Ecological selection of bacterial taxa with larger genome sizes in response to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons stress

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are ubiquitous priority pollutants that cause great damage to the natural environment and health. Average genome size in a community is critical for shedding light on microbiome’s functional response to pollution stress within an environment. Here, microcosms under different concentrations were performed to evaluate the selection of PAHs stress on the average genome size in a community. We found the distinct communities of significantly larger genome size w...     

Impact of heavy metals on bacterial communities from mangrove soils of the Mahanadi Delta (India)

This study aimed to assess soil nutrient status and heavy metal content and their impact on the predominant soil bacterial communities of mangroves of the Mahanadi Delta. Mangrove soil of the Mahanadi Delta is slightly acidic and the levels of soil nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and potash vary with season and site. The seasonal average concentrations (μg/g) of various heavy metals were in the range: 14 810–63 370 (Fe), 2.8–32.6 (Cu), 13.4–55.7 (Ni), 1.8–7.9 (Cd), 16.6–54.7 (Pb), 24.4–132.5 (Zn) and 13.3–48.2 (Co). Among the different heavy metals analysed, Co, Cu and Cd were above their permissible limits, as prescribed by Indian Standards (Co=17 μg/g, Cu=30 μ g/g, Cd=3–6 μ g/g), indicating pollution in the mangrove soil. A viable plate count revealed the presence of different groups of bacteria in the mangrove soil, i.e. heterotrophs, free-living N₂ fixers, nitrifyers, denitrifyers, phosphate solubilisers, cellulose degraders and sulfur oxidisers. Principal component analysis performed using multivariate statistical methods showed a positive relationship between soil nutrients and microbial load. Whereas metal content such as Cu, Co and Ni showed a negative impact on some of the studied soil bacteria.     

Effects of sepiolite and biochar on microbial diversity in acid red soil from southern China

Sepiolite and biochar can immobilize heavy metals and organic pollutants in soil effectively, but their impact on the soil microbial community and diversity is still unclear. High-throughput Illumina MiSeq method was used to study the effects of sepiolite and biochar on the diversity of microbial communities in acid red soil amended with cadmium and atrazine. A total of 47,472 microbiological Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were found in all the treated soil samples. Sepiolite and biochar enriched the diversity of soil microbes at different classification levels and OTUs, but the effect of biochar was stronger than that of sepiolite. A Venn diagram showed that compared with other treatments, adding 2% biochar could promote the growth of specific microbes, which is better than the case for 5% biochar. The heat map of species abundance cluster showed that the dominant microbes in soil were different for different treatment doses of sepiolite and biochar. Among all the soil treatments, the top ten dominant bacterial phyla (from high to low dominance) were: Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes, Cyanobacteria­, and Verrucomicrobia. The addition of sepiolite and biochar promoted the restoration of the microbial community diversity in contaminated soil.     

The effect of imazethapyr on soil microbes in soybean fields in northeast China

Large quantities of herbicides are used on agricultural soils, but the effects of herbicides on the structure of the soil microbial community have not been well investigated. In this study, soil from three soybean fields was investigated. The herbicide imazethapyr was applied in one year to soil 1 and in two sequential years to soil 2. Control soil received no imazethapyr. Microbial biomass and community structure were characterised using chloroform fumigation–extraction and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) determination. The imazethapyr residue was 1.62 μ g·kg^?1 in soil 1 and 1.79 μ g·kg^?1 in soil 2. The microbial biomass carbon and total PLFAs for soil 2 were much higher than for the other soils. PLFA profiles showed that fatty acids for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as total bacteria and total fungi in soil 2 were higher than in other samples. Principal component analysis of the PLFAs showed that the structure of the microbial community differed substantially among the three different soybean field soils. Application of the herbicide imazethapyr to soybean fields clearly changed the soil microbial biomass and shifted the structure of the microbial community.     

