Mountain environment and population in Georgia: case study of Upper Svaneti

The purpose of the presented research is to identify local community opinions toward ecological problems in one of the mountainous region of Georgia (Upper Svaneti), to analyze how population ‘perceive, experience, and interpret’ the social, and ecological issues.

The paper is based on the results of Upper Svanet ipopulation’s survey which was carried out by the authors of presented paper during the August of 2015 and 2016.The questionnaire was elaborated taking into account the peculiarities of the region. Stratified-cluster selection method was used for selection of respondents and database compilation. For statistical analysis of polling data the SPSS package was used.

Based on the statistical analysis of survey results, the following issues have been studied: the most important ecological problems, environmental problems with respect to socio-economic ones, information sources on ecological problems, people’s trust in environmental issues, awareness level of the population on environmental policy, their personal contribution in environmental protection, ways to solve ecological problems, implemented environmental measures.

The obtained results are important to foster mountain population’s active participation in processes that contribute to decision-making processes, planning and implementing programs for sustainable development.     

Impacts of urbanization: diversity and the symbiotic relationships of rural,urban, and spaces in-between

This Impacts article proposes strategies for mitigating negative impacts of urbanization in rural locations in the United States. Issues addressed include impacts of population growth and development, loss of agricultural lands, and impacts of climate change on agriculture and rural communities. Conclusions are supported by stakeholder survey data, geographic information systems-based data, and desktop reviews of research journal publications. We propose a sustainable, diversified approach that supports mitigation of issues, including increasing demand on food production and decline of rural communities. A key issue that we address is where we will find suitable landscapes to reduce enough food for 9.6 billion people living in 2050.

Urban and rural development planners are grappling with solutions to escalating impacts global populations, stresses on food production, and effects of climate change. Solutions are identified, including strengthening rural and urban contexts by establishing connected and interdependent links that support diversification of rural and urban contexts as viable solutions to these issues.

Diversified rural-to-urban sustainable agriculture production is a promising approach to addressing climate change impacts. Organic agriculture principles exhibit strong diversity and are accredited by United States Department of Agriculture as the only federally certified sustainable agriculture practice in the United States. Sustainable agriculture practices are evolving into profitable diversified alternative food sources. We offer substantiated alternative solutions for remediating impacts of urbanization on rural agriculture and communities. Collectively, these solutions can strengthen symbiotic relationships between sustainable agriculture and rural communities, addressing our growing population issues and preserving our dwindling farmlands and rural communities.     

Evaluation of mutagenicity associated with Escherichia coli inactivation in UV-treated orange juice

UV radiation is an alternative technology for the elimination of pathogenic micro-organisms in liquid food. The objectives of this work were to investigate mutagenesis using the Ames test in : (1) fresh squeezed orange juice submitted to UV radiation doses required to achieve 5 and 10 log₁₀ reductions of different strains of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 at two temperatures, and (2) commercial pasteurized orange juice submitted to thermal treatment.

Two histidine-auxotrophic strains, Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and TA97a, were used in the Ames test with and without metabolic activation.

In commercial pasteurized orange juices, mutagenesis was not observed with S. Typhimurium TA98 strain with and without metabolic activation, but high mutagenic effect was observed using TA97a with metabolic activation.

UV radiation did not affect the stability of ascorbic acid in aqueous solution. However, degradation of ascorbic acid was observed when UV treatment was performed on squeezed orange juice, following first order kinetics.

UV treatment required to achieve 5 log₁₀ reductions (1.5 J/cm²) did not show a mutagenic effect with and without metabolic activation using the tested strains, but a higher UV radiation dose necessary to produce 10 log₁₀ reductions (3.0 J/cm²) showed mutagenicity with metabolic activation.     

DNA damage in workers exposed to formaldehyde at concentrations below occupational exposure limits

Formaldehyde has been classified in group 1 as a potential source of human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In this study, we evaluated the DNA damage in workers who were occupationally exposed to formaldehyde during the manufacture of melamine dinnerware.

Age, sex, smoking habits, and socioeconomic status were matched by the controls (n = 34) of workers not occupationally exposed to formaldehyde. The median value of formaldehyde time weighted average exposure in three workshops was 0.086 mg/m³. No significant difference was observed between sex and smoking habit in the assessed workers. Alkaline comet assay of peripheral blood lymphocytes was used to determine the DNA damage in the subjects. Olive moment was significantly higher in the exposed group compared with the control group.

Overall, the results suggest that respiratory exposure to low concentrations of formaldehyde causes DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocyte. Therefore, exposure to formaldehyde should be reduced to the lowest possible level.     

