Prediction of the environmental fate and aquatic ecological impact of nitrobenzene in the Songhua River using the modified AQUATOX model

An accidental discharge of nitrobenzene happened in November 2005 in the Songhua River,China.The AQUATOX model was modified and adapted to simulate the time-dependent nitrobenzene distribution in this multimedia aquatic system and its potential ecological impacts.Nitrobenzene concentrations in flowing water,sediment,and biota were predicted.Based on the initial concentrations of nitrobenzene observed in the field during the accidental discharge,that is,0.167-1.47 mg/L at different river segments, the predic...

Saline dust storms and their ecological impacts in arid regions

In many arid and semiarid regions,saline playas represent a significant source of unconsoli-dated sediments available for aeolian transport,and severe saline dust storms occur frequently due to human disturbance.In this study,saline dust storms are reviewed systematically from the aspects of con-cept,general characteristics,conditions of occurrence,distribution and ecological impact.Our researches showed that saline dust storms are a kind of chemical dust storm originating in dry lake beds in arid and semiarid regions;large areas of unconsolidated saline playa sediments and frequent strong winds are the basic factors to saline dust storm occurrence;there are differentiation characteristics in deposition flux and chemical composition with wind-blown distance during saline dust storm diffusion;and saline dust storm diffusion to some extent increases glacier melt and results in soil salinization in arid regions.An under-standing of saline dust storms is important to guide disaster prevention and ecological rehabilitation.

Ecological impact assessment method of highways in Tibetan Plateau:A Case study of Gonghe-Yushu Expressway

In recent years,the ecological environment along highways in Tibetan Plateau has been severely affected due to the rapid construction of highways.In order to solve the problems of multiple indicators and inconsistent criteria in the ecological impact assessment of highways,and to scientifically screen assessment indicators,the paper proposes a multi-round indicator screening method,which combines literature analysis,expert rating,and statistical analysis.Based on this screening method,normalized difference vegetation index,land surface temperature,elevation,and normalized difference soil index are screened out.Combined with multiple linear regression,an ecological impact assessment model is established and applied to ecological impact assessment of Gonghe-Yushu Expressway.The results show that the expressway construction is the first driving force for the deterioration of the ecological environment along the roadside,and its interference range on the desert grassland ecosystem is greater than that on the agroforestry system.The ecological environment within 150 m on both sides of the expressway should be protected.

Monitoring long-term ecological impacts from release of Fukushima radiation water into ocean

After 10 years of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident,Japan decided to release the nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on 13 April 2021.It is apparent that Japan has chosen the most cost-efficient way to deal with the contaminated water,however,great opposition and concerns have been raised internationally due to the ecotoxicological features of radioactive materials and their harmful impacts on the environment.Here we an-alyze the ecological impacts caused by the nuclear accident and the potential impacts of releasing the nuclear wastewater into the ocean.Science-based solutions are proposed through a third-party evaluation and strict envi-ronmental assessment,multi-stakeholder public participation,integrated monitoring of the neighboring coastal countries,long-term international collaborative research,and setting up international convention for ecological compensation.

Ecological Impact Asessment and Ecological Monitoring of a Strategic Landfill-A case study in Hong Kong

This paper discusses ecological and monitoring studies covering vegetation, stream fauna, birds, mammals and other vertebrates at the West New Territories (WENT)Landfill, Hong Kong. Recommendations for the protection of vegetation on and around the site, including control of the erosion and run off from the construction site were proposed and implemented, resulting in effective protection of the local vegetation cover. Stream macrobenthos were low in species diversity and abundance and did not show a changing trend during the construction and the operation of the land fill. Birds attracted to the active dumping site were dominated by Crested Mynah Acridotheres cristatellus and the Tree Sparrow Passer montanus. After an increase in the population during the warmer months, the number of birds seen on the land fill site decreased to 10 in December 1994. Mammal monitoring by live trapping revealed that the rat population did not increase after the land fill operation started. This project was the first comprehensive’ ecological study and monitoring of an urban land fill in Hong Kong and it demonstrated that careful environmental planning and implementation of mitigation measures can successfully limit environmental impacts of landfills to acceptable levels.

