Dynamics of the Community of Hole-nesting Birds upon Reduction of Industrial Emissions (the Example of the Middle Ural Copper Smelter)

Russian Journal of Ecology - The dynamics of the species richness, breeding density, and structure of the community of birds occupying nest-boxes upon a 50-fold reduction of atmospheric emissions...     

Quantifying the impact of vegetation-based metrics on species persistence when choosing offsets for habitat destruction

Developers are often required by law to offset environmental impacts through targeted conservation actions. Most offset policies specify metrics for calculating offset requirements, usually by assessing vegetation condition. Despite widespread use, there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of vegetation-based metrics for ensuring biodiversity persistence. We compared long-term impacts of biodiversity offsetting based on area only; vegetation condition only; area × habitat suitability; and condition × habitat suitability in development and restoration simulations for the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. We simulated development and subsequent offsetting through restoration within a virtual landscape, linking simulations to population viability models for 3 species. Habitat gains did not ensure species persistence. No net loss was achieved when performance of offsetting was assessed in terms of amount of habitat restored, but not when outcomes were assessed in terms of persistence. Maintenance of persistence occurred more often when impacts were avoided, giving further support to better enforce the avoidance stage of the mitigation hierarchy. When development affected areas of high habitat quality for species, persistence could not be guaranteed. Therefore, species must be more explicitly accounted for in offsets, rather than just vegetation or habitat alone. Declines due to a failure to account directly for species population dynamics and connectivity overshadowed the benefits delivered by producing large areas of high-quality habitat. Our modeling framework showed that the benefits delivered by offsets are species specific and that simple vegetation-based metrics can give misguided impressions on how well biodiversity offsets achieve no net loss.     

论土地持续利用

在世界上有两种可持续发展思路，一种是西方发达国家的重保护的可持续发展思路；一种是以发展为前提，保护自然资源的可持续发展思路。土地持续利用的思想是在可持续发展的进程中不断发展的。我国要保证土地持续利用，满足未来对食粮和建设的需求，应建立起同土地持续利用相适应的土地持续利用制度和土地持续利用机制     

基于“BIM+GIS”技术的建筑垃圾精准管控信息管理平台研究初探

近年来,我国建筑垃圾产量不断增加,全国600多座大中城市中有70%被垃圾所包围,其中建筑垃圾贡献率达到40%,而相比于部分发达国家,我国尚缺少针对于建筑垃圾的全过程实时监测与智能管控手段。将"BIM+GIS"技术引入建筑垃圾监管领域,并基于此技术建立建筑垃圾实时监测与智能管控信息管理平台,可实现对建筑垃圾的精准管控。     

Preparation of hydrophobic hierarchical pore carbon–silica composite and its adsorption performance toward volatile organic compounds

Carbon–silica materials with hierarchical pores consisting of micropores and mesopores were prepared by introducing nanocarbon microspheres derived from biomass sugar into silica gel channels in a hydrothermal environment.The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption(BET),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and thermogravimetric(TG),and the adsorption properties of various organic waste gases were investigated.The results showed that microporous carbon materials were introduced successfully into the silica gel channels,thus showing the high adsorption capacity of activated carbon in high humidity organic waste gas,and the high stability and mechanical strength of the silica gel.The dynamic adsorption behavior confirmed that the carbon–silica material had excellent adsorption capacity for different volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Furthermore,the carbon–silica material exhibited excellent desorption characteristics:adsorbed toluene was completely desorbed at 150℃,thereby showing superior regeneration characteristics.Both features were attributed to the formation of hierarchical pores.     

