Inhibition of Amazon Deforestation and Fire by Parks and Indigenous Lands

Abstract:  Conservation scientists generally agree that many types of protected areas will be needed to protect tropical forests. But little is known of the comparative performance of inhabited and uninhabited reserves in slowing the most extreme form of forest disturbance: conversion to agriculture. We used satellite-based maps of land cover and fire occurrence in the Brazilian Amazon to compare the performance of large (>10,000 ha) uninhabited (parks) and inhabited (indigenous lands, extractive reserves, and national forests) reserves. Reserves significantly reduced both deforestation and fire. Deforestation was 1.7 (extractive reserves) to 20 (parks) times higher along the outside versus the inside of the reserve perimeters and fire occurrence was 4 (indigenous lands) to 9 (national forests) times higher. No strong difference in the inhibition of deforestation ( p = 0.11) or fire ( p = 0.34) was found between parks and indigenous lands. However, uninhabited reserves tended to be located away from areas of high deforestation and burning rates. In contrast, indigenous lands were often created in response to frontier expansion, and many prevented deforestation completely despite high rates of deforestation along their boundaries. The inhibitory effect of indigenous lands on deforestation was strong after centuries of contact with the national society and was not correlated with indigenous population density. Indigenous lands occupy one-fifth of the Brazilian Amazon—five times the area under protection in parks—and are currently the most important barrier to Amazon deforestation. As the protected-area network expands from 36% to 41% of the Brazilian Amazon over the coming years, the greatest challenge will be successful reserve implementation in high-risk areas of frontier expansion as indigenous lands are strengthened. This success will depend on a broad base of political support.     

Globalization of the Amazon Soy and Beef Industries: Opportunities for Conservation

Abstract:  Amazon beef and soybean industries, the primary drivers of Amazon deforestation, are increasingly responsive to economic signals emanating from around the world, such as those associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, "mad cow disease") outbreaks and China's economic growth. The expanding role of these economic "teleconnections" (coupled phenomena that take place in distant places on the planet) led to a 3-year period (2002–2004) of historically high deforestation rates. But it also increases the potential for large-scale conservation in the region as markets and finance institutions demand better environmental and social performance of beef and soy producers. Cattle ranchers and soy farmers who have generally opposed ambitious government regulations that require forest reserves on private property are realizing that good land stewardship—including compliance with legislation—may increase their access to expanding domestic and international markets and to credit and lower the risk of "losing" their land to agrarian reform. The realization of this potential depends on the successful negotiation of social and environmental performance criteria and an associated system of certification that are acceptable to both the industries and civil society. The foot-and-mouth eradication system, in which geographic zones win permission to export beef, may provide an important model for the design of a low-cost, peer-enforced, socioenvironmental certification system that becomes the mechanism by which beef and soy industries gain access to markets outside the Amazon.     

Recovery of Faunal Communities During Tropical Forest Regeneration

Abstract:  As mature tropical forests are cleared, secondary forests may play an important role in the conservation of animal species, depending on how fast animal communities recover during forest regeneration. I reviewed published studies on the recovery of animal species richness and composition during tropical forest regeneration. In 38 of the 39 data sets I examined, conversion of forest to agriculture or pasture substantially reduced species richness. Given suitable conditions for forest recovery, the species richness of the animal taxa considered can be predicted to resemble that of mature forests roughly 20–40 years after land abandonment. At least for ants and birds, however, recovery of species composition appears to take substantially longer than recovery of species richness. Because species richness for many taxa appears to recover relatively rapidly in secondary forests, conservation of secondary forests may be an effective investment in future diversity. The slower recovery of species composition indicates, however, that some species will require stands of mature forest to persist.     

多管旋风除尘器热态除尘效率的影响因素

根据对多管旋风除法器热态除尘效率大量测试实践，讨论了影响多管风除尘器除尘效率的制造质量，整体安装要求、运行管理及锅炉运行等因素，建议在应用推广中应予以重视。     

离心脉冲静电除尘模型的除尘性能实验研究

介绍了一种直筒式离心脉冲静电除尘器，研究了其除尘效率与入口风速，直流基础电压，入口粉尘浓度等操作因素的关系；测定了在不同入口风速，不同供电情况下除尘器的分级效率，结果表明，离心脉冲静电除尘器具有结构简单，阻力损失低，除尘效率高等优点；脉冲供电能显著提高除尘器的分级效率。对粒径小于2μm的粉尘的捕集，入口风速为6.97m/s至12.79m/s时，脉并非中供电与直流供电相比，其分级效率提高10%-23%；与旋风相比，其分级效率提高37%-66%。     

