Wetlands of recent Dutch embankments

Wetlands of new embankments are characterized with respect to soil and hydrological regime and the processes of desalination and vegetation succession. Soil- and height gradients, the lack of local drainage and the generally low nutrient content provide conditions for dynamic mesoseries (groundwatertable low in summer, saturated in winter) and locally for stable mesoseries (relatively high in summer, saturated in winter). Relations between vegetation and herbivores (gees, ducks, cattle) are discussed.     

Transport of groundwater-borne phosphorus to Lake Bysjön,South Sweden

Lake Bysjön is a hypertrophic seepage lake, with groundwater as a main external source of phosphorus. Twelve groundwater samples from the vicinity of the lake were high in phosphate (0.4 to 11 mg l^–1, mean value 2.57 mg l^–1 PO₄-P), both within the riparian zone and in two shallow wells located upstreams the lake in the nearby village. Phosphorus sorption capacity of four sand samples measured with the Langmuir isotherm method was low (7.3 to 121,1 mg kg^–1 PO₄-P), with the lowest values found within the riparian zone. It is suggested that the phosphorus originates from garden fertilizers and other human sources, and that the low absorption capacity of the soils is caused by the leaching of calcium from the watershed, a process which started some 3000 years ago. Riparian zone itself has almost no retention capacity, and processes within it (e.g., redox-related) have only secondary importance for the transport of phosphorus to the lake.     

Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions assessment and extended exergy accounting of a horizontal-flow constructed wetland for municipal wastewater treatment: A case study in Chile

The life-cycle greenhouse gaseous emissions and primary exergy resources consumption associated with a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSSF) were investigated. The subject of study was a wetland for municipal wastewater treatment with a 700-person-equivalent capacity. The effects of two types of emergent aquatic macrophytes (Phragmites australis and Schoenoplectus californicus) and seasonality on greenhouse gas (GHG) gas emissions, the environmental remediation cost (ERC) and the specific environmental remediation cost (SERC) were assessed. The results indicate that GHG emissions per capita (12–22 kgCO2eq/p.e/yr) and primary exergy resources consumed (24–27 MJ/m³) for the HSSF are lower than those of a conventional wastewater treatment plant (67.9 kgCO2eq/p.e/yr and 96 MJ/m³). The SERC varied between 176 and 216 MJ/kg biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) removal, which should be further reduced by 20% for an improved BOD₅ removal efficiency above 90%. The low organic matter removal efficiency is associated with a high organic load and low bacterial development. Seasonality has a marked effect on the organic removal efficiency and the SERC, but the macrophyte species does not.     

The Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site

The Coastal Wetlands Management Project (CWMP), funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the Ghana Wildlife Department, seeks to preserve the ecological integrity of coastal lagoons that serve as important sites for migratory waterbirds. This report describes the geomorphology, hydrology, soils, water chemistry, and vegetation of the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site. Muni lagoon is a saline, shallow water lagoon separated from the sea by a sand bar which may be breached occasionally. The bulk of the rainfall in the catchment evaporates or flows as surface runoff into three streams that empty into Muni lagoon. Open water in the lagoon varies seasonally from 100 ha in the dry season to over 1000 ha in the wet season. The natural flora of the site can be divided into four main types; flood plain (including mangrove and wetland vegetation), dune vegetation, riverine vegetation, and terrestrial vegetation on elevated ground. The latter consists of a combination of grasslands, thickets, and Eucalyptus plantations. Fifty-three percent of the site is classified as natural vegetation. An additional 32.5% is agricultural land and 12.6% is residential area for the 11 communities within the site. The main source of employment are farming or fishing. The area surrounding Muni lagoon is used extensively for bushmeat hunting and as the tribal hunting grounds of the Efutu people. Apart from the global importance of the Muni-Pomadze site for biodiversity, management of the site is further justified by its considerable potential for development as an income-generating and educational nature reserve with an eco-cultural theme, managed by the local communities in partnership with the governmental and non-governmental conservation agencies.     

祁连山南麓高寒湿地生态系统呼吸季节、年际动态及影响因素

由于青藏高原高海拔、低温的特殊环境，使得生态系统呼吸(RE)对气候变化的响应极其敏感，然而对高寒湿地生态系统长时间尺度上的RE动态特征及驱动机制的研究相对薄弱。以青藏高原东北部高寒湿地为研究对象，分析了基于涡度相关系统观测的高寒湿地2004—2016年的CO₂通量排放动态及影响机制，对预测高寒湿地碳平衡对未来气候变化的响应具有重要意义。结果表明：高寒湿地在2004—2016年的月平均RE表现为单峰变化趋势，在8月达到峰值；年RE表现为逐年升高的趋势(P<0.05),年RE均值为(608.9±65.6) g C m^-2 a^-1;生长季RE约是非生长季RE的2.7倍，线性回归分析表明生长季RE(r~2=0.66,P=0.001)、非生长季RE(r~2=0.47,P=0.01)与全年RE呈极显著正相关。在月尺度上，分类回归树分析和线性回归分析表明土壤温度是月RE的最主要控制因素，暗示高寒湿地的土壤呼吸对整个生态系统的碳排放至关重要。在年际尺度上，生长季积温与生长季RE呈显著正相关(P<0.05),而生长季降水(PP...     

