Nitrogen transformations during pig manure composting

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Do Non-Native Species Threaten The Natural Environment?

Conservation biologists and other environmentalists confront five obstacles in building support for regulatory policies that seek to exclude or remove introduced plants and other non-native species that threaten to harm natural areas or the natural environment. First, the concept of “harm to the natural environment” is nebulous and undefined. Second, ecologists cannot predict how introduced species will behave in natural ecosystems. If biologists cannot define “harm” or predict the behavior of introduced species, they must target all non-native species as potentially “harmful”. an impossibly large regulatory task. Third, loss of species richness may constitute harm to an environment, but introduced organisms typically, generally, and significantly add to species richness in ecosystems. If species richness correlates with desirable ecosystem properties, moreover, such as stability and productivity, as some ecologists believe, then introduced organisms, by increasing species richness, would support those desirable properties. Fourth, one may plausibly argue that extinction constitutes environmental harm, but there is no evidence that non-native species, especially plants, are significant causes of extinction, except for predators in certain lakes and other small island-like environments. Fifth, while aesthetic, ethical, and spiritual values may provide a legitimate basis for invasive species policy, biologists often cite concepts such as “biodiversity” and ecosystem “health” or “integrity” to provide a scientific justification. To assert that non-native species threaten biodiversity or undermine ecosystem health, however, may be to draw conceptual entailments or consequences from definitions of “biodiversity” and “integrity” that arbitrarily exclude non-native species or make the presence of exotic species a per se indicator of decline.     

Impacts of Recreation Trails on Exotic and Ruderal Species Distribution in Grassland Areas Along the Colorado Front Range

This study examines the establishment patterns of exotic and ruderal species along trail corridors in grassland areas of the Colorado Front Range. The effects of trail presence, trail age, and trail traffic levels on exotic and ruderal species establishment are explored to ascertain the potential impacts of trails on surrounding vegetation. Established trails exhibited a greater presence of exotic and ruderal species along the immediate trailside, showing that disturbed trailsides tend to encourage the growth of these species over time. Furthermore, the established trails exhibited significantly less native, nonruderal, and overall species richness at the trailside. These trailside patterns did not show a significant spread away from the trail edge, even after prolonged time periods. Finally, higher trail use tended to hasten the establishment of exotic species along the trailside. The trails did not introduce new species to the recreation areas; rather they acted as reorganizational tools for species that were already present in the study sites.     

The Effect of Military Training Activity on Eastern Lupine and the Karner Blue Butterfly at Fort McCoy,Wisconsin, USA

The US Department of Defense (DOD) manages over 10.1 million ha of land, much of which is used for training military personnel. However, vast sections receive little or no use, and military lands have become refuges for many species. At Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, USA, populations of the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) are found in oak and pine barren communities where wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), a perennial forb required by Karner blue butterfly larvae, still occurs. Oak and pine barren communities are disturbance-dependent, and the barrens ecosystems in the Midwest have declined in extent by 98% because of fire suppression, succession, and habitat fragmentation. We studied the effects of disturbance by military manuever training on the density of lupine and Karner blue butterfly at Fort McCoy. We also wanted to determine whether military training activity could enhance Karner blue butterfly habitat. At locations where tracked vehicles had driven through lupine patches, the abundance of lupine and nectar-producing plants was greater in the median strip between vehicle ruts than in vehicle ruts or 5 m outside the vehicle ruts. The proportion of lupine stems with Karner blue butterfly larvae feeding sign (the ratio of stems fed upon to stems examined) was greater in areas where military vehicles had traveled than where they had not. The proportion of lupine stems with feeding sign and lupine stem density was also positively related to the occurrence of prior bivouacs and fires caused by military munitions. Shrub and forest canopy abundance were lower in areas traveled by tracked vehicles. At the scale of the lupine patch, lupine abundance and the proportion of lupine stems with feeding sign were positively correlated with military training activities, suggesting that maintenance of lupine habitat can be achieved in concert with military training.     

