Living with floating vegetation invasions

Invasions of water bodies by floating vegetation, including water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), are a huge global problem for fisheries, hydropower generation, and transportation. We analyzed floating plant coverage on 20 reservoirs across the world’s tropics and subtropics, using > 30 year time-series of LANDSAT remote-sensing imagery. Despite decades of costly weed control, floating invasion severity is increasing. Floating plant coverage correlates with expanding urban land cover in catchments, implicating urban nutrient sources as plausible drivers. Floating vegetation invasions have undeniable societal costs, but also provide benefits. Water hyacinths efficiently absorb nutrients from eutrophic waters, mitigating nutrient pollution problems. When washed up on shores, plants may become compost, increasing soil fertility. The biomass is increasingly used as a renewable biofuel. We propose a more nuanced perspective on these invasions moving away from futile eradication attempts towards an ecosystem management strategy that minimizes negative impacts while integrating potential social and environmental benefits.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01360-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Enhancing the efficiency of nitrogen removing bacterial population to a wide range of C:N ratio (1.5:1 to 14:1) for simultaneous C & N removal

• Simultaneous C & N removal in Methammox occurs at wide C:N ratio. • Biological Nitrogen Removal at wide C:N ratio of 1.5:1 to 14:1 is not reported. • Ammonia removal shifted from mixotrophy to heterotrophy at high C:N ratio. • Acetogenic population compensated for ammonia oxidizers at high C:N ratio. • Methanogens increase the plasticity of nitrogen removers at high C:N ratio. High C:N ratio in the wastewater limits biological nitrogen removal (BNR), especially in anammox based technologies. The present study attempts to improve the COD tolerance of the BNR process by associating methanogens with nitrogen removing bacterial (NRB) populations. The new microbial system coined as ‘Methammox’, was investigated for simultaneous removal of COD (C) and ammonia (N) at C:N ratio 1.5:1 to 14:1. The ammonia removal rate (11.5 mg N/g VSS/d) and the COD removal rates (70.6 mg O/g VSS/d) of Methammox was close to that of the NRB (11.1 mg N/g VSS/d) and the methanogenic populations (77.9 mg O/g VSS/d), respectively. The activities established that these two populations existed simultaneously and independently in ‘Methammox’. Further studies in biofilm reactor fetched a balanced COD and ammonia removal (55%–60%) at a low C:N ratio (≤2:1) and high C:N ratio (≥9:1). The population abundance of methanogens was reasonably constant, but the nitrogen removal shifted from mixotrophy to heterotrophy as the C:N ratio shifted from low (C:N≤2:1) to high (C:N≥9:1). The reduced autotrophic NRB (ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and Anammox) population at a high C:N ratio was compensated by the fermentative group that could carry out denitrification heterotrophically. The functional plasticity of the Methammox system to adjust to a broad C:N ratio opens new frontiers in biological nitrogen removal of high COD containing wastewaters.     

Classification of coastal waters according to the new Italian water legislation and comparison with the European Water Directive

New legislation for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and ground waters has recently been established in Italy. This law presents a new integrated approach, where all water bodies are considered as complex ecosystems to be studied in each of their components. The new concept of environmental quality of the water body, based on the ecological and chemical status, is also introduced. At the same time (i.e. the end of 2000), the European Community approved the European Water Framework Directive based on the same basic environmental concepts and criteria of the new Italian law. This paper analyses the important points and innovations required by the new Italian legislation for monitoring and classification of marine coastal waters. Details of definitions, parameters, analysis and monitoring programs are discussed. A comparison with the European Water Framework Directive is eventually given, underlining the specific characteristics of the Mediterranean sea, which have to be taken into consideration when applying the European Directive to this particular ecoregion.     

苏州市与温州市不同经济模式下流动人口的空间特征比较

我国正经历着一个巨大的人口流动潮，其主要流向是中西部向东部发达地区流动，农村地区向城镇密集的大中城市地区流动。发达地区的经济模式不尽相同。不同模式下地区流动人口的流向也存在着一定差异。分析比较不同发达地区的流动人口特征，对当地经济政策、产业定位、管理制度等方面均有着非常重要的指导作用。以发达地区流动人口的空间特征为研究目标，以最具代表性的“苏南模式”的苏州市和“温州模式”的温州市两个城市作为研究对象，比较总结两城市的流动人口空间特征与差异，可以看出：苏州市以人口流入为主，温州市流入流出人口数量持平；苏州市吸引外来人口的范围不如温州市广；苏州市城市中流动人口所占比例高过温州市。此外，还对不同经济模式下流动人口空间特征对地区经济发展产生的影响进行了总结，并且给出结论，以期能够对地区的经济发展起到一定的指导和促进作用。     

高级氧化过程和生物处理法用于污水处理的研究进展

现如今污水处理技术的发展受到了全球的关注,高级氧化过程(AOP)有高的化学稳定性或低的生物活性,可用于清除用常规方法不能清除的有机污染物,它被认为是一种有高度竞争性的水处理技术.用化学氧化法要使得污染物完全矿化(有机态化合物转化为无机态化合物过程)常常是比较昂贵的,因此把它与生物处理法结合使用以降低运营成本.本文评论了近几年来AOP和生物处理法相结合以处理工业废水的技术的研究进展.     