The interspecific competition presents greater nutrient facilitation compared with intraspecific competition through AM fungi interacting with litter for two host plants in karst soil

AM 真菌和枯落物互作下两种喀斯特植物种间竞争较种内竞争更能促进植物养分利用 枯落物是植物养分获取和土壤养分转化的关键载体。丛枝菌根(Arbuscular mycorrhizae, AM)对植物养分摄取的影响已被广泛认知。然而，在养分亏缺的喀斯特生境中，不同竞争方式的植物如何通过AM真菌和枯落物利用养分尚不清楚。本研究对两种喀斯特适生植物构树(Broussonetia papyrifera)和云贵鹅耳枥(Carpinus pubescens)进行种内竞争和种  间竞争种植处理，并通过幼套球 囊霉(Glomus etunicatum)接种或不接种处理，以及土壤中添加或不添加两物种叶片混合枯落物处理，测定了植物生物量以及氮、磷、钾浓度等指标，研究植物的生长和养分利用。研究结果表明，AM真菌对两种植物养分摄取影响不同，AM真菌显著提高了种内和种间竞争下构树的养分摄取量，但降低了云贵鹅耳枥的养分摄取量。种间竞争下接种AM真菌，枯落物添加促进了云贵鹅耳枥对氮的摄取，抑制了构树对氮的摄取。接种AM真菌和添加枯落物条件下，种间竞争的构树对氮、磷和钾的摄取量及云贵鹅耳枥对氮的摄取量均高于种内竞争；种间竞争下两物种养分竞争力呈现明显差异，即构树对磷和钾养分竞争力显著提高，对氮则不显著；云贵鹅耳枥仅对钾的养分竞争力显著降低，对氮和磷则无显著影响。这些结果说明，在AM真菌与枯落物相互作用下，两种喀斯特植物种间竞争较种内竞争更能促进植物养分利用。     

Systems ecological accounting for wastewater treatment engineering: Method,indicator and application

Wastewater treatment facility is vital for sustainable urban development. In the course of removing contaminants and discharging ready-for-reuse water, wastewater treatment consumes resources and triggers environmental emission during its lifetime. A comprehensive framework to analyze the embodied ecological elements as natural resources and environmental emissions of wastewater treatment is presented in this work. The systems method as a combination of process and input–output analyses is applied and a set of indicators are accordingly devised. Two representative ecological elements, i.e., greenhouse gases emissions and solar emergy of alternative wastewater treatment systems, i.e., a traditional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant and a constructed wetland have been taken into consideration. For each ecological element, five indicators have been calculated and compared to assess the impact on climate change and resources utilizing style of the case systems. The framework raised in this paper is fully supportive for optimal decision-making among different wastewater treatment technologies, and could be transplanted to be applied to systems ecological accounting for other production systems.     

Increases in lake phytoplankton biomass caused by future climate‐driven changes to seasonal river flow

For the many lakes world‐wide with short residence times, changes to the rate of water throughput may have important effects on lake ecology. We studied relationships between current and predicted residence times and phytoplankton biomass using a eutrophic lake in the north‐west of England with an annual residence time averaging about 20 days, as a test case. Using 32 years of recent hydrological flow data for Bassenthwaite Lake, multiple sets of scaled flow for each year, and the process‐based phytoplankton response model, PROTECH, we modelled the effects of changing river flow on phytoplankton biomass in the lake. The impact on biomass was shown to depend on seasonal changes in flow rather than annual changes. Furthermore, there was a qualitative difference in impact depending on whether the nutrient loading to the lake came principally from flow‐independent sources, or from flow‐dependent ones. Predictions for changes in river flow under future climate scenarios in the north‐west of England have suggested that, despite little change in the annual flow magnitude, there will be a shift to greater flow in the winter and lesser flow in the summer. Applying these flow predictions to our modelling of Bassenthwaite Lake revealed that, with flow‐independent nutrient loading, and no overall increase in nutrient load, phytoplankton abundance in the summer could increase by up to 70%, including an increased proportion of Cyanobacteria. Conversely, were the loading completely dependent on the flow, the biomass would fall. In many parts of the world, river flow is expected to decrease in the summer even more than in England, suggesting these areas may expect substantial changes to seasonal phytoplankton biomass as a result of climate‐driven changes to seasonal river flow. Such changes would be in addition to any other changes owing to warming effects or eutrophication.