A theory of evaluation applied to human-environment systems

1. 1. The writers present the general theory of evaluation that is being developed by their group.

2. 2. The evaluation of a human environment is a complex mental process.

3. 3. In an effort to express numerically the quality of an environment, one tends to oversimplify the complex aspects of it and the entailing problems in relation to its inhabitants.

4. 4. In this paper, some examples are taken in the evaluation of thermal environments, wherein much has been said and done in setting up numerical scales to express human comfort, and yet neither clear-cut explanations nor convincing logic seem to exist to terminate the argument over the widely scattered and sometimes seemingly contradicting experimental data.

5. 5. The writers suggest that many of the reasons for this confusion may be traced back to the oversimplified notion of evaluation.

6. 6. It is shown that there are various possibilities when looking at the scales of evaluation.

7. 7.|The nominal scale, least studied of all the four traditional scales, may be given a prominent place in evaluating a thermal environment. The pseudo-interval order scale is another example.

Elevated ozone decreases the multifunctionality of belowground ecosystems

Elevated tropospheric ozone (O₃) affects the allocation of biomass aboveground and belowground and influences terrestrial ecosystem functions. However, how belowground functions respond to elevated O₃ concentrations ([O₃]) remains unclear at the global scale. Here, we conducted a detailed synthesis of belowground functioning responses to elevated [O₃] by performing a meta-analysis of 2395 paired observations from 222 publications. We found that elevated [O₃] significantly reduced the primary productivity of roots by 19.8%, 16.3%, and 26.9% for crops, trees and grasses, respectively. Elevated [O₃] strongly decreased the root/shoot ratio by 11.3% for crops and by 4.9% for trees, which indicated that roots were highly sensitive to O₃. Elevated [O₃] impacted carbon and nitrogen cycling in croplands, as evidenced by decreased dissolved organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, total soil nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, microbial biomass nitrogen, and nitrification rates in association with increased nitrate nitrogen and denitrification rates. Elevated [O₃] significantly decreased fungal phospholipid fatty acids in croplands, which suggested that O₃ altered the microbial community and composition. The responses of belowground functions to elevated [O₃] were modified by experimental methods, root environments, and additional global change factors. Therefore, these factors should be considered to avoid the underestimation or overestimation of the impacts of elevated [O₃] on belowground functioning. The significant negative relationships between O₃-treated intensity and the multifunctionality index for croplands, forests, and grasslands implied that elevated [O₃] decreases belowground ecosystem multifunctionality.     

Interactive effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation on birds across different climate zones: A mechanistic perspective

Climate change and urbanisation are among the most pervasive and rapidly growing threats to biodiversity worldwide. However, their impacts are usually considered in isolation, and interactions are rarely examined. Predicting species' responses to the combined effects of climate change and urbanisation, therefore, represents a pressing challenge in global change biology. Birds are important model taxa for exploring the impacts of both climate change and urbanisation, and their behaviour and physiology have been well studied in urban and non-urban systems. This understanding should allow interactive effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation to be inferred, yet considerations of these interactions are almost entirely lacking from empirical research. Here, we synthesise our current understanding of the potential mechanisms that could affect how species respond to the combined effects of rising temperatures and urbanisation, with a focus on avian taxa. We discuss potential interactive effects to motivate future in-depth research on this critically important, yet overlooked, aspect of global change biology. Increased temperatures are a pronounced consequence of both urbanisation (through the urban heat island effect) and climate change. The biological impact of this warming in urban and non-urban systems will likely differ in magnitude and direction when interacting with other factors that typically vary between these habitats, such as resource availability (e.g. water, food and microsites) and pollution levels. Furthermore, the nature of such interactions may differ for cities situated in different climate types, for example, tropical, arid, temperate, continental and polar. Within this article, we highlight the potential for interactive effects of climate and urban drivers on the mechanistic responses of birds, identify knowledge gaps and propose promising future research avenues. A deeper understanding of the behavioural and physiological mechanisms mediating species' responses to urbanisation and rising temperatures will provide novel insights into ecology and evolution under global change and may help better predict future population responses.     