Environmental education,community mobilization and sustainable development in Hong Kong: a comparative perspective

SUMMARY

This paper focuses on efforts to promote environmental education and community mobilization around environmental issues in Hong Kong. It is primarily concerned with efforts directed at the broader community (i.e. the population as a whole) rather than with environmental education through formal school and college curricula. The paper draws on a recently completed study commissioned by the Environmental Campaign Committee, the principal source of financial support for such efforts undertaken by environmental NGOs, community groups and educational institutions in Hong Kong. The study examined how and to what effect the Committee had used its financial resources between 1994–1999. It also examined international experience with a view to recommending changes in the overall approach to environmental education and community mobilization initiatives and their funding in Hong Kong.

The paper suggests that the existing approach to community-wide environmental education and its funding in Hong Kong have suffered from various weaknesses, most notably the absence of an integrated and goal-oriented strategy, an over-reliance on a ‘top-down’ campaign-based approach, a failure to establish explicit linkages with the concept of sustainable development and to ground initiatives at the local neighbourhood and community levels, and a preoccupation with the financial inputs provided to support this work at the expense of effective monitoring and auditing of project outputs and benefits.     

Are indigenous forest reserves sustainable? An analysis of present and future land-use trends in Bosawas,Nicaragua

SUMMARY

In recent years, indigenous tenure over forest lands has emerged as a means to conserve forests while recognizing indigenous rights. There is concern, however, that indigenous reserves may not be an appropriate policy tool for sustained forest conservation. Our research examined how recognition of indigenous common-property rights has controlled agricultural expansion and conserved forests in Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. We used satellite imagery with empirical data gathered in the field on land-use institutions, population pressures, and land-use practices to compare whether indigenous communities under territorial management or public management are better able to (1) control the ‘fast threat’ of frontier expansion and (2) address the long-term ecological threats posed by indigenous land-use practices and institutional changes in the region. Our findings are that indigenous residents who share common-property rights over their territories are better able to control agricultural expansion than are indigenous residents living on public lands. With respect to the long-term threats to the region, a series of simulations of possible land-use pressures demonstrate that the enforcement of territorial boundaries and further development of indigenous forest management rules will prove crucial in determining land-use capacity and deforestation over the next 50 years.     

Roles of digital technology in China's sustainable forestry development

China has the fifth largest forest area in the world and any change in China's forestry development will have inevitable impacts on global ecological sustainability. China has undergone excessive logging of natural forests and also made tremendous efforts in afforestation during the past half century. China's forestry is now going through a variety of transitions and several forestry programs have been implemented to drive forestry transitions. The goal of these actions is to protect ecological services of forests and sustain China's forestry development. These forestry programs are spatially sophisticated and cannot be successfully implemented without accurate and transparent forest/forestry information. A variety of digital technologies, including forest modeling, remote sensing, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, and visualization, have been applied in handling diverse information in China's forestry. Digital forestry is not just a theoretical concept in China. Our digital forestry experience in northeast China suggests that digital technology is both usable and useful in China's forestry development. Digital technology is playing an important interactive role in China's top-down forestry administration system. The analog-to-digital transition in technology is expected to lead to the success of forestry programs and forestry transitions in China.     

Facilitating resilient rural-to-urban sustainable agriculture and rural communities

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to efforts to validate a common set of parameters and principles of sustainable agriculture. Comparisons between alternative forms of sustainable agriculture and rural-to-urban community resilience are investigated. Conclusions are drawn between multiple sustainable/alternative agriculture systems and evaluated. A set of common baseline parameters and principles is proposed as a method of evolving a common structural framework for strengthening sustainability of agriculture and rural contexts. Concepts of rural-to-urban community sustainability are proposed, supporting sustainable agriculture contexts as rural and urban. In the twenty-first century, agriculture is becoming more diversified and less typified as a rural occupation. Urban agriculture is expanding as the need for fresh, affordable, accessible agriculture produce increases in urban areas. Evidence supports symbiotic relationships between sustainable agriculture and rural/urban communities, although some claim this relationship has not been clearly defined.

