Effects of clearfelling on stream and soil water aluminium chemistry in three UK forests

Data are presented demonstrating how clearfelling has changed soil and stream water aluminium chemistry. For soil waters, a strong empirical relationship was observed between inorganic aluminium (Al(inorg)) and total inorganic anion (TIA) concentrations. Before felling, chloride and sulphate accounted for the largest proportion of the TIA concentration. After felling, in soils where nitrification was active, nitrate became increasingly important. Where this led to an increase in TIA, Al(inorg) concentrations increased. Over five years, nitrate concentrations have fallen, along with TIA, resulting in a sympathetic decline in Al(inorg). Streams draining clearfelled areas initially became more acid, although chloride and sulphate concentrations decreased. Stream water nitrate concentrations increased soon after felling and remained higher than controls for up to four years. While nitrate concentrations were high, Al(inorg) remained unchanged. Subsequently, as nitrate and TIA decreased, Al(inorg) also declined to concentrations below those in the control stream. Clearfelling upland forests will not necessarily result in immediate improvements in water quality, although long-term benefits may be seen before canopy-closure of the next crop.     

Seasonal trend of fog water chemical composition in the Po Valley

Fog frequency in the Po Valley, Northern Italy, can be as high as 30% of the time in the fall-winter season. High pollutant concentrations have been measured in fog water samples collected in this area over the past few years. The combined effects of high fog occurrence and high pollutant loading of the fog droplets can determine, in this area, appreciable chemical deposition rates. An automated station for fog water collection was developed, and deployed at the field station of S. Pietro Capofiume, in the eastern part of the Po Valley for an extended period: from the beginning of November 1989 to the end of April 1990. Time-resolved sampling of fog droplets was carried out during all fog events occurring in this period, and chemical analyses were performed on the collected samples. Statistical information on fog occurrence and fog water chemical composition is reported in this paper, and a tentative seasonal deposition budget is calculated for H+, NH4+, NO3- and SO4(2-) ions. The problems connected with fog droplet sampling in sub-freezing conditions are also addressed in the paper.     

Cadmium availability to the cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis in solutions containing chloride

Availability of cadmium to Synechocystis aquatilis (estimated by 109Cd sorption and cadmium toxicity-14C method) in solutions containing cadmium and complexing (KCl) or non-complexing (KNO3) salts, in the range of 0-0.5 m was investigated. Both cadmium surface adsorption and transport into the cells were lower in solutions containing cadmium chloride complexes (CdCl+, CdCl2, CdCl3-) than in those containing cadmium in the form of Cd2+. Also, cadmium toxicity in solutions of higher KCl concentrations, in which CdCl+ and CdCl2 forms predominated, was significantly limited.     

Responses of microbial populations in the rhizosphere to deposition of simulated acidic rain onto foliage and/or soil

Air pollutants or some chemicals applied to plant foliage can alter the ecology of the rhizosphere. Experiments were conducted to distinguish among possible foliage-mediated versus soil- or root-mediated effects of acid deposition on microorganism in the rhizosphere. Seedlings of a sorghum x sudangrass hybrid in pots of non-sterile soil-sand mix in a greenhouse were exposed to simulated rain solution adjusted with H2SO4 + HNO3 to pH 4.9, 4.2, 3.5 or 2.8. Solutions were applied as simulated rain to foliage and soil, foliage only (soil covered by plastic, and deionized water applied directly to the soil), or soil only (solution applied directly to the soil). Solutions were applied on 16 days during a 6-week period (1.5 cm deposition in 1 h per application). Plant shoot and root dry weights and population densities of selected types of bacteria, filamentous actinomycetes and fungi in the rhizosphere were quantified after exposures were completed. Deposition of simulated acidic rain onto foliage alone had no effect on plant biomass or microbial population densities in the rhizosphere (colony-forming units per gram of rhizosphere soil). However, plant growth was stimulated and all microbial populations in the rhizosphere increased 3- to 8-fold with increased solution acidity (relative to pH 4.9 solution) when solution penetrated the soil. Statistical analyses indicated that the acid dose-population response relationships for soil-only and foliage-and-soil applications were not different. Thus, no foliage-mediated effect of simulated acidic rain on rhizosphere ecology was detected.     

Training refugees as primary health care workers: Past imperfect, future conditional

Many problems have been encountered in the planning and implementation of health care in refugee camps, and more specifically in the training of refugees as primary health care workers. A review of the published literature and a "survey" of the opinions and experiences of refugee, national and international health personnel regarding training has therefore been undertaken to provide an overview of what has been done and to make recommendations for future work.
The review highlights the need to reallocate resources away from high visibility emergency aid to development activities, such as training, that will create an infrastructure for primary health care and promote self-reliance.     

Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the problems that the world has been facing for the last few decades despite political attention....     

Ecosystem engineering by leaf-rolling mites enhances arthropod diversity

Bombardier beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Brachininae) possess a remarkable defense mechanism where a hot chemical spray is released from the tip of their abdomen, with an audible explosive sound. To date, the repellent properties of these chemicals have been tested against a limited number of taxa, such as amphibians and insects. To investigate the impact of bombardier beetle defenses on avian predators, feeding trials were conducted using the bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus jessoensis) and the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), a sympatric and generalist predator. All naïve, hand-reared quail attacked live beetles, indicating the absence of an innate aversion to them. However, most of the quail rejected consuming the beetles whether or not the beetles sprayed them with chemicals. Naïve quail also rejected dead P. jessoensis individuals. These results support the recent hypothesis that it is not essential for P. jessoensis to spray noxious chemicals to deter predators. We also found that some of the quail exposed to live P. jessoensis remembered to avoid them for up to 5 weeks. Our results provide the first evidence of the repelling effects of bombardier beetle defense mechanisms on avian predators.