Polarimetric scattering model for estimation of above ground biomass of multilayer vegetation using ALOS-PALSAR quad-pol data

Forests are important biomes covering a major part of the vegetation on the Earth, and as such account for seventy percent of the carbon present in living beings. The value of a forest’s above ground biomass (AGB) is considered as an important parameter for the estimation of global carbon content. In the present study, the quad-pol ALOS-PALSAR data was used for the estimation of AGB for the Dudhwa National Park, India. For this purpose, polarimetric decomposition components and an Extended Water Cloud Model (EWCM) were used. The PolSAR data orientation angle shifts were compensated for before the polarimetric decomposition. The scattering components obtained from the polarimetric decomposition were used in the Water Cloud Model (WCM). The WCM was extended for higher order interactions like double bounce scattering. The parameters of the EWCM were retrieved using the field measurements and the decomposition components. Finally, the relationship between the estimated AGB and measured AGB was assessed. The coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error (RMSE) were 0.4341 and 119 t/ha respectively.     

草原化荒漠植被草本层片植物对人工施加氮素的响应

水分是干旱区生态过程的第一非生物限制因子,土壤氮由于直接影响着生物生产力和土壤生态过程而被认为是仅次于水分的限制因子。利用人工施加氮肥的控制试验研究了荒漠植被草本层片植物在多度、物种丰富度、高生长以及地上部分生物量等群落学特征对不同施肥处理的响应。结果表明,在施肥量分别为12.5、25、50 g·m-2时,样方植物多度和物种丰富度在施肥当年和第二年较对照均有不同程度的降低,且施肥量越高,降低越明显,这一结果支持来自典型草地和森林植被生物多样性对氮素增加或氮降沉增加响应的结论,即氮素的增加会使生物多样性减少。地上部分生物量对施氮肥的响应在施肥当年(年降水量为多年平均值的1.4倍)和第二年(年降水量为多年平均值的0.7倍)表现出相反的规律,即施肥当年随着施肥量的增加生物量显著增加,而在第二年则显著减小,说明水肥耦合同样有利于荒漠生态系统生物生产力的提高。氮素对植物高生长的影响不明显,各施肥梯度与对照相比均无显著性差异(P>0.05),这可能主要取决于荒漠草本植物本身固有的生物学特性。     

Modeling dynamic assessment of ecosystem services based on remote sensing technology: A sampling of the Gansu grassland ecosystem

The ecosystem is important because it is the life sustaining system for human survival.Three ecosystem characteristics are:regional particularities,ecosystem complexity and conventional cultural particularities.This paper develops a remote sensing based dynamic model to assess grassland ecosystem service values involving multidisciplinary knowledge.The ecological value of grassland ecosystems is focused on using a remote sensing technique in the model,and setting up the framework for a dynamic assessing model.The grassland ecological services condition and value in 1985 is used as the benchmark.The dynamic model has two adjusting indicators:biomass and price index.The biomass is simulated using the CASA(Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) model.The price index was obtained from statistics data published by the statistical bureau.Results show that the grassland ecosystem value in Gansu Province was 28.36 billion Chinese Yuan in 1985,140.37 billion in 1999 and 130.86 billion in 2002.     

Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) Removal from Contaminated Water by Biosorption Using Activated Sludge Biomass

Biosorption using activated sludge biomass (ASB) as a potentially sustainable technology for the treatment of wastewater containing different metal ions (Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II)) was investigated. ASB metal uptake clearly competed with protons consumed by microbial biomass compared with control tests with non‐activated sludge biomass. Biosorption tests confirmed maximum exchange between metal ions and protons at pH 2.0–4.5. It was revealed by the study that the amount of metal ions released from the biomass increased with biomass sludge concentration. The result showed that maximum absorption of metal ions was observed for Cd(II) at pH 3.5, Pb(II) at pH 4.0, and pH 4.5 for Zn(II) ions. The maximum absorption capacities of ASB for Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were determined to be 59.3, 68.5 and 86.5%, respectively. The biosorption of heavy metals was directly proportional to ASB stabilization corresponding to a reduction in heavy metals in the order of Cd < Pb < Zn. The order of increase of biosorption of metal ions in ASB was Zn(II) < Pb(II) < Cd(II), and this was opposite to that of non active sludge. The results indicate that ASB is a sustainable tools for the bioremediation of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) ions from industrial sludge and wastewater treatment plants.     