Continuous desulfurization and bacterial community structure of an integrated bioreactor developed to treat SO2 from a gas stream

Sulfide dioxide(SO2) is often released during the combustion processes of fossil fuels. An integrated bioreactor with two sections, namely, a suspended zone(SZ) and immobilized zone(IZ), was applied to treat SO2 for 6 months. Sampling ports were set in both sections to investigate the performance and microbial characteristics of the integrated bioreactor. SO2 was effectively removed by the synergistic effect of the SZ and IZ, and more than 85%removal efficiency was achieved at steady state. The average elimination capacity of SO2 in the bioreactor was 2.80 g/(m3·hr) for the SZ and 1.50 g/(m3· hr) for the IZ. Most SO2 was eliminated in the SZ. The liquid level of the SZ and the water content ratio of the packing material in the IZ affected SO2 removal efficiency. The SZ served a key function not only in SO2 elimination, but also in moisture maintenance for the IZ. The desired water content in IZ could be feasibly maintained without any additional pre-humidification facilities. Clone libraries of 16 S r DNA directly amplified from the DNA of each sample were constructed and sequenced to analyze the community composition and diversity in the individual zones.The desulfurization bacteria dominated both zones. Paenibacillus sp. was present in both zones, whereas Ralstonia sp. existed only in the SZ. The transfer of SO2 to the SZ involved dissolution in the nutrient solution and biodegradation by the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.This work presents a potential biological treatment method for waste gases containing hydrophilic compounds.     

Reject management from a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant in Bangkok, Thailand

The potential reuse of rejects from upstream and downstream process of Mechanical-Biological-Treatment (MBT) plant for the production refuse derived fuel (RDF) was investigated in the present study. Since, the rejects were characterized with the high calorific values of approximately 21 kJ/kg for upstream process and 29.5 kJ/kg for downstream process, both can be considered for RDF production. Further, heavy metal contents were also not exceeding the European standards for using it as RDF is additional benefit. But, RDF production from upstream process rejects showed maximum energy supply of 3.20 × 10⁶ MJ/d with less ash (11.8%), chlorine (0.6%) and sulfur (0.2%) contents than the downstream process rejects. Among the three potential RDF users surveyed, the cement industries showed positive interest to burn RDF in their cement kiln with the energy supply cost of <2.1 USD/GJ. Few technical, economical and safety barriers were also identified with the RDF end users and potential suggestions were discussed for thriving RDF market in Thailand.     

Monitoring Change in Vertebrate Abundance: the Living Planet Index

Abstract:  The task of measuring the decline of global biodiversity and instituting changes to halt and reverse this downturn has been taken up in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 target. It is an undertaking made more difficult by the complex nature of biodiversity and the consequent difficulty in accurately gauging its depletion. In the Living Planet Index, aggregated population trends among vertebrate species indicate the rate of change in the status of biodiversity, and this index can be used to address the question of whether or not the 2010 target has been achieved. We investigated the use of generalized additive models in aggregating large quantities of population trend data, evaluated potential bias that results from collation of existing trends, and explored the feasibility of disaggregating the data (e.g., geographically, taxonomically, regionally, and by thematic area). Our results show strengths in length and completeness of data, little evidence of bias toward threatened species, and the possibility of disaggregation into meaningful subsets. Limitations of the data set are still apparent, in particular the dominance of bird data and gaps in tropical-species population coverage. Population-trend data complement the longer-term, but more coarse-grained, perspectives gained by evaluating species-level extinction rates. To measure progress toward the 2010 target, indicators must be adapted and strategically supplemented with existing data to generate meaningful indicators in time. Beyond 2010, it is critical a strategy be set out for the future development of indicators that will deal with existing data gaps and that is intricately tied to the goals of future biodiversity targets.     

秸秆生物型煤走煤能源利用可持续发展之路

研究出生物型煤的生产工艺流程和最佳化配方，摸索出生物型煤成型主机的合理运行参数，成功试验生产出新型能源生物型煤，为中国煤能源可持续发展利用开辟了新途径，有助于解决成都地区秸秆燃烧造成大气污染问题。     

黄河巨洪发生时间规律的讨论

本文讨论了黄河巨洪发生的三个时间规律。一是巨洪一般发生在太阳活动的峰年或谷年;二是巨洪发生在甘、新、蒙交接区7级以上大震后一年内;三是巨洪发生在重合于25年周期的年份(从1933年算起),以及重合于这个周期的公度性年份和黄金分割年份。另外对太阳活动和巨洪的相关机制和大震与巨洪之间的相关机制也作了讨论。