Soil erosion vulnerability under scenarios of climate land-use changes after the development of a large reservoir in a semi-arid area

Climate and land-use/cover changes (LUCC) influence soil erosion vulnerability in the semi-arid region of Alqueva, threatening the reservoir storage capacity and sustainability of the landscape. Considering the effect of these changes in the future, the purpose of this study was to investigate soil erosion scenarios using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. A multi-agent system combining Markov cellular automata with multi-criteria evaluation was used to investigate LUCC scenarios according to delineated regional strategies. Forecasting scenarios indicated that the intensive agricultural area as well as the sparse and xerophytic vegetation and rainfall-runoff erosivity would increase, consequently causing the soil erosion to rise from 1.78 Mg ha^?1 to 3.65 Mg ha^?1 by 2100. A backcasting scenario was investigated by considering the application of soil conservation practices that would decrease the soil erosion considerably to an average of 2.27 Mg ha^?1. A decision support system can assist stakeholders in defining restrictive practices and developing conservation plans, contributing to control the reservoir's siltation.     

Benchmarking Optical/Thermal Satellite Imagery for Estimating Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture in Decision Support Tools

Generally, one expects evapotranspiration (ET) maps derived from optical/thermal Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery to improve decision support tools and lead to superior decisions regarding water resources management. However, there is lack of supportive evidence to accept or reject this expectation. We “benchmark” three existing hydrologic decision support tools with the following benchmarks: annual ET for the ET Toolbox developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, predicted rainfall‐runoff hydrographs for the Gridded Surface/Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis model developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the average annual groundwater recharge for the Distributed Parameter Watershed Model used by Daniel B. Stephens & Associates. The conclusion of this benchmark study is that the use of NASA/USGS optical/thermal satellite imagery can considerably improve hydrologic decision support tools compared to their traditional implementations. The benefits of improved decision making, resulting from more accurate results of hydrologic support systems using optical/thermal satellite imagery, should substantially exceed the costs for acquiring such imagery and implementing the remote sensing algorithms. In fact, the value of reduced error in estimating average annual groundwater recharge in the San Gabriel Mountains, California alone, in terms of value of water, may be as large as $1 billion, more than sufficient to pay for one new Landsat satellite.     

The determination and matching analysis of pinch point temperature difference in evaporator and condenser of organic rankine cycle for mixed working fluid

Exergo-economic analysis of the pinch point temperature difference (PPTD) in both evaporator and condenser of sub-critical organic Rankine cycle system (ORCs) are performed based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Taking mixture R13I1/R601a as a working fluid and the annual total cost per net output power Z as exergo-economic performance evaluation criterion, the effects of PPTD in evaporator ΔT_e, and the PPTD ratio of condenser to evaporator y, on the exergo-economic performance of ORCs are analyzed. Moreover, how some other parameters influence the optimal PPTD in evaporator ΔT_e,opt and the optimal PPTD ratio of condenser to evaporator y_opt are also discussed. It has been found that the exergo-economic performance of ORCs is remarkably influenced by ΔT_e and y, and there exists ΔT_e,opt and y_opt. In addition, ΔT_e,opt and y_opt are affected by heat transfer coefficient ratio of condenser to evaporator ß, the temperature of working fluid at dew point in condenser T_1a, and composition of R13I1/R601a: larger ß and T_1a lead to lower ΔT_e,opt and y_opt; by contraries, larger mass fraction of R13I1 makes ΔT_e,opt and y_opt increase, and y_opt increases linearly. The effects of the temperature of working fluid at bubble point in evaporator T_3a, mass flow rate of exhaust flue gas m_g, and inlet temperature of exhaust flue gas T_gi on ΔT_e,opt and y_opt are very slight. For comparison, three additional working fluids, namely R601a, R245fa, and 0.32R245fa/0.68R601a, are also taken into account.     

结合《土壤污染防治行动计划》探讨中国土壤环境监管制度与标准值体系建设

2016年,中国国务院印发《土壤污染防治行动计划》(简称《土十条》),明确提出对农用地土壤实施分类管理,按照污染程度划分为优先保护类、安全利用类和严格管控类;对建设用地要防范新增污染,针对疑似污染地块,开展土壤环境状况调查评估,保障地块安全再利用;以影响农产品质量和人居环境安全的突出环境问题为重点,制定土壤污染治理与修复规划,组织开展治理与修复。实施严格的土壤环境质量保护、污染土壤的风险管控、高风险污染土壤的治理与修复是落实《土十条》的重要任务,也是建设我国土壤环境监管制度的重要内容。土壤环境标准是实施土壤环境管理的重要依据。本文基于《土十条》重要任务以及当前及今后一段时期国家土壤环境管理需求,以土壤环境管理需求为导向,探讨提出了包括土壤环境质量保护标准值、土壤环境风险管控标准值、污染土壤修复标准值的土壤环境标准值体系,可望为国家土壤环境标准体系的建立和标准制修订方法的发展提供技术参考。     