Ecological impacts of the expansion of offshore wind farms on trophic level species of marine food chain

The global demand for renewable energy has resulted in a rapid expansion of offshore wind farms(OWFs)and increased attention to the ecological impacts of OWFs on the marine ecosystem.Previous reviews mainly focused on the OWFs’impacts on individual species like birds,bats,or mammals.This review collected numerous field-measured data and simulated results to summarize the ecological impacts on phytoplankton,zooplankton,zoobenthos,fishes,and mammals from each trophic level and also analyze their interactions in the marine food chain.Phytoplankton and zooplankton are positively or adversely affected by the‘wave effect’,‘shading effect’,oxygen depletion and predation pressure,leading to a ±10% fluctuation of primary production.Although zoobenthos are threatened transiently by habitat destruction with a reduction of around 60% in biomass in the construction stage,their abundance exhibited an over 90% increase,dominated by sessile species,due to the‘reef effect’in the operation stage.Marine fishes and mammals are to endure the interferences of noise and electromagnetic,but they are also aggregated around OWFs by the‘reef effect’and‘reserve effect’.Furthermore,the complexity of marine ecosystem would increase with a promotion of the total system biomass by 40% through trophic cascade effects strengthen and resource partitioning alternation triggered by the proliferation of filter-feeders.The suitable site selection,long-term monitoring,and life-cycle-assessment of ecological impacts of OWFs that are lacking in current literature have been described in this review,as well as the carbon emission and deposition.

CONCENTRATIONS AND FLUXES OF DISSOLVED NUTRIENTS IN THE YANGTZE RIVER: LONG-TERM TRENDS AND ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS

Intensifying human activity in the Yangtze River Basin(YRB) has substantially increased nutrient concentrations in the Yangtze River Estuary,leading to degradation of the coastal environment.Analysis of nutrient determinations published over the past 50 years reveals a gradual decreasing trend in the concentrations and fluxes of dissolved silicate(DSi).However,both dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphate(DIP) concentrations have increased significantly since the 1970 s.The frequency and area covered by red tide outbreaks have increased greatly during this period,mainly due to changes in nutrient supply ratios [i.e.,N/P(DIN/DIP),N/Si(DIN/DSi),P/Si(DIP/DSi)].A strong correlation was found between the riverine DIN fluxes and the estimated DIN inputs from the major N sources,particularly fertilizers and atmospheric deposition.The data provide a comprehensive assessment of nutrients in the YRB and their ecological impacts and indicate a potentially significant influence of atmospheric deposition on DIN loadings and fluxes.

Research and Analysis of Regional Ecological Positioning in Planning Environmental Impact Assessment

The regional ecological positioning of one area is based on the region’s ecological orientation by the country or a larger region.Combined with the region’s natural geographical features,ecological background,main ecological problems,regional ecological structure,pattern,process,function and service,etc.,the position of a certain area in ecological space,structure,process,function and service,etc.is determined through the analysis and research.Regional ecological positioning is an important prerequisite and core basis for regional ecological impact assessment.However,in the current regional ecological impact assessment,most of them have not analyzed and studied the regional ecological positioning.Due to the lack of research on regional ecological positioning,it is rare to apply the research results of regional ecological positioning to the establishment of regional ecological objectives and the construction of index system.Regional ecological positioning does not guide the direction of regional ecological protection and construction well,and there is a general tendency of regional ecological positioning being one-sided and slogan-based.This paper analyzes the necessity and importance of research of regional ecological positioning,puts forward the technology framework of study on regional ecological positioning.With regional ecological positioning research in planning ecological impact assessment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone as an example,how to carry out the study on the regional ecological positioning and how to apply the results of the study on the regional ecological positioning in regional ecological impact assessment are explained and illustrated.

Impacts of invasive Iris pseudacorus L.(yellow flag) establishing in an abandoned urban pond on native semi-wetland vegetation

Iris pseudacorus L., intentionally introduced in Japan as an ornamental plant and to improve aquatic environments, has been declared a noxious species in the Invasive Alien Species Act of Japan due to the suspected high ecological risks to the local species and ecosystems. Although prompt responses to I. pseudacorus have been sought to conserve local biodiversity, knowledge about its invasiveness is lacking. Here, we report the relationship between the establishment of I. pseudacorus and floristic changes in semi-wetland vegetation of an abandoned urban pond(Aoike), Nara City, Nara Prepecture, Japan. In total, 64 vascular plants were recorded in the pond, of which 50 were native species, seven were naturalized non-native, and seven were invasive species. On the other hand, most of these vascular plants(42 species) were grassland species and only several aquatic plants(10 species) were found in this study pond. The number of vascular plant species decreased significantly at quadrats with a coverage of I. pseudacorus above 50%. In addition, tendencies of lower number of native species and concomitant higher number of invasive species were found with increasing coverage of I. pseudacorus. From these results, we suggest that it is important to preferentially manage sites where the coverage of I. pseudacorus is above 50%, in order to preserve the local biodiversity. Additionally, as recommended in the literature, it is essential that the cut reproductive organs are kept submerged under deep water for an effective control of I. pseudacorus.

