Investigation into atmospheric deposition through precipitation studies at New Delhi (India)

Rain water samples were collected during the monsoon of 1994, using automatic wet-only and manual bulk collectors at a height of 30 m above the ground at the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi. The average pH of the rain water was 5.7 and its chemical composition was dominated by NH₄ and SO₄. The free acidity of the rain water was found to be due to S04 rather than N03 and it was mainly neutralized by NH₄ and Ca. Calculation of sea salt fraction and enrichment factor revealed that this site is free for marine influence. On an average the bulk samples had 13% higher concentration than that of wet-only samples which may be due to the deposition of soil-derived particles during the 24 h period of exposure. The higher neutralization factors of Ca and Mg in bulk samples and highest dry deposition rates for Ca in comparison to other components, indicated the positive interference of dust particles in neutralization.     

Need for a global map of forest naturalness for a sustainable future

There is a growing need to assess and monitor forest cover and its conservation status over global scales to determine human impact on ecosystems and to develop sustainability plans. Recent approaches to measure regional and global forest status and dynamics are based on remotely sensed estimates of tree cover. We argue that tree cover should not be used to assess the area of forest ecosystems because tree cover is an undefined subset of forest cover. For example, tree cover can indicate a positive trend even in the presence of deforestation, as in the case of plantations. We believe a global map of forest naturalness that accounts for the bio-ecological integrity of forest ecosystems, for example, intact forests, old-growth forest patches, rewilding forests (exploited forest landscapes undergoing long-term natural succession), and managed forests is needed for global forest assessment.     

Bird extirpations and community dynamics in an Andean cloud forest over 100 years of land-use change

Long-term studies to understand biodiversity changes remain scarce—especially so for tropical mountains. We examined changes from 1911 to 2016 in the bird community of the cloud forest of San Antonio, a mountain ridge in the Colombian Andes. We evaluated the effects of past land-use change and assessed species vulnerability to climate disruption. Forest cover decreased from 95% to 50% by 1959, and 33 forest species were extirpated. From 1959 to 1990, forest cover remained stable, and an additional 15 species were lost—a total of 29% of the forest bird community. Thereafter, forest cover increased by 26% and 17 species recolonized the area. The main cause of extirpations was the loss of connections to adjacent forests. Of the 31 (19%) extirpated birds, 25 have ranges peripheral to San Antonio, mostly in the lowlands. Most still occurred regionally, but broken forest connections limited their recolonization. Other causes of extirpation were hunting, wildlife trade, and water diversion. Bird community changes included a shift from predominantly common species to rare species; forest generalists replaced forest specialists that require old growth, and functional groups, such as large-body frugivores and nectarivores, declined disproportionally. All water-dependent birds were extirpated. Of the remaining 122 forest species, 19 are vulnerable to climate disruption, 10 have declined in abundance, and 4 are threatened. Our results show unequivocal species losses and changes in community structure and abundance at the local scale. We found species were extirpated after habitat loss and fragmentation, but forest recovery stopped extirpations and helped species repopulate. Land-use changes increased species vulnerability to climate change, and we suggest reversing landscape transformation may restore biodiversity and improve resistance to future threats.     

冬闲水田土壤——一个重要的尚未确定的N2O释放源

通过对土壤N₂0生成机理和影响因素、冬闲田土壤中碳氮营养基质积累、N₂0强烈脉冲释放和冬闲田分布面积的分析,提出北半球热带－亚热带地区冬闲田可能是一个重要的尚未确定的N₂0释放源。粗略估计N₂0(以N₂0—N计)年释放量为0.75 Tg。      

旱地和淹水土壤中DDT的降解及DDMU和DDMS的形成趋势

在水稻和黑麦草2种栽培条件下,研究了新施入土壤中的工业DDT及微量老化残留DDT的降解,以及二级降解物DDMS和DDMU的形成动态.结果表明,DDT在旱地土壤中降解缓慢,其一级降解物DDE和DDD检出量略有增加,二级降解物DDMU和DDMS的形成极为有限,到试验终止时(黑麦草生长128 d)二者检出量仅为20 ng·g^-1.DDT在淹水土壤中可迅速降解,84 d后DDT残留量仅为施入量的2％左右,维持在70～80 ng·g^-1的水平;随DDT的降解,其一级降解物DDD检出量增加,在第84 d达峰值,DDD检出量的峰值与DDT的谷值时间基本吻合;同时DDMS和DDMU检出量也明显增加,在84 d时达到峰值,分别为28和115 ng·g^-1.未发现不同土壤条件对微量老化残留DDT降解动态或降解物形成产生影响.因此,淹水条件极利于新施入DDT在土壤中的降解并形成DDMS,但不能通过改变土壤水分条件来促进老化残留DDT降解.     

