Advances on Rare Earth Application in Pollution Ecology

The use of rare earth for inducing plant resistance was reviewed. The important developments in recent years were described, and rare earth can alleviate the pollution of acid rain, ozone, pesticide, heavy metals etc. in environment. The authors suggest that the mechanism of rare earth to inducing plant resistance and reducing plant injury is to control biochemical metabolism web in plant cell, to adjust its protection system of free radical, to maintain its photosynthesis, to protect cell membrane system and to carry through its function on mineral metabolism. Meanwhile some problems in the field were discussed as well.

Landscape Ecology Researches on the Regulation of Non-point Source Pollution in Agroforestry Watershed

Non-point source(NPS) water pollution generated by agricultural production has become a major environmental issue in agroforestry watersheds such as the Three Gorges. Landscape ecology emphasizes the regulation and effect of landscape pattern on material flow, energy flow in the ecological processes. This paper reviewed landscape ecological approaches of controlling non-point source pollution in agroforestry watershed of the Three Gorges from the patch level and landscape level. Stage I: landscape ecological investigation. The investigation is to fi gure out landscape pattern characteristics of the watershed, major causes and key sections of the non-point source pollution, "source" patches and ecological process of non-point source pollution, and the feedback relationship between landscape pattern and non-point source pollution. Stage II: landscape ecological planning. In the patch level, the best management procedures(BMPs) are selected to judge the application effect. In the landscape level, new landscape elements are introduced, "source" and "sink" landscape patch types adjusted, landscape level regulation effect assessed. Stage III: landscape ecological management. Small-watershed landscape ecological construction is carried out from patch level and landscape level, BMPs implemented gradually, landscape ecological planning and management integrated, landscape heterogeneity enhanced, intensity of non-point source pollution controlled effectively to achieve sustainable development of small watersheds.

Remote sensing of air pollution incorporating integrated-path differential-absorption and coherent-Doppler lidar

An innovative complex lidar system deployed on an airborne rotorcraft platform for remote sensing of atmospheric pollution is proposed and demonstrated.The system incorporates integrated-path differential absorption lidar(DIAL) and coherent-doppler lidar(CDL) techniques using a dual tunable TEA CO_(2)laser in the 9—11 μm band and a 1.55 μm fiber laser.By combining the principles of differential absorption detection and pulsed coherent detection,the system enables agile and remote sensing of atmospheric pollution.Extensive static tests validate the system’s real-time detection capabilities,including the measurement of concentration-path-length product(CL),front distance,and path wind speed of air pollution plumes over long distances exceeding 4 km.Flight experiments is conducted with the helicopter.Scanning of the pollutant concentration and the wind field is carried out in an approximately 1 km slant range over scanning angle ranges from 45°to 65°,with a radial resolution of 30 m and10 s.The test results demonstrate the system’s ability to spatially map atmospheric pollution plumes and predict their motion and dispersion patterns,thereby ensuring the protection of public safety.

Tb^(3+)-nucleic acid probe-based label-free and rapid detection of mercury pollution in food

Mercury is a threatening pollutant in food,herein,we developed a Tb^(3+)-nucleic acid probe-based label-free assay for mix-and-read,rapid detection of mercury pollution.The assay utilized the feature of light-up fluorescence of terbium ions(Tb^(3+))via binding with single-strand DNA.Mercury ion,Hg^(2+)induced thymine(T)-rich DNA strand to form a double-strand structure(T-Hg^(2+)-T),thus leading to fluorescence reduction.Based on the principle,Hg^(2+)can be quantified based on the fluorescence of Tb^(3+),the limit of detection was 0.0689μmol/L and the linear range was 0.1-6.0μmol/L.Due to the specificity of T-Hg^(2+)-T artificial base pair,the assay could distinguish Hg^(2+)from other metal ions.The recovery rate was ranged in 98.71%-101.34%for detecting mercury pollution in three food samples.The assay is low-cost,separation-free and mix-to-read,thus was a competitive tool for detection of mercury pollution to ensure food safety.

