Sustainability: a Dissent

Abstract:  Broadly conceived and considered in its many usages, sustainability has grave defects as a planning goal, particularly when used by conservationists: it confuses means and ends; it is vague about what is being sustained and who or what is doing the sustaining; it is uninspiring; it is little more than Pinchot-era conservation (and thus ignores the many lessons learned since then); it need not be linked to land, to the land's functioning, or to any ecological science; it need not include a moral component; it is consistent with the view of humans as all-powerful manipulators of the planet; and, in general, it is such a malleable term that its popularity provides only a facade of consensus. When sustainability is defined broadly to include the full range of economic and social aspirations, it poses the particular risk that ecological and biodiversity concerns will be cast aside in favor of more pressing human wants. Given these many defects, the conservation movement should discard the term in favor of a more alluring goal, attentive to nature and its ecological functioning. A sound goal would incorporate and distill the considerable ecological and moral wisdom accumulated since Pinchot's day while giving conservationists the rhetorical tools needed to defend the land against competing pressures. In our view, conservation would be well served by an updated variant of "land health," Aldo Leopold's ecologically grounded goal from the 1940s. Land health as an independent understanding should set the essential terms of how we live and enjoy the earth, providing the framework within which we pursue our many social and economic aims.     

稻田土壤反硝化厌氧甲烷氧化菌的时空分布与群落结构分析

由\"Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera\"主导发生的以甲烷和亚硝酸盐为底物的反硝化厌氧甲烷氧化反应(nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidizing,n-damo)的发现,将生物地球化学碳循环和氮循环以新的方式结合起来.本研究以夏季和冬季江阴稻田土壤柱状样品为研究对象,对稻田土壤M.oxyfera-like菌的时空分布和群落结构进行了考察.M.oxyfera-like菌16S rRNA基因的定量PCR结果显示M.oxyfera-like菌的丰度随着土壤深度的增加而增加,且无明显季节性差异,60~200 cm深度的稻田土壤是M.oxyfera-like菌的高丰度区域.M.oxyfera-like菌pmoA基因的系统发育分析和生物多样性分析显示M.oxyfera-like菌的群落结构具有一定的时空异质性,且生物多样性随着土壤深度的增加而增加.这些结果都说明江阴稻田深层土壤(60~200 cm)是适宜M.oxyfera-like菌生存的生态环境.     

磷对混养反硝化污泥活性和微生物群落结构的影响

生物反硝化脱氮是现在最广泛使用的去除水中NO-3-N的方法之一,混养反硝化因其综合了异养和自养反硝化的共同特性而引人关注.本实验探究添加一定量无机磷前后反硝化污泥活性及其微生物群落结构的变化.结果表明,混养反硝化污泥在无磷供给时也能进行反硝化反应,但磷的添加可显著提高其生物量和反硝化活性,反硝化污泥的异养反硝化活性明显高于自养部分,添加无机磷之后,自养和异养反硝化速率(以N/VSS计)分别可达0.056 mg·(L·min·g)-1和0.232mg·(L·min·g)-1,分别为加磷前的2.9和3.9倍.此外,微生物群落分析表明,投加磷之后混养污泥中反硝化菌占比显著增加,从13.47%增加到44.82%;优势菌属发生显著变化,添加无机磷使自养、异养以及兼性反硝化菌的生长均得到有效促进.     

鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构及湖水位对其影响研究

通过对鄱阳湖水文过程和湖盆地形特点的分析,利用3S技术对鄱阳湖湿地进行了分类,研究了各种类型湿地植物生态系统的生境、主要植物群落结构和分布规律。结果表明,鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构复杂,生物多样性极其丰富。湿地植物是以根茎为主要繁殖器官的克隆繁殖植物,以集群分布为主要特点。在宏观尺度上受地形高程、湖水位和洲滩出露时间制约,不同植物群落沿水分梯度分布;在景观尺度上受到土壤含水量、地下水埋深和土壤结构影响,形成水平镶嵌结构;微观尺度上还与微地形和土壤养分密切相关,部分区域表现为复合体结构。湿地植被对水分梯度的敏感性,导致湿地植物生态系统的易变性和脆弱性。近年来,鄱阳湖水位过低且持续时间长,使生态系统遭受一定损害。     

N. europaea/Nc. mobilis谱系在垃圾渗滤液处理中的脱氨贡献

为了解垃圾渗滤液处理系统中菌群结构与脱氨效果的关系,采用16S rRNA基因高通量测序技术分析了15个实际垃圾渗滤液处理系统中的自养氨氧化细菌（AOB）的群落结构,监测了其中1个处理系统中的AOB群落结构的周年变化,并采集实际垃圾渗滤液开展了为期45d的模拟试验.结果表明,Nitrosomonas属是垃圾渗滤液处理系统中的优势自养氨氧化细菌,其相对丰度与脱氨活性呈显著正相关（P<0.05）.在此菌属中,N.europaea、N.eutropha和N.halophila的相对丰度与脱氨活性显著正相关（P<0.05）,这3种菌在系统发育上同属于N.europaea/Nitrosococcus mobilis谱系,说明该谱系是实际垃圾渗沥液处理系统中的优势AOB类群,并对垃圾渗滤液脱氨有重要贡献.     

