Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Plant conservation initiatives lag behind and receive considerably less funding than animal conservation projects. We explored a potential reason for this bias: a tendency among humans to neither notice nor value plants in the environment. Experimental research and surveys have demonstrated higher preference for, superior recall of, and better visual detection of animals compared with plants. This bias has been attributed to perceptual factors such as lack of motion by plants and the tendency of plants to visually blend together but also to cultural factors such as a greater focus on animals in formal biological education. In contrast, ethnographic research reveals that many social groups have strong bonds with plants, including nonhierarchical kinship relationships. We argue that plant blindness is common, but not inevitable. If immersed in a plant‐affiliated culture, the individual will experience language and practices that enhance capacity to detect, recall, and value plants, something less likely to occur in zoocentric societies. Therefore, conservation programs can contribute to reducing this bias. We considered strategies that might reduce this bias and encourage plant conservation behavior. Psychological research demonstrates that people are more likely to support conservation of species that have human‐like characteristics and that support for conservation can be increased by encouraging people to practice empathy and anthropomorphism of nonhuman species. We argue that support for plant conservation may be garnered through strategies that promote identification and empathy with plants.     

PLC控制系统在钢渣热焖工艺中的应用

利用PLC控制系统,实现在钢渣热焖工艺中的恒压供水和钢渣热焖定时定量喷水的自动控制要求,具有国际先进水平,取得了良好的经济效益、社会效益和环境效益.     

三峡蓄水期间汉丰湖消落区营养状态时间变化

为探明三峡蓄水后汉丰湖消落区水质营养状态的变化特征,于2013年10月至2014年2月对水质进行连续观察,测定了水质物理参数、营养盐与叶绿素(Chl-a)的质量浓度.结果表明,水体中营养盐与Chl-a质量浓度的增加,在淹水后营养程度有升高现象,2014年2月与2013年10月相比,TN、TP、高锰酸盐指数与Chl-a质量浓度分别增加了4.7、1.0、0.2、3.27倍,TN、TP质量浓度均超过藻类生长限值,随滞留时间延长易造成水体富营养化,应引起重视.Chl-a单因子评价反映出水质由贫营养向富营养演变.TN/TP结果表明,TN、TP分别在不同时间内制约着藻类的生长;2013年10~12月与2014年2月,藻类生长受TN限制;2014年1月,藻类生长受TP限制.Chl-a与p H、DO、NH+4-N、NO-3-N、TN、高锰酸盐指数及TP呈显著正相关,而与SD、水温呈显著负相关;蓄水期间,水质受到了同一污染源的影响.因子分析结果表明,汉丰湖消落区水质主要受p H、DO、NO-3-N、TN的影响,同时Chl-a、TP、NH+4-N与好氧性有机物的污染不可忽视;在蓄水稳定初期水体具有自净能力,随蓄水滞留时间的延长,水质污染程度整体上呈现逐步恶化的趋势,应加以控制;三峡蓄水期间,南河、东河营养程度相对较高,应加强治理.     

蠡河底泥中反硝化复合菌群富集及菌群结构研究

从无锡市滨湖区蠡河底泥中富集培养反硝化复合菌群,研究其在不同富集培养阶段TN、NO-3-N、NO-2-N、NH+4-N和COD动态变化,分析反硝化过程中气体释放总量、释放速率和成分,通过构建全长16S r DNA克隆文库研究其菌落结构.结果表明,反硝化复合菌群富集在阶段4时脱氮效果最佳,仅在9 h内,330 mg·L-1的TN负荷下,TN去除率达90.9%,NO-3-N去除率达100%,中间产物NO-2-N和NH+4-N积累量最少,分别为3.39 mg·L-1和16.64 mg·L-1,COD去除率达85%;释放气体260m L,气体主要成分为N2,同时还有少量的CH4和CO2等.富集培养反硝化复合菌群细菌属于Pseudomonadaceae科和Rhodocyclaceae科,为Proteobacteria门,OUT丰度分别为57.8%和31.6%,Pseudomonadaceae科是优势类群.     

Ambio’s legacy on monitoring,impact, and management of acid rain: This article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Acidification

Early studies published in Ambio showed large-scale acidification of lakes in southern Sweden and Norway from acid rain. These studies were important for delimiting various scientific issues and thus for eventually contributing to legislation, which reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and helped to mitigate this major environmental problem. Long-term studies and monitoring in Sweden and Norway and at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire helped guide this legislation in Europe and in the USA.     

Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

How effective are River Basin Management Plans in reaching the nutrient load reduction targets?

Riverine nutrient loads are among the major causes of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. This study applied the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in three catchments flowing to the Baltic Sea, namely Vantaanjoki (Finland), Fyrisån (Sweden), and Słupia (Poland), to simulate the effectiveness of nutrient control measures included in the EU’s Water Framework Directive River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). Moreover, we identified similar, coastal, middle-sized catchments to which conclusions from this study could be applicable. The first modelling scenario based on extrapolation of the existing trends affected the modelled nutrient loads by less than 5%. In the second scenario, measures included in RBMPs showed variable effectiveness, ranging from negligible for Słupia to 28% total P load reduction in Vantaanjoki. Adding spatially targeted measures to RBMPs (third scenario) would considerably improve their effectiveness in all three catchments for both total N and P, suggesting a need to adopt targeting more widely in the Baltic Sea countries.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01393-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

疫情下医疗废物的处置现状分析

2019年新冠疫情席卷全球,在疫情环境下,医疗废物大幅增多,全国各大城市纷纷出现医疗废物处置不当的现象。本文对国内外现状分析,在认知、设施、管理和监督四个方面发现存在一定的问题,通过加强教育、加大储备、完善机制和改善监管的建议,为提升医疗废物应急处置能力提供参考。     

不同运行模式下改良型CAST工艺处理生活污水的除磷性能

实验采用改良型CAST工艺,以生活污水为研究对象,考察了C/P、回流比及温度等不同运行模式对系统除磷性能的影响.结果表明,常温条件下进水C/P由50升至100,系统除磷率均值从15%迅速升至95.6%,除磷性能显著提高;继而降低C/P至75,除磷性能因进水碳源不足再度下降,除磷率均值为51.4%,且长期投加易降解碳源引发系统污泥膨胀并导致污泥大量流失.C/P较低情况下,回流比由25%降低至12.5%,除磷性能提高2.3倍,继续降低回流比至0,除磷性能反而下降;温度实验研究则表明,低温系统(14℃±1℃),除磷率稳定维持在90%以上,而高温短程硝化系统(27℃±1℃)除磷率仅为14.1%,可见低温更有利于系统磷的去除.吸磷小试发现,常温系统污泥以O_2、NO_3~-和NO_2~-为电子受体均能进行吸磷,而低温系统污泥能以O_2、NO_3~-为电子受体进行吸磷,高温系统污泥则仅能以O_2为电子受体进行少量吸磷.此外,实验还发现,系统短期闲置导致的污泥"饥饿"有利于系统除磷率的提高.