Use of microbial community to evaluate performance of a wetland system in treating Pb/Zn mine drainage

The performance of a wetland system in treating lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) mine drainage was evaluated by using the polyurethane foam unit (PFU) microbial community (method), which has been adopted by China as a standardized procedure for monitoring water quality. The wetland system consisted of four cells with three dominant plants: Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Paspalum distichum. Physicochemical characteristics [pH, EC, content of total suspended solid (TSS) and metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu)] and PFU microbial community in water samples had been investigated from seven sampling sites. The results indicated that the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and TSS in the mine drainage were gradually reduced from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system and 99%, 98%, 75%, 83%, and 68% of these metals and TSS respectively, had been reduced in concentration after the drainage passed through the wetland system. A total of 105 protozoan species were identified, the number of protozoa species and the diversity index (DI) gradually increased, while the heterotrophic index (HI) gradually decreased from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system. The results indicated that DI, HI, and total number species of protozoa could be used as biological indicators indicating the improvement of water quality.

Study on the hydrolysis/precipitation behavior of Keggin Al-13 and Al-30 polymers in polyaluminum solutions

The hydrolysis/precipitation behaviors of Al3+, Al-13 and Al-30 under conditions typical for flocculation in water treatment were investigated by studying the particulates' size development, charge characteristics, chemical species and speciation transformation of coagulant hydrolysis precipitates. The optimal pH conditions for hydrolysis precipitates formation for AlCl3, PAC(A113) and PAC(A130) were 6.5-7.5, 8.5-9.5, and 7.5-9.5, respectively. The precipitates' formation rate increased with the increase in dosage, and the relative rates were AlCl3 >> PAC(A130) > PACA113. The precipitates' size increased when the dosage increased from 50 mu M to 200 mu M, but it decreased when the dosage increased to 800 AM. The Zeta potential of coagulant hydrolysis precipitates decreased with the increase in pH for the three coagulants. The isoelectric points of the freshly formed precipitates for AlCl3, PAC(A113) and PAC(A130) were 7.3, 9.6 and 9.2, respectively. The Zeta potentials of AlCl3 hydrolysis precipitates were lower than those of PAC(A113) and PAC(A130) when pH > 5.0. The Zeta potential of PAC(A130) hydrolysis precipitates was higher than that of PACA113 at the acidic side, but lower at the alkaline side. The dosage had no obvious effect on the Zeta potential of hydrolysis precipitates under fixed pH conditions. The increase in Zeta potential with the increase in dosage under uncontrolled pH conditions was due to the pH depression caused by coagulant addition. Al-Ferron research indicated that the hydrolysis precipitates of AlCl3 were composed of amorphous AI(OH)3 precipitates, but those of PACA113 and PACA130 were composed of aggregates of Al-13 and Al-30, respectively. Al3+ was the most un-stable species in coagulants, and its hydrolysis was remarkably influenced by solution pH. Al-13 and Al-30 species were very stable, and solution pH and aging had little effect on the chemical species of their hydrolysis products. The research method involving coagulant hydrolysis precipitates based on Al-Ferron reaction kinetics was studied in detail. The Al species classification based on complex reaction kinetic of hydrolysis precipitates and Ferron reagent was different from that measured in a conventional coagulant assay using the Al--Ferron method. The chemical composition of Al-a, Al-b and Al-c depended on coagulant and solution pH. The Al-b measured in the current case was different from Keggin Al-13, and the high Alb content in the AlCl3 hydrolysis precipitates could not used as testimony that most of the Al3+ Was converted to highly charged Al-13 species during AlCl3 coagulation.

