江西鄱阳湖区ZK01钻孔孢粉记录及其古环境信息

通过对鄱阳湖ZK01钻孔的近7300~50 a BP孢粉记录进行研究,根据岩芯中孢粉主要种属类型及含量变化特征共划分出9个孢粉组合带。同时根据孢粉记录尝试恢复了鄱阳湖流域的古植被和鄱阳湖区的水域面积变迁特征,以及地区气候冷暖变化。其中利用亚热带乔木花粉和山地针叶林植物花粉之间百分比含量差值的变化特征,对鄱阳湖流域近2760 a BP以来的冷暖气候变化进行较为详细的探讨。     

Green accounting and sustainability of the Peruvian metal mining sector

This paper estimates the true economic income of Peru’s metal mining sector for the period 1992–2006, using a model of green economic income based on Hamilton (2000). The total depletion of natural capital caused by metal mining is calculated by estimating, on the one hand, the depreciation of mining resources (using the Hotelling rent approach) and, on the other, the environmental degradation provoked by metal mining activities. The results show that the total loss of natural capital represents between 31% and 51% of the metal mining GDP and between 2% and 4.9% of Peru’s GDP. On the other hand, correcting the usual GDP measure produced by the traditional National Account System (NAS) for the total loss of natural capital caused by mining activities shows that the GDP traditional measure overestimated by 51–64% the true economic income generated by Peruvian's metal mining sector during the period 1992–2006. The importance of the generation, taxation, and disposition of mining economic rents for Peru’s sustainable development in the future is also discussed.     

The crude oil market and the gold market: Evidence for cointegration,causality and price discovery

Given that the gold market and the crude oil market are the main representatives of the large commodity markets, it is of crucial practical significance to analyze their cointegration relationship and causality, and investigate their respective contribution, from the perspective of price discovery, to the common price trend so as to interpret the dynamics of the whole large commodity market and forecast the fluctuation of crude oil and gold prices.     

Economic growth,international trade,and the depletion or conservation of renewable natural resources

Conservation of renewable natural resources and promotion of economic growth are both sustainable development goals. Here, we study the interdependency between economic growth, international trade, and the use of renewable natural resources—under alternative institutional settings of either open access or full property rights—in an endogenous growth model. We find that if the resource is depleted over time, consumption growth is reduced. Economic growth and international trade only impact resource use when the resource is harvested under full property rights. Then, widening international trade can lead countries to shift from conservation to depletion. Changes in the institutional setting of resource use in one country may have repercussions on trading partners. Our results indicate potential trade-offs between the sustainable development goals and imply that policies focusing on resource use or trade (e.g., international trade bans or certified trade) are not sufficient to prevent resource depletion.     

A new baseline model for estimating willingness to pay from discrete choice models

We show a substantive problem exists with the widely-used ratio of coefficients approach to calculating willingness to pay (WTP) from discrete choice models. The correctly calculated standard error for WTP using this approach is shown to be undefined. This occurs because the cost parameter's standard error implies some possibility the true parameter value is arbitrarily close to zero. We propose a simple yet elegant way to overcome this problem by reparameterizing the (negative) cost variable's coefficient using an exponential transformation to enforce the theoretically correct positive coefficient. With it the confidence interval for WTP is now finite and well behaved.     

Quantifying progress toward a conservation assessment for all plants

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) set an ambitious target to achieve a conservation assessment for all known plant species by 2020. We consolidated digitally available plant conservation assessments and reconciled their scientific names and assessment status to predefined standards to provide a quantitative measure of progress toward this target. The 241,919 plant conservation assessments generated represent 111,824 accepted land plant species (vascular plants and bryophytes, not algae). At least 73,081 and up to 90,321 species have been assessed at the global scale, representing 21–26% of known plant species. Of these plant species, at least 27,148 and up to 32,542 are threatened. Eighty plant families, including some of the largest, such as Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, and Rubiaceae, are underassessed and should be the focus of assessment effort if the GSPC target is to be met by 2020. Our data set is accessible online (ThreatSearch) and is a baseline that can be used to directly support other GSPC targets and plant conservation action. Although around one‐quarter of a million plant assessments have been compiled, the majority of plants are still unassessed. The challenge now is to build on this progress and redouble efforts to document conservation status of unassessed plants to better inform conservation decisions and conserve the most threatened species.     

