Evaluation Of Ambient Air Pollution Impact On Carrot Plants At A Sub Urban Site Using Open Top Chambers

The present experiment was done to evaluate the impact of ambient air pollution on carrot (Dacus carotavar. Pusa Kesar) plants using open top chambers (OTCs) ventilated with ambient (NFCs) or charcoal filtered air (FCs) at a suburban site of Varanasi, India. Various morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of the plants were studied at different growth stages. Air monitoring data clearly showed high concentrations of SO₂, NO₂and O₃in the ambient air of study site. SO₂and NO₂concentrations were higher during early growth stages of carrot, whereas O₃concentration was highest during later growth stages. Filtration of air has caused significant reductions in all the three pollutant concentrations in FCs as compared to NFCs.Plants growing in FCs showed significantly higher photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency and variable fluorescence as compared to plants growing in NFCs. Protein content also showed a similar pattern, however, lipid peroxidation, ascorbic acid content and peroxidase activity were higher in plants growing in NFCs as compared to FCs. Shoot length, number of leaves per plant, leaf area and root and shoot weight increased significantly upon filtration of ambient air. Total nitrogen decreased significantly in root, but increased significantly in shoot of plants grown in NFCs. Total P, Mg, Ca and K contents decreased significantly in plants grown in NFCs as compared to FCs. The individual pollutant concentrations were below threshold for plant injury, but the combined effect of all the three seems to act synergistically in causing greater adverse impact on dry weight and physiology of carrot plants. The study clearly indicates that air pollutants are high enough in the ambient air to cause significant unfavorable impact on carrot plants. The work further supports the usefulness of OTCs for assessing air pollution damage under field conditions in developing countries.     

太湖流域典型城镇水环境芳香胺类污染特征

利用固相萃取-气相色谱/串联质谱法(SPE-GC-MS/MS),对太湖流域上游城镇常州武南地区的地表水体和典型排放源中的4种芳香胺类污染物(AAs)进行连续2年监测,综合分析了2018～2019年间AAs的污染及浓度特征.结果表明,武南地区河网中目标AAs的总浓度范围为相似文献   

Indigenous Systems of Forest Classification: Understanding Land Use Patterns and the Role of NTFPs in Shifting Cultivators’ Subsistence Economies

This article discusses the system of classification of forest types used by the Pwo Karen in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand and the role of nontimber forest products (NTFPs), focusing on wild food plants, in Karen livelihoods. The article argues that the Pwo Karen have two methods of forest classification, closely related to their swidden farming practices. The first is used for forest land that has been, or can be, swiddened, and classifies forest types according to growth conditions. The second system is used for land that is not suitable for cultivation and looks at soil properties and slope. The article estimates the relative importance of each forest type in what concerns the collection of wild food plants. A total of 134 wild food plant species were recorded in December 2004. They account for some 80–90% of the amount of edible plants consumed by the Pwo Karen, and have a base value of Baht 11,505 per year, comparable to the cash incomes of many households. The article argues that the Pwo Karen reliance on NTFPs has influenced their land-use and forest management practices. However, by restricting the length of the fallow period, the Thai government has caused ecological changes that are challenging the ability of the Karen to remain subsistence oriented. By ignoring shifting cultivators’ dependence on such products, the involvement of governments in forest management, especially through restrictions imposed on swidden farming practices, is likely to have a considerable impact on the livelihood strategies of these communities.     

Study of the evolution of aerosol emissions from coal-fired power plants due to coagulation, condensation, and gravtitational settling and health impact

This paper studies the scavenging efficiencies of aerosol emissions from coal-fired power plants under different removal mechanisms (coagulation, heterogeneous nucleation and gravitational settling) as a function of time. It also analyses the ‘health impact’ of the aerosol before and after the above dynamic mechanisms by comparing the respirable dust fractions. The well-known equations of evolution are applied to an average PSD that represents the exhaust particulate emissions from coal-fired power plants (i.e. Aboño power plant in Asturias that belongs to Hidrocantábrico Group, S.A.). From this study it is inferred that respirable dust is scavenged with the greatest difficulty and when compared with the initial volume of respirable dust, roughly 20% remains after 18 h of gravitational settling. Therefore, gravitational settling is the main removal mechanism of respirable dust compared to condensation and coagulation.     

