Short- and long-term effects of heavy metals on phosphatase activity in soils: An ecological dose-response model approach

Summary The aim of this study was to provide manageable data to help establish permissible limits for the pollution of soil by heavy metals. Therefore the short-and long-term effects of heavy metal pollution on phosphatase activity was studied in five different soil types. The results are presented graphically as logistic dose-response curves. It was possible to construct a curve for sand and silty loam soil but it was more difficult to establish a curve for sandy loam and clay soil and nearly impossible (except for Cu) for peat. The toxicity of the various metals can be compared on the basis of mmol values. In clay soils, for Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn, the 50% effective ecological dose (ED₅₀) values were comparable (approximately 45 mmol kg^–1), but the ED₁₀ values were very different, at 7.4, 41.4, 15.1, and 0.55, respectively. At the ED₅₀ value, toxicity did not decrease with time and, in sandy soils, was approximately 2.6 mmol kg ^–1 dry soil for Cd, Cu, and Zn. In four out of five soils, the Cd toxicity was higher 1.5 years after the addition of heavy metal salts than after 6 weeks. Toxicity was least in the sandy loam, silty loam, and clay soil, and varied in general between 12 and 88 mmol kg^–1. In setting limits, the criteria selected (no-effect level, ED₁₀ or ED₅₀) determine the concentration and also the toxicity of the sequence. It is suggested that the data presented here could be very useful in helping to set permissible limits for heavy metal soil pollution.     

鄱阳湖生态经济区畜禽养殖土壤环境承载力及污染风险研究

[目的]测算和评价鄱阳湖生态经济区畜禽养殖过程中的土壤环境承载力及其污染风险,为合理规划鄱阳湖生态经济区畜禽养殖空间布局、实现可持续养殖提供参考。[方法]利用2000—2012年鄱阳湖生态经济区24个县(市)的统计数据进行土壤环境承载力及畜禽污染物排放量的测算和评估。[结果]2000—2012年鄱阳湖生态经济区畜禽粪便耕地负荷警报值在0.7左右,总氮耕地负载警报值为0.5~0.6,总磷耕地负载警报值超过了1,畜禽养殖对环境造成了污染威胁。畜禽养殖污染风险较高的地区为高安市、东乡县、余江县、德安县以及南昌县。[结论]污染风险较高的地区应强制实行畜禽养殖总量控制和污染物消减措施,而湖口县、都昌县和彭泽县畜禽污染风险较低,可以适当扩大养殖规模。     

我国设施农业农膜使用的环境问题刍议

农膜使用和地面覆盖技术的应用加快了我国农业现代化的步伐,增加和丰富了农产品的供给。但随着农膜的连续使用,导致大量的农膜残留,严重影响农业生产,并对农业生态环境安全和人体健康构成巨大威胁。本文总结了设施农业中农膜使用所造成的主要环境问题,剖析了这些问题的内在原因。在此基础上,针对我国设施农业中农膜使用和管理现状,分别从管理、政策、经济和技术方面提出了对策建议,以期为规范我国设施农业中农膜使用、提高设施农业环境管理效率和健康持续发展提供理论依据。     

千岛湖水质变化特征与趋势分析

对千岛湖水质综合污染指数分析表明,近10年来千岛湖多数监测项目和各断面污染指数都呈现显著下降的趋势,全湖综合水质趋好,表明千岛湖总体水质的变化正处于相对低的风险状态之中。各断面水污染综合指数的对比分析显示,代表千岛湖主要来水水质的街口、航头岛和百亩畈3个断面分列前三,河流污染物的输入是千岛湖水质下降的主要风险来源,其中街口指标显著高于其他断面,是污染输入强度最大的来源。各监测项目污染指数的对比分析表明总N是影响近期千岛湖水质的首要因子。趋势分析表明,除街口和西园码头外其他各断面负荷比均呈现出不同程度的下降趋势。各监测项目综合污染指数分担率的分析表明,总N、溶解氧和高锰酸钾指数排在前列,3项分担率之和占全湖的71%,其中总N接近49%,显著高于其他项目。趋势分析中总N分担率出现显著下降趋势,其他项目也都表现出不同程度下降趋势,大肠杆菌的变化趋势尚不明确。     