Fine atmospheric particles emitted by industrial,traffic and urban sources in France: characterization and genotoxicity

Health risks associated with inhalation of fine particulate matter of 2.5 µm in diameter or smaller depend on their atmospheric levels and physicochemical properties. The relationships between chemical compositions and genotoxic activities of particles emitted by mineral industries, traffic and urban sources during summer and winter in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France) were investigated.

The fine particles were separated in respect to water-soluble (13 minerals and metals) and organic-extractable (16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) components that were quantified. The chromosome damaging properties of the hydrophilic and lipophilic extracts were assessed using the centromeric micronucleus assay on a human lung fibroblast cell line.

The composition of the fine particulate matter was variable and depended upon the sources and seasons. Both the hydrophilic and lipophilic extracts induced chromosome damage: (1) in hydrophilic extracts, Ca and Zn affected chromosome losses induction; (2) acenapthylene affected chromosome damage (breakages and losses) induction and naphthalene affected chromosome damage and losses induction in lipophilic extracts without metabolic activation; and (3) benzo[a]pyrene affected chromosome losses induction in lipophilic extracts with metabolic activation. Fine particulate matter arising from coal-fired power station, road traffic, and other urban sources were the most efficient to induce chromosome breakage.     

Community participation in the management of forest reserves in the Northern Region of Ghana

The 1994 forest and wildlife policy of Ghana provides the basis for community participation in forest management through participatory forest management. Even though forest reserves in the Northern Region are said to be managed collaboratively, fringe communities are supposedly involved only in maintenance activities of the reserve boundaries and seedling planting in plantation programmes. The forest reserves are said to be threatened by illegal activities from the fringe communities. This study therefore examined the nature of community participation in the management of forest reserves.

It is a mixed method research in which structured interview schedule, in-depth interview and focus group discussion guides were used for data collection. Respondents comprised community members, forestry staff and NGOs. Communities’ participation was found to be passive and tokenistic and limited to boundary cleaning and providing labour on plantations. There is no formal collaboration between communities and Forest Services Division. Prospects to communities’ participation lie in the continuous flow of benefits and their active involvement in management decisions. Active involvement of communities in all decision-making processes, capacity building of communities and forestry staff, incentive schemes and awareness creation are recommended for promoting community participation in managing forest reserves in Northern Region.     

From the attitude-behaviour-gap to a producer-people-gap?

The so-called attitude-behaviour-gap of ecology might have changed to a ?producer-people-gap”. In summer 2017 in Germany, the intention of private house-builders to buy an exterior insulation system based on renewable materials was measured as positive, with a mean of 5.2 on a 1–7 Likert scale. But the intentions of professionals were clearly below, e.g. craftsmen, with an average of 3.6 on the same scale – although both groups, the privates and the professionals, judged that there is a clear trend towards such products.

Because of these findings, an additional investigation of management by producers was conducted in autumn and winter 2017/2018, in which a very critical atmosphere towards renewable materials was found. It was analyzed that the managements` attitudes might not be a basic refusal of renewable material in general, but rather a fear of costs of research and development of new products.

A concept was tested, to see if it would be possible to cause an attitude change within the professional key target groups just by applying marketing instruments. Five articles in key media of this market have been published between February and May 2018. In the following evaluation (n = 150) in May 2018 significant effects of the communication have been measured: The intention of decision-makers in craftsmen`s businesses to buy an exterior insulation system based on renewable material rose significantly (0.01 Lv.) from a mean of 3.6 in 2017 to 4.4 in 2018.     

Quantitative SWOT analysis for prioritizing ecotourism-planning decisions in protected areas: Igneada case

As environmental problems and pressures on natural resources escalate, awareness building and efforts to protect natural areas have also became a major goal to ensure sustainability. Ecotourism is one of the major activities to protect natural and cultural resources, while also providing economic benefits to both local people and government. Successful ecotourism planning is a function of establishing sound goals and criteria. In this paper, we have presented the example of Igneada, Turkey, as a case to elaborate this point. Igneada a coastal town, located on the north-west Black Sea region of Turkey, was declared a national park in 2007. The park is well known for its longos forests (flooded), lagoons, endemic and endangered species, and wildlife. However, currently, unsustainable economic activities, overgrazing, and urbanization cause threats to its sensitive ecosystems. Promoting ecotourism is a sustainable approach to balance economic, social, and environmental aspects in the development of Igneada.

