Sewage sludge processing determines its impact on soil microbial community structure and function

Composting and thermal drying are amongst the most commonly used post-digestion processes for allowing sanitation and biological stabilization of sewage sludge from municipal treatment plants, and making it suitable as soil conditioner for use in agriculture. To assess the impact of sludge-derived materials on soil microbial properties, fresh (LAF), composted (LAC) and thermally dried (LAT) sludge fractions, each resulting from a different post-treatment process of a same aerobically digested sewage sludge, were added at 1% (w/w) application rate on two contrasting (a loam and a loamy sand) soils and incubated under laboratory conditions for 28 days. Soil respiration, microbial ATP content, hydrolytic activities and arginine ammonification rate were monitored throughout the incubation period. Results showed that soil biochemical variables, including the metabolic quotient (qCO₂), were markedly stimulated after sludge application, and the magnitude of this stimulatory effect was dependent on sludge type (precisely LAT > LAF > LAC), but not on soil type. This effect was related to the content of stable organic matter, which was lower in LAT. Genetic fingerprinting by PCR–DGGE revealed that compositional shifts of soil bacterial and, at greater extent, actinobacterial communities were responsive to the amendment with a differing sludge fraction. The observed time-dependent changes in the DGGE profiles of amended soils reflected the microbial turnover dependent on the sludge nutrient input, whereas no indications of adverse effects of sludge-borne contaminants were noted. Our findings indicate that composting rather thermal drying can represent a more appropriate post-digestion process to make sewage sludge suitable for use as soil conditioner in agriculture.     

外来植物土荆芥入侵的化学基础探讨

土荆芥为藜科藜属一年生或多年生直立草本植物,1864年首次发现于中国台湾省台北淡水,2010年1月7日被列入中国《第二批外来入侵植物种名单》。目前对土荆芥的入侵学研究主要集中在生物学、生态学、化学成分、他感作用、逆境抗性等方面,因此其入侵机制主要是化学武器假说,如次生代谢旺盛,具化感潜力,抗逆性强等。但并未从分子学角度进行相关研究,如土荆芥的遗传进化特点、土荆芥入侵的分子标记、土荆芥的代谢组学等。尤其是土荆芥入侵之后,其与本土植物的种子萌发速度或生长速度比较(优先效应),目前尚未有报道。因此,未来在上述研究的基础上,必须对其分子生物学开展深入研究,尤其应重点研究土荆芥入侵的优先效应机制。     

立地条件和林分结构对有林地生产力的影响

通过分析有林地生产力与立地条件和林分结构中各因子的关系,探索制约有林地生产力的主要因素.结果表明:不同立地质量中Ⅰ类地单位蓄积量最高(268.86±20.24 m3/hm2),不同坡向中东坡单位蓄积量最高(269.78±38.54 m3/hm2),不同树种组成中10杉类型单位蓄积量最高(259.33±14.62 m3/hm2);有林地生产力与林分年龄、林分密度正相关,相关系数R分别为0.590、0.460;有林地生产力与海拔、坡度相关性不显著.以上结果说明立地质量、坡向和树种组成对有林地生产力影响显著;有林地生产力与林分年龄、林分密度相关,与海拔、坡度无关.     

光辐射染色木材的变色规律及化学组分结构的变化

以I-214杨木染色单板为试材、氙光作为辐射光源,考察其在100h光照过程中表面颜色的变化规律;依据红外光谱图的谱峰位置和谱峰相对吸收强度,分析和确定光变色过程中染色杨木木材的化学组分。结果表明:染色杨木木材受光辐射易发生变色,其中酸性蓝染色单板的明度指数L*和色品指数b*变化显著,其光变色度显著大于酸性大红GR染色单板;若以波数1510cm-1为基准,非共轭羰基C=O振动的吸收峰(1738cm-1)吸收强度显著增强;共轭羰基C=O伸缩振动的吸收峰(1650cm-1)吸收强度有所增强;芳香环骨架C-C振动的吸收峰(1510cm-1)吸收强度明显减弱;C-O-H振动的吸收峰(1160～1052cm-1)吸收强度有所减弱。     

郑州市城区悬铃木生长与健康状况调研

为研究郑州市城区道路行道树的生长及健康状况,以悬铃木为研究对象进行抽样调查。调查结果显示,郑州市城区悬铃木以中型植株为主,株高7.5~12.5 m的占比63.22%;胸径20.0~40.0 cm的占比57.46%;冠幅6.0~14.0 m的占比65.79%。郑州市内金水区大型悬铃木植株最多,生长状况最优,是道路林荫环境最好的区域。研究区内大部分植株处于“亚健康”和“生长维持”状态,Ⅰ级植株所占比例偏小,仅为7.33%,亚健康植株占比最大,近60%,频死植株占比10.86%。二七区、中原区、高新区3个城区的悬铃木健康状况优于其他城区,惠济区、金水区2个城区悬铃木的健康状况较差。在养护管理条件相似的情况下,立地条件较好的绿带植株整体健康水平优于树穴植株,大型悬铃木植株健康状况普遍优于中小型植株,乔、灌、草3层垂直结构的悬铃木的健康水平优于其它垂直结构,三板四带式道路结构类型的悬铃木植株健康水平最为优异。     

轻钢结构抗震节能体系在“塞上农民新居”中的应用

针对宁夏地区农民传统住宅抗震性差，建筑外围护结构保温性能差，采暖系统能源消耗量大，环境污染严重等问题，提出采用轻钢结构配以轻质保温板材的轻钢结构抗震节能体系，以期为宁夏农村住宅设计提供指导性建议。     

Impact of soil engineering by two contrasting species of earthworms on their dispersal rates

By burrowing galleries and producing casts, earthworms are constantly changing the structure and properties of the soils in which they are living. These changes modify the costs and benefits for earthworms to stay in the environment they modify. In this paper, we measured experimentally how dispersal behaviour of endogeic and anecic earthworms responds to the cumulative changes they made in soil characteristics. The influence of earthworm activities on dispersal was studied in standardised mesocosms by comparing the influence of soils modified or not modified by earthworm activities on earthworm dispersal rates.The cumulative use of the soil by the earthworms strongly modified soil physical properties. The height of the soil decreased over time and the amount of aggregates smaller than 2 mm decreased in contrast to aggregates larger than 5 mm that increased. We found that: (i) earthworm activities significantly modified soil physical properties (such as bulk density, soil strength and soil aggregation) and decreased significantly the dispersal rates of the endogeic species, whatever the species that modified the soil; (ii) the decreasing in the dispersal proportion of the endogeic species suggests that the cost of engineering activities may be higher than the one of dispersal; (iii) the dispersal of the anecic species appeared to be not influenced by its own activities (intra-specific influences) or by the activities of the endogeic species (inter-specific influences). Overall these results suggest that the endogeic species is involved in a process of niche construction, which evolved jointly with its dispersal strategy.