Research Progress on Distribution,Sources and Ecological Effects of Phthalate in Soil

Phthalate esters(PAEs)are widely used as main plasticizers in plastic products,agricultural regulators,toys,and other fields.This paper reviewed the research progress on the distribution,sources,and ecological effects of PAEs.The effects of PAEs on soil microorganisms,animals,plants and soil properties were explored in sequence,providing effective theoretical basis for future research on PAEs.

Compound contamination and secondary ecological effects of Cd and As in soil－alfalfa ecosystems

d and As both have harmful effects on the growth,development and seed germination of alfalfa, especially in such a condition as the coexistence of Cd and As in soil environment The research using the pot-culture imitative method first found that if soil was simultaneously polluted by Cd and As,function of alfalfa absorbing Cd from soil may be promoted because of the existence of As,in conversely,Cd may inhibit alfalfa plant from absorbing As It was also found that secon- dary ecological effects were most likely to be brought out due to the coexistence of Cd and As. For example,alfalfa is passive to excessively absorb Cu and Pb .The harmful effects undoubtedly intensi- fy the contamination of alfalfa, The results showed that the mechanism of the interaction among Cd,As,Pb and Cu in soil-alfalfa ecosystems is very complicated.

Ecological Effects of Land Use Patterns in Red Soil HillyRegion

Plant biomass and biodiversity, element accumulation and return, water loss and soil erosion, and changesin soil properties were studied for up to 10 years after conversion of sparse tree-shrubby grass land into thefollowing four land use patterns: masson pine (Pznvs massonzana Lamb.) land, beautiful sweetgum (Ltq-uidambar fomosana Hance) land, vegetation reservation land, and artificial mowing land. The annualbiomass production of the masson pine land was 5060 kg ha￣-1 being 4.9, 2.1, and 6.0 times that of the beau-tiful sweetgum land, the vegetation reservation land, and the artificial mowing land, respectively. Comparedwith the background values, the number of plant species for the vegetation reservation land increased by 10species after 10 years of land utilization, while for the masson pine and the beautiful sweetgum decreased by4, and for the artificial mowing land by 9. For masson pine land, total amount of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg neededfor producing 1000 kg dry matter was only 3.5 kg, annual element return through litter was 22 kg ha￣-1, bothof which were much lower than those of the other patterns. Vegetation reservation was an effective measureto conserve soil and water and improve soil fertility in the red soil hilly region. Artificial mowing arousedserious degradation of vegetation and soil. Some measures and suggestions for management and exploitationof the red soil hilly region such as masson pine planting, closing hills for afforestation, and stereo-agricultureon one hill are proposed.

Effects of modified clay flocculation on major nutrients and diatom aggregation during Skeletonema costatum blooms in the laboratory

Harmful algal blooms(HABs) can elicit several negative effects on aquatic environment(such as depleting the oxygen, blocking the sunlight, destroying the habitats of organisms) and life health(including poisoning/killing marine mammals, birds and human). Among the various control strategies for HABs(physical manipulation needs lots of manpower and expensive equipment, chemicals treatment has some toxic byproduct and high residual, microbial agents only has limited in laboratory research), the coagulation-flocculation of HAB species by modified clay(MC) has been proven to be an effective, lowcost and environmentally friendly method that has been widely applied in the field, particularly in eastern Asia. In order to examine the long-term effects of MC treatment, this study investigated the alternations in seawater of Skeletonema costatum, a high biomass dominant HAB species along the Chinese coast, by comparing the degradation of S. costatum detritus(A1) with the application of MC treatment(A2) and MC treatment in sediment condition(A3). The low dosage of 0.25 g/L MC could efficiently remove 4×108 cells/L of S. costatum cells within 3.5 h(approximately 97% removal). In addition, the results showed that both inorganic and organic nutrients were effectively reduced from seawater by MC particles. Compared to the total nitrogen(TN) and total phosphorus(TP) concentrations in A1 seawater, 44% of TN and 93% of TP in A2 seawater, as well as 72% of TN and 93% of TP in A3 seawater were removed during the onemonth incubation period. Simultaneously, 64% of DISi in A2 and 44% of DISi in A3 significantly decreased( P <0.001). This study demonstrated that MC treatment was able to significantly increase the downward flux of nutrients and delay the release velocity of inorganic nutrient from MC-algae matrix into the overlying seawater, particularly within sediment environment.

