Environmental geochemistry of Zarshuran Au-As deposit, NW Iran

Zarshuran deposit is the most famous and important As-Au mine in Iran. However, there is no information on the impact of mining activity on the surrounding environment, especially on water systems. This paper attempts to document the concentration of arsenic and associated elements in waters and sediments resulting from the mining history of Zarshuran, a period covering hundreds of years. Water and sediment samples collected from Zarshuran Stream indicate high content of some potentially toxic elements, especially of As which ranges from 0.028 to 40 ng/l in water and 182 to 36,000 mg/kg in sediment samples. Mining activity, exposure of a large volume of mining wastes to weathering, and the anomalously high background of trace metals in the mining area are considered to be the main sources of heavy metal pollution.     

Changes in soil organic carbon and other physical soil properties along adjacent Mediterranean forest, grassland, and cropland ecosystems in Turkey

Cultivation, overgrazing, and overharvesting are seriously degrading forest and grassland ecosystems in the Taurus Mountains of the southern Mediterranean region of Turkey. This study investigated the effects of changes on soil organic carbon (SOC) content and other physical soil properties over a 12-year period in three adjacent ecosystems in a Mediterranean plateau. The ecosystems were cropland (converted from grasslands in 1990), open forest, and grassland. Soil samples from two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, were collected for chemical and physical analyses at each of cropland, open forest, and grassland ecosystems. SOC pools at the 0–20 cm depth of cropland, forest, and grassland ecosystems were estimated at 32,636, 56,480, and 57,317 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Conversion of grassland into cropland during the 12-year period increased the bulk density by 10.5% and soil erodibility by 46.2%; it decreased SOM by 48.8%, SOC content by 43%, available water capacity (AWC) by 30.5%, and total porosity by 9.1% for the 0–20 cm soil depth (p<0.001). The correlation matrix revealed that SOC content was positively correlated with AWC, total porosity, mean weight diameter (MWD), forest, and grassland, and negatively with bulk density, pH, soil erodibility factor, and cropland. The multiple regression (MLR) models indicated that any two of the three ecosystems and one of the two soil depths accounted for 86.5% of variation in mean SOC values ((p<0.001).     

Establishment of apparent quantum yield and maximum ecosystem assimilation on Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow ecosystem

The alpine meadow is widely distributed on the Tibetan Plateau with an area of about 1.2×106kn2. Damxung County, located in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, is the place covered with this typical vegetation. An open-path eddy covariance system was set up in Damxung rangeland station to measure the carbon flux of alpine meadow from July to October,2003. The continuous carbon flux data were used to analyze the relationship between net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), as well as the seasonal patterns of apparent quantum yield (α) and maximum ecosystem assimilation (Pmax).Results showed that the daytime NEE fitted fairly well with the PAR in a rectangular hyperbola function, with α declining in the order of peak growth period (0.0244 μmolCO2 · μmol-1pAR) ＞early growth period ＞ seed maturing period ＞ withering period (0.0098 μmolCO2 · μmol-1pAR).The Pmax did not change greatly during the first three periods, with an average of 0.433mgCO2· m-2· s-1, i.e. 9.829 μmolCO2· m-2· s-1. However, during the withering period, Pmax was only 0.35 mgCO2 · m-2 · s-1, i.e. 7.945 μmolCO2 · m-2 · s-1. Compared with other grassland ecosystems, the α of the Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow ecosystem was much lower.     

Environmental variables related to wheat yields in the semiarid pampa region of Argentina

The current paper analyses various environmental parameters in relation to wheat yields in Bordenave, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The variables used are: precipitation (ppt), maximum (Tx) and minimum temperature (Tmi) as well as those obtained by applying the Palmer model. Decadic and phenological scales are used for data corresponding to the period 1977–2000. The stepwise method is used to obtain a multi-variate equation to calculate yield taking into account environmental variables only. For a five variates model the coefficient of determination, R² equals 95.79% and the standard error of estimation is 129.0 kg ha⁻¹. In the sample yields, the incidence of total variability for thermal variables is 42.7% and for hydrological variables, 53%. The value and sign of the correlation coefficients were analysed throughout the cultivation cycle. The α coefficient is mainly responsible for yield variance during tillering and stem elongation. There is good correlation with the values of Palmer's Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the flowering and grain filling stages.     

东胜区污染状况分析

文章利用东胜区主要污染源排放情况以及2005年9月1日-2007年8月31日每日SO2、NO2、PM10浓度监测值和2005-2007年SO2、NO2、PM10平均值,分析了东胜区主要污染类型、污染物来源以及东胜区近3年SO2、NO2、PM10监测值日、月、季、年分布特征和变化规律;提出了消减大气污染物排放的对策。     

我国典型资源枯竭型城市生态系统健康综合评价

资源枯竭和环境恶化影响着典型资源枯竭型城市的发展。根据"压力-状态-响应"模型,构建了一个度量典型资源枯竭型城市生态系统健康水平的含有4个层次35项具体指标的指标体系,并运用客观的改进的熵值法赋权、模糊综合评价法及划分的等级标准对我国9个典型资源枯竭型城市的生态系统健康水平进行量化分析。结果表明,阜新市的生态系统健康水平属于"较健康"级,伊春、辽源、白银、焦作属于"临界状态"级,盘锦、白山、萍乡属于"较不健康"级,而石嘴山则属于"不健康"级。典型资源枯竭型城市的生态系统健康水平总体上不容乐观。     