Ordered mesoporous materials for water pollution treatment:Adsorption and catalysis

To meet the growing emission of water contaminants,the development of new materials that enhance the efficiency of the water treatment system is urgent.Ordered mesoporous materials provide opportunities in environmental processing applications due to their exceptionally high surface areas,large pore sizes,and enough pore volumes.These properties might enhance the performance of materials concerning adsorption/catalysis capability,durability,and stability.In this review,we enumerate the ordered mesoporous materials as adsorbents/catalysts and their modifications in water pollution treatment from the past decade,including heavy metals(Hg^(2+),Pb^(2+),Cd^(2+),Cr^(6+),etc.),toxic anions(nitrate,phosphate,fluoride,etc.),and organic contaminants(organic dyes,antibiotics,etc.).These contributions demonstrate a deep understanding of the synergistic effect between the incorporated framework and homogeneous active centers.Besides,the challenges and perspectives of the future developments of ordered mesoporous materials in wastewater treatment are proposed.This work provides a theoretical basis and complete summary for the application of ordered mesoporous materials in the removal of contaminants from aqueous solutions.

Significant contributions of the petroleum industry to volatile organic compounds and ozone pollution:Insights from year-long observations in the Yellow River Delta

The petroleum industry is a significant source of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds(VOCs),but up to now,its exact impact on urban VOCs and ozone(O_(3))remains unclear.This study conducted year-long VOC ob-servations in Dongying,China,a petroleum industrial region.The VOCs from the petroleum industry(oil and gas volatilization and petrochemical production)were identified by employing the positive matrix factorization model,and their contribution to O_(3) formation was quantitatively evaluated using an observation-based chemical box model.The observed annual average concentration of VOCs was 68.6±63.5 ppbv,with a maximum daily av-erage of 335.3 ppbv.The petroleum industry accounted for 66.5%of total VOCs,contributing 54.9%from oil and gas evaporation and 11.6%from petrochemical production.Model results indicated that VOCs from the petroleum industry contributed to 31%of net O_(3) production,with 21.3%and 34.2%contributions to HO_(2)+NO and RO_(2)+NO pathways,respectively.The larger impact on the RO_(2) pathway is primarily due to the fact that OH+VOCs ac-count for 86.9%of the primary source of RO_(2).This study highlights the critical role of controlling VOCs from the petroleum industry in urban O_(3) pollution,especially those from previously overlooked low-reactivity alkanes.

An Integrated Analysis on the Synergistic Reduction of Carbon and Pollution Emissions from China’s Iron and Steel Industry

Decarbonization and decontamination of the iron and steel industry(ISI),which contributes up to 15%to anthropogenic CO_(2) emissions(or carbon emissions)and significant proportions of air and water pollutant emissions in China,are challenged by the huge demand for steel.Carbon and pollutants often share common emission sources,indicating that emission reduction could be achieved synergistically.Here,we explored the inherent potential of measures to adjust feedstock composition and technological structure and to control the size of the ISI to achieve carbon emission reduction(CER)and pollution emission reduction(PER).We investigated five typical pollutants in this study,namely,petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants and chemical oxygen demand in wastewater,particulate matter,SO_(2),and NO_(x) in off gases,and examined synergies between CER and PER by employing cross elasticity for the period between 2022 and 2035.The results suggest that a reduction of 8.7%-11.7%in carbon emissions and 20%-31%in pollution emissions(except for particulate matter emissions)could be achieved by 2025 under a high steel scrap ratio(SSR)scenario.Here,the SSR and electric arc furnace(EAF)ratio serve critical roles in enhancing synergies between CER and PER(which vary with the type of pollutant).However,subject to a limited volume of steel scrap,a focused increase in the EAF ratio with neglection of the available supply of steel scrap to EAF facilities would lead to an increase carbon and pollution emissions.Although CER can be achieved through SSR and EAF ratio optimization,only when the crude steel production growth rate remains below 2.2%can these optimization measures maintain the emissions in 2030 at a similar level to that in 2021.Therefore,the synergistic effects between PER and CER should be considered when formulating a development route for the ISI in the future.

