Importance of information on tillage practices in the modelling of environmental processes and in the use of environmental indicators

Tillage has been and will always be integral to crop production. Tillage can result in the degradation of soil, water, and air quality. Of all farm management practices, tillage may have the greatest impact on the environment. A wide variety of tillage equipment, practices and systems are available to farmers, providing opportunities to enhance environmental performance. These opportunities have made tillage a popular focus of environmental policies and programs such as environmental indicators for agriculture. This paper provides a very brief examination of the role of tillage in crop production, its effect on biophysical processes and, therefore, its impact on the environment. Models of biophysical processes are briefly examined to demonstrate the importance of tillage relative to other farm management practices and to demonstrate the detail of tillage data that these models can demand. The focus of this paper is an examination of the use of information on tillage in Canada's agri-environmental indicators initiative, National Agri-environmental Health Analysis and Reporting Program (NAHARP). Information on tillage is required for several of the indicators in NAHARP. The type of data used, its source, and its quality are discussed. Recommendations regarding the collection of tillage data and use of tillage information are presented.     

Principles and processes for effecting change in environmental management in New Zealand

In New Zealand environmental management is essentially the responsibility of land managers. Management decisions affect both production/productivity and the environment. However, responsibility for ensuring positive environmental outcomes falls on both local (Regional) and Central Government, and both they and international agencies such as the OECD would wish to monitor and report on changes. In terms of policy, strong links have been established via Central and Regional Government to land managers. Consumers in the market place are also, increasingly, requiring responsibility for positive environmental outcomes of those who purchase and process primary products. Strong links for responsibility have been established between our international markets and processing businesses and there is a noticeable strengthening of the links from the processors to the land manager/producer. In New Zealand a range of initiatives has been developed and implemented over recent times, whereby land managers are taking increasing responsibility for accounting for the environmental outcomes of their production activities. The range covers the spectrum from voluntary to compulsory (e.g., in order to meet market requirements) and from those initiated by customers to processor and/or producer initiatives. This paper follows the evolution of the principles that drove the predominant activities of the period and the processes that initiated the changes in environmental management. As the focus of agriculturalists changed from pioneering in a new world, to establishing a production base, to economic reality, and finally to environmental responsibility, the processes of extension adapted to meet the new challenge.     

三峡水库藻类“水华”预测

根据三峡库区江段16条一级支流以及重庆市35座大中型〖JP2〗水库的调查资料，分析天然河流与水库两种不同水流条件下，水体叶绿素a浓度与总磷和透明度的关系。结果发现,在水库环境中，水体叶绿素a的浓度与总磷以及与透明度都具有较好的相关性，但在河流条件下则没有明显的关系。由于三峡库区江段大多数支流的营养水平已达到富营养化状况，当三峡水库建成、水流条件发生变化后，在支流河口等水域存在爆发“水华”的风险。为此，我们根据1998年枯水期，在三峡库区长江江段流域面积大于100 km2的40条支流河口实测的总磷浓度，利用所建立的水库环境中总磷与叶绿素a 浓度的关系，对三峡成库后在局部水域爆发“水华”的可能性和程度进行了分析，并提出了相应的对策。     

基于内容分析法的河流健康内涵及表征

运用内容分析法对近10~15年中外文献中有影响力的36个河流健康概念进行分析,经过样本选取、指标提取、量化处理等过程提炼出最频繁出现的能代表其内涵的6个标准,即：维持结构完整性、自然生态功能发挥、满足人类社会合理需求、处于良好状态、河流管理工具和目标、建立河流基准状态。基于此,对河流健康概念进行了重新架构：河流健康是指河流生态系统特定的良好状况,可以作为河流基准状态以及河流管理的目标,在这一状态下,河流生态系统能够维持其生态系统结构完整性,充分发挥其自然生态功能,并满足人类社会合理需求,提供相应的社会服务功能。通过对30个有关河流健康表征指标及评价方法的文献进行分析,识别生物指标、水质参数、形态结构、河床底质、水文条件以及河岸带状况等是目前使用最广泛的6个指标,指出河流健康的表征指标及评价标准应根据区域特征、人类活动影响以及功能定位而有所差异。     

Assessing water ecosystem services for water resource management

Ecosystem service concepts can offer a valuable approach for linking human and nature, and arguments for the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Despite an increasing interest in the topic, the application of these concepts for water resource management has been hampered by the lack of practical definitions and methodologies. In this study we review and analyse the current literature and propose an approach for assessing and valuing ecosystem services in the context of water management. In particular, to study the link between multiple pressures, ecological status and delivery of ecosystem services in aquatic ecosystems under different scenarios of measures or future changes. This is of interest for the development of River Basin Management Plans under the EU Water Framework Directive. We provide a list of proxies/indicators of natural capacity, actual flow and social benefit for the biophysical assessment of the ecosystem services. We advocate the use of indicators of sustainability, combining information on capacity and flow of services. We also suggest methods for economic valuation of aquatic ecosystem for each service and spatial scale of application. We argue that biophysical assessment and economic valuation should be conducted jointly to account for the different values of ecosystem services (ecologic, social and economic) and to strengthen the recognition of human dependency on nature. The proposed approach can be used for assessing the benefits of conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems in the implementation of the EU water policy.     