淮山品种"桂淮2号"的选育及栽培研究

淮山为薯蓣科薯蓣属多年生蔓性块茎类植物，是药食兼用的高效经济作物。通过优良单株筛选，结合群体观察以及植物学、生理学、产量和营养品质等相关研究，从广西地方种质资源中选育出淮山品种“桂淮2号”，并介绍其特征特性和田间肥水管理及病虫害防治等栽培技术要点。该品种具有淀粉含量高、矿质营养丰富等特点，可作为药材加工和菜用、粮用、饲用等。     

On-site remediation of chromium-contaminated sediments by combination of sediment washing and stabilization with magnesium oxide/limestone mixtures

Goal, Scope and Background  The remediation of heavy-metalcontaminated soils and sediments is of significant value to industrial areas around the world. The spread of such pollutants can result in a potential risk of entering the groundwater system and being transported to potential receptors. Leaching techniques can be an effective treatment option for the metal removal from soils and sediments. This approach consists of washing or leaching the contaminated soil with an appropriate reagent and the subsequent treatment of the leaching in an above-ground installation (on-site treatment) where metals can be removed and concentrated into a smaller volume. Among the heavy metals, chromium is a commonly identified soil contaminant, particularly in sites with intensive economic activities including agriculture, industrial, mining and mineral,processing. Objective  The objective of this work was the evaluation and development of a leaching process for the remediation of soils and sediments polluted with chromium at laboratory scale. Chromium soil pollution was generated after the breakdown of a channel containing chromium wastes from a tannery plant. The pollution extension has been estimated to be on the order of thousands of tonnes of soil to be treated, with chromium contents ranging from 500 to 17,000 mg kg^-1 soil. Methods  The whole process investigated in this study integrates three stages; a) chromium leaching from a sediment using a diluted sulphuric acid solution, b) treatment of the leaching effluents with a magnesium oxide/limestone mixture for the precipitation of chromium hydroxide after acidity neutralisation, and c) polishing step to remove the eventual remaining chromium by adsorption onto natural zeolite. The amount of contaminated sediment treated ranged from 0.5 to 2 kg with chromium contents of between 2000 and 17,000 mg kg^-1. Results and Discussion  The paper describes results on the performance of the process and the optimisation of steps including influence of acid sulphuric concentration, chromium removal efficiency as well as alkaline reactive mixture proportions. Effluents from the leaching cells showed a significant decay on the chromium concentration with the increase of leaching runs and a high content of acidity (pH values close to 0.5). The treatment of these effluents in a second cell containing magnesium oxide/ limestone mixtures resulted in a high efficiency in neutralisation of acidity (pH values around 7) and chromium removal (concentrations below 5 mg 1^-1). The passage through a third compartment containing zeolite as an adsorbent decreased the chromium concentration below 0.5 mg 1^-1, Conclusions  From the results obtained on the chromium leaching and immobilisation with magnesium oxide/limestone mixture at a laboratory scale, it could be pointed out that: (a) diluted sulphuric acid solutions (3%) demonstrated a high efficiency on chromium removal from sandy polluted soils on the kilogram scale, (b) mixtures of magnesium oxide/limestone demonstrated a high capacity to neutralise the residual high acidity present on the effluents and to remove chromium by precipitation and (c) between the limestone and caustic magnesia mixtures, those containing more than 60% of caustic magnesia provide the higher efficiency. Recommendation and Outlook  Future work would be directed to the evaluation of the integrated process of leaching and chromium precipitation on column at a scale of 100 to 1000 kg.     

Suitability of soil microbial parameters as indicators of heavy metal pollution

Several microbial parameters (microbial biomass, respiration, dehydrogenase, phosphatase, sulphatase, glucosidase, protease and urease activities) were measured in soils from five sites located in urban green areas close to roads differing in traffic density. Our aims were to evaluate the suitability of such parameters as field biomarkers of stress induced by heavy metal pollution, and to compare results obtained by single microbial parameters with results given by an index expressing the average microbial (AME) response of the microbial community. Data showed that all parameters were significantly reduced in the sites characterized by the highest load of metals in soil. Dehydrogenase, sulphatase, glucosidase activities and respiration, declined exponentially with increasing metal concentration, whereas phosphatase activity and AME decreased following a sigmoidal type relationship. In contrast, protease, urease and microbial biomass were not significantly correlated with soil metal concentration. Microbial parameters differed both in sensitivity to critical metal concentrations and in the rate of decline at increasing metal loads in soil. Due to the complex interplay of chemical, physical and biological factors which influence microbial activities and biomass, the proposed index (AME) appeared more suitable than single microbial parameters for a biomonitoring study of this type.     