17 β-estradiol mineralization in human waste products and soil in the presence and the absence of antimicrobials

Natural steroidal estrogens, such as 17 β-estradiol (E2), as well as antimicrobials such as doxycycline and norfloxacin, are excreted by humans and hence detected in sewage sludge and biosolid. The disposal of human waste products on agricultural land results in estrogens and antibiotics being detected as mixtures in soils. The objective of this study was to examine microbial respiration and E2 mineralization in sewage sludge, biosolid, and soil in the presence and the absence of doxycycline and norfloxacin. The antimicrobials were applied to the media either alone or in combination at total rates of 4 and 40 mg kg^?1, with the 4 mg kg^?1 rate being an environmentally relevant concentration. The calculated time that half of the applied E2 was mineralized ranged from 294 to 418 days in sewage sludge, from 721 to 869 days in soil, and from 2,258 to 14,146 days in biosolid. E2 mineralization followed first-order and the presence of antimicrobials had no significant effect on mineralization half-lives, except for some antimicrobial applications to the human waste products. At 189 day, total E2 mineralization was significantly greater in sewage sludge (38 ±0.7%) > soil (23 ±0.7%) > biosolid (3 ±0.7%), while total respiration was significantly greater in biosolid (1,258 mg CO₂) > sewage sludge (253 mg CO₂) ≥ soil (131 mg CO₂). Strong sorption of E2 to the organic fraction in biosolid may have resulted in reduced E2 mineralization despite the high microbial activity in this media. Total E2 mineralization at 189 day was not significantly influenced by the presence of doxycycline and/or norfloxacin in the media. Antimicrobial additions also did not significantly influence total respiration in media, except that total CO₂ respiration at 189 day was significantly greater for biosolid with 40 mg kg^?1 doxycycline added, relative to biosolid without antimicrobials. We conclude that it is unlikely for doxycycline and norfloxacin, or their mixtures, to have a significant effect on E2 mineralization in human waste products and soil. However, the potential for E2 to be persistent in biosolids, with and without the presence of antimicrobials, is posing a challenge for biosolid disposal to agricultural lands.     

Pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics in livestock manure and manure-amended soils in Jiangsu province,China

The aim of this study was to investigate the pollution characteristics of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil of livestock farms in Jiangsu province. This investigation employed solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). A total of 53 manure and 50 amended soil samples from 16 livestock farms in Jiangsu province were collected for analysis. In the manure samples, the highest detected frequencies and concentrations were those of tetracyclines (TCs, 54.1 ± 5775.6 μgkg^?1), followed by fluoroquinolones (FQs, 8.4 ± 435.6 μgkg^?1), sulphonamides (SAs, 3.2 ± 5.2 μgkg^?1) and macrolides (MACs, 0.4 ± 110.5 μgkg^?1). Statistical analysis was used to illuminate the pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics for various animal types and different regions in Jiangsu province. The results showed that the pollution level in cow manure was relatively lower compared with pig and chicken manure due to the relative restriction of medication. Furthermore, contamination was serious in amended soil from chicken farms. The pollution level in manure among different regions was higher to the south and north compared with the centre of the region. The same outcome was found for soil. Antibiotic residues in organic fertilizer were also investigated in this study. We found that although the detected concentration was lower in organic fertilizer than in fresh manure, detection frequencies (10–90%) were high, especially for roxithromycin (90%) in MACs (30–90%). This finding suggests attention should be paid to the pollution levels in organic fertilizer. This study is the first extensive investigation of the occurrence and distribution of many kinds of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil from livestock farms of Jiangsu province. This investigation systematically assesses veterinary antibiotics usage and related emissions in southeast China.     

