Introduced Birds and the Fate of Hawaiian Rainforests

Abstract:  The Hawaiian Islands have lost nearly all their native seed dispersers, but have gained many frugivorous birds and fleshy-fruited plants through introductions. Introduced birds may not only aid invasions of exotic plants but also may be the sole dispersers of native plants. We assessed seed dispersal at the ecotone between native- and exotic-dominated forests and quantified bird diets, seed rain from defecated seeds, and plant distributions. Introduced birds were the primary dispersers of native seeds into exotic-dominated forests, which may have enabled six native understory plant species to become reestablished. Some native plant species are now as common in exotic forest understory as they are in native forest. Introduced birds also dispersed seeds of two exotic plants into native forest, but dispersal was localized or establishment minimal. Seed rain of bird-dispersed seeds was extensive in both forests, totaling 724 seeds of 9 native species and 2 exotics with over 85% of the seeds coming from native plants. Without suitable native dispersers, most common understory plants in Hawaiian rainforests now depend on introduced birds for dispersal, and these introduced species may actually facilitate perpetuation, and perhaps in some cases restoration, of native forests. We emphasize, however, that restoration of native forests by seed dispersal from introduced birds, as seen in this study, depends on the existence of native forests to provide a source of seeds and protection from the effects of ungulates. Our results further suggest that aggressive control of patches of non-native plants within otherwise native-dominated forests may be an important and effective conservation strategy.     

草本植物对排土场边坡稳定性提升效果研究*

为了研究草本植物对排土场边坡加固能力,通过对排土场碱蓬和早熟禾根系生长情况进行调查,量化植物根随深度的分布关系,与此同时,采集2种草本植物根,通过根的抗拉试验,采用纤维束模型量化2种草本植物根黏聚力,采用FLAC3D分析边坡稳定性。结果表明,2种草本植物根的抗拉力与直径呈现幂律关系,根的抗拉力存在显著性差异。2种草本植物根面积比和根黏聚力均随深度的增加而降低,对比根黏聚力,碱蓬的根黏聚力大于早熟禾。草本植物加固后边坡安全系数提高,裸露边坡的安全系数为2.08,早熟禾与碱蓬加固的边坡的安全系数分别为2.09和2.1。     

Bayesian estimation and consequence modelling of deliberately induced domino effects in process facilities

Process facilities handling hazardous chemicals in large quantities and elevated operating conditions of temperature/pressure are attractive targets to external attacks. The possibility of an external attack on a critical installation, performed with an intention of triggering escalation of primary incidents into secondary and tertiary incidents, thereby increasing the severity of consequences needs to be effectively analysed. A prominent Petrochemical Industry located in Kerala, India was identified for studying the possibility of a deliberately induced domino effect. In this study, a dedicated Bayesian network is developed to model the domino propagation sequence in the chemical storage area of the industry, and to estimate the domino probabilities at different levels. This method has the advantage of accurately quantifying domino occurrence probabilities and identifying possible higher levels of escalations. Moreover, the combined effect from multiple units can be modelled easily and new information can be added into the model as evidences to update the probabilities. Phast (Process hazard analysis) software is used for consequence modelling to determine the impact zones of the identified primary and secondary incidents. The results of the case study show that such analyses can greatly benefit green field and brown field projects in determining the appropriate safety and security measures to be implemented or strengthened so as to reduce its attractiveness to external threat agents.     

南京城市污水处理厂中微塑料的赋存特征

以南京市某污水处理厂及下游入江口作为研究对象,对其中微塑料的赋存特征进行研究.结果表明,污水处理厂进水中微塑料以尼龙材质为主（71.43%）,颜色以黑色为主（54.76%）,形状以纤维状为主（38.10%）,尺寸以50~500μm为主（69.05%）,丰度为4.2n/L（个/L）,二级处理后污水中微塑料丰度为1.6n/L,出水微塑料丰度为0.9n/L,污水处理厂处理工艺对微塑料的去除效率为78.57%.入江口处污染负荷指数为50.99,处于较低水平,由于污水处理厂出水持续排入,微塑料造成的生态风险仍不可忽视.本文研究结果为改进污水处理厂中微塑料去除工艺设计提供了基础数据.     