New Issues and Countermeasures of Ecological Reconstruction of Coal Mines in Shanxi

According to the present situation of ecological reconstruction of coal mines（ERCM）in Shanxi,and considering the technical requirements of Guidelines for Mine Ecological Environment Protection and Recovery Management Programming,new issues faced by ERCM have been systematically analyzed,including the investigation of ecological destruction status,classification of damaged ecological environment,ecological reconstruction（ER）sustainability,driving force for ER,and so on.On this basis,suggestions for ERCM and advices for the ERCM programming are proposed.

Research on Environmental Impact Assessment Methods of Farmland Improvement along Coastal Areas of Jiangsu Province

[ Objective] The study aimed to assess the impact of farmland improvement on ecological environment along coastal areas of Jiangsu Province. [ Method] Taking the coastal farmland improvement of Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province as an example, an indicator system of environ- mental impact assessment （EIA） for coastal farmland improvement was established based on data collection, field survey and monitoring results, expert consultation, literature study and other methods, including four subsystems （biological resource, soil, vegetation and water environment） and 12 indicators. [ Result] The weights of soil, biological resource, vegetation and water environment were 0.614, 0.219, 0.118 and 0.049, and the top weight of soil showed that farmland improvement had a great influence on soil. Among the 12 indicators, the most important indicators with higher weights were reclamation rate of the land （weight 0.389）, population density （weight 0.164） and the content of soil organic matter （weight 0.088）. Therefore, in EIA of such kind of projects in the future, we should give prominence to the identification, evaluation and monitoring of the main characteristic factor above. [ Conclusion] The research could provide scientific references for the sustainable utilization of resources and estab- lishment of environmental management policies along costal areas of Jiangsu Province.

Radiochemoecological Monitoring of the Salt Lakes of the Crimea

1 Introduction The salt lakes of the Crimea contain the practically inexhaustible sources of salts of sodium,magnesium,bromine and other chemical elements(Ponizovskii,1965),being the potential powerful raw materials base for the

Bibliometrics-based Research Hotspots and Development Trends in Eco-hydrology of Dammed Rivers

Water conservation initiatives satisfy the demand for water supply,electricity generation,irrigation,and flood control.While helping humanity,they have also altered the ecosystem of natural rivers,impacted river ecology,disrupted river continuity,and jeopardized the existence of aquatic creatures in rivers.Studying the impacts of dam construction on rivers can enhance our knowledge of river ecological and environmental concerns and help sustain the health of river ecosystems,thereby realizing the harmony between humans and water in both theoretical and practical aspects.This study used bibliometrics and constructed an author-keyword 2-mode matrix network using Co-Occurrence software to identify the hotspots and research trend in eco-hydrology of dammed rivers.We identified‘FLOW’‘SEDIMENT’‘QUALITY’and‘MODEL’as the research hotspots in the ecological impact of dammed rivers,and combined the related literatures,we highlight the research progress in the four directions.Then the research shortcomings and prospect were discussed,including strengthening the monitoring and analysis of critical ecological variables,enhancing the hydrological monitoring density for small rivers,strengthening the research of relationship between eutrophication and zooplankton,establishing multiscale approaches,and combining multi-sources information technologies to improve parameter accuracy in the model research.

