Soil and vegetation carbon stocks in Brazilian Western Amazonia: relationships and ecological implications for natural landscapes

The relationships between soils attributes, soil carbon stocks and vegetation carbon stocks are poorly know in Amazonia, even at regional scale. In this paper, we used the large and reliable soil database from Western Amazonia obtained from the RADAMBRASIL project and recent estimates of vegetation biomass to investigate some environmental relationships, quantifying C stocks of intact ecosystem in Western Amazonia. The results allowed separating the western Amazonia into 6 sectors, called pedo-zones: Roraima, Rio Negro Basin, Tertiary Plateaux of the Amazon, Javari-Juruá-Purus lowland, Acre Basin and Rondonia uplands. The highest C stock for the whole soil is observed in the Acre and in the Rio Negro sectors. In the former, this is due to the high nutrient status and high clay activity, whereas in the latter, it is attributed to a downward carbon movement attributed to widespread podzolization and arenization, forming spodic horizons. The youthful nature of shallow soils of the Javari-Juruá-Purus lowlands, associated with high Al, results in a high phytomass C/soil C ratio. A similar trend was observed for the shallow soils from the Roraima and Rondonia highlands. A consistent east–west decline in biomass carbon in the Rio Negro Basin sector is associated with increasing rainfall and higher sand amounts. It is related to lesser C protection and greater C loss of sandy soils, subjected to active chemical leaching and widespread podzolization. Also, these soils possess lower cation exchangeable capacity and lower water retention capacity. Zones where deeply weathered Latosols dominate have a overall pattern of high C sequestration, and greater than the shallower soils from the upper Amazon, west of Madeira and Negro rivers. This was attributed to deeper incorporation of carbon in these clayey and highly pedo-bioturbated soils. The results highlight the urgent need for refining soil data at an appropriate scale for C stocks calculations purposes in Amazonia. There is a risk of misinterpreting C stocks in Amazonia when such great pedological variability is not taken into account.     

Magnetic mapping of fly-ash pollution and heavy metals from soil samples around a point source in a dry tropical environment

The Singrauli region in the southeastern part of Uttar Pradesh, India is one of the most polluted industrial sites of Asia. It encompasses 11 open cast coalmines and six thermal power stations that generate about 7,500 MW (about 10% of India’s installed generation capacity) electricity. Thermal power plants represent the main source of pollution in this region, emitting six million tonnes of fly-ash per annum. Fly-ash is deposited on soils over a large area surrounding thermal power plants. Fly-ashes have high surface concentrations of several toxic elements (heavy metals) and high atmospheric mobility. Fly ash is produced through high-temperature combustion of fossil fuel rich in ferromagnetic minerals. These contaminants can be identified using rock-magnetic methods. Magnetic susceptibility is directly linked to the concentration of ferromagnetic minerals, primarily high values of magnetite. In this study, magnetic susceptibility of top soil samples collected from surrounding areas of a bituminous-coal-fired power plant were measured to identify areas of high emission levels and to chart the spatial distribution of airborne solid particles. Sites close to the power plant have shown higher values of susceptibility that decreases with increasing distance from the source. A significant correlation between magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal content in soils is found. A comparison of the spatial distribution of magnetic susceptibility with heavy-metal concentrations in soil samples suggests that magnetic measurements can be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for proxy mapping of air borne pollution due to industrial activity.     

Heavy metal contamination from mining sites in South Morocco: Monitoring metal content and toxicity of soil runoff and groundwater

The aim of the present work is the assessment of metal toxicity in runoff, in their contaminated soils and in the groundwater sampled from two mining areas in the region of Marrakech using a microbial bioassay MetPLATE™. This bioassay is based on the specific inhibition of the β-galactosidase enzyme of a mutant strain of Escherichia coli, by the metallic pollutants. The stream waters from all sampling stations in the two mines were all very toxic and displayed percent enzyme inhibition exceeding 87% except SWA₄ and SWB₁ stations in mine C. Their high concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) confirm the acute toxicity shown by MetPLATE. The pH of stream waters from mine B and C varied between 2.1 and 6.2 and was probably responsible for metal mobilization, suggesting a problem of acid mine drainage in these mining areas. The bioassay MetPLATE™ was also applied to mine tailings and to soils contaminated by the acidic waters. The results show that the high toxicity of these soils and tailings was mainly due to the relatively concentration of soluble Zn and Cu. The use of MetPLATE™ in groundwater toxicity testing shows that, most of the samples exhibited low metal toxicity (2.7–45.5% inhibition) except GW3 of the mine B (95.3% inhibition during the wet season and 82.9% inhibition during the dry season). This high toxicity is attributed to the higher than usual concentrations of Cu (189 μg Cu l⁻¹) and Zn (1505 μg Zn l⁻¹). These results show the potential risk of the contamination of different ecosystems situated to the vicinity of these two metalliferous sites. The general trend observed was an increase in metal toxicity measured by the MetPLATE with increasing total and mobile metal concentrations in the studied matrices. Therefore, the MetPLATE bioassay is a reliable and fast bioassay to estimate the metals toxicity in the aquatic and solids samples.     

