Why are there cattle in the conservation area? Social barriers to biofuel governance in Brazil

Amid a rapid expansion of global investments in biofuels there has been an equally rapid proliferation of concerns about the inadequacies of current governance schemes to mitigate the environmental impacts of growing agroenergy production. Managing the land use practices of small producers in a way that ensures their activities are financially and environmentally sustainable is a particularly pressing issue that has been overlooked in research on biofuel governance. I illuminate these challenges through an ethnographic study on the multiple breakdowns of environmental governance in the Southern Goiás region of Brazil, a major expansion region for sugarcane ethanol production. I focus on one of the most pressing compliance issues among small and medium size sugarcane farmers; their persistent use of federally mandated conservation areas for cattle production. I find that while these transgressions are often perceived by administrators and officials as being the result of a lack of “environmental awareness” among rural farmers, they are better understood as a safety net to protect landowners against perceived risks of sugarcane production. These violations are further enabled by continuing ambiguity in the enforcement structure for conservation legislation in the region. Recalibrating regulatory systems to better address these issues of accountability and risk is a critical step toward improving environmental governance of global biofuel commodity chains.     

徐州环境保护WebGIS系统的结构及其设计

论述了徐州环境保护WebGIS系统的设计思路、结构和功能，为徐州环保部门的工作提供了一种行之有效并方便快捷的方式，同时也对徐州环境污染问题、信息严重滞后等问题提供了有效的解决途径。     

Environmental geological investigations at the Van open dump site, southeastern Turkey

 This study evaluates the geological, hydrogeological and hydrological conditions at the open waste dump site of the Van municipality in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. A geological map and a three-dimensional view of the project site have been prepared. All lithological units exposed at and near the dump site have been determined and their boundary relationships identified. Drainage basin characteristics of the dump site along with the water bearing properties of different lithological units have been assessed. For the rehabilitation of the existing dump site, material availability (clay as a liner, cap, and daily cover material; granular soil as a filter material) has been researched. Based on the geological, hydrogeological, morphological and hydrological conditions of the existing waste dump site, recommendations to minimize its environmental impact are presented. Received: 8 March 1999 · Accepted: 3 May 1999     

Mechanism of the water invasion of Gaoyang Iron Mine,China and its impacts on the mine groundwater environment

With the development of mining of iron deposits in China, groundwater invasion and the impacts of groundwater drainage, such as regional groundwater table lowering, overlapping cones of depression, subsidence, and water quality deterioration are environmental problems which endanger mining production and human life. Effective prevention of water invasion or timely determination of the mechanism of water bursting and rational design of drainage plans are the most urgent mining challenges. The mechanism of water invasion and the environment impacts on the groundwater system of the Gaoyang Iron Mine, China were dealt with in this paper. A systematical investigation of the hydrogeological conditions and monitoring of groundwater dynamics of the mine were completed. Results show that the limestone of the middle Ordovician System constitutes the under floor of the iron deposit. This limestone is the main source of water invasion into the mine. Groundwater dynamic equilibrium conditions are broken due to mine drainage. Water invasion and drainage have caused a serious impact on the groundwater environment of the area.     

茂兰森林生态系统对岩溶环境的适应与调节

通过对贵州茂兰森林区岩溶作用下森林生态特点的研究表明,岩溶山区由于岩溶作用导致了地貌、土壤、水分等状况的特异性,其森林生态系统行为对岩溶作用也作出了相应的响应,如森林生态系统虽然生物多样性、物种的特有性仍然较好,但物种以钙生性、旱生性为主,生产力低下,森林生态系统主要通过诸如无性更新、不间断随时更新等方式来适应严酷的岩溶环境。因此要保持和恢复岩溶石山区森林生态系统生产力,其首要的基础研究问题是岩溶作用影响下森林植物的生境胁迫的机制及其动态,森林植物对这种胁迫的适应性及其基因调控机理。      

Study of evaporation and recharge in desert soil using environmental tracers, New Mexico, USA

 The purpose of this study is to investigate the rates and mechanisms of recharge and evaporation in soils of a desert environment using two environmental tracers (chloride and oxygen-18). The profiles of chloride concentration and oxygen-18 enrichment in soil-water, together with the depth distribution of water content in soil, reveal information about long-term recharge and instantaneous evaporation processes without needing to know the physical properties of the soil. Three holes were hand-augured, in different desert settings in southeastern New Mexico. The chloride concentration profiles were used, with the chloride mass balance method, to estimate long-term recharge rates in these three holes as 0.5, 0.8, and 2.4 mm yr^–1. Analysis using a bimodal flow and transport model shows that possibly 85% of the recharge occurs via movement of water through preferred pathways in the root zone. Preferential flow was evident in all three sampling sites. Clay layers have a noticeable effect on the development of water content distribution and thus on oxygen-18 enrichment and chloride concentration profiles. The spatial variation in clay layering partly explains the variation in recharge rate estimates. Received: 13 October 1995 · Accepted: 15 November 1995     

Major and trace elements in German bottled water,their regional distribution,and accordance with national and international standards

The market for mineral water has been growing steadily over the last few years. Germany is the country with the highest number of bottled mineral water brands (908 bottled water samples from 502 wells/brands were analyzed). The per capita consumption of mineral water in Germany in 2003 was 129 L. A wide range of values of one to seven orders of magnitude was determined for 71 elements in the bottled water samples analyzed by ICP-QMS, ICP-AES, IC, titration, photometric, conductometric and potentiometric methods. A comparison of the element concentrations and the legal limits for both bottled and tap water (EU, Germany, US EPA, WHO) shows that only 70% of the 908 mineral water samples fulfill the German and EU drinking water (i.e., tap water) regulations for all parameters (not including pH) for which action levels are defined. Nearly 5% of the bottled water samples not fulfill the German and EU regulations for mineral and table water. Comparison of our results with the current German and European action levels for mineral and table water shows that only 42 of the bottled water samples exceed the limits for one or more of the following elements: arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, manganese, nickel and barium concentrations. Ten of the bottled water samples contain uranium concentrations above the 10 μg/L recommended limit.     

长链烷基二醇在海洋环境重建中的研究进展

长链烷基二醇类化合物(Long-chain alkyl diols)是指在碳链的1号位置和链中位置连接有羟基基团的类脂化合物,普遍存在于海洋、河流和湖泊环境中。由于这类化合物分布广泛、性质稳定不易降解、且检测手段较为简单,因此具有作为生物标志物的潜力,在生物地球化学领域引起了广泛的研究和关注。关于其生物来源尚未有定论,但是研究发现1,13-diols和1,15-diols可能主要来自真眼点藻,而14-diols主要来自硅藻Proboscia。目前根据长链烷基二醇建立的指标包括:硅藻生产力、上升流强度、盐度、温度、河流输入和表层海水营养盐浓度等,对古环境气候的重建有着重要的意义。归纳总结了目前长链烷基二醇指标的研究和应用进展,这有助于未来我国边缘海长链烷基二醇来源以及二醇指标的深入研究。     

福建福安上后洋叶蜡石矿床地质特征及找矿标志

福建福安上后洋叶蜡石矿呈似层状，赋存于晚侏罗世南园组中部火碎屑岩中，共发现有4个矿体，矿石可分为2种类型。即石英叶蜡石型和伊利石质叶蜡石型，以石英叶蜡石型为主，矿体明显受地层岩性控制，属火山热液顺层交代蚀变的似层状叶蜡石矿床。