Challenges for modelling and integrating environmental performances in concept design: the case of an automotive component lightweighting

The objective of this paper is to discuss the main barriers for modelling and integrating the environmental performances in the automotive concept design. Incorporating environmental assessment in the early design phase of a vehicle component is known as an important challenge that car makers need to face in order to develop more sustainable design solutions; in this regard, the Life Cycle Assessment is the most widespread methodology for the environmental assessment and comparison of alternatives. The present work illustrates the combination of such methodology with the traditional design procedure at two different levels of the component design phase, material choice and concept design. In particular, the potential benefits originated by a lightweight solution for the automotive component Throttle Body are evaluated by considering environmental and technical implications at the same level. The case study shows that a multi-disciplinary approach for design effectively allows the integration of the environmental issue in the company’s established procedures. However, interpretation of results is still a challenging aspect due to the inevitable contradicting elements which should not discourage to develop comprehensive sustainability assessment within the early design stage.     

Pastoralists in a changing environment: The competition for grazing land in and around the W Biosphere Reserve,Benin Republic

Pastoralists face increasing competition for land with crop farmers and nature in and around the W Biosphere Reserve (WBR) in Benin. Our aim was to describe and analyse land use changes in order to understand their drivers, and to describe and analyse the viewpoints of relevant stakeholders in order to understand the competition for land. To this end, remote sensing data, regional statistics, and survey data were collected. We found that crop land expansion around the WBR was the direct driver of decrease of the grazing land area. Population growth and rising demand for food crops, and government support to the cotton sector were indirect drivers of grazing land reduction. Furthermore, competing claims on land among users arose from the complex interaction of crop expansion, presence of WBR and the way it is governed, the lack of support to pastoralists, and the increasing shift of pastoralists’ lifestyle into one of settled crop farmers. Pastoralism is under threat and its survival depends on the successful implementation of policies to support pastoralists and protect grazing lands.     

The Response of Hydrophytes to Environmental Pollution with Heavy Metals

The effects of Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Ni²⁺ at low and high concentrations (0.025 and 0.25 mg/ml) on the accumulation capacity, the state of the pigment complex, and photosynthesis rate have been studied in model experiments with three floating hydrophytes (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L., Lemna gibba L., and Potamogeton natans L.) and four submerged hydrophytes (Elodea canadensis Michx., Lemna trisulka L., Ceratophyllum demersum L., and Potamogeton lucens L.). Copper and cadmium are especially toxic at the concentrations studied. The effect of Cu²⁺ was the strongest in hydatophytes, and the effect of Cd²⁺, in pleustophytes. It is hypothesized that the differences between hydrophytes with respect to accumulation of metals and decrease in photosynthesis rate may cause predominant elimination of submerged species. Therefore, changes in the species structure of hydrophyte communities may be expected in waters polluted with metals.     

Introduced and cryptogenic species in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia

Port Phillip Bay (PPB) is a large (1,930 km²), temperate embayment in southern Victoria, Australia. Extensive bay-wide surveys of PPB have occurred since 1840. In 1995/1996 the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) undertook an intensive evaluation of the region with the aims of developing a comprehensive species list of native and introduced biota and contrasting previous bay-wide assessments with a current field survey in order to detect new incursions and discern alterations to native communities. Two methods were used to meet these aims: a re-evaluation of regional museum collections and published research in PPB to identify and determine the timing of introductions; and field surveys for benthic (infauna, epifauna and encrusting) organisms between September 1995 to March 1996. One hundred and sixty introduced (99) and cryptogenic (61) species were identified representing over 13% of the recorded species of PPB. As expected, the majority of these are concentrated around the shipping ports of Geelong and Melbourne. Invasions within PPB appear to be increasing, possibly due to an increase in modern shipping traffic and an increase in aquaculture (historically associated with incidental introductions); however the records of extensive biological surveys suggest that this may, in part, be an artefact of sampling effort. In contrast to Northern Hemisphere studies, PPB (and Southern Hemisphere introductions in general) have significantly different suites of successfully invading taxa. PPB is presented as one of the most invaded marine ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere.Communicated by M.S. Johnson, Crawley     

Toxicity of uranium mine receiving waters to early life stage fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) in the laboratory.

