Geochemical characteristics of surficial sediments in a tropical estuary, south-west India

Geochemical characteristics of surficial sediments in the Panangad region of Cochin estuary, the largest brackish-water humid ecosystem in the south-west coast of India, were analysed. Temporal variations in nutrient stoichiometry, seasonal characteristics of redox elements Fe and S, and the phosphorus geochemistry were employed for the purpose. The stoichiometric analysis pointed towards autochthonous origin of organic matter, possibility of nitrogen limitation, and allochthonous modification of redox conditions. Seasonal variations were not statistically significant for all the geochemical parameters, whereas significant spatial variations were observed with lower values at sandy stations, suggesting that the texture of the sediments is the main factor influencing the sediment geochemistry. Significant inter-relations between the geochemical parameters also suggest a common control mechanism. Based on these geochemical characteristics, the study region can be effectively categorized into two distinct zones, viz. (1) erosion and transportation and (2) deposition zones.     

Characterisation of Organic Matter and Carbon Cycling in Rehabilitated Lignite-rich Mine Soils

Open-cast lignite mining in the Lusatian mining district resulted in rehabilitated mine soils containing up to four organic matter types: (1) recent plant litter, (2) lignite deposited by mining activity, (3) carbonaceous ash particles deposited during amelioration of the lignite-containing parent substrate and (4) airborne carbonaceous particles deposited during contamination. The influence of lignite-derived carbon types on the organic matter development and their role in the soil carbon cycle was unknown. This paper presents the findings obtained during a six year project concerning the impact of lignite on soil organic matter composition and the biogeochemical functioning of the ecosystem. The organic matter development after rehabilitation was followed in a chronosequence of rehabilitated mine soils afforested in 1966, 1981 and 1987. A differentiation of the organic matter types and an evaluation of their role within the ecosystem was achieved by the use of ¹⁴C activity measurements, ¹³C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy and wet chemical analysis of plant litter compounds. The results showed that the amount and degree of decomposition of the recent organic matter derived from plant material of the 30 year old mine soil was similar to natural uncontaminated forest soil which suggests complete rehabilitation of the ecosystem. The decomposition and humification processes were not influenced by the presence of lignite. On the other hand it was shown that lignite, which was thought to be recalcitrant because of its chemical structure, was part of the carbon cycle in these soils. This demonstrates the need to elucidate further the stabilisation mechanisms of organic matter in soils.     

非饱和土边坡稳定的安全分析及进展

笔者基于基质吸力和土抗剪强度之间的关系和非饱和土力学理论 ,以基质吸力问题为中心 ,通过工程实例对影响非饱和土边坡滑动的各种内在及外界因素进行了参数分析 ,尤其对降雨入渗和裂隙影响的定量分析新进展进行了研究。研究结果表明 :非饱和土边坡稳定分析应加强考虑基质吸力对抗剪强度的折减影响 ,修正极限平衡方法对考虑降雨入渗 ,裂隙影响及暂态渗流的非饱和土边坡稳定性研究具有工程意义和实用价值。     

江苏省某镇土壤重金属污染评价

为了解江苏省某镇表层土壤重金属污染特征,采集并测定了190个土壤样品的As、Cd、Hg和Pb 4种重金属含量,分析土壤重金属的分布特征,综合运用内梅罗综合污染指数法和污染负荷指数法两种评价方法对土壤重金属污染状况进行评价。结果表明：该镇表层土壤中As、Cd和Pb含量平均值高于土壤背景值,Hg与之相反。4种重金属都是主要受到点源污染的影响,其中As的高含量区主要分布在镇的正西边,Cd和Pb的高含量区主要分布在镇的中心区域,Hg的高含量区主要分布在东部以及东北区域。经内梅罗综合污染指数法评价,安全、警戒线、轻污染、中污染和重污染样点的比例分别为5.79%、32.11%、52.11%、4.74%和5.26%。经污染负荷指数法评价,无污染、轻度污染、中度污染和重度污染样点的比例分别为73.69%、25.26%、1.05%和0%。在内梅罗综合污染指数法和污染负荷指数法评价的结果中,有55.26%的样点评价结果相同,而44.74%的样点不同,但都显示出污染程度从镇中心向四周逐渐降低的变化态势。     