微生物酯酶研究进展

酯酶自发现以来,逐渐被开发利用于医药、化工、食品等领域,其中动植物来源酯酶工业化应用较少,微生物作为天然的酶资源库,是新型酯酶的主要来源之一。然而,大量新型微生物酯酶由于活性低、稳定性差等原因难以达到工业应用的要求;同时酯酶的筛选、活性评价方法仍存在通用性低、成本高的问题,一定程度上阻碍了新型微生物酯酶挖掘和改造。据此,本文总结了近年来微生物酯酶分类与发现、结构与催化特性、改造和优化以及应用等领域的研究新进展,以期促进酯酶的挖掘和工业化应用。     

宁夏银川平原沙化土地不同人工林土壤质量评价

沙化土地土壤贫瘠、生产力低,人工植被恢复是重要的土壤改良措施。为研究宁夏银川平原沙地不同人工林栽植对土壤的影响,以银川腹部沙地银川植物园沙化土壤恢复区的2017年3月种植的文冠果(Xanthoceras sorbifolium)和欧李(Cerasus humilis)人工林地为研究对象,以邻近的长期撂荒地为对照,对土壤质量进行了研究。2020年7—8月采集土样并测定了土壤物理、化学、生物学等20个指标作为土壤质量评价的总数据集,方差分析筛选出差异显著性的9个指标作为重要数据集指标,采用主成分分析法和Norm值建立土壤质量评价指标最小数据集(MDS),利用线性和非线性两种评分方法计算土壤质量指数(SQI)。结果表明：与长期撂荒地相比,银川平原沙化土壤恢复区人工文冠果、欧李林地的土壤理化性质较好,土壤砂粒百分比减少、粉粒和黏粒百分比有所增加,pH降低;有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾等主要养分指标提高,蔗糖酶、脲酶、纤维素酶等主要生物酶活性也高于撂荒地,筛选出的研究区土壤质量评价MDS指标为土壤粉粒百分比和全磷。2种评价方法下,文冠果和欧李人工恢复林地的SQI高于撂荒地,但提高不显著(P>0...     

基于主体功能区的长江经济带绿色发展评价与问题区域识别

长江经济带已成为我国推进绿色发展的重要阵地。基于主体功能区视角,构建以水系统为纽带的长江经济带绿色发展评价指标体系,采用综合加权法、空间自相关、耦合协调度模型等方法探究2018年长江经济带130个城市绿色发展及各子系统耦合协调水平的空间格局,并对绿色发展的问题区域进行分类识别。结果表明：(1)长江经济带绿色发展水平呈由下游、中游至上游递减趋势;各主体功能区绿色发展指数表现为优化开发区>限制开发区>重点开发区。(2)绿色发展各子系统耦合协调度值位于0.365—0.656之间,多处于濒临失调和勉强协调的临界区间,耦合协调水平整体偏低。(3)从长江经济带整体来看,长江中上游地区绝大部分城市绿色发展主要受资源利用和产业发展水平偏低,及由此带来的生态和生活问题限制,且长江中上游地区各省会或直辖市对区域内其他城市绿色发展带动能力不足。从主体功能区视角来看,优化开发区以生态问题为主,仅上海和嘉兴两市;重点开发区以生态和生产问题为主,集中于武汉都市圈和成渝双城经济圈内部;限制开发区以生产和生活问题为主,主要位于省际边界型城市地区。最后综合问题识别结果,分别对长江经济带各主要问题区域绿色发展...     