Microplastics in Marine Environment: Occurrence, Distribution, and Extraction Methods in Marine Organisms

The pervasive presence of microplastics in marine environments has raised significant concerns. This review addresses the pressing issue of microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems and its potential implications for both the environment and human health. It outlines the current state of microplastic occurrence, distribution, and extraction methods within marine organisms. Microplastics have emerged as a significant environmental concern due to their harmful effects on ecosystems and their potential human health risks. These particles infiltrate marine environments through runoff and atmospheric deposition, ultimately contaminating beaches and posing threats to marine life. Despite the gravity of this issue, there has been limited research on the presence and distribution of microplastics in marine organisms. This review aims to bridge this knowledge gap by comprehensively examining the occurrence, distribution, and various extraction methods used to detect microplastics in marine organisms. It emphasizes the urgent need for targeted measures to manage microplastic pollution, highlights the significant role of human activities in contributing to this problem, and underscores the importance of reducing human-induced pollution to safeguard marine ecosystems. While this paper contributes to the understanding of microplastic pollution in marine environments and underscores the critical importance of taking action to protect marine organisms and preserve our oceans for future generations, it also emphasizes that, in effectively tackling the microplastic problem, a well-coordinated approach is essential, involving research initiatives, policy adjustments, public involvement, and innovative technologies. Crucially, prompt and resolute responses must exist to counteract the escalating peril posed by microplastics to the oceans and the global environment.

Extracting water body data based on SDWI and threshold segmentation:A case study in permafrost area surrounding Salt Lake in Hoh Xil,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

There are a large number of lakes,rivers,and other natural water bodies distributed in the permafrost area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP).The changes in water bodies will affect the distribution of water resources in sur-rounding areas and downstream areas,resulting in environmental impact and bringing potential flood disasters,which will induce more serious issues and problems in alpine and high-altitude areas with a fragile habitat(such as the QTP in China).Generally,effective,reasonable,and scientific monitoring of large-scale water bodies can not only document the changes in water bodies intuitively,but also provide important theoretical reference for subsequent environmental impact prediction,and disaster prevention and mitigation in due course of time.The large-scale water extraction technology derived from the optical remote sensing(RS)image is seriously affected by clouds,bringing about large differences among the extracted water result products.Synthetic aperture radar(SAR)RS technology has the unique advantage characteristics of all-weather,all-day,strong penetration,and not being affected by clouds,which is hopeful in extracting water body data,especially for days with cloudy weather.The data extraction of large-scale water bodies based on SAR images can effectively avoid the errors caused by clouds that become prevalent at present.In this paper,the Hoh Xil Salt Lake on the QTP and its surrounding five lakes are taken as the research objects.The 2-scene Sentinel-1 SAR image data covering the whole area on 22 August 2022 was used to verify the feasibility of extracting water body data in permafrost zones.Furthermore,on 22 August 2022,the wealth here was cloudy,which made the optical RS images,e.g.,Sentinel-2 images full of clouds.The results show that:using the Sentinel-1 image and threshold segmentation method to extract water body data is efficient and effective with excellent results in permafrost areas.Concretely,the Sentinel-1 dual-polarized water index(SDWI),calculated by combining dual vertical–vertical(VV)polarized and verti-cal–horizontal(VH)polarized data is a useful index for water extraction and the result is better than each of the VV or VH polarized images.

The Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics on Primary Producers in the Marine Environment

Plastic debris is an emerging environmental threat all over the world.But its effect and distribution in the marine ecosystem is barely known.Microplastics abundance in the marine vegetated area is about 2 to 3 times higher than the bare site in the ocean.Although seagrass meadows trap huge amount of microplastics over the ocean floor,a considerable amount of microplastics are also sink incorporating with the marine aggregates from the epipelagic zone of the ocean.Scavenging of microplastics by diatom aggregation decreases the sinking rate of them rather than cryptophyte.As we know,marine snow is the leading carbon source for zoobenthos,but the ubiquitous presence of microplastics damages cell of different microalgae which may alter the food webs of marine ecosystems.Additionally,microplastics releases immense amount of dissolved organic carbons(DOC)in the surrounding seawater that stimulates the growth of heterotrophic microorganisms as well as their functional activity.Plastic debris result in outbreaks of disease in the marine environment and coral reefs are highly affected by it.When coral reef comes in contact with microplastics,the disease infestation rate of the reef increases massively.Three major disease viz.,skeletal eroding band,white syndrome and black band of coral reef causes approximately 46%of reef mortality due to microplastics consumption.Due to complex structure and size,the corals accumulates huge amount of microplastics that increases growth of pathogens by hampering the coral immune system.Existing scientific evidence presents that exposure of microplastics in aquatic environments triggers a wide variety of toxic insult from feeding disruption to reproductive performance,disturbances in energy metabolism throughout the ocean.The present review focused on the ecotoxicological effect of microplastics on primary producers of ocean,its uptake,accumulation,and excretion,and its probable toxicity with risk assessment approaches.

