherm in this concentration range.     

地下水循环井技术处理土壤和地下水中甲基叔丁基醚研究

研究了MTBE在砂土中的静态吸附以及采用地下水循环井技术(GCW)去除砂土和地下水中MTBE的衰减规律。结果表明:MTBE在砂土中的吸附动力学符合准二级动力学方程,相关系数R2为0.99618,在砂土中的吸附平衡时间为24 h;吸附热力学符合Linear平衡吸附,吸附系数为0.00306 m3/kg。GCW运行30 h后,地下水饱和含水层中MTBE浓度由500 mg/L降至72.5 mg/L,去除率为85.5%;砂土中MTBE的吸附量由0.93 mg/g降至0.03 mg/g,去除率达96.4%。水平方向距GCW越近,MTBE的去除效率越快,垂直方向位于GCW上部的MTBE优先会被去除,最佳修复时间为运行15 h。GCW对砂土和地下水中高浓度MTBE具有良好的修复效果。     

Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合物的制备及其可见光催化性能

采用沉淀法和热聚合法分别将AgI、氮化碳(CN)负载在介孔γ-Al_2O_3(MA)上,并通过光还原银离子成功制备了等离子体诱导可见光催化剂Ag-AgI/CN/MA.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(FESEM)、紫外可见漫反射光谱(UV-vis DRS)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合材料进行表征,并对其在可见光照射下(λ420 nm)的光催化性能进行了研究,考察了初始溶液pH值及催化剂投加量等条件对光催化反应的影响.结果表明,表面银以Ag+和Ag0形式共存,并且Ag和AgI均匀地分散在CN的表面.与CN和Ag-AgI/MA相比,Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合物对甲基橙(MO)具有更高的可见光催化降解效率,且反应过程中Ag+的释放量显著减少,显示出良好的稳定性.当溶液pH值为7、催化剂投加量为1 g·L~(-1)时,Ag-AgI/CN/MA-2显示出最优的催化性能.同时,其对罗丹明B(Rh B)、甲基红(MR)和刚果红(CR)等不同电性的染料均体现出良好的催化性能.     

九龙江口滨海湿地生源要素空间分布特征

为了揭示亚热带典型滨海湿地生源要素的空间分布特征及影响因素,选取九龙江口滨海湿地为研究对象,于2009年夏采集表层沉积物及柱状样,利用元素分析仪和流动注射分析仪对主要生源要素碳、氮、磷、硫(C、N、P、S)进行分析.结果表明,九龙江口滨海湿地生源要素含量较高,总碳、总氮、总磷、总硫(TC、TN、TP、TS)的均值分别为(12.64±2.66)、(1.57±0.29)、(0.48±0.06)、(2.61±1.37)g·kg-1,空间分布差异性显著.红树林植被区表层沉积物的TC、TN、TP含量高于米草植被及光滩,高潮位TC、TN、TP含量>中潮位>低潮位,TS在米草植被及中潮位含量较高.柱状样的TC、TN具有相似的垂直变化趋势,均表现为由表层向下逐渐降低,且不同植被间的柱状样TC、TN含量在同一深度上都表现为:红树区>米草区>光滩区;柱状样TP平均值是光滩最低,TS平均值是光滩最高.冗余分析表明,植被类型、pH及潮位是影响表层沉积物生源要素(C、N、P、S)分布最显著的环境因子,解释量分别为24.0%、19.0%和11.6%.