Portrayals of Endangered Species in Advertising: Exercising Intertextuality to Question the Anthropocentric Lens

This paper examines recent advertisements used by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness about the predicament of endangered, vulnerable, and threatened species. By engaging in a critical discourse analysis of a selection of advertisements, this study demonstrates how the WWF uses intertextuality as a discourse strategy to articulate its message and objectives. In this paper, I argue that by engaging in the juxtaposition of various paratexts (“layers of meaning”), the WWF produces a narrative which reveals an anthropocentric lens through which we view the world. The advertisements are found to resort to paratexts of anthropomorphism with the intent of extending the bounds of personhood to non-human animal species. In closing, I maintain that intertextuality is employed not only to question the dominant human-centric paradigm, but serve the heuristic function of encouraging a more empathetic identification with the animals in question and the creation of a more holistic worldview.     

四川及重庆蕨类植物区系组成、特有现象和珍稀种类

四川及重庆为我国蕨类植物最丰富的区域之一,总计有52科,141属,约880种。鳞毛蕨科、蹄盖蕨科和水龙骨科是最重要的3个科,其种数占本区种数的50.5%,金星蕨科、中国蕨科和铁角蕨科在本区也有较多的种类分布。在本区主要的属为耳蕨属、鳞毛蕨属和蹄盖蕨属,它们的种数都超过50种,合计占本区种数的22.8%,其次有铁角蕨属、瓦韦属和毛蕨属,其种数都逾25种,而有近85%的属不足10种。热带成分的属在本区占53.9%,但它们的区系存在度不大;东亚分布的属占16.3%,其区系存在度相对较大;温带分布的属占12.7%。本区无特有科;仅光叶蕨属1个特有属,还有6个中国特有属;有387种为中国特有种,约占本区种数的44%。特有种的32%为本区特有,其余以与中国西南片区（占22.5%）和整个南方片区（占26.1%）共有为主。本区被列入国家重点保护的珍稀濒危蕨类植物有10种,其中1级3种,2级7种。     

The Use of Natural Taraxacum officinale Wigg. Populations for Assessing the State of Technogenically Disturbed Areas

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构及湖水位对其影响研究

通过对鄱阳湖水文过程和湖盆地形特点的分析,利用3S技术对鄱阳湖湿地进行了分类,研究了各种类型湿地植物生态系统的生境、主要植物群落结构和分布规律。结果表明,鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构复杂,生物多样性极其丰富。湿地植物是以根茎为主要繁殖器官的克隆繁殖植物,以集群分布为主要特点。在宏观尺度上受地形高程、湖水位和洲滩出露时间制约,不同植物群落沿水分梯度分布;在景观尺度上受到土壤含水量、地下水埋深和土壤结构影响,形成水平镶嵌结构;微观尺度上还与微地形和土壤养分密切相关,部分区域表现为复合体结构。湿地植被对水分梯度的敏感性,导致湿地植物生态系统的易变性和脆弱性。近年来,鄱阳湖水位过低且持续时间长,使生态系统遭受一定损害。     

Coalition of injustice? Bodies,business, and the biosphere in struggles against unwanted land uses

Scholars of environmental injustice have pushed to see beyond the spatial distribution of environmental harms in studies of unwanted land uses. Building upon this work, this article examines how the complex geographies of environmental injustice play out in a coalition to prevent the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Surry County, Virginia. While spatially dispersed coalitions of negatively affected actors can strengthen efforts to prevent the construction of an unwanted land use, they can also perpetuate the environmental injustices surrounding it. To make this argument, particular attention is paid to the diverse reasons and ways differentially situated actors oppose an unwanted land use. It is demonstrated how the disparate concerns and differential tactics deployed by actors in coalitions against unwanted land uses are often embedded in and potentially contribute to longer histories of social injustice.     

Fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater treatment plants - Conception of a database and first results

We created a database in order to quantitatively assess the occurrence and removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). From 117 scientific publications, we compiled 6641 data covering 184 PPCPs. Data included the concentrations of PPCPs in WWTP influents and effluents, their removal efficiency and their loads to the aquatic environment. The first outputs of our database allowed to identify the most investigated PPCPs in WWTPs and the most persistent ones, and to obtain reliable and quantitative values on their concentrations, frequency of detection and removal efficiency in WWTPs. We were also able to compare various processes and pointed out activated sludge with nitrogen treatment and membrane bioreactor as the most efficient ones.