川南山地林分变化对土壤物理性质和抗蚀性的影响

以川南天然林(TRL)及其转变成的毛竹林(MZL)、檫木林(CML)、柳杉林(LSL)、杉木林(SML)和水杉林(SSL)为对象,研究不同林分土壤物理性质和抗蚀性差异,以主成分分析法(ZCFM)和隶属函数法(LSHM)分别计算的土壤抗蚀性综合值Ⅰ(KSX-Ⅰ)和Ⅱ(KSX-Ⅱ)评价林分变化对土壤抗蚀性的影响,探索简便易行的土壤抗蚀性综合评价方法。结果表明,天然林转变为人工林后土壤物理性质和抗蚀性变差,呈现出有机质和0.25 mm水稳性团聚体含量、水稳性团聚体平均重量直径、团聚度、孔隙度及物理稳定性指数降低,而结构体破坏率、不稳定团粒指数、容重、分散率及侵蚀系数增加。各林分土壤KSX-Ⅰ和KSX-Ⅱ均呈现出TRLCMLSSLLSLMZLSML的规律变化。土壤抗蚀性指标间相关性均达到显著(p0.05)水平;土壤KSX-Ⅰ和KSX-Ⅱ之间呈显著相关关系(p0.05),且两者均与各抗蚀性指标间呈显著相关(p0.05)。说明天然林植被变化后会使土壤抗蚀性降低,影响原有植被水土保持功能,应该加强天然林及其生态功能保护;ZCFM和LSHM均可作为计算土壤抗蚀性综合值的有效方法,但考虑到计算过程的难易度,后者更简便易行。结果为土壤抗蚀性综合评价新方法的建立提供了参考。     

庐山不同森林植被类型土壤特性及其健康评价

土壤作为森林生态系统的一个重要因子,评价森林土壤健康状况对森林健康的维护经营以及森林系统功能的发挥具有重要意义。在系统调查和分析庐山8种森林植被类型土壤特性的基础上,评价指标分别从物种多样性以及不同的森林土壤特性中进行筛选,包括物种多样性系数、枯落物层厚度、腐殖质层厚度、土层厚度、容重、粘粒含量、有机质、p H值、阳离子交换量、全氮、水解氮、有效磷、速效钾、磷酸酶活性等指标,基于SPSS19.0软件对所获得数据进行差异性检验和相关分析,确定各项指标的权重,应用合适的土壤健康评分函数,将测得的指标值转换为对应指标的分值,最后通过加权综合法,计算其土壤健康指数,并对不同森林植被类型土壤健康状况进行评价。结果表明,8种森林植被类型下最终的土壤健康指数大小排序为:针阔混交林(0.78)常-落混交林(0.72)灌丛(0.69)常绿阔叶林(0.67)落叶阔叶林(0.64)竹林(0.59)马尾松林(0.53)黄山松林(0.46)。     

三峡库区重庆段土壤保持服务时空分布格局研究

土壤保持是生态系统服务与功能的重要组成,在防止土壤侵蚀、减少径流泥沙与农业面源污染等方面具有至关重要的作用。以对国家生态安全具有重要作用的土壤保持生态功能区——三峡库区重庆段为研究区域,研究得到了2000~2013年时间序列区域土壤保持服务"流量"结果,结果表明:(1)三峡库区重庆段多年平均土壤保持量为604.39 t/hm~2·a,沿长江干流自西向东逐渐增强,区域差异显著;(2)三峡库区的土壤保持服务存在明显的垂直分异特征,随着高程的增加,以300 m与900 m为节点,出现递减-递增-递减的分段规律,与人类活动存在明显的相关关系;(3)增加森林覆被面积是改善区域土壤保持、减少水土流失的重要举措。同时,在三峡库区开展坡改梯工程,减少坡耕地的数量能够有效控制区域水土流失;     

丹江口水库表层沉积物不同形态氮的赋存特征及其生物有效性

为了揭示丹江口水库沉积物氮空间分布特征及其生物有效性,采用连续分级提取法研究了表层沉积物中可交换态氮(Exchangeable nitrogen,EN)、酸解态氮(Acid hydrolysable nitrogen,HN)及残渣态氮(Residue nitrogen,RN)的赋存特征,同时结合生物可利用态氮的含量,探讨了各形态氮对生物可利用态氮的贡献。结果表明,丹江口水库沉积物中总氮(Total nitrogen,TN)在425~5796 mg/kg之间,平均为1 319.32 mg/kg,其中EN、HN和RN的平均值相对比例为2.15∶1.95∶1,且各形态氮含量的空间分布呈入库河流大于库区开阔区域的特征,尤其在丹江、老灌河以及犟河-堵河入库口的含量较大。潜在矿化氮(Potential mineralized nitrogen,PMN)含量在40.20~1 468.95 mg/kg之间,平均为275.06 mg/kg,其中EN对丹江口水库沉积物PMN的贡献较大,比例在19.85%~90.80%之间,平均为63.47%。各形态氮在不同的水环境条件下发生迁移转化,保持着水-沉积物界面氮的动态平衡。