盘鮈属鱼类的分类研究及两新种记述(鲤形目:鲤科)

盘鮈属是我国鲤科鱼类的一个特有属,过去已记录7种,因早期发表的云南盘鮈原始描述简略,国内又无人察看过模式标本,造成一些种名归属混乱。本工作在核对多数种的模式标木或地模标本的基础上,对盘鮈属鱼类的分类性状重新估价,认为多鳞盘鮈 D.polylepis Huang不能成立,为长鳔盘鮈 D.macrophysallidos Huang的同物异名,予以归并,经整理本属鱼类可分为8个种,其中具2个新种,文中给出了分种检索表,还就过去分类中存在的其他问题进行了讨论。     

微生物在镉污染土壤修复中的应用及其作用机理

土壤中镉（Cd）含量的超标导致了土壤生态系统的恶性发展,微生物作为土壤中的常见组分之一在缓解土壤镉污染中展现出巨大潜力。本文总结了微生物、微生物-植物和微生物-生物炭在镉污染土壤修复中的应用并阐述了相关的作用机理。芽孢杆菌（Bacillus）、不动杆菌（Acinetobacter）、荧光假单胞菌（Pseudomonas fluorescence）、丛枝菌根真菌（arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,AMF）等微生物可以通过吸附、矿化、沉淀、溶解等方式改变镉的生物有效性,从而达到缓解镉污染的目的。pH值、温度、微生物生物量、镉初始浓度以及时间等对微生物降低镉的生物有效性方面有着显著的影响。假单胞菌、伯克霍尔德菌（Burkholderia）、黄杆菌（flavobacterium）等微生物可以通过促生、活化等作用促进超富集植物对Cd²⁺的吸收。生物炭作为一种土壤改良剂,其独有的理化性质可以作为微生物的庇护所。微生物-生物炭联合使用与单用生物炭相比可以进一步促进镉的残渣态的增加,降低土壤中有效态的比例。     

中国省域生态文明建设进程区域差异化

中国生态文明理论体系和示范实践为我国各地全面推进生态文明建设奠定了基础,区域差异化研究希望通过探究不同区域生态文明建设特征、潜力以及与经济发展的联系,为我国各地区全面推进生态文明实践提供的支持。构建“社会、经济、政治、文化和生态”生态文明指数五维度评价指标体系,运用2005、2010、2015和2019年我国面板数据,刻画31个省份(统计数据尚未包含我国港澳台)生态文明建设的前期、初期、快速发展期和当前各时段时空变化,提出区域的发展速度和发展加速度概念描述各省份建设能力差异,基于各省份生态文明五维度预期目标和历史发展速度探究各省份的发展潜势差异,并初步探究各省份生态文明差异与经济发展的关系。研究结果表明：(1)总体上,各省份的生态文明指数反映出生态文明建设效果显著;时间序列变化上,各省份生态文明建设整体水平和过程存在较大差异性,尽管增长速度都呈现出先快后慢的特点,各省份生态文明水平差距仍然持续拉大;在空间上,明显呈现出东部地区好于西部地区、南部地区好于北部地区的特征,通过分析31个省份所属的六个地区的生态文明等级,发现华东地区和中南地区生态文明等级领先于其他地区,且在各阶段进步最大,而...     

Biotechniques for air pollution control

This paper gives an overview of present biological techniques for the treatment of off-gases and the techniques that are being developed at the moment. The characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, costs and application area are discussed and compared. Biological off-gas treatment is based on the absorption of volatile contaminants in an aqueous phase or biofilm followed by oxidation by the action of microorganisms. Biofilters, bioscrubbers and biotrickling filters are used for elimination of odour and bioconvertable volatile organic and inorganic compounds and are enjoying increasing popularity. This popularity is a result of the low investment and operational costs involved compared to physico-chemical techniques and the elimination efficiencies that can be obtained. The operational envelop is still extending to higher concentrations and gas flow rates (exceeding 200,000 m³ h^–1) and a broader spectrum of degradable compounds. Research and development on the use of membranes and the addition of activated carbon or a second liquid phase to the biological systems may lead to a more efficient elimination of hydrophobic compounds and buffering of fluctuating loads. Shorter adaptation periods can be obtained by inoculation with specialized microorganisms. Improved design and operation are made possible by the growing insights in the kinetics and microbiology and supported by the development of models describing biological off-gas treatment. In conclusion, biotechniques are efficient and cost effective in treating off-gases with concentrations of biodegradable contaminants up to 1–5 g/m³. They could play a justified and important role in air pollution control in the coming years.Abbreviations VOC volatile organic compound - NO _x gaseous oxides of nitrogen