土地利用总体规划环境影响评价指标体系研究——以邛崃市土地利用总体规划为例

土地利用是人类根据土地质量特性来开发利用土地，创造财富，满足人类生产和生活的需要，同时改善环境，满足人类生存需要的过程。土地利用总体规划是对未来各类用地在空间上、时间上作出总体的协调的预先安排，不仅受到一定历史背景的制约，同时也受影响于当前的社会经济发展情况。但是，国内传统的土地利用总体规划往往从狭窄的技术经济观点出发，对远期的生态环境问题、社会问题缺少考虑，将新的用地尽量安排在最便捷、最经济的地方。 由于土地利用总体规划对环境影响具有长期性、复杂性、综合性、有时还有不可逆转性等特点，迫切需要在编制土地利用总体规划时对规划区与土地利用有关的环境影响进行科学研究，把环境保护纳入土地利用活动的计划、决策和规划实施中，促进土地资源持续、协调的利用。为更好地进行土地利用总体规划环境影响评价必须首先建立相应的评价指标体系，而目前国内关于该项研究的理论和实践的相关报道都较少。 本论文在综述国内外土地利用总体规划环境影响评价的理论与实践的基础上，在国内第一批开展了相关领域的案例研究，采用理论研究和案例分析相结合的研究方法对土地利用总体规划环境影响评价方法和指标体系进行了研究，对邛崃市土地利用总体规划进行了环境影响评价，其研究的主要内容和论点如下: (1)第一次根据FAO 确定的五大原则，引入了生态用地的概念并按照价值模型构建了以土地资源可持续利用为目标的县级土地利用总体规划环境影响评价的指标体系。以生产性、稳定性、保护性、经济活力、社会可接受性五个方面作为指标层来度量土地利用总体规划的环境影响，并选取了土地利用率、土地整理率、水面指数、生态用地面积比例、耕地转化率、建设用地产值指数、公众满意度等21 个元指标作为具体的评价指标。该指标体系强调了规划方案的公众参与，便于充分吸收公众的意见和建议；并且评价指标获取容易，实用性较强。 (2)在土地利用总体规划环境影响评价方法上进行了有益的探索和尝试，由于土地利用总体规划环境影响评价的主要对象是几个拟定的规划方案，所以采用综合评分法（包括特尔斐法和层次分析法）和公众参与相结合的评价方法。应用上述指标体系和评价方法对邛崃市土地利用总体规划的三个方案进行了评价筛选，高方案最终得分为92.049；中方案最终得分为91.028；而低方案最终得分为95.541，为最优方案。 （3）开展了对土地利用总体规划替代方案和公众参与机制的研究，对公众参与的方式、程序及主要内容从理论和实践两方面进行了有益的尝试，收到了良好的效果。 （4）对邛崃市土地利用总体规划进行了环境影响评价，根据邛崃市的具体情况，对规划实施后可能造成的环境正、负面影响进行了分析和预测，提出了预防或者减轻不良环境影响的对策和措施。 Land use is a process, which is to develop land according to its mass property. Bycreating the wealth and improving the environment, it can meet the need of production,life and human survival. Land use planning, as a planning form to guide land use, issubject to the historical background, and influenced by development of economic andsociety. The land use planning in the past, from narrow economic technology view,lacking of concerning ecologic environmentand social problem, arranged new land in the most convenient and economic place. Because of complexity, comprehensive and sometimes irreversible characteristicsof environmental impact caused by land use planning which has been implemented, it isneed to carry on scientific research on environmental impact related to land use as theland use planning is forming, to bring environmental protection within the plan, policymaking and implementing of land use activity, promoting the sustainment, harmonious use of land resource. This paper, taking the readjustment of land use planning in Qionglai as an example,assessed its environmental impact of land use planning. The main contents and results arepresented as follows: (1) On the basis of the five criterions of AFO, for the first time propose county classoverall planning of land uses SEA index by inducting ecological land use andestablishing the Value factor system, according to Productivity criterion，Stabilitycriterion，Sheltered criterion，Economic livingness criterion，Social acceptabilitycriterion，the environmental impact of land use system was assessed by using Valuemodel. Through identifying the factors of environmental impact of land use planning, thepaper established the factor system of SEA of land use planning. From the land usefactors, 21 factors was chosen to assess the environmental impact degree of land useplanning, such as, index of land use degree, the rate of land collating, index of watersurface, the rate of ecological use land, cultivated land conversion ratio, forest landconversion ratio, public satisfaction degree and so on. These indexes make a point thatpublic participation of plan project fully absorb public idea and propose and the index easily get, better utility. (2) Attempt useful assessment method system of SEA of land use planning. In viewof there are no or almost no inevitable contact among the factors of SEA of land useplanning，we use AHP （Analytic Hierarchy Process） as the main assess method . Thereare three plans are compared in this paper apply the foregoing index and assessmentmethod. The high plan finally score is 92.049，while the middle plan is 91.028. The lowplan score is 95.541，is the best one，as the selected plan. (3) Carry on the research of the alternative scheme of overall planing of land useand public participation，to the fashion ，procedure and object matter carry out helpfulattempt from theory to practice，the results is good. （4）Took place SEA of Qionglai County overall planing of land use，according to thecircumstance of Qionglai，we analyze and forecast the positive and negative affect afterthe plan implement，and put forward the countermeasure and means to prevent or abatebad environmental impact.