表面活性剂强化球形节杆菌修复DDTs污染农田土壤的现场实验

通过田间实验,研究了不同浓度的表面活性剂（SDBS-TW80和RL）对球形节杆菌Arthrobacter globiformis DC-1降解设施农业土壤中DDTs效果的影响。结果表明,SDBS-TW80和RL 均能不同程度地促进球形节杆菌降解农田土壤中DDTs。当SDBS-TW80和RL浓度分别为200和5 mg·kg-1土时,DDTs的降解率达到最高,均为64%左右。DDTs组分分析表明：SDBS-TW80和RL对p,p'-DDE、p,p'-DDT、p,p'-DDD和o,p'-DDT 4种组分均有不同程度的降解,其中毒性最强的p,p'-DDE降解效果最好,最高达75%左右。实验结果证实了利用表面活性剂强化球形节杆菌现场修复DDTs污染土壤的可能性。考虑到修复效率和成本,实际应用中优先选择SDBS-TW80的组合。     

安徽庐江潜在富硒土壤硒生物有效性及其影响因素

为研究潜在富硒土壤硒生物有效性,采集安徽庐江潜在富硒地区64组水稻及对应根系土壤样品,分析土壤理化性质、土壤养分、全硒、不同形态硒及大米硒含量,采用线性回归法探究土壤硒生物有效性的影响因素.结果表明,大米硒含量（记作Se_rice,下同）为0.037~0.120 mg/kg,土壤全硒含量（记作Se_tot,下同）为0.260~1.177 mg/kg,土壤硒以腐殖酸态硒（15.5%~44.7%）、强有机态硒（12.5%~53.3%）和残渣态硒（8.1%~68.5%）为主.土壤有效硫、有效磷通过提高强有机态、腐殖酸态和浸提性硒含量并促进水稻籽实（大米）对硒的吸收,而土壤阳离子交换量（cation exchange capacity,CEC）、速效钾、全铁和全锰通过降低水稻生物可利用态硒含量（包括水溶态、腐殖酸态、强有机态和浸提性硒）抑制水稻籽实（大米）对硒的吸收.Se_tot与Se_rice显著正相关（R=0.616,P < 0.01）,非残渣态硒含量与有机质含量之比（记作NRE-Se/OM）与Se_rice相关性最强（R=0.774,P < 0.01）.土壤NRE-Se/OM、有效硫、有效铁、全锰构建的多元逐步线性对数回归模型可解释水稻籽实（大米）吸收硒的76.0%的方差.因此引入变量NRE-Se/OM,并结合土壤有效硫、有效铁和全锰能有效评价和预测研究区土壤硒生物有效性.      

不同类型土壤中As(Ⅴ)解吸行为的研究

为了解As(Ⅴ)在土壤中的解吸行为及不同类型试剂(NaOH、NaCl、NaHCO3、柠檬酸、草酸及磷酸盐缓冲液)对所吸附砷的解吸效果,对As(Ⅴ)在不同类型土壤中的解吸热力学和动力学效果进行了研究.结果表明,NaOH和磷酸盐缓冲液对几种土壤吸附砷的解吸效果较好,解吸率分别在47.3%～73.0%和35.4%～66.6%...     

珠江三角洲一些菜地土壤中多环芳烃的含量及来源

为了探讨珠江三角洲中心区经济发达地带的多环芳烃污染水平,为有关部门制定相关的环保政策提供依据,分析了55个分别采自广州、东莞以及佛山郊区表层菜地中土壤样品的多环芳烃的含量.16种EPA(美国环保署)规定的优先控制多环芳烃含量为58～3077 μg·kg-1,均值为315 μg·kg-1,相对于土壤标准和世界其它地区的检测结果属于中等程度污染.分析结果表明,土壤中多环芳烃的含量同土壤总有机碳、碳黑存在着显著的线性关系.通过几个常用参数分析得知,广州、东莞及佛山的多环芳烃污染来源于石化污染以及化石燃料、生物质和煤炭的燃烧.据估算,广州、东莞及佛山0～20 cm表层土壤中多环芳烃类的储量为1292t.     

亳州中药材及产地土壤和地下水中氟化物含量

分析了毫州典型中药材及产地土壤和地下水中氟化物的含量.结果表明,中药材基地表层土壤全氟平均和水溶性氟含量分别在278.4-625.6 mg·kg-1和5.02-16.3 mg·kg-1之间,均值分别为532.8 mg·kg-1和9.88 mg·kg-1.表层土壤全氟平均含量高于全国土壤总氟背景值(478 mg·kg-1...     