Clarifying the relationship between PM2.5 and ozone complex pollution and synoptic patterns in a typical petrochemical city in the Bohai Rim region of China:Implications for air pollution forecasting and control

Meteorological conditions are vital to PM_(2.5)and ozone(O_(3))complex pollution.Herein,the T-mode principal com-ponent analysis method was employed to objectively classify the 925-hPa geopotential height field of Dongying from 2017 to 2022.Synoptic patterns associated with four pollution types-namely,PM_(2.5)-only pollution,O_(3)-only pollution,Co-occurring of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution,Non-occurring of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution-were characterized at different time scales.The results indicated that synoptic classes conducive to PM_(2.5)-only pollution were“high-pressure top front”,“offshore high-pressure rear”,and“high-pressure inside”,while those conducive to O_(3)-only pollution were“offshore high-pressure rear”,“subtropical high”,and“high and low systems”.The Co-occurring of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution were influenced by high pressure,and the Non-occurring of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution were linked to precipitation and strong northerly winds.The variation in dominant synoptic patterns is crucial in the frequency changes of the four pollution types,which was further validated through the analysis of typical cases.Under the favorable meteorological conditions of high-pressure control with strong northerly winds or a subtropical high and inverted trough both with strong precipitation,there is potential to achieve coordinated control of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)in Dongying.Additionally,measures like artificially manipulating local humidity could be adopted to alleviate pollution levels.This study reveals the importance of comprehending the meteorological factors contributing to the formation of PM_(2.5)and O_(3)complex pollution for the improvement of urban air quality in the Bohai Rim region of China when emissions are high and the concentration of air pollutants exhibits high meteorological sensitivity.

Health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in groundwater of a karst basin,SW China

To investigate the presence of metal elements and assess their health risk for the populace in the Nandong Underground River Basin(NURB),we conducted an analysis of eleven common heavy metals in the water body.A Health risk assessment(HRA)model was employed to analyze 84 water samples from the NURB.The detection results revealed the following order of heavy metals concentrations:Fe>Al>Mn>Zn>As>Cd>Pb>Cr>Ni>Cu>Hg.Correlation analysis indicated a certain similarity in material source and migration transformation among these eleven metal elements.Our study identified that the health risks for local residents exposed to metal elements in the water of NURB primarily stem from carcinogenic risk(10^(−6)–10^(−4)a^(−1))through the drinking water pathway.Moreover,the health risk of heavy metal exposure for children through drinking water was notably higher than for adults.The maximum health risks of Cr in both underground and surface water exceeded the recommendation standard(5.0×10^(−5)a^(−1))from ICRP,surpassing the values recommended by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency,the Dutch Ministry of Construction and Environment and the British Royal Society(5.0×10^(−6)a^(−1)).The results of the health risk assessment indicate that Cr in the water of NURB is the primary source of carcinogenic risk for local residents,followed by Cd and As.Consequently,it is imperative to control these three carcinogenic metals when the water was used as drinking water resource.

Progress in the Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution of Water Sediment

In recent years,as China's industrialization process and urban-rural integration strategy have continued to deepen,some industrial and domestic wastewater has been discharged directly into rivers without effective treatment.This has resulted in the continuous accumulation and enrichment of pollutants in water bodies.This phenomenon results in a significant accumulation of heavy metals in the sediment of water bodies,which not only represents a significant threat to the ecological environment but also ultimately poses a risk to human health.The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the current status of heavy metal pollution in water sediment in China.In addition,this paper analyzes the advantages and limitations of existing techniques for the harmless treatment of heavy metal pollution and forecasts the development direction of this field.