基于地下管廊施工建筑垃圾产生特征的定量预测模型的建立

以浙江省宁波市地下管廊施工为研究对象,通过现场调研和建筑施工进度跟踪,建立了工程渣土、废弃混凝土、工程泥浆3种建筑垃圾的定量预测模型。结果表明:预计产生程渣土为83891.21 m3、废弃混凝土为4837.34 m3、工程泥浆为11435.27 m3。与真实值相比,模型的相对误差分别为8.6%,4.9%,3.5%,均低于20%,可认为三类建筑垃圾预测模型的建立有效。     

Responses of nitrification performance, triclosan resistome and diversity of microbes to continuous triclosan stress in activated sludge system

Triclosan(TCS) is commonly found in wastewater treatment plants,which often affects biological treatment processes.The responses of nitrification,antibiotic resistome and microbial community under different TCS concentrations in activated sludge system were evaluated in this study.The experiment was conducted in a sequencing batch reactor(SBR)for 240 days.Quantitative PCR results demonstrated that the abundance of ammonium oxidizing bacteria could be temporarily inhibited by 1 mg/L TCS and then gradually recovered.And the abundances of nitrite oxidizing bacteria(NOB) under 2.5 and 4 mg/L TCS were three orders of magnitude lower than that of seed sludge,which accounted for partial nitrification.When the addition of TCS was stopped,the abundance of NOB increased.The mass balance experiments of TCS demonstrated that the primary removal pathway of TCS changed from adsorption to biodegradation as TCS was continuously added into the SBR system.Moreover,TCS increased the abundance of mexB,indicating the efflux pump might be the main TCS-resistance mechanism.As a response to TCS,bacteria could secrete more protein(PN) than polysaccharide.Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix revealed that tryptophan PN-like substances might be the main component in PN to resist TCS.High-throughput sequencing found that the relative abundances of Paracoccus,Pseudoxanthomonas and Thauera increased,which could secrete extracellular polymeric substances(EPS).And Sphingopyxis might be the main TCS-degrading bacteria.Overall,TCS could cause partial nitrification and increase the relative abundances of EPS-secreting bacteria and TCS-degrading bacteria.     

Ozone pollution characteristics and sensitivity analysis using an observation-based model in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta Region of China

Ground-level ozone (O₃) has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in Yangtze River Delta region of China. In this study, we present O₃ pollution characteristics based on one-year online measurements during 2016 at an urban site in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Then, the sensitivity of O₃ to its precursors during 2 O₃ pollution episodes in August was analyzed using a box model based on observation (OBM). The relative incremental reactivity (RIR) of hydrocarbons was larger than other precursors, suggesting that hydrocarbons played the dominant role in O₃ formation. The RIR values for NO_X ranged from –0.41%/% to 0.19%/%. The O₃ sensitivity was also analyzed based on relationship of simulated O₃ production rates with reductions of VOC and NO_X derived from scenario analyses. Simulation results illustrate that O₃ formation was between VOCs-limited and transition regime. Xylenes and light alkenes were found to be key species in O₃ formation according to RIR values, and their sources were determined using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Paints and solvent use was the largest contributor to xylenes (54%), while petrochemical industry was the most important source to propene (82%). Discussions on VOCs and NO_X reduction schemes suggest that the 5% O₃ control goal can be achieved by reducing VOCs by 20%. To obtain 10% O₃ control goal, VOCs need to be reduced by 30% with VOCs/NO_X larger than 3:1.     

Can a low-carbon development path achieve win-win development: evidence from China’s low-carbon pilot policy

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Low-carbon pilot (LCP) policy aims to not only achieve economic development but also address climate change problems in China. With a...     

Evaluating national hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirement and economic competitiveness of fuel cell electric long-haul trucks

This study explored the national hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirement along major United States (US) interstate highway corridors to support the deployment of fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) for the national long-haul trucking fleet. Given the long-haul trucking shipment demand in 2025 projected by the Freight Analysis Framework, locations and capacities of hydrogen stations were identified for inter-zone freight flows, and the total daily refueling demand was estimated for intra-zone flows for each FAF zone. Based on the infrastructure deployment results, we conducted an economic feasibility analysis of FCETs by evaluating the total ownership cost. We found that when the FCET penetration is relatively high (e.g., 10% penetration), FCETs become more competitive in terms of fuel cost and idling cost and could be economic viable if the incremental vehicle cost is reduced to meet the near-term FCET technology cost targets and the liquefaction cost is reduced to an optimal case. We also observed that the station cost depends on regional factors, particularly regional demand, which is used to determine station capacity. Thus, one possible strategy for station roll-out is to have early investment in target regions where station costs are expected to be relatively low such as the Pacific and West South Central regions.