The relationships between mercury and selenium in plankton and fish from a tropical food web

Background, aim, and scope  Selenium (Se) has been shown to reduce mercury (Hg) bioavailability and trophic transfer in aquatic ecosystems. The study of methylmercury (MeHg) and Se bioaccumulation by plankton is therefore of great significance in order to obtain a better understanding of the estuarine processes concerning Hg and Se accumulation and biomagnification throughout the food web. In the western South Atlantic, few studies have documented trace element and MeHg in fish tissues. No previous study about trace elements and MeHg in plankton has been conducted concerning tropical marine food webs. Se, Hg, and MeHg were determined in two size classes of plankton, microplankton (70–290 μm) and mesoplankton (≥290 μm), and also in muscle tissues and livers of four fish species of different trophic levels (Mugil liza, a planktivorous fish; Bagre spp., an omnivorous fish; Micropogonias furnieri, a benthic carnivorous fish; and Centropomus undecimalis, a pelagic carnivorous fish) from a polluted estuary in the Brazilian Southeast coast, Guanabara Bay. Biological and ecological factors such as body length, feeding habits, and trophic transfer were considered in order to outline the relationships between these two elements. The differences in trace element levels among the different trophic levels were investigated. Materials and methods  Fish were collected from July 2004 to August 2005 at Guanabara Bay. Plankton was collected from six locations within the bay in August 2005. Total mercury (THg) was determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) with sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. MeHg analysis was conducted by digesting samples with an alcoholic potassium hydroxide solution followed by dithizone-toluene extraction. MeHg was then identified and quantified in the toluene layer by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Se was determined by AAS using graphite tube with Pin platform and Zeeman background correction. Results and discussion  Total mercury, MeHg, and Se increased with plankton size class. THg and Se values were below 2.0 and 4.8 μg g⁻¹ dry wt in microplankton and mesoplankton, respectively. A large excess of molar concentrations of Se in relation to THg was observed in both plankton size class and both fish tissues. Plankton presented the lowest concentrations of this element. In fish, the liver showed the highest THg and Se concentrations. THg and Se in muscle were higher in Centropomus undecimalis (3.4 and 25.5 nmol g⁻¹) than in Micropogonias furnieri (2.9 and 15.3 nmol g⁻¹), Bagre spp (1.3 and 3.4 nmol g⁻¹) and Mugil liza (0.3 and 5.1 nmol g⁻¹), respectively. The trophic transfer of THg and Se was observed between trophic levels from prey (considering microplankton and mesoplankton) to top predator (fish). The top predators in this ecosystem, Centropomus undecimalis and Micropogonias furnieri, presented similar MeHg concentrations in muscles and liver. Microplankton presented lower ratios of methylmercury to total mercury concentration (MeHg/THg) (34%) than those found in mesoplankton (69%) and in the muscle of planktivorous fish, Mugil liza (56%). The other fish species presented similar MeHg/THg in muscle tissue (of around 100%). M. liza showed lower MeHg/THg in the liver than C. undecimalis (35%), M. furnieri (31%) and Bagre spp. (22%). Significant positive linear relationships were observed between the molar concentrations of THg and Se in the muscle tissue of M. furnieri and M. liza. These fish species also showed significant inverse linear relationships between hepatic MeHg and Se, suggesting a strong antagonistic effect of Se on MeHg assimilation and accumulation. Conclusions  Differences found among the concentrations THg, MeHg, and Se in microplankton, mesozooplankton, and fishes were probably related to the preferred prey and bioavailability of these elements in the marine environment. The increasing concentration of MeHg and Se at successively higher trophic levels of the food web of Guanabara Bay corresponds to a transfer between trophic levels from the lower trophic level to the top-level predator, suggesting that MeHg and Se were biomagnified throughout the food web. Hg and Se were positively correlated with the fish standard length, suggesting that larger and older fish bioaccumulated more of these trace elements. THg, MeHg, and Se were a function of the plankton size. Recommendations and perspectives  There is a need to assess the role of selenium in mercury accumulation in tropical ecosystems. Without further studies of the speciation of selenium in livers of fishes from this region, the precise role of this element, if any, cannot be verified in positively affecting mercury accumulation. Further studies of this element in the study of marine species should include liver samples containing relatively high concentrations of mercury. A basin-wide survey of selenium in fishes is also recommended.