Estimation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of Methane Emissions from Agriculture in China

National Natural Science Foundation of China [30721140307, 30590380]; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) [KZCX2-YW-432]

A methodology of characterizing status and trend of land changes in oases: A case study of Sangong River watershed, Xinjiang, China

National Natural Science Foundation of China [40471134]; program of Lights of the West China by the Chinese Academy of Science

Analysis of arable land loss and its impact on rural sustainability in Southern Jiangsu Province of China

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in southern Jiangsu Province have consumed a huge amount of arable land. Through comparative analysis of land cover maps derived from TM images in 1990, 2000 and 2006, we identified the trend of arable land loss. It is found that most arable land is lost to urbanization and rural settlements development. Urban settlements, rural settlements, and industrial park-mine-transport land increased, respectively, by 87 997 ha (174.65%), 81 041 ha (104.52%), and 12 692 ha (397.99%) from 1990 to 2006. Most of the source (e.g., change from) land covers are rice paddy fields and dryland. These two covers contributed to newly urbanized areas by 37.12% and 73.52% during 1990-2000, and 46.39% and 38.86% during 2000-2006. However, the loss of arable land is weakly correlated with ecological service value, per capita net income of farmers, but positively with grain yield for some counties. Most areas in the study site have a low arable land depletion rate and a high potential for sustainable development. More attention should be directed at those counties that have a high depletion rate but a low potential for sustainable development. Rural settlements should be controlled and rationalized through legislative measures to achieve harmonious development between urban and rural areas, and sustainable development for rural areas with a minimal impact on the ecoenvironment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Miniaturised multi-MEMS sensor development

Complex systems, from environmental behaviour to electronics reliability, can now be monitored with Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), where multiple environmental sensors are deployed in remote locations. This ensures aggregation and reading of data, at lower cost and lower power consumption. Because miniaturisation of the sensing system is hampered by the fact that discrete sensors and electronics consume board area, the development of MEMS sensors offers a promising solution. At Tyndall, the fabrication flow of multiple sensors has been made compatible with CMOS circuitry to further reduce size and cost. An ideal platform on which to host these MEMS environmental sensors is the Tyndall modular wireless mote. This paper describes the development and test of the latest sensors incorporating temperature, humidity, corrosion, and gas. It demonstrates their deployment on the Tyndall platform, allowing real-time readings, data aggregation and cross-correlation capabilities. It also presents the design of the next generation sensing platform using the novel 10mm wireless cube developed by Tyndall.

