Summer dormancy in edible dormice (Glis glis) without energetic constraints

Average longevity in free-living edible dormice (Glis glis) can reach 9 years, which is extremely high for a small rodent. This remarkable life span has been related to a peculiar life history strategy and the rarity of reproductive bouts in these seed eaters. Most females (96%) reproduce only once or twice in their lifetime, predominantly during years of mast seeding of, e.g., beech, but entire populations can skip reproduction in years of low seed availability. Surprisingly, in non-reproductive years, large fractions of populations apparently vanished and were never captured above ground. Therefore, we determined the duration of above-ground activity, and body temperature profiles in a subset of animals, of dormice under semi-natural conditions in outdoor enclosures. We found that non-reproductive dormice returned to dormancy in underground burrows throughout summer after active seasons as short as <2 weeks. Thus, animals spent up to >10 months per year in dormancy. This exceeds dormancy duration of any other mammal under natural conditions. Summer dormancy was not caused by energy constraints, as it occurred in animals in good condition, fed ad libitum and without climatic stress. We suggest that almost year-round torpor has evolved as a strategy to escape birds of prey, the major predators of this arboreal mammal. This unique predator-avoidance strategy clearly helps in explaining the unusually high longevity of dormice.     

秸秆资源现状及秸秆沼气效益分析

介绍了农作物秸秆在我国的分布情况和秸秆的组成成分,阐述了将秸秆应用于沼气中的实际价值与研究进展,分析了秸秆沼气对环境、经济与社会的影响。     

沿海地区海洋生态环境承载力定量化研究——以青岛市为例

以青岛市为例,通过因子分析法从10个指标中选取影响沿海地区海洋生态环境承载力动态变化的3个主因子,将其归为二方面的因素,第一主因子为人口和经济因素,第二主因子和第三主因子为海洋环境污染因素.依据这3个主因子的因子得分,用熵值法进行赋权,计算了1998～2005年青岛市海洋生态环境承载力的综合得分,进而得出,虽然青岛市海洋生态环境承载力的两大主要压力(人口和经济)逐年增长,但其仍朝良好的方向发展,并对引起这一结果的主要原因进行了解释,从而为海洋生态环境承载力的定量化计算提供了理论依据,对沿海地区的海洋生态环境管理有重要意义.     

特定岸坡生态系统去除水源中微量有机物实验研究

水源地长期污染严重,微量有机物检出率增加,水质安全性下降,以及岸坡传统硬质化护砌导致生态恶化,为此提出以新型环保材料生态混凝土构建特定岸坡生态系统改善水源水质的研究方法.中试实验结果表明,停留时间为6 d时,水中阿特拉津、邻苯二甲酸二甲酯、邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基)酯、邻苯二甲酸二乙酯、邻苯二甲酸二丁酯的去除率分别为70.5%、57.7%、72.4%、62.4%和45.1%,水样有机物图谱峰数与黄浦江原水相比减少23个,峰总面积降低36.8%;相同条件下对照水库(岸坡硬质护砌),5种微量有机物的去除率仅为40.2%、42.9%、54.8%、52.0%和16.2%.以生态混凝土为载体构建的水源地特定岸坡生态系统在微生物和绿色植物等多因素协同作用下,使水中微量有机物去除效果明显,对改善水源水质和生态修复具有积极意义.     

Policy context as a factor of bias in the valuation of environmental goods – a dual-process theories perspective

When ecosystem services value estimates are applied in the economic assessment of environmental policies, high accuracy of these estimates is required. One of the directions in the scientific discussion on biases in stated preference (SP) valuation surveys builds on dual-process theories of judgment. The paper contributes to this literature by presenting an experiment where two types of judgment were induced via separate versus joint valuation of environmental goods. The results demonstrated that policy relevance of environmental issues, e.g. the need for conservation measures increases emotional response, causing a larger bias in the separate design as it involves ‘valuation by feeling.’ This finding suggests that the context of a specific policy, which is often the reason for conducting SP surveys, influences the answers, thereby making the results less reliable for use in cost–benefit analysis.     

Performance of a diesel engine with water emulsified diesel prepared with optimized process parameters

An attempt has been made to produce stable water–diesel emulsion with optimal formulation and process parameters and to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using this stable water–diesel emulsion. A total of 54 samples were prepared with varying water/diesel ratio, surfactant amount and stirring speed and water separation was recorded after 24 and 48 hr of emulsification. The recorded data were used in artificial neural network (ANN)-particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to find the optimal parameters to produce water–diesel emulsion for engine testing. The predicted optimal parameters were found as 20% water to diesel ratio, 0.9% surfactant and 2200 rpm of stirrer for a water separation of 14.33% in one day with a variation of 6.54% against the actual value of water separation. Water–diesel emulsion fuel exhibited similar fuel properties as base fuel. The peak cylinder gas pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate for water–diesel were found higher as compared to diesel at medium to full engine loads. The improved air-fuel mixing in water–diesel emulsion enhanced brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of engine. The absorption of heat by water droplets present in water–diesel emulsion led to reduced exhaust gas temperature (EGT). With water–diesel emulsion fuel, the mean carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions reduced by 8.80, 39.60, and 26.11%, respectively as compared to diesel.     

基于水生态文明建设的地方水环境资源立法研究

水生态文明是生态文明的重要组成和基础保障,是实现生态文明的重要支撑.进行水生态文明建设的重要基础保障是法律,而法律保障中最基础的一个环节就是立法,因此通过立法来保障水生态文明建设成为必然的趋势.选取江苏这一地区,从地方法治的角度出发,分析江苏省水生态文明建设在立法取得的成果以及存在的应当注意的问题.在此基础上结合江苏省的特殊省情,从立法的重点内容、立法程序以及立法监督三个方面提出完善地方水生态文明立法的建议.     

中国海洋垃圾监测与评价工作的思考

海洋垃圾污染问题是一个国际性的难题,海洋垃圾污染防治是改善中国近岸海域环境质量的一项重要内容.目前中国的海洋垃圾监测尚处于起步阶段,仍有许多工作需进行研究和实践.鉴于此,本文对中国海洋垃圾业务现状及需求进行分析,对海洋垃圾监测与评价体系存在的有关问题进行了探讨,并进一步提出了相关对策和建议,以完善中国海洋垃圾监测与评价体系,制定具有针对性的预防和控制措施,为中国的海洋环境保护工作提供技术支持.     

陈腐生活垃圾处理处置工程设计实例

介绍了河北省秦皇岛市某生活垃圾填埋场陈腐生活垃圾处置工程设计实例。工程建设规模为500 t/d,采用分选+建筑垃圾破碎制砖+塑料清洗制颗粒+可燃垃圾气化制备+可燃气体发电的循环经济工艺。该工程的实施可解决非正规垃圾填埋场占地及由陈腐垃圾带来的一系列环境问题,使占用的土地资源得到释放,同时使垃圾各组分得到综合利用,为非正规垃圾填埋场的处理处置和垃圾的减量化、无害化、资源化提供参考和借鉴。