Ecological Remediation Measures for Non-point Source Pollution Based on Source-Sink Landscape Theory: A Case Study of Huanghou Basin

The growth of society and population has led to a range of water pollution issues.Among these,non-point source pollution assessment and treatment pose a particular challenge due to its formation mechanism.This has become a focal point and challenge in water pollution treatment research.The study area for this research was the Huanghou basin in Guizhou Province,southwest China.The land use type of the basin was analyzed using remote sensing technology,and water quality data was collected by distributing points throughout the basin,based on source-sink landscape theory.The distribution map of the basin’s source-sink landscape and the results of water quality data accurately and efficiently identified the areas with high risk of non-point source pollution in the western and southwestern residential and agricultural areas of the upper basin.Hence,a strategy of“increasing sinks and decreasing sources”was proposed.The strategy was implemented at both macro and micro levels to address non-point source pollution in the basin using ecological remediation techniques.The work to control karst rocky desertification should continue at a macro level.The rocky desertification area in the basin should gradually transform into grassland and forested land,while increasing the overall area of the sink landscape.Ecological restoration techniques,such as slope planting,riparian zone vegetation restoration,increasing plant abundance,and restoring aquatic plants,can effectively control non-point source pollution at the micro level.Compared to traditional control methods,this remediation strategy focuses on source and process control.It is more effective and does not require large-scale water pollution control projects,which can save a lot of environmental control funds and management costs.Therefore,it has greater research significance and application value.

Coordinated control of PM_(2.5)and O_(3):Investigating the physical and chemical processes underlying regional complex air pollution

Fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5))and ground-level ozone(O_(3))are the primary air pollutants that degrade air quality in urban and regional areas of China.Since the implementation of the“Air Pollution Preven-tion and Control Action Plan”in 2013,ambient concentrations of PM_(2.5)have significantly decreased across China.However,O_(3)levels exhibited an upward trend until 2019 and have since remained elevated,despite the COVID-19 pandemic.Currently,no city in China has achieved the World Health Organization’s guidelines for PM_(2.5)(24-hour mean of 15μg m^(−3)and annual mean of 5μg m^(−3))and O_(3)(8-hour mean of 100μg m^(−3)).Therefore,more rigorous measures are necessary to alleviate PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution in China.

Pollution source identification methods and remediation technologies of groundwater: A review

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water.Groundwater pollution severely endangers drinking water safety and sustainable social development.In the case of groundwater pollution,the top priority is to identify pollution sources,and accurate information on pollution sources is the premise of efficient remediation.Then,an appropriate pollution remediation scheme should be developed according to information on pollution sources,site conditions,and economic costs.The methods for identifying pollution sources mainly include geophysical exploration,geochemistry,isotopic tracing,and numerical modeling.Among these identification methods,only the numerical modeling can recognize various information on pollution sources,while other methods can only identify a certain aspect of pollution sources.The remediation technologies of groundwater can be divided into in-situ and ex-situ remediation technologies according to the remediation location.The in-situ remediation technologies enjoy low costs and a wide remediation range,but their remediation performance is prone to be affected by environmental conditions and cause secondary pollution.The ex-situ remediation technologies boast high remediation efficiency,high processing capacity,and high treatment concentration but suffer high costs.Different methods for pollution source identification and remediation technologies are applicable to different conditions.To achieve the expected identification and remediation results,it is feasible to combine several methods and technologies according to the actual hydrogeological conditions of contaminated sites and the nature of pollutants.Additionally,detailed knowledge about the hydrogeological conditions and stratigraphic structure of the contaminated site is the basis of all work regardless of the adopted identification methods or remediation technologies.