Ecological effects of crude oil residues on the functional diversity of soil microorganisms in three weed rhizospheres

Ecological effects of crude oil residues on weed rhizospheres are still vague. The quantitative and diversity changes and metabolic responses of soil-bacterial communities in common dandelion （Taraxacum officinale）, jerusalem artichoke （Silphiurn perfoliatum L.） and evening primrose （A colypha australis L.） rhizospheric soils were thus examined using the method of carbon source utilization. The results indicated that there were various toxic effects of crude oil residues on the growth and reproduction of soil bacteria, but the weed rhizospheres could mitigate the toxic effects. Total heterotrophic counting colony-forming units （CFUs） in the rhizospheric soils were significantly higher than those in the non-rhizospheric soils. The culturable soil-bacterial CFUs in the jerusalem artichoke （S. perfoliatum） rhizosphere polluted with 0.50 kg/pot of crude oil residues were almost twice as much as those with 0.25 kg/pot and without the addition of crude oil residues. The addition of crude oil residues increased the difference in substrate evenness, substrate richness, and substrate diversity between non-rhizospheric and rhizospheric soils of T. officinale and A. australis, but there was no significant （p〉0.05） difference in the Shannon＇s diversity index between non-rhizospheric and rhizospheric soils of S. perfoliatum. The rhizospheric response of weed species to crude oil residues suggested that S. perfoliatum may be a potential weed species for the effective plant-microorganism bioremediation of contaminated soils by crude oil residues.

Land use change and its ecological effect in Qian’an County of Jilin Province

Based on GIS and statistical methods, with the help of searching historical literatures and calculating the landscape indices, the land use changes of Qian'an County in both spatial and temporal aspects from 1945 to 1996 has been analyzed in this paper. And the driving forces of land use changes and their ecological effects are discussed too. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) Land use changed greatly in Qian'an during 1945-1996, characterized by a decrease in grassland, wetland and water bodies, and an increase in cultivated land, saline-alkali land, and the land for housing and other construction purposes. Grassland decreased by 175,828.66 ha, and cultivated land increased by 102,137.23 ha over the half century. Accordingly, the main landscape type changed from a steppe landscape to a managed agricultural ecosystem. (2) Results of correlation analysis show that the land use change in the study area was mainly driven by the socioeconomic factors. (3) The ecological effects of land use change in the area are characterized by serious salinization, degression of soil fertility and the weakening of landscape suitability.

Ecological effects of the microbial weathering of silicate minerals

1 Introduction Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind in the 21st century.Studying,and utilising,the carbon sink caused by the weathering of silicate minerals has been a key research focus for

Variations of nutrient elements and its effect on ecological environment off the Changjiang estuarine waters

On the basis of the date obtained in two cruises during October 1997 and May 1998, the concentration distribution and the variation of present species of nutrient elements in the water masses are described. The transform mechanism of present species of nutrients and the of differrnt water masses, frontal area and thermohaline transition layer on convergence or divergence and the biogeochemical cycle of nutrient elements off the Changjiang Estuary are studied. Meanwhile, the environmental capaci- ty of nutrients is primarily estimated: they are 1.803 x 104t DIN and 6.18 x 102t PO43- -P in autumn, and 4.20x 102t PO43- -P in spring.

Simulation Experiments of Land Surface Physical Processes and Ecological Effect over Different Underlying Surface

Based on the existing Land Surface Physical Process Models(Deardorff, Dickinson, LIU, Noilhan, Seller, ZHAO), a Comprehensive Land Surface Physical Process Model (CLSPPM) is developed by considering the different physical processes of the earth's surface-vegetation-atmosphere system more completely. Compared with SiB and BATS, which are famous for their detailed parameterizations of physical variables, this simplified model is more convenient and saves much more computation time. Though simple, the feas...

Investigation and Assessment of Ecological Effect of Garden Plants in Linzhi, Tibet

In this study, we investigated main garden plants and assessed the eco- logical effect of garden plants in Bayi town, Linzhi district, Tibet. There are 33 land- scape plants, including 13 trees and 20 shrubs. There are 26 newly-introduced landscape plants, including 10 trees and 16 shrubs. The main landscape plants in Bayi Town could absorb 245.6 t of CO2 and release 178.66 t of 02 per year, illus- trating significant ecological effect. According to the theory that 25 m2 of lawn or 10 m2 of tree could completely absorb the CO2 breathed out by one person daily, the current green space in Bayi town could satisfy the requirement of 43 400 people. We also found that the maximum amount of retained dust by the garden plants is 12.8 t per year, which is considerable and consistent with the results from other studies.