快生型大豆根瘤菌(Rhizobium fredii)内源质粒在培养及共生过程中的稳定性

以湖北洪湖公离的快生型大豆根瘤菌为材料，考察了它们的内源质粒在培养过程及共生过程中的稳定性．结果表明，所有供试菌株的质粒在培养条件下比较稳定，传代50次后没有明显变异．对其中2个菌株与4种不同的大豆宿主共生过程中质粒的稳定性研究，发现HA12－1－12的共生质粒和隐性质粒高度构定，HA7－2－2的质粒却发生了不同程度的变异．质粒检测的结果及RFLP分析表明，HA7－2－2共生质粒的稳定性高于隐性质粒，而且共生质粒上携带的nodDABC和nifHDK基因相当保守，不易受宿主的影响而产生变异．盆栽试验的结果也说明，虽然HA7－2－2的内源质粒在共生过程中发生了遗传重排，但它的共生性状没有明显的变异．     

Byproduct production of minor metals: Threat or opportunity for the development of clean technologies? The PV sector as an illustration

Today, the fight against global warming and the coming hydrocarbon exhaustion involve a drastic increase of clean energies. These technologies resort to many minor metals which are byproduct of major metals. We will take the definition of Hagelüken and Mesker (2010, Complex Life Cycles of Precious and Special Metals. In: Edition Thomas E. Graedel, Ester van der Voet (Eds.), Strüngmann Forum Report, Linkages of Sustainability, MIT Press) to show precisely what minor metals are: “[they are] metals that have relatively low production or usage, which occur in low ore concentrations, are regarded as rare, or are not traded at major public exchanges”. We will analyze the byproduct status affecting almost each minor metal in order to determine if the link with the metal main product can involve a threat for clean technology development. This paper will also deal with the theory and implications of the relationship between the byproduct and the main-product and then check it with empirical data. Until now, byproduct metal production and its variations seem relatively independent from major metal production thanks to the non-saturation of potential supply. By 2050, photovoltaic solar development should not lead to the saturation of potential supply.     

Promoting ecological sustainable planning for natural stone quarrying. The case of the Orosei Marble Producing Area in Eastern Sardinia

This paper presents an analysis of the main environmental impact factors (noise, vibration, fumes, dust, vehicle traffic) associated with marble quarrying and processing in the Orosei industrial area and their effects. Solutions are also proposed to prevent, mitigate and, where possible, eliminate the impact on the environment. Using three-dimensional topographic models, the authors simulated quarry and industrial processing development, with projections over the next 10, 30 and 50 years. The aim of these simulations was to establish land management planning guidelines for the optimal and environmentally sustainable development of the Orosei Marble industrial area. Lastly, careful quarry development planning is important both for enhancing LCA and for improving production processes through sustainable technologies that yield green label products meeting environmental performance standards.     

费氏中华根瘤菌lrp基因的克隆、突变与功能

通过分子克隆技术,从费氏中华根瘤菌(Sinorhizobium fredii)HN01基因组文库中克降到一个lrp基因.该基因与已报道的苜蓿中华根瘤菌(Sinorhizobium meliloti)1021的lrp基因在核苷酸水平上有89%相似性,在氨基酸水平上有99%相似性.利用自杀质粒pK18mob构建含有lrp基因部分片段的重组质粒,通过三亲本结合后导入原始菌株HN01中,经过同源单交换,获得发生正向插入突变的突变株GXHNLTA和反向插入突变的突变株GXHNLTB.将lrp基因ORF连接到载体pLAFR3上,获得用于互补的质粒pGXHNL100,将该质粒通过三亲本接合导入突变株中,获得互补株GXHNWA、GXHNWB.对野生型菌株、突变株、互补株进一步研究发现,在以脯氨酸、亮氨酸、丝氨酸等氨基酸为唯一碳、氮源的MM培养基中培养时,突变体GXHNLTA、GXHNLTB的生长均滞后于出发菌株HN01.植株试验表明,突变菌株GXHNLTA、GXHNLB比野生菌株HN01开始结瘤的时间提前1 d,在结瘤效率、单株瘤数、瘤重、固氮酶活性方面并无显著差别.