Importance of landscape heterogeneity to wood storks in Florida Everglades

Declines in populations of and reproductive success of wood storks and other wading birds have occurred in the Florida Everglades over the past several decades. These declines have been concurrent with major changes in the Everglades’ landscape characteristics. Among the plausible hypotheses that relate to landscape change are the following: (1) general loss of habitat; (2) heavy loss of specific habitat, namely, short-hydroperiod wetlands that provide high prey availability early in the breeding season; and (3) an increase in frequency of major drying out of the central slough areas, which can affect prey availability late in the breeding season. These three hypotheses were compared using an individual-based model of wood stork (Mycteria americana) reproduction. This model simulated the behavior and energetics of each individual wood stork in a breeding colony on 15-min time intervals. Changes in water depth and prey availability occurred on daily time steps. Simulation results showed a threshold response in reproductive success to reduction of wetland heterogeneity. Model comparisons in which (1) only short-hydroperiod wetlands were removed and (2) wetlands of both long and short hydroperiods were removed showed that, for the same loss of total area, the specific habitat removal caused a much greater reduction in wood stork reproduction, indicating hypothesis 2 may be a more likely explanation than hypothesis 1. Reduction of initial prey availability in the central slough areas (simulating frequent drying; hypothesis 3) reduced fledging success by an average of more than 90% in the model.     

The influence of system complexity on bacterial transport in saturated porous media

A series of miscible-displacement column experiments were conducted under saturated flow conditions to systematically investigate the influence of physical and biological complexity on bacterial activity and fate in the presence and absence of a non-sorbing growth substrate, salicylate. Bacterial elution was monitored for three different systems; System I--a sterilized, inoculated, well-sorted sand, System II--a sterilized, inoculated, heterogeneous loamy sand (Hayhook), and System III--two different unsterilized loamy sands (Hayhook and Vinton) each with their associated indigenous microbial community. Results show that System I behaved ideally with respect to both cell and substrate transport, wherein: (1) growth occurred in response to substrate addition, (2) cell elution increased in response to the substrate pulse, and (3) breakthrough curves were reproducible for both substrate and cell elution. In contrast, System II showed ideal behavior with respect to substrate transport but showed variable behavior for cell transport. Further, there was no measurable growth in response to substrate addition and no increase in cell elution during the salicylate pulse. System III exhibited non-ideal behavior for both substrate and cell transport. Of particular interest is the fact that the indigenous communities of the two soils behaved differently. Specifically, for the Hayhook soil, an increased elution response was observed for the heterotrophic population while the salicylate-degrading community was preferentially retained in the column. In contrast for the Vinton soil, the substrate pulse did not elicit an elution response from either the heterotrophic or salicylate-degrading community from the culturable, indigenous Vinton microorganisms. For Systems II and III, the observed variability appears to be associated with the biological component of the system, since sterile controls were reproducible. This type of systematic study is critical for understanding cell and substrate transport behavior in complex, heterogeneous systems, and illustrates the potential uncertainty associated with measurements in such systems.     

莲花湖库区落叶松水源涵养林土壤入渗性能的空间分布特征

以莲花湖库区落叶松水源涵养林为研究对象,由入渗速率拟合入渗模型,运用地统计学理论与方法对模型参数进行空间异质性分析。结果表明:采用Philip公式对入渗过程进行数学模拟最佳,模型参数吸渗率和稳渗率均服从对数正态分布,空间相关性强,结构比分别为0.867、0.759,变程分别为29.13 m、6.16 m,分维数分别为1.786、1.970。两者块金值都很小,小尺度内非连续性变异不明显,空间分布格局相类似,空间自相关范围内呈极显著正相关关系,相关系数R为0.48。二者相比,吸渗率空间自相关尺度大,空间分布较简单;稳渗率均一性差,空间分布复杂,破碎化程度高。     

Spatial distribution of archaeal and bacterial ammonia oxidizers in the littoral buffer zone of a nitrogen-rich lake