Analysis of ecological effects of comprehensive treatment in the Tarim River Basin using remote sensing data

Based on multi-type,multi-temporal remote sensing data,we have monitored recent changes in cultivated land use and vegetation,in sandy areas and salinized desertification in the Green Corridor zone of the main channel of the Tarim River Basin.The results of our investigation show that the ecological environment in the Green Corridor of the main channel of the Tarim River Basin has conspicuously improved from 2002 to 2004.These improvements show up largely in such aspects as an increase in the rate of vegetation cover,a reduction in desertification land areas and a weakening in the intensity of sandy and the salinized land.On the other hand,the cultivated area in the Tarim River Basin significantly increased from 2002 to 2004.The rate of growth in cultivated areas during this period was significantly higher than that from 1999 to 2002.The increase in the use of irrigation resulting from the substantial increase in cultivated areas has a long-term potential restraining effect on the restoration of ecological functions of the Tarim River.

The Research on Land-Use Change and Ecological Environment Effect of Urban Landscape in China

The rapid expansion of urban construction land has become the major characteristic of urban land-use change in China today. Meanwhile, the rapid urbanization process has led to the great changes of urban landscape in China, and it also has had certain impacts on environmental factors such as climate, soil, hydrology, biodiversity, etc., then it has made the overall ecological environment deteriorated. This study is based on the summary and analysis of research on land-use change and ecological environment effect of urban landscape in recent 20 years in China, and it aims at providing scientific bases and theoretical supports for the planning and construction of urban landscape, the sustainable land-use of city and the protection of ecological environment in China.

Changes of landuse form and their ecological effect on desert-steppe area in Ningxia

The central part of Ningxia is a desert-steppe area with a sparse population and fragile ecosystem where over-grazing has caused serious degeneration of steppe ecosystem; however, the southern part is a populous loessic hilly area subject to serious soil erosion. The central desert steppe has become an oasis with immigrants from southern loessic hilly area thanks to the implementation of new irrigated projects by pumping water from the Yellow River. Using government investment and loan of World Bank, the new irrigated area has been developed which covers an area of 32,527 ha with 145 thousand immigrants moving there from the southern loessic hilly area in 1984-1994. A new ecosystem of oasis economy has been established, socio-economic, and environmental benefits achieved, and changes in land use were prominent. In the central desert steppe of Ningxia, except the original pasture and dryland farming, irrigational farming, horticulture and livestock breeding have been developed. As a result, artificial ecosystems of various types have been formed in the irrigated areas mentioned above. This paper will particularly discusses the changes of landuse patterns in resultant ecological effects, and the environemntal problems for sustainable development in the irrigated area. For the changes of landuse patterns, four aspects are relevant: the dryland was changed into irrigated land, the grassland became irrigated farmland, the agricultural landuse pattern changed and the cropping patterns also altered. The ecological benefits of the irrigated area are as follows: 1) the desert-steppe has been partially replaced by man-made oasis; 2) drinking water for human and livestock was guaranteed; 3) the shifting sand dunes in some areas were brought under control; 4) soil erosion was mitigated; 5) soil mellow process was accelerated and soil fertility increased; and 6) the eco-economic system was diversified. Finally, the authors identifies solutions to the environmental problems, including water pollution. Soil secondary salinization, soil strucrure, improvement shelterbelt construction, all related to sustainable development in irrgational area.

ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE EFFECTS OF WINDBREAK SYSTEMS IN DESERT ZONE OF WESTERN CHINA

This paper, by applying the theories of landscape ecology, illustrates the role and mechanism of windbreak system in the establishment and maintenance of oasis ecosystem on the basis of systematic analysis of characteristics and ecological crises of China's desert, and especially of desert zone in western China. Furthermore, direct economic benefits are summarized.

Quantitative Evaluation of Ecological Cumulative Effects and Zoning Regulations for Prefectural Mining Units in China

Although the development of energy and mineral resources strongly supports China’s rapid industrialization and urbanization,it has led to a series of ecological and environmental problems.Strengthening the spatial regulation considering the ecological and environmental protection on energy and mineral resource development areas is an important aspect of realizing China’s sustainable development.In this study,we mapped,categorized,and analyzed the ecological cumulative effects of the Chinese 134 prefectural mining units based on the pressure-state-response model,which is demonstrated as impact of mining activities on ecological environment,ecological environmental fragility,and ecological function.This investigation developed a stress zoning typology of the mining units based on scores of three dimensions of the ecological cumulative effects and classified 134 prefectural mining units into eight types of stress zones.A series of regulation and policy suggestions have been proposed to different types of zones from three aspects:space control,intensity control,and development mode control.The application of this evaluation and spatial zoning system will contribute to the refined spatial management of China’s mining areas.

