Base Cation Removal in Harvesting and Biological Limit Terms for Use in the Simple Mass Balance Equation to Calculate Critical Loads for Forest Soils

The Simple Mass Balance (SMB) equation allows critical loadsto be calculated for forest soils such that all the processesresponsible for acidification and buffering are considered(i.e acidic deposition, deposition of base cations andchloride, mineral weathering, base cation uptake and removalat harvest, nitrogen immobilisation, uptake anddenitrification, and acidity leached). The equation is nowused by 11 UNECE countries in mapping forest critical loadsfor consideration under the Convention on Long RangeTransboundary Air Pollution. In the work described here wehave put together suitable stemwood and bark nutrientconcentrations from the literature with new measurements inorder to calculate species' specific base cation removalterms. Critical loads are then calculated for Quercuspetraea, Pinus sylvestris and Picea sitchensis in order to determine the sensitivity of site critical load values to differences in base cation removal at harvest. The alternativeapproaches of using base cation to aluminium or calcium to aluminium for the biological limit term of the SMB equation arealso examined. Soil critical load values are shown to be influenced by the variability in both these terms, placing priority on the need for species and regional (or perhaps site)specific data similar to those presented here for the UK.     

Critical Loads of Acid Deposition for Wilderness Lakes in the Sierra Nevada (California) Estimated by the Steady-State Water Chemistry Model

Major ion chemistry (2000–2009) from 208 lakes (342 sample dates and 600 samples) in class I and II wilderness areas of the Sierra Nevada was used in the Steady-State Water Chemistry (SSWC) model to estimate critical loads for acid deposition and investigate the current vulnerability of high elevation lakes to acid deposition. The majority of the lakes were dilute (mean specific conductance?=?8.0 μS cm^?1) and characterized by low acid neutralizing capacity (ANC; mean?=?56.8 μeq L^?1). Two variants of the SSWC model were employed: (1) one model used the F-factor and (2) the alternate model used empirical estimates of atmospheric deposition and mineral weathering rates. A comparison between the results from both model variants resulted in a nearly 1:1 slope and an R ² value of 0.98, suggesting that the deposition and mineral weathering rates used were appropriate. Using an ANC_limit of 10 μeq L^?1, both models predicted a median critical load value of 149 eq ha^?1 year^?1 of H⁺ for granitic catchments. Median exceedances for the empirical approach and F-factor approach were ?81 and ?77 eq ha^?1 year^?1, respectively. Based on the F-factor and empirical models, 36 (17 %) and 34 (16 %) lakes exceeded their critical loads for acid deposition. Our analyses suggest that high elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada have not fully recovered from the effects of acid deposition despite substantial improvement in air quality since the 1970s.     

Exploring Ground Vegetation Change for Different Deposition Scenarios and Methods for Estimating Critical Loads for Biodiversity Using the ForSAFE-VEG Model in Switzerland and Sweden

The ForSAFE-VEG model was used to investigate the impacts of climate change and air pollution scenarios on soil chemistry and ground vegetations composition. In particular, the model involves a ground vegetation model incorporating plant changes to ambient site conditions in terms of climate and chemistry, but the model also incorporate competition between the different plant groups. The model was validated against observed values and reproduced observations of tree growth, soil chemistry, and ground vegetation compositions to satisfaction. The results show that the ground vegetation reacts strongly to changes in air pollution, in particular nitrogen as well as to climate change with major shifts in plant composition. A procedure for estimating critical loads for nitrogen, using ground vegetation biodiversity as criterion, was tested and the method seems operable. It suggests that if we want to protect the present biodiversity of the ground vegetation, this will face significant difficulties because of permanent climate change that induced changes in the ecosystem. We conclude that the reference state for ground vegetation biodiversity is rather to be sought for in the future, hopefully using models, than in the past or present.     

In vitro系统评价胃肠液pH及土液比对铅、镉、砷生物可给性的影响

土壤中铅、镉、砷可能直接通过人的口部无意摄入进入人体,危害人体健康,而各研究者评价土壤重金属对人体健康风险所用的实验参数有别,结果缺乏可比性,因此探讨不同评价方法对结果的影响具有重要意义。以污染的棕钙土和红壤为研究对象,应用in vitro方法研究分析胃肠阶段不同土液比、pH以及土壤性质对铅、镉、砷生物可给性的影响。结果表明,重金属的生物可给性与in vitro系统中的pH、土液比、土壤类型以及重金属本身有关。在胃阶段,随着土液比升高,3种重金属生物可给性趋于降低;不同土液比处理下,红壤中铅生物可给性大于棕钙土,而砷则相反,红壤和棕钙土中镉的生物可给性差异不明显。在肠阶段,随着土液比升高,3种重金属生物可给性也趋于降低（除了红壤镉以外）,土液比1∶100的3种重金属生物可给性均显著大于1∶10。不同pH处理下,铅的生物可给性随pH的升高逐渐降低,而pH对镉和砷的生物可给性的影响与土液比有关。因此,肠胃实际吸收的重金属可能与摄入水量、食物成分与组成以及食物摄入引起的肠液pH变化有关。     

Approaches to Determining Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Oil and Oil Products for Different Soil Types on the Basis of the Assimilation Potential (by the Example of Azerbaijan Soils)

Eurasian Soil Science - The assimilation potential to oil and oil hydrocarbons is assessed for the first time for different soil types of Azerbaijan. The soil assimilation potential is understood...