The spatial distribution and diversity of archaeal and bacterial ammonia oxidizers (AOA and AOB) were evaluated targeting amoA genes in the gradient of a littoral buffer zone which has been identified as a hot spot for N cycling. Here we found high spatial heterogeneity in the nitrification rate and abundance of ammonia oxidizers in the five sampling sites. The bacterial amoA gene was numerically dominant in most of the surface soil but decreased dramatically in deep layers. Higher nitrification potentials were detected in two sites near the land/water interface at 4.4-6.1 μg NO₂^--N/(g dry weight soil·hr), while only 1.0-1.7 μg NO₂^--N/(g dry weight soil·hr) was measured at other sites. The potential nitrification rates were proportional to the amoA gene abundance for AOB, but with no significant correlation with AOA. The NH4 + concentration was the most determinative parameter for the abundance of AOB and potential nitrification rates in this study. Higher richness in the surface layer was found in the analysis of biodiversity. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the bacterial amoA sequences in surface soil were affiliated with the genus of Nitrosopira while the archaeal sequences were almost equally affiliated with Candidatus ‘Nitrososphaera gargensis’ and Candidatus ‘Nitrosocaldus yellowstonii’. The spatial distribution of AOA and AOB indicated that bacteria may play a more important role in nitrification in the littoral buffer zone of a N-rich lake.     

中国交通碳排放及影响因素时空异质性

选取30个省级行政单位作为空间单元,采用探索性空间数据分析（ESDA）方法对交通碳排放时空分布格局进行研究,同时考虑空间单元的差异性,构建地理加权回归（GWR）模型分析交通碳排放影响因素的时空异质性.研究发现：2000~2015年交通碳排放量呈现显著的空间聚类特征,聚类趋势逐年加强.双变量空间自相关指数为0.165~0.274,显著性水平介于0.016~0.045,表明交通碳排放同机动车保有量、GDP、货运周转量及客运周转量之间存在显著的空间正相关关系.GWR模型的R²在0.783~0.865之间,而OLS模型的R²在0.675~0.844之间,且GWR模型的AICc值均低于OLS模型的,说明GWR模型的拟合结果明显优于OLS模型,可以更好地解释交通碳排放的影响机制.GWR的回归结果表明碳排放的影响因素存在明显的时空异质性特征,其中GDP是主要的推动因素,部分地区回归系数高达0.91,2000年影响程度由东向西递减,而2005、2010和2015年由北向南递减.客运周转量起到关键的抑制作用,影响程度由东北向西南递减.因此建议应当充分考虑碳排放影响因素的时空异质性特征,制定差异化的碳减排政策.     

滇池宝象河流域氮磷流失空间格局解析

有效控制氮磷流失量是水质持续改善的关键因素,定量解析流域氮磷流失量对于氮磷污染精准控制至关重要.宝象河作为滇池流域最主要的入湖河流之一,对滇池水质的影响极为重要.该研究基于第二次全国污染源普查数据,建立了宝象河流域高分辨率的氮磷排放清单,通过构建宝象河LODEST模型估算流域氮磷非点源污染入河系数,并对宝象河流域的氮磷流失量及其空间格局进行解析.结果表明:①2018年宝象河流域TN和TP的排放量分别为1 456.92、191.16 t,流域内种植业非点源是最大的污染源,其次是城镇生活点源和未收集点源.②2018年宝象河干海子断面TN和TP的径流通量分别为270.49和11.19 t,非点源入河系数分别为0.297和0.048.③2018年宝象河流域TN和TP流失量分别为432.28和18.57 t,氮磷流失空间格局呈显著的空间异质性,流域内TN和TP流失强度总体呈外高内低的分布,农业污染为主的子流域氮磷流失最为严重.该研究提出的氮磷流失量估算方法较好地揭示了流域氮磷流失空间分布规律,论证了降雨和地形的不均匀性是造成流域氮磷流失量呈显著空间异质性的重要因素.研究成果可为滇池流域入湖污染负荷控制与削减工程提供重要的科学依据,同时能够为宝象河流域水环境的精准控污和精细管理提供有效的决策支撑.      

原位空气扰动技术影响因素研究-基于苯污染非均质含水层

通过一维模拟柱实验,研究了分层非均质含水层下不同介质组合对原位空气扰动技术修复苯污染地下水的影响.结果表明：在曝气流量为0.1 L/min,分层非均质的介质渗透系数在同一数量级时,分层情况的改变对污染物的去除效率影响不大;当分层非均质的介质渗透系数不在同一数量级时,下层渗透系数变大会使砂柱上层污染物浓度先升高后降低的现象更加明显,而下层渗透系数变小会使砂柱上下层污染物的去除效率相差不大.分层情况下不同介质组合影响苯的平均去除效率,在分层非均质条件下,气流由低渗透介质进入高渗透介质,污染物的去除速率相对更快,污染物的平均去除效率主要取决于分层非均质上层介质,其污染物平均去除效率曲线与分层非均质上层介质均质大致相同.     