Stability and Ecological Effects of Main Plant Communities in Minqin Desert Area

[ Objective ] To elucidate the change trend in stability and ecological effects of plant communities in desert along with global wanning. [ Method ] The data of site-specific observation on five main plant communities at ten plots in Minqin desert area were used to analyze the stability and ecological effects of desert plant communities by using two indicators vegetation coverage and projective cover degree. [ Results ] The vegetation coverage of Artemisia arenaria and Ephedra przewalskii, and the projective cover degree of A. arenaria and man-made Haloxylon ammodendron forest decreased remarkably; and the vegetation coverage of Ni- traria tangutorum was also decreased to some extent. [ Conduslon] （1） The plant communities with poor vegetation coverage gives a relatively strong stability, while that with high vegetation coverage has a relatively poor stability; （2） the yearly precipitation is the determinant of vegetation coverage and projective cover deglee; （3） the ecological function is found to be most remarkable in per unit area N. tangutorum, followed by E. przewalskii and N. tangutorum ＋H. ammodendron, and least in per unit area A. Arenaria. The vegetation is sparse in desert and plant branches does not distribute regularly, thus the crown-based vegetation coverage can not reflect the actual surface coverage.

Ecological Effects Measures and Regulation of Tourism Island

With the sustainable development of tourism in China, the phenomenon of ecological islanding in tourist attractions gradually becomes prominent, affecting the sustainable development of landscape and ecological environment in scenic spots. Tourist attractions are influenced by spatial location, resource characteristics and ecology, environmental protection and other factors. The appeals of government, tourism enterprises, developers and community villagers in the aspect of landscape and ecology are different in the development process of tourism, leading to different degrees, frequencies and scopes of tourism ecological islanding with prominent conflicts. This is a typical problem in the development stage of tourist attractions in China. Taking six scenic spots in Puzhehei as examples, the values of tourism ecological islanding were measured scientifically, and a anti-planning regulatory mechanism against tourism ecological islanding was established in this paper to achieve the sustainable development of the tourist attractions and ecological environment.

The Effect of Water Hyacinth （Eichhornia Crassipes） Infestation on Phytoplankton Productivity in Lake Naivasha and the Status of Control

The paper presents data collected in an assessment of the effects of water hyacinth （Eichhornia crassipes） infestation on phytoplankton productivity in Lake Naivasha. A summary of the status of control and strategies used is given. The ecological effects of water hyacinth on the lake have received little attention compared to the large body of work available on the weed＇s socioeconomic impact. This study was conducted to determine the effect of hyacinth infestation on the phytoplankton productivity. Several sampling stations were set up in the lake at sites containing floating mats of the weed and at sites where the weed was absent. Phytoplankton chlorophyll-a concentration and dissolved oxygen were measured at each station and used as proxies for phytoplankton productivity. The findings show that phytoplankton productivity in weed covered areas is reduced with significant change in species composition and biodiversity suggesting that water hyacinth can alter the ecology of the lake. Although water hyacinth has continued posing serious ecological consequences, the control strategies already adopted will continue to reduce deleterious impacts and allow sustained development in the Lake Naivasha Basin. There is need however to undertake research to quantify the level of ecological damage and the costs of control. There are other effects such as livelihood loss, diseases, and disruption of normal operations that also need to be quantified.

Ecological effects of Tongren City land transferring

The ecological effects of land transfer are mainly around the ecological effects of land itself. One is environmental and ecological effects of land, such as flood controlling, preventing soil erosion, preventing the collapse debris, water conservation and maintenance of biodiversity and conservation of wildlife. Second, it is crop residue use of land, including： treatment of organic waste, decomposing and eliminating contaminants, regulating microclimate and air purification, maintaining and revitalizing rural communities. Third, the geographical landscape effects of land, such as providing idyllic pastures and other entertainment services. In a conclusion, there is little exploration to the ecological effects of rural land. This paper attempts to analyze the environmental problems related to the land transferring in Tongren City.

Ecological and socioeconomic effects of China's policy for grassland eco-compensation

To reverse the continuous deterioration of grassland ecology and to improve the well-being of herders, China has been formulating many national policies on payments for grassland ecological conservation. One of them, the Grassland Eco-compensation Policy(GEP), is the biggest program for grassland protection in China since 1949. The GEP conserves natural grassland by paying herders cash subsidies. It also has worldwide significance because it can increase vegetative cover, improve the ecological balance, increase carbon sequestration and lessen the amount of dust reaching other countries through inhibiting soil erosion. Overall, we find that its ecological and socioeconomic effects are beneficial and further benefits may be observed in the future because while the socioeconomic effects usually appear quickly, ecological effects may take longer to manifest. 2015 is the last year for the first round of the GEP policy implementation and the extended policy for the GEP will be approved and continued by the central government. To make the policy more successful, we suggest coordinated planning, a comprehensive overview, higher compensation and collaborative study. Efficient implementation of the GEP could also provide valuable experience for other eco-compensation programs in China and numerous other regions of the world.