Biodiversity Conservation in the Thar Desert; with Emphasis on Endemic and Medicinal Plants

The Indian desert, the Thar Desert, has its own importance and specific characteristics with respect to endemic and medicinal plants. Forty-five plant species are considered to be rare and/or endangered. The desert has a large number of plants of economic importance and medicinal use. The Thar Desert is thickly populated in comparison to other hot deserts of the world. 17.44 million people and 23.33 million livestock are recorded from the region. These populations exert pressure on the biological resources of the Thar Desert causing a lack of sustainability and necessitate conservation of biodiversity actions.     

Conservation of Biodiversity: How Are We Doing?

A question rarely raised in discussions on biodiversity conservation, but surely the biggest question of all, is “How much time do we have left before the mass extinction underway surpasses our best efforts to contain it?” This prompts a further prime question because—and unlike all other problems, whether environmental or otherwise—the biotic crisis threatens to leave a severely impoverished planet for millions of years ahead; “Why do we not undertake the necessary actions to get on top of the problem before it gets on top of us?”     

球形红细菌转化去除重金属镉及其机理研究

研究了不同理化因素对光合细菌球形红细菌(Rhodobacter sphaeroides)H菌株生长和镉去除能力的影响.结果表明,该菌株的最佳生长和对镉的最佳去除条件为:pH=7.0,温度为30℃,好氧黑暗,接种量9%.在最佳条件下,镉的去除率可达85%以上.通过X射线衍射光谱分析,H菌株对镉离子的转化产物为硫化镉.通过测定镉的去除与细菌生长曲线及半胱氨酸脱巯基酶的活性,表明镉的去除与菌体的生长稳定期相关.此外,通过分析菌体对硫酸盐的代谢过程,探讨了该菌株生长细胞去除重金属镉的机理.     

城市污水再生处理过程中壬基酚的迁移转化行为研究

采用SPE-GC-MSD-SIM方法,分析了壬基酚在污水再生处理全过程中的迁移转化行为与归宿.研究表明,在污水二级生物处理流程中,壬基酚主要来源为原污水和泥区回流液;壬基酚的去除途径有一沉池生污泥的吸附迁移作用和曝气池单元的生物降解转化作用,其中一沉池生污泥的吸附去除29.8%,曝气池生物降解54.4%,NP总去除率为84.2%.絮凝、过滤和消毒的污水再生深度处理工艺对壬基酚的迁移转化作用不明显.     

工业聚合氯化铝的形态分布及混凝效果

对铝浓度为2.50mol·l-1的聚合氯化铝.采用Al-Ferron络合比色法和烧杯混凝实验对样品的形态分布和混凝性能进行了研究.结果表明:三个工业系列样品中Al的形态分布规律基本一致,Ala随盐基度的升高而逐渐降低;Alc随盐基度的升高而升高;Alb则先随盐基度的升高而升高,达到最大值后,再随盐基度的升高而降低.同一系列样品在相同加药条件下,盐基度愈高,混凝效果愈好,Alb含量愈高,混凝效果并不一定愈好.因此,提高Alb不一定能提高混凝效果,工业产品的质量控制以及追求目标应当是尽量提高盐基度,而不是Alb的含量.     

Changes in attitudes about importance of and willingness to pay for salmon recovery in Oregon

Salmon are perhaps the quintessential icon of the Pacific Northwest, affecting the region's culture, politics, and economy. The importance Oregonians place on salmon recovery and their willingness to pay for salmon recovery efforts was assessed biennially between 1996 and 2002 through the Oregon Population Survey. Based on these data, we found that Oregonians appear to have become less supportive toward salmon recovery and salmon recovery efforts over that time period; they were less likely to say salmon recovery is important and chose lower willingness to pay responses in 2002 than in 1996.Attitudes do appear to be related to the economic conditions and demographic composition of residents of the state. In particular, we found that local unemployment rates, age of respondent, and rural county residence are significantly negatively correlated with the respondent's expressed support for salmon recovery efforts. Attributes positively correlated with expressions of support for salmon include male gender, graduate-level education, and American Indian identity. We found that a significant portion of the decline in support is unexplained by the variables included in the analysis.