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.

Laboratory study on the ecological impact of sophorolipid used for harmful algae elimination

We studied the role of sophorolipid in inhibiting harmful algae bloom （HAB）. Different sophorolipid concentrations were tested on marine microalgae, zooplankton, fish, and bivalve （Mytilus edulis） in laboratory. The result shows that sophorolipid could inhibit the growth of algal species selectively. Among three algae species selected, Platymonas helgolandica var. tsingtaoensis was promoted with increasing sophorolipid concentration; Isochrysis galbana was inhibited seven days later in sophorolipid concentration below 40 mg/L; and Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima was inhibited obviously in only a high sophorolipid concentration over 20 mg/L. Therefore, sophorolipid in a low concentration at 〈20 mg/L could remove certain harmful algae species effectivelywithout harming other non-harmful microalgae. For other animals, sophorolipid could inhibit the growth of ciliate Strombidium sp. by 50% at 20 mg/L sophorolipid concentration after 96 h. The concentration in 96-h LC50 for Calanus sinicus, Neomysis awatschensis, Lateolabrax japonicus, and Paralichthys olivaceus was 15, 150, 60, and 110 mg/L, respectively. The 24 h LC50 value for Arternia salina was 600 mg/L. The relative clearance rate of mussel Mytilus edulis decreased to 80%, 40%, and 20% of the control group after being exposed to 20, 50, and 100 mg/L sophorolipid for 24 h. Therefore, the toxicity for mitigation of harmful algae bloom at previously recommended concentration of 5-20 mg/L sophorolipid is low for most tested organisms in this reaserch.

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.

Tests to evaluate the ecological impact of treated ballast water on three Chinese marine species

Ballast water has been a topic of concern for some time because of its potential to introduce invasive species to new habitats. To comply with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, members of the International Maritime Organization(IMO) must equip their ships with on-board treatment systems to eliminate organism release with ballast water. There are many challenges associated with the implementation of this IMO guideline, one of which is the selection of species for testing the ecological impacts of the treated ballast water. In the United States, ballast water toxicity test methods have been defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. However, the test methods had not been finalized in China until the toxicity test methods for ballast water were established in 2008. The Chinese methods have been based on species from three trophic levels: Skeletonema costatum, Neomysis awatschensis, and Ctenogobius gymnauchen. All three species live in broad estuarine and open sea areas of China; they are sensitive to reference toxicants and acclimatize easily to different conditions. In this paper, the biological characteristics, test processes and statistical analysis methods are presented for the three species. Results indicate that the methods for evaluating these three organisms can be included in the ecological toxicity tests for treated ballast water in China.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Integrated Assessment of Trapping Efficiency of Colored Sticky Cards and Sex Pheromone on Liriomyza spp.and Plutella xylostella

[Objective] To evaluate the control effect of yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone on Plutella xylostella and Liriomyza spp.,which can provide reference for large area extension of the technique.[Method] The integrated assessment of trapping efficiency of colored sticky cards and sex pheromone on Liriomyza spp.and Plutella xylostella was conducted by field surveys and structured interview in Tonghai County,Yunnan Province,China.[Result] The results showed that yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone have strong power of trapping Liriomyza spp.and Plutella xylostella（3 414±720 and（219±157） head/piece,respectively）;the control cost by the usage of pesticide is the highest,（10 099.5±2 752.5） yuan/hm^2,yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone takes the second place,（1 125.0±465.0） yuan/hm^2,the control cost by the usage of yellow sticky cards is the lowest,（450.0 ±186.0）yuan/hm^2.Without the usage of yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone,pesticide application times and costs are（15.0±2.7） times and（12 070.5±2 136.0） yuan/hm^2;combined with usage of yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone,pesticide application times and costs reduce by 5.7 times and 4 618.5 yuan/hm^2.The ratio of trapped beneficial insects and target pests was 1 ∶1 131,which showed that the negative effect of yellow sticky cards and sex pheromone on the non-target insects was very limited.[Conclusion] The trapping approach has become popular among all the local farmers.Looking at the above factors,the trapping technology has strong application prospect and promotion value in pest control field.