城市微环境PM2.5浓度空间分异特征分析

以长沙市主城区为例,在203个地面点通过加密观测并获取PM_2.5浓度小时观测值,辅以同步常规稀疏国控点PM_2.5浓度观测数据,在点、面尺度对比分析加密、稀疏两种观测模式下城市微环境PM_2.5浓度空间分布的特征差异.结果表明：地面加密观测模式下PM_2.5浓度高值区主要集中在道路、地表扬尘、住宅小区、医院和工业园等人群、车辆活动的微环境场景;低值区主要出现在公园景区等高植被覆盖度区域.同一空间点位,地面加密观测PM_2.5浓度值均高于常规稀疏国控点PM_2.5浓度观测值,平均高出29.71μg/m³.反距离权重空间插值制图揭示地面加密观测模式下的PM_2.5浓度呈现明显的西北部高（>75μg/m³）、中部和南部居中（65~75μg/m³）、东部低（<55μg/m³）的三级阶梯式异质特征,剖面分析各向波动较大.相比,稀疏国控观测模式空间分布图仅能反映主城区PM_2.5浓度整体较低（<55μg/m³）、除北-南向之外各向剖面PM_2.5浓度相对无明显变化的格局.与此同时,稀疏国控观测模式在地面加密观测点估算的PM_2.5浓度同样显著低于实际观测值,所揭示的研究区高值PM_2.5浓度微环境为道路、地表扬尘、汽车站.研究结果证实,出于环境保护目标建立的空气质量国控监测点难以精确反映同点位近地面PM_2.5浓度,所识别的城市高低PM_2.5浓度值微环境与真实情景存在偏差,空气质量越优等级下偏差越大.     

湘江流域主要支流土壤Cd污染空间分布与相关性

针对土壤Cd污染超标问题,开展流域尺度下的土壤Cd空间分布与相关性分析,选定土壤污染热点区域——湘江流域作为研究对象,以流域内主要支流的汇水范围作为分析单元,研究各支流流域土壤w（Cd）的空间分布特征及空间相关性.结果表明:湘江流域上、中、下游各支流流域之间表现出明显的空间差异性,土壤w（Cd）平均值表现为中游支流（0.29 mg/kg）>下游支流（0.19 mg/kg）>上游支流（0.17 mg/kg）;湘江流域的土壤w（Cd）分布与相关污染企业位置相关性很高,沩水、浏阳河、渌江、涟水、洣水、蒸水、耒水、舂陵水和灌江流域土壤w（Cd）空间相关性较低（0.626 ≤ R ≤ 0.767）,企业位置分布具有明显的聚集性;潇水流域土壤w（Cd）空间相关性（R=0.889）较高,企业分布较为均匀,通过潇水流域的各向异性分析可知,土壤w（Cd）分布与企业分布方向一致.研究显示,湘江流域内土壤w（Cd）分布存在空间差异性,各支流的土壤w（Cd）与相关污染企业的空间分布存在依存关系.      

Designing Cost-Effective Payments for Conservation Measures to Generate Spatiotemporal Habitat Heterogeneity

Abstract:  Many endangered species depend on certain types of agricultural or other forms of human land use. To conserve such species, schemes are set up in which land users receive payments for voluntarily managing their land in a biodiversity-enhancing manner. We developed a model-based framework for designing cost-effective payment schemes that generate spatiotemporal habitat heterogeneity to maximize the survival of multiple species under budget constraints. The framework integrates ecological and economic knowledge and consists of the derivation of an ecological benefit function and a budget function that are then combined to determine the cost-effective degree of spatiotemporal habitat heterogeneity. The ecological benefit function considers the timing of conservation measures, the induced habitat dynamics, and different degrees of substitutability among species. The budget function considers that the conservation agency may lack information about land users' individual conservation costs and personal attitudes and that land users can choose among different conservation measures. We applied the framework to a case study of grassland management, where the survival of three endangered species protected by the EU Habitats Directive depends on different types of land use. The lack of information available to the agency and the choice options of land users reduced the amount of conservation that can be financed with a given budget. Neglecting such findings may lead to an overestimation of the benefits of conservation programs.