水电梯级开发真的破坏下游河段营养盐情势吗?

River damming is believed to largely intercept nutrients,particularly retain more phosphorus(P)than nitrogen(N),and thus harm primary productivity,fishery catches,and food security downstream,which seriously constrain global hydropower development and poverty relief in undeveloped regions and can drive geo-political disputes between nations along trans-boundary rivers.In this study,we investigated whether reservoirs can instead improve nutrient regimes downstream.We measured different species of N and P as well as microbial functions in water and sediment of cascade reservoirs in the upper Mekong River over 5 years and modelled the influx and outflux of N and P species in each reservoir.Despite partially retaining total N and total P,reservoirs increased the downstream flux of ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus(SRP).The increase in ammonium and SRP between outflux and influx showed positive linear relationships with the hydraulic residence time of the cascade reservoirs;and the ratio of SRP to dissolved inorganic nitrogen increased along the reservoir cascade.The lentic environment of reservoirs stimulated algae-mediated conversion of nitrate into ammonium in surface water;the hypoxic condition and the priming effect of algae-induced organic matter enhanced release of ammonium from sediment;the synergy of microbial phosphorylation,reductive condition and sediment geochemical properties increased release of SRP.This study is the first to provide solid evidence that hydropower reservoirs improve downstream nutrient bioavailability and N-P balance through a process of retention-transformation-transport,which may benefit primary productivity.These findings could advance our understanding of the eco-environmental impacts of river damming.

Impacts of climate-induced permafrost degradation on vegetation:A review

Under a warming climate,degrading permafrost profoundly and extensively affects arctic and alpine ecology.However,most existing relevant studies are more focused on the hydrothermal impacts of vegetation on the underlying permafrost,or symbiosis between vegetation and permafrost,only very few on ecological impacts of permafrost degradation.Additionally,there are much more pertinent investigations in arctic and boreal regions than those in alpine and high-plateau regions at mid-and low latitudes.This study emphasizes on the impact mechanisms of permafrost degradation on vegetation both at high and mid-to low latitudes,addressing vegetation succession trajectories and associated changes in soil hydrology and soil nutrient above degrading permafrost.Permafrost degradation influences vegetation by altering soil hydrology,soil biogeochemical processes and microbial communities,which further improve soil nutrient availability.Furthermore,under a warming climate,vegetation may take two successional trajectories,towards a wetter or drier ecosystem within a certain time period,but to a drier ecosystem in the end upon the thaw of permafrost in case of permeable soils and good drainage.Thus,with rapidly developing remote-sensing and other space-and ground-based and air-borne observational networks and numerical predictive models,the impacting mechanisms of permafrost degradation on vegetation should be timely and better monitored,evaluated and modeled at desired spatiotemporal scales and resolutions by terrestrial or integrated ecosystem models.

Integral stormwater management master plan and design in an ecological community

Urban stormwater runoff nearly discharges directly into bodies of water through gray infrastructure in China, such as sewers, impermeable ditches, and pump stations. As urban flooding, water shortage, and other environment problems become serious, integrated water environment management is becoming increasingly complex and challenging. At more than 200 ha, the Oriental Sun City community is a large retirement community located in the eastern side of Beijing. During the beginning of its construction, the project faced a series of serious water environment crises such as eutrophication, flood risk, water shortage, and high maintenance costs. To address these issues, an integral storrnwater management master plan was developed based on the concept of low impact development （LID）. A large number of LID and green stormwater infrastructure （GSI） approaches were designed and applied in the community to replace traditional stormwater drainage systems completely. These approaches mainly included bioretention （which captured nearly 85th percentile volume of the annual runoff in the site, nearly 5.4 x 10^5 m3 annually）, swales （which functioned as a substitute for traditional stormwater pipes）, waterscapes, and stormwater wetlands. Finally, a stormwater system plan was proposed by integrating with the gray water system, landscape planning, an architectural master plan, and related consultations that supported the entire construction period. After more than 10 years of planning, designing, construction, and operation, Oriental Sun City has become one of the earliest modem large-scale LID communities in China. Moreover, the project not only addressed the crisis efficiently and effectively, but also yielded economic and ecological benefits.