Detecting general plant functional type responses in fragmented landscapes using spatially-explicit simulations

Habitat loss and increasing landscape fragmentation are known to be key forces driving the ongoing loss of plant species diversity. While the combined effects of increasing isolation and decreasing population size have been studied intensively; it is less understood how plant population performance in heterogeneous landscapes is affected by changes in fragmentation alone.     

北京地表水中三氟乙酸的测定

三氟乙酸是HFC-134a等氯氟烃替代品的降解产物,对植物和土壤微生物群落的生长有一定抑制作用。笔者建立了测定TFA质量浓度的实验方法:将样品中的三氟乙酸与硫酸二甲酯在浓硫酸介质中衍生为三氟乙酸甲酯(MTFA),利用MTFA的易挥发性,以顶空进样和气相色谱-质谱联用的方法检测样品中MTFA的质量浓度,进而得到环境水样中TFA的质量浓度。并应用该方法测定了北京部分地表水体中三氟乙酸的质量浓度。测定结果:北京青年湖水样和北海水样中的ρ(三氟乙酸)分别为78和93ng L,而北京大学自来水水样中ρ(三氟乙酸)低于方法检测限10ng L。      

A spatial-temporal system for dynamic cadastral management

A practical spatio-temporal database (STDB) technique for dynamic urban land management is presented. One of the STDB models, the expanded model of Base State with Amendments (BSA), is selected as the basis for developing the dynamic cadastral management technique. Two approaches, the Section Fast Indexing (SFI) and the Storage Factors of Variable Granularity (SFVG), are used to improve the efficiency of the BSA model. Both spatial graphic data and attribute data, through a succinct engine, are stored in standard relational database management systems (RDBMS) for the actual implementation of the BSA model. The spatio-temporal database is divided into three interdependent sub-databases: present DB, history DB and the procedures-tracing DB. The efficiency of database operation is improved by the database connection in the bottom layer of the Microsoft SQL Server. The spatio-temporal system can be provided at a low-cost while satisfying the basic needs of urban land management in China. The approaches presented in this paper may also be of significance to countries where land patterns change frequently or to agencies where financial resources are limited.     

动态顶空气相色谱法测定水中极性水溶性有机物

采用动态顶空气相色谱FID法测定水中乙醛、丙酮、甲醇、丙烯醛、丙烯腈、乙腈、吡啶等7种极性水溶性有机物,通过优化动态顶空条件,使该方法在0．157mg／L～7．92mg!L之间线性良好。方法检出限在0．008mg／L～0．048mg／L之间,空白水样的加标回收率为103％～111％,RSD为5．4％～8．7％。用该方法测定某制药企业排口污水和地表水,只有污水中甲醇、乙腈、吡啶有响应值。     

傅立叶变换红外多组分气体分析仪在水污染应急监测中的应用

为了更好地为水污染应急监测工作服务,利用顶空原理,采用傅立叶变换红外多组分气体分析仪,测定水样中的有机污染物,快速筛查定性水体中主要污染物,再选用标准方法准确定量污染物浓度。结果表明,该方法具有测定范围广、仪器携带方便、筛查定性快速的优点。     

顶空-气相色谱-质谱法测定土壤中卤代烃

建立顶空-气相色谱-质谱法同时测定土壤中挥发性及半挥发性卤代烃的方法。实验优化顶空平衡温度、顶空平衡时间及盐度条件,并对优化后方法的线性、检出限、精密度及回收率进行分析。结果表明:29种目标化合物在线性范围内线性良好,相关系数均大于0.997,方法检出限为2.2~5.9μg/kg,样品不同浓度水平加标回收率范围为80.0%~120%,相对标准偏差小于20%。该方法适用于土壤样品中挥发及半挥发性卤代烃的测定。     

Irreversible Investment in Wetlands Preservation: Optimal Ecosystem Restoration Under Uncertainty

The model, a stochastic dynamic program, is used to optimize the timing and type of protective structure under a range of management goals. A wetland can either be optimal for fish or optimal for mammals and waterfowl, but not both. Because credible estimates of the economic values of wetland services do not exist, we treat those values as parameters in a multiobjective analysis and show the decisions implied by alternative valuations. The model is applied to the case of Metzger Marsh, a Lake Erie coastal wetland near Toledo, Ohio, where the decision was made in 1993 to construct an open dike. We find that the optimal decision is robust with respect to varying assumptions about the formation of barrier beaches and the probability of climate change, but that the decision is not robust to assumptions concerning the health of an unprotected Metzger Marsh. The most important source of uncertainty is the biological health of an unprotected wetland.     