Methylmercury and total mercury in estuarine organisms from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Guanabara Bay (GB), located in the Rio de Janeiro State, is still a productive estuary on the south-eastern Brazilian coast. It is an ecosystem heavily impacted by organic matter, oil and a number of other toxic compounds, including Hg. The present study aimed to comparatively evaluate the aquatic total mercury (THg) and MeHg contamination, and the ratios of MeHg to THg (% MeHg), in 3 species of marine organisms, Micropogonias furnieri-carnivorous fish (N = 81), Mugil spp.--detritivorous fish (N = 20) and Perna perna--filter-feeding bivalves (N = 190), which are widely consumed by the population. A total of 291 specimens were collected at the bay in different periods between 1988 and 1998. THg concentrations were determined by cold vapour AAS with stannous chloride as a reducing agent. MeHg was extracted by dithizone-benzene and measured by GC-ECD. Analytical quality was checked through certified standards. All organisms presented both low THg and MeHg concentrations and they were below the maximum limit of 1,000 micrograms Hg.kg-1 wet wt. as established for human intake of predatory fish by the new Brazilian legislation. Carnivorous fish showed higher THg and MeHg concentrations, and also % MeHg in muscle tissues, than organisms with other feeding habits and lower trophic levels. The average of THg concentrations in carnivorous fish was 108.9 +/- 58.6 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. (N = 61) in 1990 and 199.5 +/- 116.2 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. (N = 20) in 1998, but they presented different total length and body weights. The average THg content in detritivorous fish was 15.4 +/- 5.8 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt., whereas THg concentrations ranged from 4.1 to 53.5 micrograms.kg-1 wet wt. for the molluscs. The THg and MeHg contents of mussel varied according to the sampling point and water quality. MeHg concentration in detritivorous fish was similar to MeHg concentration in molluscs, but there was a significant difference in the MeHg/THg ratio: the carnivorous fish presented higher MeHg percentages (98%) than the detritivorous fish (54%) and the molluscs (33%). Weight-normalised average concentration of THg in carnivorous fish collected in 1990 (0.18 +/- 0.08 microgram.g-1/0.7 kg wet wt.) and in 1998 (0.16 +/- 0.09 microgram.g-1/0.7 kg wet wt.) presented no significant difference (t = 1.34; P < 0.5). In conclusion, the low THg and MeHg concentrations in the organisms from the GB ecosystem, are related to its eutrophic conditions and elevated amounts of suspended matter. In this situation, Hg could be strongly complexed or adsorbed by the particulate, which would dilute the Hg inputs and reduce its residence time in the water column, with a consequent decrease in its availability to organisms.     

生物质热解焦油脱除方法研究进展

生物质热解焦油的产生不仅降低了热解效率,影响设备运行,更危害着人类健康。通过介绍生物质热解焦油的特性及危害、对比分析目前各种不同除焦方法(文丘里法、旋风分离法、电捕焦法、高温裂解法和催化裂解法)的特点及应用前景,得出采用多种方法组合的形式进行联合除焦可显著提高焦油脱除效率。寻找用于湿法除焦的可再生利用的有机溶剂,开发经济、高效、长寿命的催化剂将成为生物质热解焦油脱除技术开发的重点。     

接地极雾化电晕放电旋风除尘器的实验研究

静电旋风除尘器的除尘效率高,占地面积小,安装方便,得到了广泛的应用。比较了接地极雾化电晕放电旋风除尘器,静电旋风除尘器和传统旋风除尘器的放电特性、捕集效率、分割粒径、分级效率和对高比电阻的适应能力。研究表明:首先,流量为80 m L/min时,接地极雾化电晕放电旋风除尘器的起晕电压和放电电流均优于静电旋风除尘器;其次,接地极雾化电晕放电旋风除尘器的分割粒径和分级效率都明显优于静电旋风除尘器,而分级效率更是较传统旋风除尘器提高了15%以上。最后,当粉尘的比电阻增大时,接地极雾化电晕放电旋风除尘器的收集效率保持稳定,几乎不随工作时间改变,而静电旋风除尘器的效率则随着工作时间的增加而降低。因此,接地极雾化电晕放电技术更有利于高比电阻粉尘的捕集,应用前景广阔。