The aim of this study is to define a set of ecotourism criteria and propose an ecotourism vision for Igneada. The methodology in this research involves field observations and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis with an Analytical Hierarchy Process. A survey study is conducted with both local people and experts to define a framework to generate a priority ranking for ecotourism-planning decision. The research generated 5 main criteria and 14 subcriteria, among which ‘Proposal of Igneada in Turkey’s 2023 Tourism Strategy Plan’ was the highest ranked opportunity for ecotourism planning and development in the town.     

Ecotoxicity in Aliivibrio fischeri of Ibuprofen,Omeprazole and their Mixtures

The acute ecotoxic effects of ibuprofen and omeprazole and their mixture have been measured using Aliivibrio fischeri as a biomodel. The toxic effects were also tested after 5 days, and an effect-driven approach was used to analyse the results. The toxic effects of the mixtures were compared with the predictions obtained using concentration addition and independent action mathematical methods.

According to the Passino and Smith classification, the results indicate that ibuprofen can be considered slightly toxic (10<EC₅₀ <100?mg?L^-1), while omeprazole can be denoted as moderately toxic (1<EC₅₀ <10?mg?L^-1) to Aliivibrio fischeri. An overestimation of the actual ecotoxic effect of the mixture was found when the concentration addition and independent action methods were applied. Finally, the effect-driven approach indicated that the transformation products of the studied drugs should be prioritized for risk assessment purposes.     

Nitrogen recovery from wastewater using microbial fuel cells

Nitrogen is one of major contaminants in wastewater; however, nitrogen, as bio-elements for crop growth, is the indispensable fertilizer in agriculture. In this study, two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were first operated with microorganisms in anode chamber and potassium ferricyanide as catholyte. After being successfully startup, the two-chamber MFCs were re-constructed to three-chamber MFCs which were used to recover the NO3−−N and NH4+−N of synthetic wastewater into value-added nitrogenous fertilizer from cathode chamber and anode chamber, respectively. Ferric nitrate was used as the sole electron acceptor in cathode, which also was used to evaluate the NO3−−N recover efficiency in the case major anion of NO3− in cathode. The output voltage of these MFCs was about 600–700 mV at an external load of 500 Ω. About 47% NH4+−N in anode chamber and 83% NO3−−N in cathode chamber could be recovered. Higher current density can selectively improve the recovery efficiency of both NH4+−N and NO3−−N. The study demonstrated a nitrogen recovery process from synthetic wastewater using three-chamber MFCs.     

Anoxic phosphorus removal in a pilot scale anaerobic-anoxic oxidation ditch process

The anaerobic-anoxic oxidation ditch (A²/O OD) process is popularly used to eliminate nutrients from domestic wastewater. In order to identify the existence of denitrifying phosphorus removing bacteria (DPB), evaluate the contribution of DPB to biological nutrient removal, and enhance the denitrifying phosphorus removal in the A²/O OD process, a pilot-scale A²/O OD plant (375 L) was conducted. At the same time batch tests using sequence batch reactors (12 L and 4 L) were operated to reveal the significance of anoxic phosphorus removal. The results indicated that: The average removal efficiency of COD, NH4+, PO43-, and TN were 88.2%, 92.6%, 87.8%, and 73.1%, respectively, when the steady state of the pilot-scale A²/O OD plant was reached during 31-73 d, demonstrating a good denitrifying phosphorus removal performance. Phosphorus uptake took place in the anoxic zone by poly-phosphorus accumulating organisms NO2- could be used as electron receptors in denitrifying phosphorus removal, and the phosphorus uptake rate with NO2- as the electron receptor was higher than that with NO3- when the initial concentration of either NO2- or NO3- was 40 mg/L.     

Improvement of nitrification efficiency by bioaugmentation in sequencing batch reactors at low temperature

Bioaugmentation is an effective method of treating municipal wastewater with high ammonia concentration in sequencing batch reactors （SBRs） at low temperature （10℃）. The cold-adapted ammonia- and nitrite- oxidizing bacteria were enriched and inoculated, respectively, in the bioaugmentation systems. In synthetic wastewater treatment systems, the average NH4＋-N removal efficiency in the bioaugmented system （85%） was much higher than that in the unbioaugmented system. The effluent NH4＋ -N concentration of the bioaugmented system was stably below 8 mg. L1 after 20 d operation. In municipal wastewater systems with bioaugmentation, the effluent NH4＋- -N concentration was below 8 mg·L^-1 after 15 d operation. The average NH4＋ -N removal efficiency in unbioaugmentation system （about 82%） was lower compared with that in the bioaugmentation system. By inoculating the cold-adapted nitrite-oxidizing bacteria （NOB） into the SBRs after 10 d operation, the nitrite concentration decreased rapidly, reducing the NO2 -N accumulation effectively at low temperature. The func- tional microorganisms were identified by PCR-DGGE, including uncultured Dechloromonas sp., uncultured Nitrospira sp., Clostridium sp. and uncultured Thauera sp. The results suggested that the cold-adapted microbial agent of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） and NOB could accelerate the start-up and promote achieving the stable operation of the low-temperature SBRs for nitrification.     