新疆北部沙漠边缘植被恢复可能性初探

古尔班通古特沙漠边缘植被破坏严重,沙丘活化明显,是新疆干旱植被恢复的重点地区之一,一般缺乏地表水补充,其沙丘的水分状况便成为植被生存和恢复过程的关键条件,为探究古尔班通古特沙漠边缘植被恢复的可能性,在植物生长期内对流动沙丘和固定沙丘不同部位的水分状况进行了连续监测,结果表明:沙丘大多数层次含水量月变化与月降水量分布相一致;流动沙丘含水量从上部到下部依次升高;流动沙丘中部和下部稳定湿沙层处在距沙丘表面60 cm以下,且厚度超过100 cm,固定沙丘稳定湿沙层只存在于沙丘中部距沙丘表面60～150 cm内,其厚度不超过100 cm,在一般年份,该地区利用本地种进行植被恢复是可行的.     

干法烟气同时脱硫脱硝技术的应用及新进展

随着环保要求的不断提高,大部分燃煤电厂都将面临加强控制SO2和NOX排放的问题,因此开发经济高效的脱硫脱硝新技术、新设备已迫在眉睫.综述了目前国内外干法烟气同时脱硫脱硝技术,详细介绍了各种技术的反应机理、研究现状及最新进展,并分析了这些技术的优点和缺点,最后对其发展前景作了展望.     

Operationalising just sustainability: towards a model for place-based governance

As the concept of sustainability broadens to include social aspects, sustainability organisations must embrace strategies that allow them to more effectively address community issues and procedural concerns. Biosphere reserves (BRs) and model forests (MFs) advocate strongly for community engagement to achieve place-based sustainability; in practice, however, these organisations have had variable success in effectively engaging community residents and addressing their needs and interests. In this paper, we offer a framework for place-based governance for sustainability that is used to compare strategies used in BRs and MFs operating in the Maritime Provinces of Canada with the operations of Vibrant Communities, an anti-poverty organisation that operates locally in Saint John, New Brunswick. We draw attention to three imperatives: comprehensive understanding, community empowerment, and community-based outcomes, and five procedural drivers: local leadership, strong networks, diverse community engagement, learning together, and information sharing. Based on our results, we provide greater clarity on processes that address the imperatives and mobilise the drivers of effective place-based governance for sustainability. Our results suggest that there is a need for theory and practice to advance beyond current understandings of sustainability governance to enhance the capacity of organisations seeking to implement community-based sustainability strategies.     

Revealing inadvertent elitism in stakeholder models of environmental governance: assessing procedural justice in sustainability organizations

Consensus-based multi-stakeholder forms of environmental governance involving government, private and civil society actors, have become popular for advancing sustainability, but have been criticized for failing to achieve procedural justice objectives including recognition, participation and strengthening capabilities. Yet, how such models have functioned within non-governmental organizations dedicated to advancing sustainability has been underexplored. This paper assesses the procedural elements of consensus-based multi-stakeholder models used within Canadian biosphere reserves and model forests, two organizations working to address environment and sustainability issues. We draw on strategic documents and semi-structured interviews from five organizations in Canada to analyze their governance structures and processes against a framework for procedural justice. We find the organizational structure reproduces elitism and professionalism associated with stakeholder models more generally and reproduces challenges associated with recognition, participation and building capabilities found in other stakeholder approaches. Meeting broader sustainability challenges requires organizations to address procedural justice issues in addition to their traditional environmental concerns.     

挥发性脂肪酸对厌氧干式发酵产甲烷的影响

为了提高中温干式厌氧间歇发酵效率,研究了发酵过程中间产物———挥发性脂肪酸对产甲烷的影响。实验分2批进行,第1批在牛粪发酵过程中分别添加乙酸、丙酸和丁酸,第2批发酵添加易产生挥发酸的厨余垃圾混合发酵。结果显示,添加单一挥发酸的发酵过程中,添加丙酸的产甲烷速度较慢,因为丙酸降解生成乙酸的速度较慢,减慢了甲烷的形成;混合发酵过程厨余垃圾产甲烷速度比牛粪快,发酵过程产生2个产气高峰;牛粪和厨余垃圾固体物质含量比在11∶1到5∶1范围内较好,比牛粪单独发酵产气多,产酸高但不酸败,产生的挥发酸主要是乙酸和丙酸,其中比例为7∶1混合发酵的产甲烷速率最大,为4.89 mL/(g VS·d)。实验表明,牛粪厌氧干式发酵过程添加一定量的厨余垃圾可加快挥发酸的产生并提高挥发酸产量,从而提高甲烷的产量,但是总挥发酸长时间超过10 000 mg/L,pH降到不适于产甲烷菌生长的范围时,将抑制甲烷的生成,挥发酸积累导致厌氧发酵酸败。