污水厂中微塑料的污染及迁移特征研究进展

合成聚合物的广泛使用和持久性污染使得微塑料（<5mm）成为近年来受到广泛关注的一种新型污染物,污水的大量排放是淡水和海洋环境微塑料的主要来源之一,而污水处理厂也成为微塑料进入淡水与海洋环境的一个重要途径.通过系统调研,追溯污水处理厂中微塑料的来源,综述污水处理厂中微塑料的迁移和污染特征的研究进展,分析国内外污水处理厂中微塑料的特征和去除效果的差异性,为开展国内污水处理厂中微塑料污染研究与监督工作提供参考,并展望未来污水处理厂工艺的发展及改进方向.     

铜尾矿对5种豆科植物根系生长的影响

针对铜陵市铜尾矿废弃地的复垦，选用了5种乡土豆科植物在5种不同的尾矿改良方式上进行盆栽试验。5种供试物种为：大豆(Glycine max)、赤豆(Phaseolus angularis)、赤小豆(P.calcaratus)、绿豆(P.radiatus)、山绿豆(P.mininus)。盆栽基质是以尾矿与正常土壤按体积100：0、75：25、50：50、25：75、0：100比例混合而成，分别标记为：TAl00、TA75、TA50、TA25、TA0005种豆科植物生长时间为70d。结果发现：随铜尾矿在混合基质中比例的增加，5种豆科植物根系的主根长逐渐变短、根系一级侧根的数目逐渐减少；铜尾矿对5种豆科植物根瘤的形成产生抑制作用，特别是山绿豆和绿豆在全尾矿的基质上，无根瘤生成；地下根部的生物量表现为随着尾矿含量比例的增加。地下部分的生物量逐渐下降，但根冠比表现为随尾矿含量比例的增加而增加；植物对铜尾矿中铜的积累，主要含集中根部，地上部分与地下部分差异明显。     

Background levels of heavy metals in plants of different taxonomic groups from a montane rain forest in Sri Lanka

An undisturbed natural reserve area iocated in a tropical montane rain forest at about 1800 m altitude in Sri Lanka served as a study site to investigate and assess the natural background concentration levels of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in plants representing different taxonomic groups (divisions) in the plant kingdom. The plants selected were: the lichen,Usnea barbata (old man's beard);Pogonatum sp. (a moss);Lycopodium selago (epiphytic lycopod);Polypodium lanceolatum (epiphytic fern);Bulbophyllum elliae (epiphytic orchid) andActinodaphne ambigua (dicotyledonous large tree). Degree of homogeneity with respect to Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in homogenised materials of all samples were within acceptable limits, whereasPogonatum sp. showed the highest degree of homogeneity for Pb. In addition to confirming extremely low levels of heavy metals in all plant species, the survey also found that generally the primitive plants,Usnea andPogonatum appear to have a greater tendency to accumulate As, Cd, Co and Pb; in particular,U. barbata appears to be an efficient accumulator for those heavy metals, suggesting its potential use in environmental studies.Actinodaphne ambigua was found to have a specific accumulating ability for nickel. Surface cleaning of theA. ambigua leaves resulted in a substantial decrease in the foliar contents of Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn. Variations in heavy metal contents observed in different plant genera are discussed in terms of their habits and place of growth in the forest. It is anticipated that the background levels presented in this paper from a remote, unpolluted tropical ecosystem will provide useful reference data for comparative environmental studies.     

香蒲植物提取物的抑藻作用及其分离鉴定

对香蒲类植物的花粉蒲黄中的抑藻物质进行提取、分离、鉴定。分别用抑藻圈和半杀死剂量法研究其乙酸乙酯、丙酮、乙醚提取物的抑藻活性。并从乙酸乙酯提取物中分离出两种抑藻活性的物质。     

电厂燃煤过程中汞的迁移转化及控制技术研究

讨论了近年来国内外电厂煤燃烧过程中汞的形态分布以及迁移转化规律研究的最新成果 ,并在此基础上评价了现有电站污染控制系统的脱汞性能 ,考虑到汞的排放控制 ,提出了对现有设备的可能优化措施。在分析中 ,注意到汞的易挥发性 ,认为汞排放控制应该充分考虑烟气中汞形态的迁移转化。由于氧化态汞在汞控制中有着重要作用 ,其研究将是控制电厂汞排放的关键。先进的汞排放控制技术的开发应以增强汞的氧化态为优先发展方向。