Feeding ecology and interactions with mammal hosts in a symbiotic genus of birds(Buphagus spp.)in Namibia

As the sole obligate symbiotic birds in Africa,oxpeckers offer a unique model for studying symbiotic relationships.Due to the multitrophic level they occupy and the context dependent foraging behavior they exhibit,the type of symbiotic relationship can be variable.In addition to providing a cleaning service to the host by removing ticks,oxpeckers frequently feed on blood,mucus,and saliva,inflicting potential damage on the host.Here,we used DNA metabarcoding on faecal samples to analyze the taxonomic composition of the trophic interactions of the Yellow-billed Oxpecker(Buphagus africanus)and Red-billed Oxpecker(B.erythrorhynchus)in northeastern Namibia.In contrast to conventional methods,DNA metabarcoding allows for a detailed identification of dietary resources encompassing both mammal hosts and consumed arthropods within the same samples.With this information,we examined differences in the diet composition between oxpecker species and localities,as well as the co-occurrence between host and arthropod species.Our findings revealed that oxpeckers predominantly source their diet from mammals,ticks,and flies;however,ticks and flies rarely co-occur in the diet of an individual.We observed variability among individuals in their feeding ecology,which is strongly correlated with locality and,to a lesser extent,with the mammal host.We noted a high degree of mobility between hosts within relatively short periods,with 32%of the samples showing traces of at least two mammal hosts.This study illustrates the dynamic foraging behavior of these specialized symbiotic birds,shedding light on their potential role in pest control services and disease transmission.

Optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy of microgrid considering regional pollution and potential load curtailment

With the frequent occurrence of global warming and extreme severe weather,the transition of energy to cleaner,and with lower carbon has gradually become a consensus.Microgrids can integrate multiple energy sources and consume renewable energy locally.The amount of pollutants emitted during the operation of the microgrids become an important issue to be considered.This study proposes an optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy of microgrid considering regional pollution and potential load curtailment.First,considering the operating characteristics of microgrids in islanded and grid-connected operation modes,this study proposes a regional pollution index(RPI)to quantify the impact of pollutants emitted from microgrid on the environment,and further proposes a penalty mechanism based on the RPI to reduce the microgrid’s utilization on non-clean power supplies.Second,considering the benefits of microgrid as the operating entity,utilizing a direct load control(DLC)enables microgrid to enhance power transfer capabilities to the grid under the penalty mechanism based on RPI.Finally,an optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy which considers both the load curtailment potential of curtailable loads and RPI is proposed,and the results show that the proposed optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy can effectively inspire the curtailment potential of curtailable loads in the microgrid,reducing pollutant emissions from the microgrid.

A bibliometric analysis using machine learning to track paradigm shifts and analytical advances in forest ecology and forestry journal publications from 2010 to 2022

Forest habitats are critical for biodiversity,ecosystem services,human livelihoods,and well-being.Capacity to conduct theoretical and applied forest ecology research addressing direct(e.g.,deforestation)and indirect(e.g.,climate change)anthropogenic pressures has benefited considerably from new field-and statistical-techniques.We used machine learning and bibliometric structural topic modelling to identify 20 latent topics comprising four principal fields from a corpus of 16,952 forest ecology/forestry articles published in eight ecology and five forestry journals between 2010 and 2022.Articles published per year increased from 820 in 2010 to 2,354 in 2021,shifting toward more applied topics.Publications from China and some countries in North America and Europe dominated,with relatively fewer articles from some countries in West and Central Africa and West Asia,despite globally important forest resources.Most study sites were in some countries in North America,Central Asia,and South America,and Australia.Articles utilizing R statistical software predominated,increasing from 29.5%in 2010 to 71.4%in 2022.The most frequently used packages included lme4,vegan,nlme,MuMIn,ggplot2,car,MASS,mgcv,multcomp and raster.R was more often used in forest ecology than applied forestry articles.R software offers advantages in script and workflow-sharing compared to other statistical packages.Our findings demonstrate that the disciplines of forest ecology/forestry are expanding both in number and scope,aided by more sophisticated statistical tools,to tackle the challenges of redressing forest habitat loss and the socio-economic impacts of deforestation.