Combined biologic aerated filter and sulfur/ceramisite autotrophic denitrification for advanced wastewater nitrogen removal at low temperatures

An innovative advanced wastewater treatment process combining biologic aerated filter （BAF） and sulfur/ ceramisite-based autotrophic denitrification （SCAD） for reliable removal of nitrogen was proposed in this paper. In SCAD reactor, ceramisite was used as filter and Ca （HCO3）2 was used for supplying alkalinity and carbon source. The BAF-SCAD was used to treat the secondary treatment effluent. The performance of this process was investigated, and the impact of temperature on nitrogen removal was studied. Results showed that the combined system was effective in nitrogen removal even at low temperatures （8℃）. Removal of total nitrogen （TN）, NH4＋ -N, NO3-N reached above 90% at room temperature. Nitrification was affected by the temperature and nitrification at low temperature （8℃） was a limiting factor for TN removal. However, denitrification was not impacted by the temperature and the removal of NO3 -N maintained 98% during the experimental period. The reason of effective denitrification at low temperature might be the use of easily dissolved Ca（HCO3）2 and high-flux ceramisite, which solved the problem of low mass transfer efficiency at low temperatures. Besides, vast surface area of sulfur with diameter of 2-6 mm enhanced the rate of microbial utilization. The removal of nitrate companied with the production of SO42-, and the average concentration of SO27 was about 240mg.L^-1. These findings would be beneficial for the application of this process to nitrogen removal especially in the winter and cold regions.     

Oxidative treatment of aqueous monochlorobenzene with thermally-activated persulfate

The oxidation of aqueous monochlorobenzene （MCB） solutions using thermally- activated persulfate has been investigated. The influence of reaction temperature on the kinetics of MCB oxidation was examined, and the Arrenhius Equation rate constants at 20℃, 30℃, 40℃, 50℃, and 60℃ for MCB oxidation performance were calculated as 0, 0.001, 0.002, 0.015, 0.057 min-1, which indicates that elevated temperature accelerated the rate. The most efficient molar ratio ofpersulfate/MCB for MCB oxidation was determined to be 200 to 1 and an increase in the rate constants suggests that the oxidation process proceeded more rapidly with increasing persulfate/MCB molar ratios. In addition, the reactivity of persulfate in contaminated water is partly influenced by the presence of background ions such as CI-, HCO3, SO2 , and NO3. Importantly, a scavenging effect in rate constant was observed for both C1 and CO2- but not for other ions. The effective thermally activated persulfate oxidation of MCB in groundwater from a real contaminated site was achieved using both elevated reaction temperature and increased persulfate/MCB molar ratio.     

Long-term trends of fine particulate matter and chemical composition in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone (PRDEZ), China

Understanding the trends in PM_2.5 levels is essential for formulating clean air plans. This paper analyzes PM_2.5 data from various published sources for the years 2000 to 2010 in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone (PRDEZ). The long-term variation in PM_2.5 mass concentration is analyzed. Results show that PM_2.5, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and SO42− show a similar trend, increasing before 2005 and then decreasing slightly. The annual average PM_2.5 concentration ranges from 49.1 μg·m⁻³ in 2000 to 64.3 μg·m⁻³ in 2010, with a peak of 84.1 μg·m⁻³ in 2004. None of these 11 years meets the new National Ambient Air Quality standard (NAAQS) for PM_2.5 (35 μg·m⁻³). Overall average concentrations of OC, EC, and SO42− are 13.0, 6.5, and 11.8 μg·m⁻³, respectively. NO3− and NH4+ respectively have concentrations of 1.5 μg·m⁻³ and 2.9 μg·m⁻³ in 2000 and 6.4 μg·m⁻³ and 5.3 μg·m⁻³ in 2010, with a statistically significant average annual trend of+ 0.2 μg·m⁻³·yr⁻¹ and+ 0.1 μg·m⁻³·yr⁻¹. In certain geographic regions, OC and EC contribute most of the PM_2.5, while in other regions secondary water-soluble ions are more important. In general, OC and SO42− are the dominant components of PM_2.5, contributing 20.6% and 18.6%, respectively. These results provide, for the first time, a better understanding of the long-term PM_2.5 characteristics and trends, on a species-by-species basis, in the PRDEZ. The results indicate that PM_2.5 abatement needs to prioritize secondary species.     