Accumulation of Biophilic Elements in the Needles of Picea Species in Natural and Urbanized Ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia in Relation to the Assessment of Environmental Quality

Variation in the content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe has been analyzed in the needles of 19 spruce species growing in the natural and urbanized ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia. The results have shown that similarity in the content of biophilic elements in one-year-old needles of different species is conditioned by biochemical processes, which confirms the status of these species as passive bioindicators of environmental quality. The contents of trace elements in perennial needles, except color variations of chlorophyll, deserve further study as prospective indicators of environmental quality.     

Fatty acids and algal lipids as precursors of chlorination by-products

Six common algal fatty acids (FAs) with different numbers of double bonds, lipophilic fractions and proteins extracted from the diatom Navicula pelliculosa and algal cells were chlorinated to evaluate their potential in generating disinfection by-products (DBPs). The result showed that the more double bonds in the FAs, the higher the amounts of chloroform and dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) produced, but such a pattern was not observed for trichloroacetic acid (TCAA). Based on the previously reported composition of fatty acids in algal lipids, the DBP generation potentials of algal lipids were calculated. These predicted values were much lower than those measured in the chlorinated algal lipophilic fraction, suggesting unknown lipophilic fraction(s) served as potent DBPs precursors. Another calculation attempted to predict DBP production in algal cells based on algal lipid and protein composition, given quantified measured DBP production per unit algal lipid and proteins. The analysis showed that the observed DBP production was similar to that predicted (< 35% difference), suggesting that algal biochemical compositions may serve as a bioindicator for preliminary estimation of chloroform, DCAA and TCAA formation upon chlorinating algae.     

三峡库区大宁河沉积物营养盐时空分布及其与叶绿素的相关性分析

为研究大宁河底泥营养盐时空分布与藻细胞分布的关系,本研究在大宁河选择4个代表性的取样点:菜子坝、白水河、双龙和大昌,利用垂直重力采泥器,按照2 cm厚度分层选取底泥,检测底泥中总氮,氨氮、硝态氮、亚硝态氮、总磷、无机磷、有机磷和叶绿素的垂向分布,分析叶绿素与营养盐的相关性.结果表明,菜子坝底泥0.0~2.0 cm总氮浓度最高,白水河底泥2.0~4.0 cm的总氮浓度最高;菜子坝底泥2.0~4.0 cm氨氮浓度最高,1和2月白水河底泥4.0~6.0 cm浓度较高;硝酸氮和亚硝酸氮(除3月)在菜子坝底泥2.0~4.0 cm浓度最高;氨氮、硝酸氮和亚硝酸氮浓度在同一个采样点底泥4.0 cm以下分层差异不显著;白水河底泥总磷0.0~6.0 cm呈增加趋势,菜子坝底泥表层的总磷和无机磷的浓度显著高于其它分层,而且每一分层中总磷、无机磷浓度都高于其他3个取样点相应的分层;有机磷在菜子坝和大昌的浓度高于白水河和双龙的浓度,但是同一采样点底泥不同分层的有机磷浓度差异不显著;同一深层底泥中的叶绿素a浓度在大昌最高,其次是白水河,再次菜子坝,双龙处的叶绿素浓度最低;只有1月在大昌取样点处无机磷和叶绿素a的浓度显著正相关,相关系数为0.87,底泥中的营养盐不是影响底泥藻细胞分布的主要影响因素.     

香溪河库湾水质特征与非回水区水华响应关系

为探究香溪河在受倒灌影响较弱的河段水华暴发征兆及机理,于水华高发期5~8月对香溪河进行监测,分析电导率、水温、叶绿素a（Chl-a）以及流速.结果表明,在6~8月,香溪河倒灌现象于XX05点（峡口镇）处基本结束,XX06~XX09受倒灌来水影响较弱;香溪河于7月暴发水华,各个监测点位上Chl-a含量均值达到100μg/L以上,XX05~XX06与XX07-XX09点位上暴发不同种水华;在水华暴发前后,水体温度无显著变化,且并无明显分层现象,说明水温分层是水华暴发的主要原因这一理论并不能很好的适用于非回水区;通过对电导率数值的研究发现,数值在垂向上出现显著拐点,而拐点出现在临界层与光补偿层之间,同时与叶绿素a含量分布呈现显著负相关性.香溪河总氮（TN）、总磷（TP）平均值为1.849mg/L和0.157mg/L,均超过富营养化的阈值,水体氮磷含量与Chl-a浓度无显著相关性,水体中除N、P营养盐外的其它离子对香溪河水华的暴发起着重要作用.在水华消退后,电导率数值又逐渐恢复表层高底层低的垂向线性分布特性,与水华的暴发、消退有着明显的响应.