低温季节2种水生植物及其组合对富营养化城市河水的净化效果试验

[目的]了解低温季节水生植物对富营养化城市河水的净化效果。[方法]通过静态水培方法,研究了聚草、圆币草2种水生植物及其组合对富营养化河水的净化效果。[结果]低温季节,聚草、圆币草2种植物均能生存和生长,表现出较强的抗寒性和对河水的适应性,其生长效果为聚草组>圆币草组>组合组(聚草+圆币草);与对照组相比,3个植物处理系统对河道原水CODCr的去除效果均不显著,但对TN、TP、NH4+-N净化效果较为明显,其去除效果由大到小排序为聚草组>圆币草组>组合组。[结论]该研究为城市河道低温季节水生植物的修复利用及净化效果评价提供基础数据或依据。     

底泥中多环芳烃的测定

介绍运用微波萃取提取底泥中多环芳烃的技术,在优化的试验条件下,采用气象色谱—质谱法测定底泥中的16种多环芳烃,运用加标回收率验证试验方法的可行性。结果表明:采用微波消解和硅胶净化柱对样品进行前处理,方法简便,安全,样品量大,耗时短,节省溶剂,污染小,样品加标回收率为67.353%～101.666%,效果较为理想。     

水生植被对湖滨湿地水环境净化效果及影响因素分析

[目的]分析研究洪泽湖湖滨地区植物群落对湿地水环境的净化效果,为该区生态修复提供参考依据。[方法]以洪泽湖湿地国家级自然保护区典型湖滨带为研究对象,通过对该区的水草区和无草区环境特征进行野外调查,并结合室内试验,测定湖泊湿地水体的营养盐(N和P)、化学需氧量(COD)及透明度(SD)含量的变化,定量分析水生植被在生长过程中对湖泊湿地生态系统中水环境的净化效果,并对其可能存在的影响因素进行探讨。[结果]水生植被对洪泽湖湿地水环境中TN、TP、COD、Chla的去除作用及对SD含量变化有较明显的影响。水生植物之间的竞争可以抑制藻类的生长,减轻水体的富营养化情况。[结论]该试验为研究洪泽湖湖滨带生态修复及增强其自净能力提供理论依据。     

黄土高原梯田和淤地坝坡沟治理措施对产流产沙的协同效应

黄土高原地区的梯田和淤地坝措施发挥了重要的水土保持功能,然而现有的研究主要关注单个措施的减水减沙效应,对坡沟治理措施综合配置协同调控水沙过程的作用一直认识不清。因此,该研究为解析梯田和淤地坝措施对水沙过程的协同调控效应,构建了10个坡沟系统物理模型,设置了对照组（CO）,单一措施组（梯田措施（T0）,4种因淤地坝淤积导致坡沟区域的坡长缩短（L1、L2、L3和L4））和组合措施组（梯田与4种因淤地坝淤积导致坡沟区域的坡长缩短的综合配置（T1、T2、T3和T4））,进行降雨强度为90 mm/h的室内模拟降雨试验,量化不同试验方案下坡沟系统的产流产沙过程。结果表明：1）梯田措施和淤地坝淤积导致坡沟区域坡长缩短均有效调控了坡沟系统的产流产沙过程,梯田能分别减少46.30%～83.59%的径流总量和25.82%～82.41%的泥沙总量,淤地坝导致坡沟区域坡长缩短能分别减少7.87%～33.42%的径流总量和10.20%～30.57%的泥沙总量。2）不同试验方案下坡沟系统的产沙率和产流率之间满足线性关系,而累计产沙量和累计产流量满足幂函数关系。3）综合措施配置发挥了“1+1> 2”的水土保持...     

九种水生观赏植物无性繁殖试验

通过对宝鸡植物园的菖蒲、梭鱼草、芦苇等9种水生植物进行埋根段与单株繁殖试验,结果表明:菖蒲、梭鱼草、芦苇三种植物采用埋根段繁殖,方法简单,最高成活率可达100%;茭白、玉蝉花等六种植物采用单株带根、不带根繁殖,带根的成活率高于不带根的。     

水平沟整地措施对黄土丘陵区草原土壤水分动态平衡的影响

三峡水库消落带是库区水域与周边陆地环境的关键过渡地带,周期性反季节干湿交替使其具有强烈的物质交换特征。辨析消落带泥沙及其吸附的颗粒态磷的来源对消落带土壤污染防治和环境效应评估以及三峡水环境保护具有重要意义。以三峡库区汝溪河支流不同高程（145～155、>155～165、>165～175 m）消落带为研究对象,运用复合指纹技术查明,消落带泥沙中颗粒态磷的主要来源是长江干流悬移质和汝溪河上游悬移质。淹水期间长江干流江水顶托引起的泥沙沉积是颗粒态磷的主要来源,在>165～175 m高程带对颗粒态磷的贡献达到最大（54.5%）。雨季初期支流上游悬移质对145～155 m高程消落带的颗粒态磷贡献最大（51.6%）,而随高程的增加贡献率减少。消落带上方的土壤侵蚀产沙主要堆积在>155～165和>165～175 m高程范围内,导致消落带上方土壤对泥沙和颗粒态磷的贡献率都随高程的增加而增加。     

Contamination history of suspended river sediments accumulated in oxbow lakes over the last 25 years

Background, aims, and scope  Embankment of meandering river systems in many industrial areas results in the formation of artificial oxbow lakes that may act as perennial or intermittent traps for river sediments. Their deposits can be dated using a combination of historical and stratigraphic data, providing a good means to study historical records of contamination transported by rivers. Contamination history over the last few decades is of special significance for Central and Eastern Europe as it can reflect high pollutant levels in the second half of the twentieth century and the subsequent improvement after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The purpose of this study was to investigate recent sediments of an oxbow lake of the Morava River, Czech Republic, their stratigraphic records, sediment architecture, and history of contamination. Materials and methods  Seven ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and three sediment cores up to 4 m deep were studied. The stratigraphy of the cores was inferred from visible-light spectrophotometry, X-ray radiography, grain size analysis, and semiquantitative modal analysis of sandy fractions. The sediments were dated using the ¹³⁷Cs mass activity and combinations of stratigraphic and historical data. The cores were sampled for concentrations of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Wet sampled, lyophilized, and sieved sediments were extracted and analyzed for heavy metals by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) of aqua regia leachate and for persistent organic pollutants by gas chromatography (GC-ECD and GC-MS). Results  Three distinct sedimentary sequences (S1, S2, and S3) were identified. The basal sequence S1 represents river channel sediments deposited before the formation of the oxbow lake, most likely before the 1930s. The boundary between the S1 and S2 sequence correlates with the level of sediment dredging from 1981 evidenced from historical data. The overlying sequences S2 and S3 represent a postdredging sediment wedge, which progrades into the lake. ¹³⁷Cs dating revealed a distinct Chernobyl 1986 peak at ∼150 cm depth inferring sedimentation rates up to 7.7 cm/year. Sediment contamination abruptly increased from the pre-1930s deposits to the post-1981 deposits. The concentration levels increased two to five times for Pb, As, Zn, and Cu, about 10 to 15 times for Cr, Sb, and Hg, up to 34 times for Cd, and 25 to 67 times for DDTs, PCBs, and PAHs. The concentrations of most contaminants remained approximately constant until the late 1980s when they started to decrease slowly. The decreasing trends were most prominent for heavy metals and anthracene, less prominent for DDTs, and almost absent for PCBs and most PAHs. Discussion  Different temporal and spatial patterns for various contaminants make it possible to distinguish between anthropogenic point sources from local industry (anthracene, Cr, Cd), possible diffuse sources (most PAHs), and geological background (V, Co, Ni, and Mo). The observed recent trends in heavy metal and persistent organic pollutant contamination are generally consistent with data from other Central European rivers. The roughly balanced contamination levels in sediments from the lake and the adjacent river channel suggest that the oxbow lake deposits reflect immediate levels of the contamination bound to suspended particulate matter passing through the river. Conclusions  The investigated oxbow lake accumulated suspended sediment from Morava River, developing a thick sedimentary body. The sediments offer a good time framework to study historical contamination of the river on a decade time scale. Continuous contamination trends can be traced back to the early 1980s. The results show that stratigraphic analysis of cores has a good potential for identification of uninterrupted historical trends and unconformities, e.g., due to dredging. Recommendations and perspectives  Oxbow lakes may provide an alternative to floodplains and reservoir deposits when studying river contamination history. High sedimentation rates of up to 7.7 cm/year offer a very good stratigraphic resolution, making it possible to study contamination patterns on annual or even seasonal time scales. On the other hand, oxbow lakes may represent long-term contamination stores, which are unlikely to be redistributed by river erosion and, hence, may possess significant environmental risks for the farther future.     

Ecotoxicological evaluation of Harbour sediments using marine organisms from different trophic levels

Background, Aim and Scope  The toxicity of contaminated sediments should be evaluated considering the direct exposure of laboratory organisms to whole sediments and the indirect exposure to elutriates or extracts (Tay et al. 1992, Byrne and Halloran 1999, Nendza 2002). The alga Dunaliella tertiolecta is indicated for the use in toxicity bioassays because it is highly sensitive to several xenobiotics. Harpacticoid copepods have been already used for toxicity testing and Tigriopus fulvus is a promising Mediterranean target-species in ecotoxicology (Todaro et al. 2001, Faraponova et al. 2003, Pane et al. 2005a). In this study, the toxicity of sediments collected in harbour sites of the Northeastern Adriatic Sea was evaluated by growth inhibition test with free living and alginate-immobilized Dunaliella tertiolecta and acute toxicity test with nauplii and adult Tigriopus fulvus with the aim of pointing out the importance to utilize model organisms from different trophic levels in sediment ecotoxicology. Methodology  Elutriates and whole sediments were tested on free living and immobilized (Pane et al. 1998) algal cells, and on laboratory reared copepods. Free-living D. tertiolecta were exposed to diluted elutriates in a static, multi-well plate system. Naalginate immobilized D. tertiolecta were placed in polystyrene inserts fitted with polyester mesh bottoms and exposed to a thin layer (2 mm) of whole sediments in multi-well plates (EPS 1992, Pane and Bertino 1999). Toxicity tests with copepods were carried out on Tigriopus fulvus nauplii (elutriates) and adults (whole sediments and elutriates). Same-aged nauplii useful for toxicity tests were obtained by egg sac detaching and consequent hatching stimulation (Pane et al. 2006). Newborn nauplii (I–II stage) were exposed to elutriates in multi-well plates provided with polystyrene inserts. Adult T. fulvus maintained in polystyrene inserts fitted with polyester mesh bottoms were placed in contact with a thin layer (2 mm) of whole sediment placed on multi-well plate bottoms. All end-points were evaluated after 96 h. Results  In general, the effects increased with the increasing of elutriate concentration up to 50%; the stimulation or inhibition of algal growth was statistically significant in comparison to the control. The inhibiting elutriates induced EC₅₀ variations of algal growth ranging from 66.9% to 74.3%. The mortality of T. fulvus nauplii was always < 25% after treatment with 100% elutriates and < 10% after treatment with 50% dilution; no effect was shown up with 25% dilution; therefore LC₅₀ was not calculable. The effect of elutriates was negligible on adult copepods and LC₅₀ values were never calculable; percent mortality always resulted in < 10% after treatment with whole sediments. Discussion  Both experimental systems gave substantially similar results after exposition to whole sediments and elutriates. During the experiment with algal cells, the immobilization in Na-alginate and the employment of inserts which allowed the contact of organisms with sediments and their easy counting were particularly useful. Likewise, the employment of inserts of adequate mesh size in the tests with copepods allowed the contact of organisms with the sediment and made organism handling and counting easy, as well as the evaluation of mortality. The methodology here described and the utilization of the proposed test-species could have an importance also considering that the current trend in ecotoxicological research is towards finding the most appropriate organism for specific areas of concern by using indigenous species (Mariani et al. 2006) and towards the major significance of chronic and reproductive end-points. Conclusions  Based on the above results, it can be stated that the bioassay with Dunaliella tertiolecta could be a good estimation tool for the ecotoxicological assessment of marine sediments. The immobilization of algae in Na-alginate was seen to be useful to evaluate the toxicity of whole sediments; the employment of polystyrene inserts allowed an improvement of the procedures. T. fulvus nauplii and adults, as other harpacticoids such as Tigriopus japonicus (Yoon et al. 2006), satisfy the basic criteria for the employment of a standard species in marine bioassays. To date only pelagic Acartia tonsa are utilized in the standardized procedure to evaluate the risk assessment of chemicals or wastewaters (ISO 1999). As, on the contrary, the exposure of copepods to solid-phase contaminants it is not yet standardized, the employment of polystyrene inserts improved the procedures for T. fulvus too. So, the rapidity and the possibility to solve practical problems could be the main attractive features of this technique (Pane et al. 2005a) when applied to whole sediments. Recommendations and Perspectives  The methodology here developed being also applicable to long term and reproduction tests should be recommended because it provides relevant information in comparison with other frequently applied, standardized biotests with crustaceans (ISO 1999). The procedure has been shown to be easily applicable to selected marine organisms. ESS-Submission Editor: Prof. Dr. Henner Hollert (henner.hollert@bio5.rwth-aachen.de)     

Partitioning characteristics of PAHs between sediment and water in a shallow lake

Goal, Scope and Background

Distribution of hydrophobic organic contaminants in abiotic compartments is essential for describing their transfer and fate in aquatic ecosystems. Taihu Lake is the third largest freshwater lake in China. Water quality of Taihu Lake has deteriorated greatly during the last decades and has threatened the water supply. The aim of the present study was to investigate the partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) among overlying water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), sediments, and pore water in Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake and to provide useful information for the ecological engineering in this area.

Materials and Methods

Overlying water and surface sediment were sampled from six sites in Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, China. Within 72 h of sampling, sediments were centrifuged to obtain the pore water. Overlying water samples were filtered to separate dissolved and SPM samples. After extraction, samples were purified following a clean-up procedure. PAH fraction was obtained by elution with a mixture of hexane: DCM (7:3, V/V) and analyzed by GC/MS.

Results

PAHs concentrations in overlying water varied from 37.5 ng/L to 183.5 ng/L. Concentrations of PAHs in pore water were higher than those in overlying water. The total concentrations of 16 priority PAHs in sediments ranged from 2091.8 ng/g-dw to 4094.4 ng/g-dw. PAHs concentrations on SPM were decreased with suspended solid concentrations (SSC). Total PAHs concentrations on SPM varied in the range of 3369.6 ng/g-dw to 7531.1 ng/g-dw. The partition coefficients between sediment and overlying water (log K _oc) for PAHs with log K _ow<5 were positively correlated with their octanol-water partition coefficients (log K _ow) (n=39, r=0.79, p<0.0001). Partition coefficients between sediment and pore water (log K _oc′) for all PAHs were also significantly correlated with their log K _ow values (n=48, r=0.82, p<0.0001).

Discussion

In general, PAHs derived from combustion sources tend to bind strongly to soot particles in natural sediment. Consequentially, K _oc values observed in the natural environment could be orders of magnitude higher than those predicted by linear correlation relationships under laboratory conditions. In the present study, the ratio of log K _oc values to log K _ow values falls consistently above 1, indicating that the sediment soot carbon in the bay was more attractive for PAHs than n-octanol. The log K _oc′ was also higher than that predicted under laboratory conditions, suggesting that the measured pore water PAH concentrations were lower than those predicted. That is to say, not all the sediment PAHs can be available to partition rapidly into sediment pore waters. A variation in soot content is a possible reason. Furthermore, concentrations of PAHs on SPM were higher than those in sediments. The compositions of PAHs on SPM and in sediments were similar, indicating the importance of re-suspension process of sediments in the partitioning process of the shallow lake.

Conclusions

The results indicated the equilibrium partitioning model could be used to predict PAHs distribution in various phases of a shallow lake in the stagnation period, but re-suspension processes should be considered to modify the relationship between log K _ocs and log K _ows.

Recommendations and Perspectives

Concentration, particle size and composition of resuspended particles could affect the relationship between log K _ocs and log K _ows. Further work should be done under field conditions, especially where a steady thermodynamic equilibrium state could be assumed.