Measured and modelled tritium concentrations in freshwater Barnes mussels (Elliptio complanata) exposed to an abrupt increase in ambient tritium levels

To improve understanding of environmental tritium behaviour, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) included a Tritium and C-14 Working Group (WG) in its EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) program. One scenario considered by the WG involved the prediction of time-dependent tritium concentrations in freshwater mussels that were subjected to an abrupt increase in ambient tritium levels. The experimental data used in the scenario were obtained from a study in which freshwater Barnes mussels (Elliptio complanata) were transplanted from an area with background tritium concentrations to a small Canadian Shield lake that contains elevated tritium. The mussels were then sampled over 88 days, and concentrations of free-water tritium (HTO) and organically-bound tritium (OBT) were measured in the soft tissues to follow the build-up of tritium in the mussels over time.The HTO concentration in the mussels reached steady state with the concentration in lake water within one or two hours. Most models predicted a longer time (up to a few days) to equilibrium. All models under-predicted the OBT concentration in the mussels one hour after transplantation, but over-predicted the rate of OBT formation over the next 24 h. Subsequent dynamics were not well modelled, although all participants predicted OBT concentrations that were within a factor of three of the observation at the end of the study period. The concentration at the final time point was over-predicted by all but one of the models. The relatively low observed concentration at this time was likely due to the loss of OBT by mussels during reproduction.     

Plant uptake of pesticides and human health: dynamic modeling of residues in wheat and ingestion intake

Human intake of pesticide residues from consumption of processed food plays an important role for evaluating current agricultural practice. We take advantage of latest developments in crop-specific plant uptake modeling and propose an innovative dynamic model to estimate pesticide residues in the wheat-environment system, dynamiCROP. We used this model to analyze uptake and translocation of pesticides in wheat after foliar spray application and subsequent intake fractions by humans. Based on the evolution of residues in edible parts of harvested wheat we predict that between 22 mg and 2.1 g per kg applied pesticide are taken in by humans via consumption of processed wheat products. Model results were compared with experimentally derived concentrations in wheat ears and with estimated intake via inhalation and ingestion caused by indirect emissions, i.e. the amount lost to the environment during pesticide application. Modeled and measured concentrations in wheat fitted very well and deviate from less than a factor 1.5 for chlorothalonil to a maximum factor 3 for tebuconazole. Main aspects influencing pesticide fate behavior are degradation half-life in plant and time between pesticide application and crop harvest, leading to variations in harvest fraction of at least three orders of magnitude. Food processing may further reduce residues by approximately 63%. Intake fractions from residues in sprayed wheat were up to four orders of magnitude higher than intake fractions estimated from indirect emissions, thereby demonstrating the importance of exposure from consumption of food crops after direct pesticide treatment.     

NitroScape: a model to integrate nitrogen transfers and transformations in rural landscapes

Modelling nitrogen transfer and transformation at the landscape scale is relevant to estimate the mobility of the reactive forms of nitrogen (N_r) and the associated threats to the environment. Here we describe the development of a spatially and temporally explicit model to integrate N_r transfer and transformation at the landscape scale. The model couples four existing models, to simulate atmospheric, farm, agro-ecosystem and hydrological N_r fluxes and transformations within a landscape. Simulations were carried out on a theoretical landscape consisting of pig-crop farms interspersed with unmanaged ecosystems. Simulation results illustrated the effect of spatial interactions between landscape elements on N_r fluxes and losses to the environment. More than 10% of the total N₂O emissions were due to indirect emissions. The nitrogen budgets and transformations of the unmanaged ecosystems varied considerably, depending on their location within the landscape. The model represents a new tool for assessing the effect of changes in landscape structure on N_r fluxes.