福建省地貌特征与土壤侵蚀关系初探

该分析了福建省地貌的基本特征，及对土壤侵蚀动力、侵蚀强度和方式的，对２５°禁垦坡度进行了讨论。同时还对不同地貌类型的土壤侵蚀特征进行了分析，指出：人口密集的黑云母花岗岩和紫色页岩盆谷丘陵区是生态系统脆弱区域，是福建省土壤侵蚀的重点区。     

深圳市不同城市密度区中环芳烃的发生、来源及生态风险评估

Urbanization may cause increased exposure levels to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) and associated health risks for over half of the world's population living in cities,but little evidence has shown a direct spatial relationship between urbanization and soil PAH pollution.Based on the monitored PAH concentrations in 188 topsoil(0-5 cm) samples in Shenzhen,the most rapidly developing city in China,in recent decades,we applied geographical demarcation to determine the occurrences,source apportionments,and spatial ecological risks of soil PAHs across five zones of varying urban densities.Mean concentrations of the 16 US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) priority PAHs(Σ_(16)PAHs) and the 7 carcinogenic PAHs(Σ_7CarPAHs) both followed the order:Zone D(60%-80%constructive land density(CLD)) Zone E(80%-100%CLD) Zone C(40%-60%CLD) Zone B(20%-40%CLD) Zone A(0%-20%CLD),suggesting that the highest PAH levels occurred in the suburban-urban center transitional zone(Zone D) rather than the urban center zone(Zone E) in Shenzhen.There were significant correlations of Σ_(16)PAHs to TOC and sampling altitude across all samples but not within highly-urbanized regions(Zones D and E),implying a considerable disturbance of urbanization to the soil PAH pool.Source apportionments suggested that soil PAHs of all zones were mainly derived from fossil fuel combustion,with Zone E showing the highest contribution from oil sources among different zones.Spatial ecological risk analysis showed that the contaminated area(467 km~2;23.9%of total area;toxic equivalency quotients 33 ng g~(-1)) had a higher contribution from the highly-urbanized regions(Zones D and E) than the uncontaminated area(42.3%vs.18.1%).Overall,our study highlighted a strong spatial relationship between urbanization and soil PAH pollution.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy for analysis of chemical and microbiological properties of forest soil organic horizons in a heavy-metal-polluted area

In industrial areas, heavy metals may accumulate in forest soil organic horizons, affecting soil microorganisms and causing changes in the chemical composition of the accumulated organic matter. The objectives of this study were to test the ability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to detect heavy metal effects on the chemical composition of forest soil O horizons and to test whether NIRS may be used to quantitatively determine total and exchangeable concentrations of Zn and Pb (Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex) and other chemical and microbial properties in forest soil O horizons polluted with heavy metals. The samples of O horizons (n = 79) were analyzed for organic C (C_org), total N and S (N_t, S_t), Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex, basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass (C_mic) and C_mic-to-C_org ratio. Spectra of the samples were recorded in the Vis-NIR range (400–2,500 nm). To detect heavy-metal-induced changes in the chemical composition of O horizons principal components (PC1–PC7) based on the spectral data were regressed against Zn_t + Pb_t values. A modified partial least squares method was used to develop calibration models for prediction of various chemical and microbial properties of the samples from their spectra. Regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between PC3 and PC5 (r = −0.27 and −0.34, respectively) and Zn_t + Pb_t values, indicating an effect of heavy metal pollution on the spectral properties of the O horizons and thus on their chemical composition. For quantitative estimations, the best calibration model was obtained for C_org-to-N_t ratio (r = 0.98). The models for C_org, N_t, and microbial properties were satisfactory but less accurate. NIRS failed to accurately predict S_t, C_org-to-S_t, Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, and Pb_ex.