Establishing a sustainable mining operation: an overview

In a review of the literature on sustainability in mining, it was found that there is limited guidance for mine operators to put sustainability frameworks and theory into action on the ground. This paper argues that operators can improve the sustainability of their mine sites by ensuring that leading practices are implemented in five areas. In addition to the widely-accepted dimensions of Environment, Economic and Community, Safety and Resource Efficiency must be addressed. The need for highlighting these additional elements is demonstrated in an analysis of over one thousand unplanned or prematurely closed mines over the past 30 years.     

Empirical realised niche models for British coastal plant species

Coastal environments host plant taxa adapted to a wide range of salinity conditions. Salinity, along with other abiotic variables, constrains the distribution of coastal plants in predictable ways, with relatively few taxa adapted to the most saline conditions. However, few attempts have been made to quantify these relationships to create niche models for coastal plants. Quantification of the effects of salinity, and other abiotic variables, on coastal plants is essential to predict the responses of coastal ecosystems to external drivers such as sea level rise. We constructed niche models for 132 coastal plant taxa in Great Britain based on eight abiotic variables. Paired measurements of vegetation composition and abiotic variables are rare in coastal habitats so four of the variables were defined using community mean values for Ellenberg indicators, i.e. scores assigned according to the typical alkalinity, fertility, moisture availability and salinity of sites where a species occurs. The remaining variables were the canopy height, annual precipitation, and maximum and minimum temperatures. Salinity and moisture indicator scores were significant terms in over 80 % of models, suggesting the distributions of most coastal species are at least partly determined by these variables. When the models were used to predict species occurrence against an independent dataset 64 % of models gave moderate to good predictions of species occurrence. This indicates that most models had successfully captured the key determinants of the niche. The models could potentially be applied to predict changes to habitats and species-dependent ecosystem services in response to rising sea levels.     

Diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) models Cd and Pb uptake by plants growing on soils amended with sewage sludge and urban compost

Food contamination by Cd and Pb is of increasing concern because contaminated composts and sewage sludges are used as soil fertilizers. Indeed, Cd and Pb from sewage sludge and compost can be transferred to plants and, in turn, to food. Predicting the quantity of metals transferred to plants is difficult and actual models are unable to give accurate concentrations. Therefore, new techniques are needed. For instance, diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) is commonly used to measure metal bioavailability in waters, sediments and soils, but DGT has not been well studied for metal uptake in plants. Moreover, actual models for soil–plant transfer are too complex and require many soil parameters. Here, we simplified the modelization of metal uptake by plants by considering only DGT fluxes and roots surfaces. We grew durum wheat in a greenhouse on sandy soils amended with urban compost or sewage sludge. Results show that Cd uptake was slightly underestimated when whole roots were considered as an absorbing surface. For Pb, the best estimation was found by using root tip surface. Overall, our model ranks correctly the samples but underestimates Pb uptake by 15 % and Cd uptake by 45 %. It is nonetheless a simpler way of modelling by using only DGT fluxes and root system morphology.     

Hypomandibular faciocranial dysostosis in consanguineous parents revealed by ultrasound prenatal diagnosis

We report here the fourth case of hypomandibular faciocranial dysostosis (HFD). The diagnosis was made at birth on the association of severe retrognathia, microstomia, severe hypoglossia with glossoptosis, persistent buccopharyngeal membrane, median cleft palate, bifid uvula, down-slanting palpebral fissures, short nose with anteverted nares, laryngeal hypoplasia, and low-set ears. A severe microstomia and micrognathia were detected by ultrasound at 31 weeks of gestation. Interestingly, even though the present case exhibits many facial dysmorphic features characteristic of HFD, craniosynostosis was absent. This report suggests that craniosynostosis is not mandatory for the diagnosis of this condition. Furthermore, we present a new argument for an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance for HFD. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ozone and natural systems: understanding exposure,response, and risk

Research aimed at understanding the response of plants to ozone has been conducted for over four decades but little of it has addressed intact natural systems. Even so, there is sufficient scientific information at this time to support air quality standards that will protect natural terrestrial ecosystems from ozone. What is unknown is the risk associated with continued exposure of natural systems, including both above- and below-ground components, in combination with other stresses including changing temperature and precipitation, elevated carbon dioxide, pests and pathogens, invasive species, and other activities that may fragment the landscape. Research to support an assessment of the ecological risk associated with ozone as it exists, in a milieu of stresses, must include endpoints beyond those addressed in the past, primarily productivity and species composition. To estimate the risk to society of ozone impacts on natural systems, endpoints such as the integrity of soil food webs, the quantity and quality of water supplied from terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife and recreational values, and the transfer and fate of carbon, nutrients, and water within the systems must be quantified. Not only will this research provide the basis for a sound estimate of risk, but also it will improve our understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes.     

The Impact of Climate Change on Mammal Diversity in Canada

Current large-scale mammalian diversity patterns in Canada can be accurately explained using various measurements of heat energy. Unfortunately, climatic change is predicted to alter the fundamental climatic basis for contemporary diversity gradients, with the expected consequence that much of the Canadian biota will need to migrate in order to remain within climatically suitable regions. We make predictions regarding future mammal diversity patterns in Canada, and therefore provide a preliminary indication of where management intervention should be directed in order to conserve mammal diversity as climate changes. We also examine the current distributions of individual mammal species in Canada in order to determine which taxa cannot migrate farther north because of the Arctic Ocean barrier. Of the 25 species that fall into this category, we examine the predicted loss of habitat in one keystone species – Dicrostonyx groenlandicus, the collared lemming – and find that this taxon is likely to lose approximately 60% of its habitat with unpredictable but likely detrimental consequences for the arctic biota. We discuss the implications of our findings briefly.     

Facilitating and inhibiting effects of job control and social support on stress outcomes and role behavior: a contingency model

High levels of job control and social support are often related to effective job performance and coping with work stressors. However, support may have more positive effects on role behavior when job control is low. In addition, despite theoretical expectations, simple demands–control and demands–support interactions are infrequently found to predict health and psychological strain outcomes. The ‘demands–control–support’ model (Johnson and Hall, 1988) of stress coping integrates these ‘stress buffering’ and ‘decision latitude’ models and observes more consistent findings. This model posits that social support buffers the adverse effects of high demand, low control jobs. However, explicit tests of the interaction of these variables suggest that control can have positive or negative effects on strain, depending on the level of social support. In this study, supervisor consideration was positively related to subordinate job performance, extra-role behavior, and in-role prosocial behavior (conscientiousness) among subordinates perceiving low job control. The relationship between consideration and performance and extra-role behavior was negative among high control subordinates. The demands×control×support interaction predicted health symptoms, organizational commitment, supervisor satisfaction, and absence due to illness, but the interaction plots do not support the prevailing perspective that support buffers the effects of ‘high strain’ (i.e. low control, high demand) jobs. Patterns were similar for different demands and different social support loci (i.e. supervisor, co-workers). An alternative theoretical process of the demands–control–support interaction is proffered, and implications for organizational intervention are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology considering the soil:water continuum in the Anthropocene context

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -