No abstract

The effects of plant species richness (SR; i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 species per plot) on substrate nitrate and ammonium retention and ecosystem productivity in a full-scale constructed wetland (CW) with high nitrogen (N) input were studied. Substrate nitrate (0.1-16.4 mg kg À1 ) and ammonium concentrations (1.3-9.2 mg kg À1 ) in this study were higher than those in other comparable biodiversity experiments. Substrate nitrate concentration significantly increased while ammonium concentration significantly decreased with the increase of plant SR (p ¼ 0.008 and 0.040, respectively). The response of ecosystem productivity to increasing SR was unimodal with four species per plot achieving the greatest productivity. Transgressive overyielding, which was compared to the most productive of corresponding monocultures, did not occur in most polycultures. We conclude that substrate N retention was enhanced by plant SR even with high N input, and plant SR could be managed to improve the efficiency of N removals in CWs for wastewater treatment.

Severe aging in rural China is prompting communities to promote support for older people to age in place. The study of the daily life of older adults in rural areas is conducive to understanding their real life and demands, as well as the way they interact with their environment, to develop feasible strategies. In this study, 171 older adults over 60 years old in two different types of villages in Northern Zhejiang Province were investigated and analyzed in terms of the temporal and spatial features of daily activities, as well as their relationship with population attributes, personal competence, and subjective demands. The results show that: (1) significant association can be seen between working hours and the demand for health services, housework hours and gender and age, as well as leisure hours and ADL and the demand for recreational services. (2) The older adults appear to have inter-group homogeneity in some aspects: basic living activities, leisure hours, the gender difference in housework hours, and recreational preference, while they have higher average paid work hours and fewer leisure alternatives than their urban counterparts. Their definitions of paid work, housework, and leisure activities are vague. (3) The definition of home by the older adults in rural places sometimes seems to go beyond the scope of their own house, and the extensive definition of home may change their recognitions of some activities. They also inclined to assign meaning to a place through frequent use rather than through external definitions. (4) The weak consciousness on buying services and deteriorated financial situation hinders the older adults in rural communities from expressing their real demands. Unspoken demands include economic security, recreational choices, and assistance in housework. The results will help to provide references for the improvement of eldercare services and the community environment.