MBR活性污泥培养驯化过程中生物多样性研究

以MBR反应器启动调试阶段的活性污泥为主要研究对象,系统考察了传统活性污泥法(Conventional activated sludge,CAS)污泥接种至MBR反应器内污泥培养驯化过程中生物多样性情况及微生物群落结构的演变规律.同时,在传统污水污泥检测指标的基础上,对各阶段污泥中总细菌基因组DNA进行提取,应用PCR-DGGE分子生物学技术获得了相应的凝胶电泳图谱并进一步分析了菌群间的相似性.结果表明,以CAS污泥为接种污泥在MBR反应器内培养驯化过程中微生物的多样性变化突出,细菌群落结构演替明显,不同阶段菌群间的相似性说明了各阶段菌群的演变关系:污泥培养驯化是一个逐步有序的过程,微生物随反应器内不同时期及环境的变化而调整,逐渐演变成适应MBR工艺的群落结构.     

基于高通量测序分析的生物修复石油污染土壤菌群结构变化

利用高通量测序技术对微生物修复石油污染土壤过程中的微生物群落结构变化进行研究.结果表明,经修复处理的土壤微生物群落结构及多样性发生明显变化.利用生物强化修复处理(BA)的土壤中,微生物丰富度与均匀度明显降低,土著菌群受到抑制,外加变形菌门(Proteobacteria)成为主要的优势菌门,相对丰度由修复前的37. 44%增加为87. 44%.假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)成为土壤中的优势菌属,丰度由2. 99%增加为76. 37%;进行生物刺激修复处理的土壤(BS)菌群丰富度和均匀度与原污染土壤相比略有降低.菌群结构组成上,原优势菌门变形菌门(Proteobacteria)丰度由37. 44%降低为10. 90%,厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)丰度由9. 16%增加为35. 32%,属水平上,原优势菌属微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)和原小单胞菌属(Promicromonospora)丰度由8. 49%和18. 96%分别降低为2. 19%和14. 97%,诺卡氏菌属(Nocardioides)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)丰度由5. 56%和0. 29%分别增加至28. 95%和22. 70%,成为主要优势菌属.生物强化修复处理引起土壤菌群多样性和结构发生明显变化,生物刺激修复处理可基本保持土壤菌群结构多样性不被破坏,土壤菌群结构的稳定有利于石油烃的生物降解.     

中国生物多样性信息主页的研究与开发

中国生物多样性信息主页介绍了我国生物多样性现状和生物多样性保护的政策、法规、规划、计划、履约工作动态等信息,是《生物多样性公约》资料交换所机制的重要组成部分．本文对主页进行系统分析和系统设计,并应用 Front Page 98 进行系统开发．该主页可访问我国生物多样性重要数据源点．为使主页内容具有新意,需经常更新主页．     

百乐克(BIOLAK)活性污泥宏基因组的生物多样性及功能分析

百乐克(BIOLAK)是一种在全球范围内得到成功推广的多级活性污泥工艺,然而,迄今对于百乐克工艺的核心元件——活性污泥的生物群落及其功能尚鲜见报道.以连云港市大浦工业区废水处理厂为例,借助于新一代高通量测序技术,获得百乐克活性污泥中大规模的宏基因组数据(428 588条高质量DNA序列).鉴定出47个门类、872个属及1 351个物种.细菌域(289 933条序列)中包含33个门,其中变形菌门Proteobacteria是生物量最丰富的门(62.54%),其次是拟杆菌门Bacteroidetes(11.29%)、硝化螺旋菌门Nitrospirae(5.65%)和浮霉菌门Planctomycetes(4.79%),显示这些生物类群在百乐克废水处理系统中发挥着关键作用.在748个细菌属中,硝化螺菌属Nitrospira(5.60%)最为丰富,为活性污泥氮循环过程中的关键菌群.其次为芽单胞菌属Gemmatimonas(2.45%),是生物除磷过程的重要菌属.在古菌域(1 019条序列)中鉴定出3个门及39个属.在真核域(1 055序列),鉴定出10个门及60个属,其中,纤毛虫门Ciliophora是最大的门(257条序列).同时,检测到448条病毒序列,主要为噬菌体.在百乐克活性污泥中,参与氮、芳香化合物和磷代谢的功能基因比例分别为2.50%、2.28%和1.56%,均高于美国和澳大利亚两个废水处理厂活性污泥中功能基因的比例.在氮代谢的4个过程中,反硝化相关基因所占比重最高,达到80.81%,其次是氨化(12.78%)、硝化(4.38%)和固氮(2.04%).总之,在百乐克活性污泥中蕴藏着惊人的生物多样性,同时,参与氮、芳香化合物和磷代谢的功能基因非常丰富.     

Effect of streambed substrate on macroinvertebrate biodiversity

Macroinvertebrates are important components of stream ecosystems, and are often used as indicator species for the assessment of river ecology. Numerous studies have shown that substrate is the primary physical environmental variable affecting the taxa richness and density of macroinvertebrates. The aim of this work is to study the effects of the characteristics of streambed substrate, such as grain size, shape, and roughness, on the composition and biodiversity of macroinvertebrates. A field experiment was done on the Juma River, a second-order mountain stream in northern China. Substrata of cobbles, hewn stones, pebbles, coarse sand, and fine sand were used to replace the original gravel and sand bed in a stretch of 30 m in length. The sampling results indicated that the macroinvertebrate assemblage is significantly affected by the grain size, porosity and interstitial dimension of the substrate, while it is rarely affected by the shape and the surface roughness of the experimental substrata. Macroinvertebrate compositions in cobbles and hewn stones were stable and changed least over time. The taxa richness and density of individuals in the substrata of cobbles, hewn stones, and pebbles are much higher than in those of the coarse sand and fine sand. __________ Translated from Journal of Tsinghua University (Science and Technology), 2007, 47(9): 1553–1556 [译自: 清华大学学报(自然科学版)]