浅析环境地球化学的研究现状

环境地球化学是研究环境中化学物质迁移转化规律及其与环境质量和人类健康关系的学科.在其短短30年的发展历程中,历经了环境地球化学与健康、环境地球化学与污染及环境地球化学与全球环境变化3个阶段的研究.由于它是一个新兴的学科和研究对象的复杂性,目前还存在着学科交叉深度与广度的不够、化学物质动态监测不及时、与GIS的结合还不够等一些问题.但是,凭借其良好的发展势头,环境地球化学为改善人类生存与发展的生态环境和促进入类社会的可持续发展承担着艰巨的任务并发挥了巨大的作用.     

基于审查回归模型的公众气象服务支付意愿影响因素分析——以无锡、武汉和西安为例

采用审查回归模型,分别选取了中国东、中、西部的三个典型城市无锡、武汉和西安,计算了三城市受访者的支付意愿值,并对其影响因素进行了分析。结果表明：（1）支付意愿值与地区经济发展水平直接相关。无锡、武汉和西安受访者的支付意愿分别为21.68,17.15和10.07元/年;（2）年龄越长者,由于其天气知识更丰富、日常消费较节俭,对气象服务的支付意愿越低;（3）文化程度越高者,更能理解和支持气象服务事业,对气象服务的支付意愿越高;（4）月收入变量对气象服务的支付意愿有显著影响,但就不同城市的受访者而言,影响的方向并不一致。     

Cascades of green: A review of ecosystem-based adaptation in urban areas

Climate change impacts increase pressure on challenges to sustainability and the developmental needs of cities. Conventional, “hard” adaptation measures are often associated with high costs, inflexibility and conflicting interests related to the dense urban fabric, and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) has emerged as a potentially cost-efficient, comprehensive, and multifunctional approach. This paper reviews and systematises research on urban EbA. We propose an analytical framework that draws on theory from ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and sustainability science. It conceptualises EbA in terms of five linked components: ecological structures, ecological functions, adaptation benefits, valuation, and ecosystem management practices.Our review identified 110 articles, reporting on 112 cities, and analysed them using both quantitative statistical and qualitative content analysis. We found that EbA research in an urban context is fragmented due to different disciplinary approaches and concepts. Most articles focus on heat or flooding, and the most studied ecological structures for reducing the risk of such hazards are green space, wetlands, trees and parks. EbA is usually evaluated in bio-geophysical terms and the use of economic or social valuations are rare. While most articles do not mention specific practices for managing ecological structures, those that do imply that urban EbA strategies are increasingly being integrated into institutional structures. Few articles considered issues of equity or stakeholder participation in EbA.We identified the following challenges for future EbA research. First, while the large amount of data generated by isolated case studies contributes to systems knowledge, there is a lack of systems perspectives that position EbA in relation to the wider socio-economic and bio-geophysical context. Second, normative and ethical aspects of EbA require more thought, such as who are the winners and losers, especially in relation to processes that put people at risk from climate-related hazards. Third, there is room for more forward-looking EbA research, including consideration of future scenarios, experimentation in the creation of new ecological structures and the role of EbA in transformative adaptation.     

Modelling complex systems of heterogeneous agents to better design sustainability transitions policy

This article proposes a fundamental methodological shift in the modelling of policy interventions for sustainability transitions in order to account for complexity (e.g. self-reinforcing mechanisms, such as technology lock-ins, arising from multi-agent interactions) and agent heterogeneity (e.g. differences in consumer and investment behaviour arising from income stratification). We first characterise the uncertainty faced by climate policy-makers and its implications for investment decision-makers. We then identify five shortcomings in the equilibrium and optimisation-based approaches most frequently used to inform sustainability policy: (i) their normative, optimisation-based nature, (ii) their unrealistic reliance on the full-rationality of agents, (iii) their inability to account for mutual influences among agents (multi-agent interactions) and capture related self-reinforcing (positive feedback) processes, (iv) their inability to represent multiple solutions and path-dependency, and (v) their inability to properly account for agent heterogeneity. The aim of this article is to introduce an alternative modelling approach based on complexity dynamics and agent heterogeneity, and explore its use in four key areas of sustainability policy, namely (1) technology adoption and diffusion, (2) macroeconomic impacts of low-carbon policies, (3) interactions between the socio-economic system and the natural environment, and (4) the anticipation of policy outcomes. The practical relevance of the proposed methodology is subsequently discussed by reference to four specific applications relating to each of the above areas: the diffusion of transport technology, the impact of low-carbon investment on income and employment, the management of cascading uncertainties, and the cross-sectoral impact of biofuels policies. In conclusion, the article calls for a fundamental methodological shift aligning the modelling of the socio-economic system with that of the climatic system, for a combined and realistic understanding of the impact of sustainability policies.