Effects of municipal solid waste compost and mineral fertilizer amendments on soil properties and heavy metals distribution in maize plants (Zea mays L.)

Soil amendments based on crop nutrient requirements are considered a beneficial management practice. A greenhouse experiment with maize seeds (Zea mays L.) was conducted to assess the inputs of metals to agricultural land from soil amendments. Maize seeds were exposed to a municipal solid waste (MSW) compost (50 Mg ha⁻¹) and NPK fertilizer (33 g plant⁻¹) amendments considering N plant requirement until the harvesting stage with the following objectives: (1) determine the accumulation of total and available metals in soil and (2) know the uptake and ability of translocation of metals from roots to different plant parts, and their effect on biomass production. The results showed that MSW compost increased Cu, Pb and Zn in soil, while NPK fertilizer increased Cd and Ni, but decreased Hg concentration in soil. The root system acted as a barrier for Cr, Ni, Pb and Hg, so metal uptake and translocation were lower in aerial plant parts. Biomass production was significantly enhanced in both MSW and NPK fertilizer-amended soils (17%), but also provoked slight increases of metals and their bioavailability in soil. The highest metal concentrations were observed in roots, but there were no significant differences between plants growing in amended soil and the control soil. Important differences were found for aerial plant parts as regards metal accumulation, whereas metal levels in grains were negligible in all the treatments.     

Non-biological inhibition-based sensing (NIBS) demonstrated for the detection of toxic arsenic compounds

This work demonstrates the success of a recently developed technique in chemical amplification, non-biological inhibition-based sensing (NIBS), for the detection of toxic arsenic compounds. Screening for toxic arsenic compounds is especially important due to their prevalence in wastewater and water sources. The detection method presented in this work amplifies the chemical response of toxic arsenic compounds by developing a sensor chemistry where the analyte inhibits, rather than enhances, the rate of a catalytic reaction. This technique mimics the work done with enzyme inhibition; however, using non-biological molecules allows for selective detection without the shelf-life issue associated with biological molecules. Using NIBS we find that we can enhance the sensitivity of the system by two orders of magnitude with no apparent loss in selectivity. This work demonstrates the versatility of NIBS, showing that the technique can be of general use for the detection of toxic compounds.     

污泥用量对生活垃圾堆肥氮素转化与损失的影响

为了探讨生活垃圾堆肥的氮素损失问题,对生活垃圾（A组）、污泥和生活垃圾混合B组（w/w=1∶6）、C组（w/w=1∶4）组等3组物料进行高温好氧堆肥,研究污泥用量对生活垃圾堆肥化过程中温度、pH值、各氮素转化与损失的影响。结果表明：投加污泥会影响生活垃圾的通风性能,减慢物料的升温速率,延长堆肥周期。污泥用量对生活垃圾堆...     

再论自然灾害风险的定义

系统地总结了现有自然灾害风险的定义,并指出其存在的问题。重新甄别了自然灾害系统的组成要素及其作用机制,深入分析了自然灾害风险的核心内涵,据此提出了自然灾害风险的新定义,即自然灾害风险是由自然灾害系统自身演化而导致未来损失的不确定性。结合定义的相关规则,对自然灾害风险新定义进行了符合性验证。新定义不仅深化了人们对自然灾害风险本身的认识,而且明确了自然灾害风险评估的内容。     

Contamination and emission factors of PCDD/Fs, unintentional PCBs, HxCBz, PeCBz and polychlorophenols in chloranil in China

The production of chloranil is regarded as a potentially significant source of unintentional POPs. This research aimed to identify the contamination levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HxCBz), pentachlorobenzene (PeCBz) and polychlorophenols in chloranil samples and identify the formation pathways. The toxicity equivalent (TEQ) values for PCDD/Fs in the chloranil samples ranged from 163 to 1 540 200 pg I-TEQ g⁻¹, while the PCB TEQ values ranged from 1.9 to 3.3 pg WHO-TEQ g⁻¹. High levels of HxCBz, PeCBz and polychlorophenols were also detected in the chloranil samples. The average emission factors were 522.2 mg I-TEQ t⁻¹ (PCDD/Fs), 0.0026 mg WHO-TEQ t⁻¹ (PCBs), 32.6 mg t⁻¹ (HxCBz), and 136.6 mg t⁻¹ (PeCBz). The PCDD/Fs and PCBs are thought to be formed from the polychlorophenols and polychlorobenzenes generated during the chloranil production process. Purification of the chloranil products can reduce the unintentional POPs releases and protect the environment.     

三峡库首地区土壤养分状况与年际变化

三峡库区长期以来人地矛盾突出,蓄水和移民搬迁使土地资源进一步减少,过度开发引起的土壤肥力下降和生态退化问题日趋严重。通过布点调查和土壤取样,对秭归县水田坝乡区域不同海拔高度和农业土地利用管理方式土壤养分状况及其变化趋势进行分析。结果表明: 研究区域内山地农业已普遍采用梯田进行保护性耕作,海拔600~700 m区域主要开辟为脐橙园,700~900 m区域山地主要种植常规作物;研究区域土壤有明显粗骨化和沙质化特性,其肥力特征是蓄水力偏弱,持水保肥性较差,但通气和透水性好,易耕作;研究区域土壤有机质含量偏低,中高海拔区域土壤有机质、全氮含量相对较高,而低海拔区域土壤全磷、全钾含量较高;坡改梯有利于改善土壤肥力状况,提高土壤氮磷养分含量;根据2005~2010年研究结果,研究区域土壤肥力退化趋势仍未得到控制,同时因水土流失和化肥大量使用,该区域大多数土壤有机质含量、全氮、全磷和全钾含量呈降低趋势,而土壤速效养分含量有增高趋势     

Critical Review of Environmental Forensic Techniques: Part II

A multitude of forensic techniques are available for age dating and source identification, including aerial photography interpretation, corrosion models, the commercial availability of a chemical, chemical associations with discrete types of equipment, chemical profiling, degradation models and contaminant transport models. The success of these techniques in environmental litigation and their applicability to a particular fact situation is rarely discussed in the literature. When these techniques are introduced as scientific evidence, their governing assumptions and the adequacy of the underlying data are rigorously scrutinized and often, successfully challenged. The purpose of this paper is to review selected forensic techniques and discuss their merits so that the user can select the technique or combination of techniques most appropriate for the factual elements of the case.     

Shoreline development and degradation of coastal fish reproduction habitats

Coastal development has severely affected habitats and biodiversity during the last century, but quantitative estimates of the impacts are usually lacking. We utilize predictive habitat modeling and mapping of human pressures to estimate the cumulative long-term effects of coastal development in relation to fish habitats. Based on aerial photographs since the 1960s, shoreline development rates were estimated in the Stockholm archipelago in the Baltic Sea. By combining shoreline development rates with spatial predictions of fish reproduction habitats, we estimated annual habitat degradation rates for three of the most common coastal fish species, northern pike (Esox lucius), Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus). The results showed that shoreline constructions were concentrated to the reproduction habitats of these species. The estimated degradation rates, where a degraded habitat was defined as having ≥3 constructions per 100 m shoreline, were on average 0.5 % of available habitats per year and about 1 % in areas close to larger population centers. Approximately 40 % of available habitats were already degraded in 2005. These results provide an example of how many small construction projects over time may have a vast impact on coastal fish populations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0522-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.