Modelling vegetation greenness responses to climate variability in a Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystem

Accurate knowledge of the quality and environmental impact of the highway runoff in Pear River Delta, South China is required to assess this important non-point pollution source. This paper presents the quality characterization and environmental impact assessment of rainfall runoff from highways in urban and rural area of Guangzhou, the largest city of Pear River Delta over 1 year’s investigation. Multiple regression and Pearson correlation analysis were used to determine influence of the rainfall characteristics on water quality and correlations among the constituents in highway runoff. The results and analysis indicates that the runoff water is nearly neutral with low biodegradability. Oil and grease (O&G), suspended solids (SS) and heavy metals are the dominant pollutants in contrast to the low level of nutrient constituents in runoff. Quality of highway runoff at rural site is better than that of at urban site for most constituents. Depth and antecedent dry period are the main rainfall factors influencing quality of highway runoff. The correlation patterns among constituents in highway runoff at urban site are consistent with their dominant phases in water. Strong correlations (r ≥ 0.80) are found among chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus, Cu and Zn as well as conductivity, nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen. O&G, COD, SS and Pb in highway runoff at urban site substantially exceed their concentrations in receiving water of Pear River. The soil directly discharged by highway runoff at rural site has contaminated seriously by heavy metals in surface layer accompanying with pH conversion from original acidic to alkaline at present.     

水体中泥沙对藻类光谱特征位置的影响分析

自然水体叶绿素a浓度的遥感反演中,泥沙的存在影响着反演精度.如何消除这种影响是提高叶绿素a遥感反演精度的关键,而了解泥沙对藻类光谱特征的影响是消除影响的前提.文章在人工控制条件下获取了不同泥沙浓度下藻类光谱曲线,通过分析光谱曲线特征位置的漂移和数值变化,总结泥沙对藻类光谱的影响并提出了消除影响的可能性.     

重金属光谱分析仪与原子吸收光谱测定土壤中的重金属

采用重金属光谱分析仪与原子吸收光谱测定土壤中的Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb、Zn和As六种金属,结果发现,重金属光谱分析仪对Cu、Pb、Zn和As四种金属的检测结果较为理想,与原子吸收光谱的检测数据接近,误差可满足现场检测的要求.重金属光谱分析仪测定方法简便,操作简单,省时省力,可满足大部分重金属检测的要求.     

钼矿区周边农田土壤中重金属污染状况的分析与评价

对钼矿区周边农田土壤重金属污染情况进行了详细研究.选择该矿区受污染农田土壤样本80个,采用HNO3-HF-HClO4混酸对土壤样品进行处理,运用欧共体参比司推荐的BCR三步连续提取法进行化学形态分析;使用等离子体发射光谱仪(ICP-AES)测定土壤样品中Mo、Pb、As、Hg、Cr、Cd、Zn、Cu、Ni的全量及各种化学形态的含量并进行评价,同时对矿区地下水进行分析;采用spas软件进行数据分析.结果表明,矿山周边农田土壤重金属主要污染物为Cd、Hg并伴有Cr污染;Nemerow综合指数6.81,综合评价结果为该区土壤已受严重污染;Cd与As污染来源基本相同,Cu、Ni、Zn污染来源基本相同,Hg有独立的污染来源;重金属中化学形态分布为残余态>有机结合态>氧化结合态>酸可提取态;重金属Cr及Hg的有效态比例较大,可能会影响农作物的正常生长;矿山周边农田土壤重金属污染的原因可能是污染地下水的浇灌,矿石的开采、运输和大气降尘等过程;有机农药及塑料农用制品的施用过程,自然成土、矿物的伴生及其转化等过程.     

黔西北土法炼锌矿区重金属污染现状及其环境影响评价

在对黔西北土法炼锌四个矿区周围的土壤和植物(蔬菜和作物等)进行全面调查的基础上,对土壤和植物重金属(Zn、Cd、Pb、Cu和As)污染现状进行了监测与初步评价.结果表明,四个土法炼锌矿区除野马川的土壤属于中度污染外,其余全部处于严重污染状态,并且Cd是每个矿区的主要污染元素;土法炼锌矿区周围的蔬菜已全部受到严重污染,综合污染指数在10.83～40.67之间,属于重度污染,蔬菜污染主要以Cd为主,超过国家食品卫生标准54倍;矿区周围其他植物如土豆、玉米和绿肥等中的重金属亦严重超标,主要以Pb污染为主,超过国家食品卫生标准366.75倍.说明矿区土壤中种植作物的生长及食用安全已经受到重金属污染的严重影响,对居民健康构成潜在威胁.     

遥感监测土壤湿度综述

遥感技术具有大面积同步观测,时效性、经济性强等特点,为大面积动态监测土壤湿度提供了可能。本文对近年来国内外遥感监测土壤湿度的理论、方法的发展和应用进行了回顾,重点介绍了目前已经比较成熟和广泛应用的基于可见光与热红外波段的植被指数方法以及在干旱、半干旱地区的应用,通过对比分析了各种遥感监测方法的优缺点,指出了土壤湿度遥感监测方法存在的不足,展望了土壤湿度遥感监测方法的发展趋势。     

Cross-border radon index map 1:100?000 Lausitz - Jizera - Karkonosze - Region (northern part of the Bohemian Massif)

The first cross-border map describing the radon (Rn) risk from bedrock was assembled in the northern part of the Bohemian Massif at a scale 1:100?000. The map covers the area of Lausitz (Germany), Karkonosze (Czech Republic and Poland) and Jizera (Czech Republic). The map is based on 818 measurements of soil gas Rn in rock types of Precambrian to Mesozoic age with variable geology. Geographic information system (GIS) processing enabled a good coincidence of soil gas Rn concentrations between data from all three countries in lithologically adjacent rock types as well as the direct correlation to georeferenced indoor Rn values, which was tested using the Czech indoor Rn data. The method of data processing can contribute to assembling the European Geogenic Radon Map.