The Effects of Hydrophilic Polymer and Soil Salinity on Corn Growth in Sandy and Loamy Soils

The interaction effects of different applied ratios of a hydrophilic polymer (Superab A200) (0, 0.2, 0.6% w/w) under various soil salinity levels (initial salinity, 4 and 8 ms/cm) were evaluated on available water content (AWC), biomass, and water use efficiency for corn grown in loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils. The results showed that the highest AWC was measured at the lowest soil salinity. The application of 0.6% w/w of the polymer at the lowest salinity level increased the AWC by 2.2 and 1.2 times greater than those of control in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils, respectively. The analysis of variance of data showed that the effect of salinity was significant on biomass and water use efficiency of corn in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils. The highest amounts of these traits were measured in soils with the lowest salinity level. Application of polymer at the rate of 0.6% in the loamy sand soil and at the rate of 0.2% in the sandy clay loam soil resulted in the highest aerial and root biomass and water use efficiency for corn. At these polymer rates the amounts of water use efficiency for corn were 2.6 and 1.7 times greater than those of control in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils, respectively. Thus, the use of hydrophilic polymer in soils especially in the sandy soils increases soil water holding capacity, yield, and water use efficiency of plant. On the other hand, decreases the negative effect of soil salinity on plant and helps for irrigation projects to succeed in arid and semi‐arid areas.     

中国生物质能产业发展面临的矛盾和挑战

本文在分析中国生物质能产业发展现状的基础上,认为当前中国生物质能产业发展受到资源家底不清、政策环境不完善和生态保护压力等因素制约,存在着产业发展总体水平低,产业体系不健全,生产成本高,产业技术水平低,行业发展无序等问题。结合这些问题,立足我国资源环境承载能力,适应市场需求变化和科技进步趋势,本文提出今后重点加强生物质能产业发展政策扶持,生物质能原料资源调查评估,生物质能转化利用技术开发和能源产业示范基地建设,以期促进生物质能产业健康快速发展。     

The aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatiotemporal variation in western Inner Mongolia

A precise understanding of the aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatio-temporal variation is important to understand how arid ecosystems respond to climate change and to ensure that scarce grassland resources are used rationally. On the basis of 756 ground survey quadrats sampled in western Inner Mongolia steppe in 2005–2011 and remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)—the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset for the period of 2001–2011—we developed a statistical model to estimate the aboveground biomass of the desert steppe and further explored the relationships between aboveground biomass and climate factors. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area was 5.27 Tg (1 Tg=10¹² g) on average over 11 years; between 2001 and 2011, the aboveground biomass of the western Inner Mongolia steppe exhibited fluctuations, with no significant trend over time; (2) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area exhibits distinct spatial variation and generally decreases gradually from southeast to northwest; and (3) the important factor causing interannual variations in aboveground biomass is precipitation during the period from January to July, but we did not find a significant relationship between the aboveground biomass and the corresponding temperature changes. The precipitation in this period is also an important factor influencing the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass (R²=0.39, P<0.001), while the temperature might be a minor factor (R²=0.12, P<0.01). The uncertainties in our estimate are primarily due to uncertainty in converting the fresh grass yield estimates to dry weight, underestimates of the biomass of shrubs, and error in remote sensing dataset.     

Biosorption of Heavy Metals in Leachate Derived from Gold Mine Tailings Using Aspergillus fumigatus

Leachate derived from bioleaching process contains high amount of metals that must be removed before discharging the water. Aspergillus fumigatus was isolated from a gold mine tailings and its ability to remove of As, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn from aqueous solutions and leachate of bioleaching processes was assessed. Batch sorption experiments were carried out to characterize the capability of fungal biomass (FB) and iron coated fungal biomass (ICFB) to remove metal ions in single and multi‐solute systems. The maximum sorption capacity of FB for As(III), As(V), Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn were 11.2, 8.57, 94.33, 53.47, 43.66, and 70.4 mg/g, respectively, at pH 6. For ICFB, these values were 88.5, 81.3, 98.03, 66.2, 50.25, and 74.07 mg/g. Results showed that only ICFB was found to be more effective in removing metal ions from the leachate. The amount of adsorbed metals from the leachate was 2.88, 21.20, 1.91, 0.1, and 0.08 mg/g for As, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Pb, respectively. The FT‐IR analysis showed involvement of the functional groups of the FB in the metal ions sorption. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that surface morphological changed following metal ions adsorption. The study showed that the indigenous fungus A. fumigatus was able to remove As, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn from the leachate of gold mine tailings and therefore the potential for removing metal ions from metal‐bearing leachate.     

Plant Species Richness Increased Belowground Plant Biomass and Substrate Nitrogen Removal in a Constructed Wetland

The effects of plant species richness on both above‐ and belowground plant biomass, plant nitrogen (N) pool size, and substrate N concentrations were studied in a full‐scale subsurface vertical‐flow constructed wetland (CW). Results showed that (i) plant species richness increased belowground plant biomass and its N pool size but had no effect on aboveground plant biomass and its N pool size; (ii) plant species richness increased substrate N removal, especially ammonium N removal; and (iii) plant species richness had no effect on plant N use efficiency, suggesting that the N pool size increased with increasing plant species richness. More N accumulation could be removed through harvesting plant biomass. We concluded that the N removal performance of the CW improved by plant species richness through increasing belowground biomass and relevant N pool size.