Distribution of Atmospheric Pollution in Southern Benin

This study focuses on air quality in southern Benin in order to show public authorities what the Beninese populations are exposed to for efficient decision-making. Two sampling campaigns were carried out, one in the wet period and the other in the dry season. The measurements were taken using a monitor called an “Air Quality Monitor”. For data processing, the multiple comparison methods of Dun (1961) and the Wilcoxon test were used. To maintain legitimacy, all spatial data were included in the official cartographic repository of Benin: WGS 1984, Transverse Mercator Universe Projection (UTM), Zone 31 North. The Moran statistic was used to measure the levels of spatial autocorrelation of the variables studied and to test the significance. In order to locate the spatial subsets, the local spatial association indices of Anselin Local Moran and Getis-Ord, Gi* were used. In terms of results, on the 13 monitoring sites and the 8 parameters chosen to determine air quality, we do not note any significant inter-seasonal difference. Of the eight parameters, only three parameters present spatial autocorrelation leading to predictions of ambient air quality over the entire study area based on the distance separating the points, namely, PM2.5, PM10 and ambient air quality index (AQI). The localities affected by atmospheric pollution in South Benin are located in the south-western part of Benin, headed by Cotonou, which is heavily polluted by CO2, TCOV, PM10 and PM2.5.

Research Progress of Microplastics Pollution in Environment

Microplastics pollution has become one of the focuses of global environmental science research.Microplastics include micro plastic particles and nano-plastic particles,which come from the decomposition of plastic products,the release of microfibers and the industrial process of plastic particles.The distribution of microplastics in water,soil and atmosphere is summarized,and the widespread existence of microplastics in different environmental media is emphasized.This paper also summarizes the potential impact of microplastics on ecosystems and organisms,and pays attention to the transmission and accumulation of microplastics in the food chain,as well as its potential threat to human health.Finally,the paper discusses the methods and technologies of microplastics treatment and monitoring at present,and puts forward the direction of further research on microplastics pollution in order to formulate more effective management and mitigation strategies.

Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Perennial Ryegrass Mixed Planting with Legumes under Heavy Metal Pollution

In artificially controlled pot experiments,perennial ryegrass was mixed with other leguminous plants(white clo-ver and alfalfa)and treated with lead,zinc and cadmium(337 mg·kg^(-1),648 mg·kg^(-1),and 9 mg·kg^(-1),respectively)to simulate compound pollution conditions.The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals,trans-port factors,and bioconcentration factors in mixed planting of ryegrass decreased compared with those in mono-culture.Regardless of whether heavy metal pollution was introduced,mixed planting increased the aboveground and underground biomasses of ryegrass.The different mixed planting treatments had no significant impact on the chlorophyll concentration of ryegrass.The mowing time,mixed planting treatment,and heavy metal treatment had impacts on antioxidant and osmotic adjustment substances,and there were some interactions.The mixed planting treatment did not significantly affect glutathione concentration,cysteine concentration,or nonprotein thiol.Mixed planting generally increased the nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of ryegrass while reducing the stoichiometric ratio of carbon,nitrogen,and phosphorus.These results suggest that the mixed planting of ryegrass with legumes promotes the growth of ryegrass in the presence of high concentrations of heavy metal pollution.However,it does not enhance the ability of ryegrass to remediate heavy metal pollution in the soil.

Impact of air pollution on urbanization:evidence at China’s city level

This paper investigates the effect and transmission mechanism of air pollution on urbanization based on data from China’s 107 cities during 2005–2018.In order to identify the impact of air pollution on China’s urbanization,we utilized night light data to represent the level of urbanization and used temperature inversion as an instrumental variable to mitigate endogeneity within the two-stage least squares framework.The results suggest that air pollution significantly slowed China’s urbanization process with economic growth acting as the transmission mechanism.The heterogeneity analyses revealed that air pollution had a greater negative impact on urbanization in northern regions than that in southern regions,and a greater negative impact in resource-oriented cities than that in non-resource-based cities.We also find that air pollution was to the detriment of urbanization in larger cities,which have more than 3 million residents,while it did not have a significant impact on Type II large cities,which have fewer than 3 million residents.