Elevated concentrations of arsenic, nickel, and molybdenum in aquatic systems around northern Saskatchewan uranium mines are an environmental concern. Early life stage fathead minnows were used to assess toxicity from several aquatic systems near the Key Lake and Rabbit Lake uranium operations. Hatching success of fish embryos exposed to waters receiving contaminants associated with uranium ore milling was reduced by 32-61% relative to controls. Mortality differed in two lakes receiving mill effluents because of opposing factors influencing metal toxicity (i.e. low pH and high hardness). In one mill receiving water (Fox Lake), larval mortality was 0%, whereas mortality was 85% in water collected from a downstream location (Unknown Lake). Fish embryos exposed to open-pit dewatering effluent receiving waters, or water from a flooded open pit (i.e. pit waters), hatched 26-39% earlier than those exposed to reference or control water. The combination of low water hardness and elevated nickel concentrations in pit waters contributed to the early hatching. Egg hatchability and hatching time were more sensitive indicators of toxicity than 'standard' endpoints, like larval mortality and growth. Current regulatory emphasis on single contaminants and standard toxicological endpoints should be re-evaluated in light of the complex interaction among confounding variables such as pH, hardness. conductivity, and multi-metal mixtures.     

Transition zone in otoliths of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) and its relationship to the onset of maturity

A transition zone in the otoliths of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) is described where annulus width decreases markedly. For fish sampled at spawning time, the relationship between gonad stage and the presence or absence of a transition zone is consistent with the hypothesis that this zone marks the onset of maturity, if allowance is made for some error in gonad staging and identification of the zone. Another data set from a non-spawning area after the spawning season is not consistent with the hypothesis. However, these latter data are considered less reliable because of the small size of the fish in the sample and difficulties in determining, outside the spawning season, whether a fish has been reproductively active. This hypothesis was used to provide estimates of the median age (30 yr) and length (31 cm) at the onset of maturity for the Chatham Rise, New Zealand population. These estimates are unaffected by the biases associated with the usual ogive method of estimation. Received: 27 June 1997 / Accepted: 1 July 1997     

Ecological and physiological differences between two colour morphs of the coral Pocillopora damicornis

Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) is a ubiquitous branching coral found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Like many other species of coral, P. damicornis displays a large range of morphologies. At One Tree Island, it occurs as two distinct morphs that are easily distinguished by the presence or absence of pink pigmentation. The two colour morphs of P. damicornis were found to differ in their distribution and abundance in the One Tree Island Lagoon. The brown morph was more abudant than the pink morph in the shallows (<1 m),whereas the pink morph was more abundant at deeper sites (>3 m). The two morphs also differed physiologically. The brown morph tended to have a greater calcification rate than the pink morph, regardless of environmental conditions. However, the difference in the calcification rate between the two morphs became non-significant under shaded conditions (5% full sunlight), indicating some degree of physiological plasticity of the morphs. The pink colour in P. damicornis was due to a hydrophilic pigment with a major peak absorbance at 560 nm. The expression of pink pigment had both genetic and phenotypic components. The brown morph has a reduced genetic capacity to express the pigment relative to the pink morph. On the other hand, pigment expression could be induced by light in the pink morph. Although genetic differences ultimately determine the differences between the two morphs of P. damicornis, the extent of pigment expression is under some degree of environmental influence.     

The Spatiotemporal Pattern of Fires in Northern Taiga Larch Forests of Central Siberia

The periodicity of fires in larch forests of Evenkia and their relationship with landscape elements have been studied. Cross-sections with “burns” in them caused by past fires have been analyzed in 72 test plots; the fire chronology encompassed the period from the 15th to the 20th century. The between-fire intervals (BFIs) have been calculated by two methods: (I) on the basis of burns alone and (II) on the basis of burns and the start of growth of the new generation of larch after the earliest fire. The BFI depends on local orographic features; it is 86 ± 11 (105 ± 12), 61 ± 8 (73 ± 8), 139 ± 17 (138 ± 18), and 68 ± 14 (70 ± 13) years for northeastern slopes, southwestern slopes, bogs, and flatlands, respectively. The mean BFIs calculated by methods I and II are 82 ± 7 and 95 ± 7 years, respectively. The permafrost horizon rises at a mean rate of 0.3 cm per year after a forest fire. It has been shown that the number of fires regularly peaks at periods of 36 and 82 years. There is also a temporal trend in fire frequency: the mean BFI was approximately 100 years in the 19th century and 65 years in the 20th century.