Arctic terrestrial biodiversity status and trends: A synopsis of science supporting the CBMP State of Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report

Ambio - This review provides a synopsis of the main findings of individual papers in the special issue Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic. The special issue was developed to...     

Developing a circumpolar programme for the monitoring of Arctic terrestrial biodiversity

The Arctic is undergoing biological and environmental changes, and a coordinated effort to monitor is critical to detect these changes. The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP) of the Arctic Council biodiversity working group, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), has developed pan-Arctic biodiversity monitoring plans that aims to improve the ability to detect and report on long-term changes. Whilst introducing this special issue, this paper also presents the making of the terrestrial monitoring plan and discusses how the plan follows the steps required for an adaptive and ecosystem-based monitoring programme. In this article, we discuss how data on key findings can be used to inform circumpolar and global assessments, including the State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report, which will be the first terrestrial assessment made by the CBMP. Key findings, advice for future monitoring and lessons learned will be used in planning next steps of pan-Arctic coordinated monitoring.     

Effect of ammonoxidation on lignite properties

Oxidised lignite is a potential alternative source of N fertilizers. Ammonoxidation is the reaction of a given substrate with oxygen in aqueous ammonia. Lignite ammonoxidation is used for converting low-rank lignite into slowly nitrogen-releasing artificial humic matter. A lignite sample is compared before and after ammonoxidation in terms of geochemical and petrological properties, as well as the acid–base and physical hydrophobic sorptive behavior. The most obvious change caused by ammonoxidation is the decrease of attrinite, texto-ulminite and textinite in favor mainly of densinite and gelohuminite. In general, the ammonoxidative reactions promote the destruction of the structured humic macerals (texto-ulminite, textinite), and the formation of gels, which resulted in the cementation of the freely fine humic particles (attrinite). The pzc values are 3.4 and 4.3 for oxidised and non-oxidised lignite, respectively. After ammonoxidation the contents of carboxylic and free phenolic groups are found to be lower. The oxidised lignite shows a statistically lower sorptive capacity and affinity than the original sample due to a possible decrease in the hydrophobicity of the lignite.     

From Europe to North America into the world and atmosphere: a short review of global footprints and their impacts and predictions

Humans are now virtually found everywhere in the world. They changed the global nitrogen and phosphate cycles, create light pollution and affect the soundscapes, even in remote wilderness areas. The destruction of the earth and its original habitat is found on land, in the ocean and now, in the atmosphere. Of note are the big impacts from the many small contaminations (e.g., Ott in Sound truth and corporate myths: the legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Dragonfly Sisters Press, Cordova, 2005). The global magnitude of this man-made impact is virtually unprecedented in human history. Indigenous populations lived within earth??s carrying capacity for easily over 10,000?years, and they never caused such global impacts. It is obvious from most metrics that these problems steeply increased during the last 50?years. This suggests that global procedures and policies, and arguably driven by western industrialized countries, cultures and institutions setting the global framework, are affecting sustainability in dramatic ways. Based on documented and public sources, here I show the brief history, European thought, its global expansion, successes and global sustainability failures. There is an inherent and widely acknowledged conflict between growing the gross domestic product (GDP) and biodiversity, and when considering that we all live on one finite world. Works by Daly, Diamond, Flannery, Shtilmark, Leopold and many others make that already widely clear. Our land- and seascapes are currently overcommitted. With an increase of the human population of over 9?billion people in the next 100?years??likely earlier??we are at the very brink of biodiversity and humanity, and of the earth as we know it. Business as usual, and purely technical and industrial environmental efforts will not help us, and instead, we need a sustainability reform of institutions, education, funding schemes, cultures and society if we want to keep striving, or at least maintain the status quo.     