Biomass and carbon budgeting of sustainable agroforestry systems as ecosystem service in Indian Himalayas

Adoption of agroforestry is paramount as a climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy. The assessment of plant biomass is crucial for understanding the vulnerability of biological systems to climate change. In the present study, agroforestry systems viz., agrisilviculture (AS), agrihorticulture (AH), agrihortisilviculture (AHS) and agrisilvihorticulture (ASH) were investigated for biomass production and carbon stock in vegetation as well as in soil in the Indian central Himalaya along the elevation i.e. E₁ (<1100 m), E₂ (1100–1400 m), E₃ (1400–1700 m), E₄ (1700–2000 m) and E₅ (>2000 m). Mean aboveground and belowground biomass were 73.9% and 26.1%, respectively, of total biomass (64.4 t ha^?1) in agroforestry systems. Fodder and/or timber trees accounted for 31% (in AHS) to 74% (in AS) of total biomass, while fruit trees accounted for 18% (in ASH) to 73% (in AH) of total biomass. The contribution of agriculture crops to total biomass fluctuated between 19% (in ASH) and 26% (in AH). Total vegetation biomass, soil carbon and total carbon density in agroforestry systems increased significantly along the elevation, with maximum biomass at elevation E₅ (32.0 t ha^?1, 64.7 t C ha^?1 and 96.7 t C ha^?1). Total biomass of vegetation among agroforestry systems differed significantly. Soil carbon stock was highest in AHS (59.5 t C ha^?1) and total carbon density (vegetation + soil) was highest in ASH (93.0 t C ha^?1). Thus, in Indian Himalayas, vegetation biomass, carbon stock, soil and total carbon (vegetation + soil) stock increased along the elevation.

Abbrviations: AG: aboveground; BG: belowground; WD: wood density; VOB: volume over bark; BEF: biomass expansion factor; AS: agrisilviculture; AH: agrihorticulture; ASH: agrisilvihorticulture; AHS: agrihortisilviculture; E: elevation; C: carbon; CO₂: carbon-di-oxide; IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; DBH: diameter at breast height; AGBD: aboveground biomass density; BGBD: belowground biomass density; GSVD: growing stock volume density     

Microprofiles of activated sludge aggregates using microelectrodes in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) reactor

Microsensor measurements and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis were combined to investigate the microbial populations and activities in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON). Fed with synthetic wastewater rich in ammonia, the SBR removed 82.5±5.4% of influent nitrogen and a maximum nitrogen-removal rate of 0.52 kgN·m⁻³·d⁻¹ was achieved. The FISH analysis revealed that aerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB) Nitrosomonas and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) dominated the community. To quantify the microbial activities inside the sludge aggregates, microprofiles were measured using pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), NH4+, NO2− and NO3− microelectrodes. In the outer layer of sludge aggregates (0–700 μm), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) showed high activity with 4.1 μmol·cm⁻³·h⁻¹ of maximum nitrate production rate under the condition of DO concentration higher than 3.3 mg·L⁻¹. Maximum AerAOB activity was detected in the middle layer (depths around 1700 μm) where DO concentration was 1.1 mg·L⁻¹. In the inner layer (2200–3500 μm), where DO concentration was below 0.9 mg·L⁻¹, AnAOB activity was detected. We thus showed that information obtained from microscopic views can be helpful in optimizing the SBR performance.     

Effect of Fe loading quantity on reduction reactivity of nano zero-valent iron supported on chelating resin

In this study, nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) were immobilized within a chelating resin (DOW 3N). To investigate the effect of Fe loading on NZVI reactivity, three NZVI-resin composites with different Fe loading were obtained by preparing Fe(III) solution in 0, 30 and 70% (v/v) ethanol aqueous, respectively; the bromate was used as a model contaminant. TEM reveals that increasing the Fe loading resulted in much larger size and poor dispersion of nanoscale iron particles. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of bromate and the rate constant (K_obs) were decreased with increasing the Fe loading. For the NZVI-resin composite with lower Fe loading, the removal efficiency of bromate declined more significantly with the increase of DO concentrations. Under acidic conditions, decreasing the pH value had the most significant influence on NZVI-R3 with highest Fe loading for bromate removal; however, under alkaline conditions, the most significant influence of pH was on NZVI-R1 with lowest Fe loading. The effects of co-existing anions NO3−, PO43− and HCO3− were also investigated. All of the co-existing anions showed the inhibition to bromate reduction.