Road Impacts on Spatial Patterns of Land Use and Landscape Fragmentation in Three Parallel Rivers Region,Yunnan Province,China

The structure and function of network is a central issue in landscape ecology.Road networks with hierarchical structure are crucial for understanding landscape dynamics.In this study,we compared the distribution of national road,provincial road,county road and rural road in the Three Parallel Rivers Region(TPRR)in Yunnan Province of China,and estimated the effect of roads(and other factors)on the spatial patterns of land use and land cover with logistic regression.In addition,we analyzed the land use and land cover change(LUCC)and landscape fragmentation in 1989–2005 along a buffer zone of the primary traffic corridor,national road G214.The results showed that,county and rural roads had much higher percentage of length extending into more natural habitats at higher elevation and steeper slope,compared with the higher level roads in this region.While the distributions of natural land cover types were dominated by environmental factors,human land use types i.e.,building land and farmland types were significantly related with roads,linking more closely with lower level roads.The LUCC dynamics(1989–2005)of the G214 buffer zone showed a general trend of land transformation from conifer forests and valley arid shrubs to building land and farmland,and from ice and snow to alpine shrubs and forests.With the length of G214 unchanged during the time,the overall landscape pattern changed little in the buffer zone,but habitat fragmentation and area decrease had occurred for the natural vegetation types,in contrast to patch mergence and expansion of human land use types,and landscape fragmentation was intensified above 2500 m a.s.l.but declined below the elevation.The results indicated the dynamics of landscape composition and patch type level distribution in spite of the stability of the overall landscape pattern,and implied the potential role of roads,especially the low level roads on landscape changes.

Nitrogen deposition as an important nutrient from the environment and its impact on ecosystems in China

As an example of atmospheric nitrogen(N) deposition,the paper summarizes the definition,form and amount of nutrient from the environment(NFE) and the relationship between NFE and anthro-pogenic reactive N emission.Based on our own study and published articles,we find that N wet and dry deposition has been an important nutrient resource in agricultural and natural ecosystems in China.The total amount of N deposition and other environment-derived N in China was up to 18 Tg N/a,equal to ap-proximately 60% of the national N fertilizer consumption.Nitrogen deposition is expected to contribute substantially to nutrient cycling and net primary productivity in various ecosystems.Therefore,it is crucial to utilize this environment-derived nutrient resource by integrated nutrient resource management in order to realize the sustainable development of both agricultural and non-agricultural ecosystems.

Radionuclides and mercury in the salt lakes of the Crimea

^99Sr concentrations, resulting from the Chernobyl NPP accident, were determined in the salt lakes of the Crimea （Lakes Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe and Donuzlav）, together with the redistribution between the components of the ecosystems. The content of mercury in the waters of the studied reservoirs was also established. Vertical distributions of natural radionuclide activities （^238U, ^232Th, ^226Ra, ^210pb, ^40K） and anthropogenic ^137Cs concentrations （as radiotracers） were determined in the bottom sediments of the Koyashskoe salt lake （located in the south-eastern Crimea） to evaluate the long- term dynamics and biogeochemical processes. Radiochemical and chemical analysis was undertaken and radiotracer and statistical methods were applied to the analytical data. The highest concentrations of ^99Sr in the water of Lake Kiyatskoe （350.5 and 98.0 Bq/m^3） and Lake Kirleutskoe （121.3 Bq/m^3） were due to the discharge of the Dnieper water from the North-Crimean Canal. The high content of mercury in Lake Kiyatskoe （363.2 ng/L） and in seawater near Lake Kizil-Yar （364 ng/L） exceeded the maximum permissible concentration （3.5 times the maximum）. Natural radionuclides provide the main contribution to the total radioactivity （artificial and natural combined） in the bottom sediments of Lake Koyashskoe. The significant concentration of ^210pb in the upper layer of bottom sediments of the lake indicates an active inflow of its parent radionuclide-gaseous ^222Rn from the lower layers of the bottom sediment. The average sedimentation rates in Lake Koyashskoe, determined using ^210pb and ^137Cs data, were 0.117 and 0.109 cm per year, respectively.

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.

Impacts of Suburbanization on Urban Eco-environment of Xi'an in China

Suburbanization in large cities is an important phenomenon in the process of urbanization development in China in recent decades,which plays a very important role in promoting city development,whereas some side effects on the eco-environment appeared at the same time.This paper,taking Xi'an City in China as a case study site,analyzed the features of population suburbanization and industry suburbanization and pointed out the impacts of suburbanization on urban eco-environment.Based on the research,suggestions of countermeasures for urban planning and municipal management of Xi'an City in protecting urban eco-environment and conserving natural ecology were put forward in the end.