A comparison of measured ^(137)Cs and excess ^(210)Pb levels in the cultivated brown and cinnamon soils of the Yimeng Mountain area

This contribution analyzes the similarities and differences between the measured activities of 137Cs and excess 210Pb(210Pbex) in the cultivated brown and cinnamon soils of the Yimeng Mountain area, discusses the influence of soil texture on the measurement of 210Pbex, and presents differences between the two types of soils. Fields A and B were selected to represent the fields that contain cultivated brown and cinnamon soils, respectively. From either study field, one site of sectioned core and six bulk cores were collected to measure 137Cs levels, 210Pbex levels, and the particle-size composition of soil samples. Three undisturbed soil samples were collected to measure capillary and aeration porosities. The 137Cs inventories for the two study fields are very similar. The 137Cs is a man-made radionuclide, which means that its measured levels for soils are unaffected by soil texture. In contrast, levels of the naturally occurring 210Pbex of soils from Field A were lower than those of Field B by about 50%. In contrast to aquatic sediments, levels of 210Pbex in terrestrial surface soils are affected by the emanation of 222Rn from the soils. It can be assumed that the coarser the soils, the greater the emanation of 222Rn; in addition, the lower the measured 210Pbex, the greater the underestimate of this value. The cultivated brown soils in Field A are coarser than the cultivated cinnamon soils in Field B. As a result, 222Rn in Field A will diffuse more easily into the atmosphere than that in Field B. As a consequence, the measured 210Pbex in soils from Field A is much lower than the actual value, whereas the value measured for Field B is much closer to the actual value.

Dissolution of Humic Substances from Highly Humic Volcanic Ash Soil as Affected by Anionic Surfactant, Electrolyte Concentration and pH

Dissolved humic substances separated from soils play an important role in the material cycle because they adsorb nutrients and contaminants and move with water. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of anionic surfactant, pH and electrolyte concentration on the dissolution of humic substances from a highly humic volcanic ash soil. The soil used in the experiment has a negative charge and the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, has also the negative charge. The absorbance of supernatant of soil solution at different surfactant concentration and different electrolyte concentration (0.001 M, 0.01 M, 0.1 M & 0.5 M) of NaCl at pH 4.5 and 6.5 was measured at the wave-length of 400 nm;this corresponds to the relative concentration of dissolved humic substances. The surfactant adsorption and its equilibrium concentration under the same solution condition of the absorbance measurement were also measured in order to get their effect on dissolved humic substances. The zeta potential of soil particles was measured in order to evaluate the influence of electrostatic potential on dissolution of humic substances. The concentration of dissolved humic substances increased at higher surfactant concentration and adsorption, at higher pH and at lower electrolyte concentration, because the electrostatic repulsive force between the soil particles and the dissolving humic substances became larger. Therefore, surfactant concentration and adsorption, pH and electrolyte concentration are important when considering the fate of humic substances in soils.

Comparative study on chalcopyrite bioleaching with assistance of different carbon materials by mixed moderate thermophiles

The catalysis of four carbon materials including artificial graphite(AG), carbon black(CB), activated carbon(AC) and carbon nanotube(CN) on chalcopyrite bioleaching by mixed moderate thermophiles was comparatively investigated. In AC and AG added bioleaching groups, low solution pH and suitable redox potential values, high total iron and ferric iron concentrations, and large number of adsorbed bacteria were obtained, resulting in high copper extractions. CB and CN inhibited the growth of bioleaching bacteria and led to the low bioleaching efficiency.X-ray diffraction analysis showed that jarosite and sulfur film were the main components of passivation layer with the addition of AG and AC,but did not hinder the dissolution of chalcopyrite. Microbial community structures of free and attached cells in AC and AG added groups changed dramatically compared with mixed moderate thermophiles. The sulfur-oxidizing bacteria of A. caldus S1 strain dominated the microbial community(93%-98%) at the end of bioleaching.The iron-oxidizing bacteria of L.ferriphilum YSK only accounted for low percentage(1%-2%).

Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on leaf nutrient concentrations and nutrient resorption efficiency of two dominant alpine grass species

Nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)are two essential nutrients that determine plant growth and many nutrient cycling processes.Increasing N and P deposition is an important driver of ecosystem changes.However,in contrast to numerous studies about the impacts of nutrient addition on forests and temperate grasslands,how plant foliar stoichiometry and nutrient resorption respond to N and P addition in alpine grasslands is poorly understood.Therefore,we conducted an N and P addition experiment(involving control,N addition,P addition,and N+P addition)in an alpine grassland on Kunlun Mountains(Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China)in 2016 and 2017 to investigate the changes in leaf nutrient concentrations(i.e.,leaf N,Leaf P,and leaf N:P ratio)and nutrient resorption efficiency of Seriphidium rhodanthum and Stipa capillata,which are dominant species in this grassland.Results showed that N addition has significant effects on soil inorganic N(NO_(3)^(-)-N and NH_(4)^(+)-N)and leaf N of both species in the study periods.Compared with green leaves,leaf nutrient concentrations and nutrient resorption efficiency in senesced leaves of S.rhodanthum was more sensitive to N addition,whereas N addition influenced leaf N and leaf N:P ratio in green and senesced leaves of S.capillata.N addition did not influence N resorption efficiency of the two species.P addition and N+P addition significantly improved leaf P and had a negative effect on P resorption efficiency of the two species in the study period.These influences on plants can be explained by increasing P availability.The present results illustrated that the two species are more sensitive to P addition than N addition,which implies that P is the major limiting factor in the studied alpine grassland ecosystem.In addition,an interactive effect of N+P addition was only discernable with respect to soil availability,but did not affect plants.Therefore,exploring how nutrient characteristics and resorption response to N and P addition in the alpine grassland is important to understand nutrient use strategy of plants in terrestrial ecosystems.

Responses of Different Physiological Indices for Maize(Zea mays) to Soil Water Availability

Knowledge of plant responses to soil water availability is essential for the development of effcient irrigation strategies.However,notably different results have been obtained in the past on the responses of various physiological indices for different plants to soil water availability.In this study,the responses of various plant processes to soil water availability were compared with data from pot and field plot experiments conducted on maize(Zea mays L.).Consistent results were obtained between pot and field plot experiments for the responses of various relative plant indices to changes in the fraction of available soil water(FASW).A threshold value,where the relative plant indices began to decrease with soil drying,and a lower water limit,where the decline of relative plant indices changed to a very slow rate,were found.Evaporative demand not only influenced the transpiration rate over a daily scale but also determined the difference in transpirational response to soil water availability among the transient,daily and seasonal time scales.At the seasonal scale,cumulative transpiration decreased linearly with soil drying,but the decrease of transpiration from FASW = 1 in response to water deficits did not affect dry weight until FASW = 0.75.On the other hand,the decrease in dry weight was comparable with plant height and leaf area.Therefore,the plant responses to soil water availability were notably different among various plant indices of maize and were influenced by the weather conditions.

Internal wave parameters retrieval from space-borne SAR image

Based on oceanic internal wave SAR imaging mechanism and the microwave scattering imaging model for oceanic surface features, we developed a new method to extract internal wave parameters from SAR imagery. Firstly, the initial wind fields are derived from NCEP reanalysis data, the sea water density and oceanic internal wave pycnocline depth are estimated from the Levites data, the surface currents induced by the internal wave are calculated according to the KDV equation. The NRCS profile is then simulated by solving the action balance equation and using the sea surface radar backscatter model. Both the winds and internal wave pycnocline depth are adjusted by using the dichotomy method step by step to make the simulated data approach the SAR image. Then, the wind speed, pycnocline depth, the phase speed, the group velocity and the amplitude of internal wave can be retrieved from SAR imagery when a best fit between simulated signals and the SAR image appears. The method is tested on one scene SAR image near Dongsha Island, in the South China Sea, results show that the simulated oceanic internal wave NRCS profile is in good agreement with that on the SAR image with the correlation coefficient as high as 90%, and the amplitude of oceanic internal wave retrieved from the SAR imagery is comparable with the SODA data. Besides, the phase speeds retrieved from other 16 scene SAR images in the South China Sea are in good agreement with the empirical formula which describes the relations between internal wave phase speed and water depths, both the root mean square and relative error are less than O. 11 m.s 1 and 7%, respectively, indicating that SAR images are useful for internal wave parameters retrieval and the method developed in this paper is convergent and applicable.