Strategies for water pollution control in Dhaka, Bangladesh: an institutional and economic analysis

This paper presents primary data based on research carried out as part of a large World Bank project. Results from our survey show that water pollution in Dhaka watershed has reached alarming levels and is posing significant threats to health and economic activity, particularly among the poor and vulnerable. Rice productivity in the watershed area, for example, has declined by 40% in recent years and vegetable cultivation in the riverbeds has been severely damaged. We also found significant correlation between water pollution and diseases such as jaundice, diarrhoea and skin problems. It was reported that the cost of treatment of skin diseases for one episode could be as high as 29% of the weekly earnings of poor households. Given the magnitude of the contamination problem, a multi-agent stakeholder approach was necessary to analyse the institutional and economic constraints that would need to be addressed in order to improve environmental management. This approach, in turn, enabled core strategies to be developed. The strategies were better understood around three types of actors in industrial pollution, i.e. (1) principal actors, who contribute directly to industrial pollution; (2) stakeholders, who exacerbate the situation by inaction; and (3) the potential actors in mitigation of water contamination. Within a carrot-and-stick framework, nine strategies leading to the strengthening of environmental management were explored. They aim at improving governance and transparency within public agencies and private industry through the setting up of incentive structures to advance compliance and enforcement of environmental standards. Civil society and the population at large are, on the other hand, encouraged to contribute actively to the mitigation of water pollution by improving the management of environmental information and by raising public awareness.

Impact of human activities on benthic biotopes and species

Executive Summary 1. The Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN) has been developed since 1998. Defra funding has supported a core part of its work, the Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme. This report relates to Biology and Sensitivity work for the period 2001-2004. 2. MarLIN Biology and Sensitivity research takes information on the biology of species to identify the likely effects of changing environmental conditions linked to human activities on those species. In turn, species that are key functional, key structural, dominant, or characteristic in a biotope (the habitat and its associated species) are used to identify biotope sensitivity. Results are displayed over the World Wide Web and can be accessed via a range of search tools that make the information of relevance to environmental management. 3. The first Defra contract enabled the development of criteria and methods of research, database storage methods and the research of a wide range of species. A contract from English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage enabled biotopes relevant to marine SACs to be researched. 4. Defra funding in 2001-2004 has especially enabled recent developments to be targeted for research. Those developments included the identification of threatened and declining species by the OSPAR Biodiversity Committee, the development of a new approach to defining sensitivity (part of the Review of Marine Nature Conservation), and the opportunity to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) more effectively to link survey data to MarLIN assessments of sensitivity. 5. The MarLIN database has been developed to provide a resource to 'pick-and-mix' information depending on the questions being asked. Using GIS, survey data that provides locations for species and biotopes has been linked to information researched by MarLIN to map the likely sensitivity of an area to a specified factor. Projects undertaken for the Irish Sea pilot (marine landscapes), in collaboration with CEFAS (fishing impacts) and with the Countryside Council for Wales (oil spill response) have demonstrated the application of MarLIN information linked to survey data in answering, through maps, questions about likely impacts of human activities on seabed ecosystems. 6. GIS applications that use MarLIN sensitivity information give meaningful results when linked to localized and detailed survey information (lists of species and biotopes as point source or mapped extents). However, broad landscape units require further interpretation. 7. A new mapping tool (SEABED map) has been developed to display data on species distributions and survey data according to search terms that might be used by an environmental manager. 8. MarLIN outputs are best viewed on the Web site where the most up-to-date information from live databases is available. The MarLIN Web site receives about 1600 visits a day. 9. The MarLIN approach to assessing sensitivity and its application to environmental management were presented in papers at three international conferences during the current contract and a 'touchstone' paper is to be published in the peer-reviewed journal Hydrobiologia. The utility of MarLIN information for environmental managers, amongst other sorts of information, has been described in an article in Marine Pollution Bulletin. 10. MarLIN information is being used to inform the identification of potential indicator species for implementation of the Water Framework Directive including initiatives by ICES. 11. Non-Defra funding streams are supporting the updating of reviews and increasing the amount of peer review undertaken; both of which are important to the maintenance of the resource. However, whilst MarLIN information is sufficiently wide ranging to be used in an 'operational' way for marine environmental protection and management, new initiatives and the new biotopes classification have introduced additional species and biotopes that will need to be researched in the future. 12. By the end of the contract, the Biology and Sensitivity Key Information database contained full Key Information reviews on 152 priority species and 117 priority biotopes, together with basic information on 412 species; a total of 564 marine benthic species.