This article investigates sustainable agriculture from two perspectives. We ask ‘what are common parameters and principles of the various forms of sustainable agriculture,’ and ‘why urban-to-rural context.’ Organic agriculture parameters and principles are proposed as a conceptual framework toward establishing baseline parameters and principles for sustainable agriculture. Best management parameters of urban and rural sustainable agriculture in the United States and the United Kingdom are examined for their potential to develop a strengthening framework of parameters and principles of agriculture and rural-to-urban sustainability. These results are compared and evaluated for their effectiveness in redefining current sustainable agriculture practices, and their value in strengthening sustainable agriculture symbiosis with rural-to-urban community systems.     

Rehabilitation of degraded community lands for sustainable development in Himalaya: a case study in Garhwal Himalaya,India

SUMMARY

An approach to the rehabilitation of degraded community lands built on people's perceptions and traditional knowledge was developed, implemented on a small scale (6 ha plot), and evaluated in terms of economic and ecological costs and benefits over a period of 5 years in a mid-altitude (1200 m) village of Garhwal Himalaya. Rehabilitation comprised establishment of water harvesting tanks, organic management of soil, agroforestry (native multipurpose trees t traditional crops), and decision making by the whole village community. Costs and benefits under irrigated and unirrigated conditions were compared. The total cost of establishing the irrigated agroforestry system was 1.23 fold that of the unirrigated one, whereas the total benefit was 2.09 fold. The average standing above-ground biomass of the 4-year-old plantation in the irrigated agroforestry system was 11.69 t/ha compared to 8.34 t/ha in the unirrigated system. Improvement in soil properties was more pronounced in the irrigated system than in the unirrigated one. Nutrient input, an input derived largely from forest biomass, in the unirrigated system was nearly 3 times higher than that in the irrigated system. It is concluded that, considering the local and national/regional/global interests in an integrated manner, agroforestry incorporating water management would be a more effective option for rehabilitating degraded community lands than the afforestation currently being attempted by the government in the mid-altitudes of Indian Himalaya.     

不同轮作制度下施肥对冬小麦田间杂草群落及小麦生长的影响

为探讨不同轮作制度下长期施肥对冬小麦Triticum aestivum L.田间杂草及小麦生长的影响,我们在三个长期田间肥效试验定位点,研究3种轮作制度下(冬小麦-大豆Glycine max (L.) Merr.(WS)、冬小麦-夏玉米Zea Mays L.(WM)、冬小麦-中稻Oryza sativa(WR))长期不同施肥模式对冬小麦田间杂草群落及小麦生长的影响.研究表明,在3种轮作制度下,平衡施加N、P、K肥或者NPK肥配施有机肥均可以显著降低冬小麦田杂草密度、地上生物量和田间光照透过率,促进冬小麦生长,并提高冬小麦产量和地上生物量;而且在冬小麦-大豆轮作和冬小麦-中稻轮作的冬小麦田中平衡施加N、P和K肥可以在控制杂草密度的同时保持一个较均一的杂草群落.3种轮作制度下各指标相对值比较发现,3种轮作制度改变施肥对冬小麦田间光照透过率影响程度的顺序与3种轮作制度改变冬小麦田中施肥对杂草密度和地上生物量影响程度的顺序相同;另外,在冬小麦-大豆轮作和冬小麦-中稻轮作制度下杂草密度与冬小麦田间光照透过率之间的相关系数也很高(R≥0.7906),说明施肥对冬小麦田间光照透过率的改变可能是施肥影响冬小麦田间杂草群落的主要途径之一.轮作制度改变冬小麦田中施肥对优势杂草种类数和杂草生物多样性影响的程度差别不大,这可能是因为轮作改变施肥对田间杂草的影响并没有达到引起田间杂草物种消亡的程度.结果表明,在3种轮作制度中施肥对冬小麦田间杂草群落及小麦生长的影响虽有差异,但都显示出施肥在抑制田间杂草发生、维持杂草生物多样性和提高作物产量上的作用.