Distribution patterns of octylphenol and nonylphenol in the aquatic system at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve,a subtropical estuarine wetland in Hong Kong

Spatial and temporal distribution of octylphenol （OP） and nonylphenol （NP） in Mai Po Marshes, a subtropical estuarine wetland in Hong Kong, were investigated. Surface water samples were collected every month from 11 sites during the period of September- December 2004. Concentrations of OP and NP ranged from 11.3 to 348 ng/L and from 29 to 2591 ng/L, respectively. The high levels of NP and OP were found in November and December than in September and October. The levels of OP and NP have no significant spatial differences except September. Total organic matter in the sediments appeared to be an important factor in controlling the fate of these compounds in the aquatic environment.

Variations among rice cultivars on root oxidation and Cd uptake

In order to understand the mechanisms on the variation between rice cultivars in Cd uptake and accumulation, two pot soil experiments were conducted with typical rice cultivars that varied greatly in soil Cd uptake. The experiments with six rice cultivars showed that the root oxidation abilities of rice differed with rice cultivars and also with types of the cultivars, the cultivars with indica consanguinity were significantly higher than the cultivars with japonica consanguinity. Root oxidation abilities of the rice cultivars correlated positively and significantly （P〈0.01） with their Cd concentrations and Cd quantity accumulations in rice plants. The experiments with two rice cultivars showed that significant differences also existed between the two cultivars in pot soil redox potentials, which of Shan you 63 （higher soil Cd accumulator） were significantly higher than that of Wu yun jing 7 （lower soil Cd accumulator） under different soil Cd levels, but the degrees of the differences varied with soil Cd levels. The differences were larger under soil Cd treatments than the control. The results indicate that root oxidation ability, especially in Cd contaminated soil, is one of the main mechanisms which dominate Cd uptake and accumulation by rice plant.

Application of a Digital Soil Mapping Method in Producing Soil Orders on Mountain Areas of Hong Kong Based on Legacy Soil Data

Based on legacy soil data from a soil survey conducted recently in the traditional manner in Hong Kong of China, a digital soil mapping method was applied to produce soil order information for mountain areas of Hong Kong. Two modeling methods (decision tree analysis and linear discriminant analysis) were used, and their applications were compared. Much more eflort was put on selecting soil covariates for modeling. First, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the variance of terrain attributes between soil orders. Then, a stepwise procedure was used to select soil covariates for linear discriminant analysis, and a backward removing procedure was developed to select soil covariates for tree modeling. At the same time, ANOVA results, as well as our knowledge and experience on soil mapping, were also taken into account for selecting soil covariates for tree modeling. Two linear discriminant models and four tree models were established finally, and their prediction performances were validated using a multiple jackknifing approach. Results showed that the discriminant model built on ANOVA results performed best, followed by the discriminant model built by stepwise, the tree model built by the backward removing procedure, the tree model built according to knowledge and experience on soil mapping, and the tree model built automatically. The results highlighted the importance of selecting soil covariates in modeling for soil mapping, and suggested the usefulness of methods used in this study for selecting soil covariates. The best discriminant model was finally selected to map soil orders for this area, and validation results showed that thus produced soil order map had a high accuracy.