Learning in agriculture: building social capital in island communities

Social capital helps communities respond positively to change. Research in agricultural businesses and into managing change through learning in communities has highlighted the importance of relationships between people and the formal and informal infrastructure of communities to the quality of outcomes experienced by communities, businesses and individuals. Communities can be geographic communities—the data drawn on in this paper are from an island community, for example—or communities-of-common-purpose, such as agricultural organisations. This paper reviews research into managing change through learning and social capital, presents a model of the simultaneous building and use of social capital and explores the ways in which learning as part of an agricultural community can be used to bring benefits to geographic communities such as islands. The model presented in this paper stems from studies of the informal learning process that builds resilient communities. It conceptualises the way in which social capital is used and built in interactions between individuals. There are two stages to the model. The first stage depicts social capital at the micro level of one-on-one interactions where it is built and used. The second stage of the model is about the interrelationship of micro-level social capital processes with the community and societal-level social capital resources.     

Status and trends of circumpolar peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon populations

Ambio - The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) are top avian predators of Arctic ecosystems. Although existing monitoring efforts are well established for both...     

Migration of aluminum from food contact materials to food—a health risk for consumers? Part I of III: exposure to aluminum,release of aluminum,tolerable weekly intake (TWI), toxicological effects of aluminum,study design,and methods

Background

In spite of the prevalence of aluminum in nature, no organism has been found to date which requires this element for its biological functions. The possible health risks to human beings resulting from uptake of aluminum include detrimental effects to the hemopoietic system, the nervous system and bones. Aluminum is used in many fields and occurs in numerous foodstuffs. Food contact materials containing aluminum represent an anthropogenic source of dietary aluminum.

Results

As a result of their frequent use in private households a study was undertaken to detect migration of this metal to foodstuffs from drink containers, coffee pots, grill pans, and camping cookware made of aluminum.

Conclusions

An estimate of the health risk to consumers is calculated, based on the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) specified by the European Food Safety Authority of 1 mg/kg body weight for all groups of people. In some instances the TWI is significantly exceeded, dependent upon the food contact material and the food itself.

     

Migration of aluminum from food contact materials to food—a health risk for consumers? Part II of III: migration of aluminum from drinking bottles and moka pots made of aluminum to beverages

Background

Drinking bottles and stove-top moka pots made of aluminum have become very popular. Storing drinks in bottles and preparing coffee in a moka pot may result in the migration of aluminum to the beverage.

Results/Conclusions

In a systematic study of aluminum drinking bottles, it has been shown that drinking a mixture of apple juice and mineral water in an aluminum bottle may reach 86.6% of the total weekly intake (TWI) for adults, and drinking tea from an aluminum bottle may exceed the TWI (145%) for a child weighing 15 kg. In contrast, preparing coffee in an aluminum moka pot results in a maximum of 4% to TWI, if an average of 3.17 L coffee is consumed per week, even if the pots are washed in the dishwasher, against the explicit instructions of the manufacturer.

     

Paradise lost already? A naturalist interpretation of the pelagic avian and marine mammal detection database of the IceAGE cruise off Iceland and Faroe Islands in fall 2011

We present naturalist sightings of seabirds and marine mammals made during a research cruise with the IceAGE project off Iceland and the Faroe Islands during September 2011. Our findings from the obtained pelagic database are in-line with many other, more in-depth studies, showing major declines for pelagic seabirds and likely sea mammals, thus revising the role that Iceland now plays for such species. Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) was the most recorded species, followed by different gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus). However, Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) and Common Murre (Uria aalge) were only seen very rarely, and no observations were made of Dovekie (Alle alle) or Thick-billed Murre (U. lomvia). These observations were surprising since Iceland is known, so far, to host globally relevant populations of these auk species. A surprising high number of thirteen species of passerines were also detected offshore, mostly Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) and Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus). Only a few marine mammals (Balaenoptera and Megaptera sp.) were encountered. Our detections present underestimates but are discussed in relation to ongoing and recently reported but dramatic anthropogenic changes of Iceland and in the North Atlantic overall. These include the substantial decrease in bird populations, overfishing and subsequent trophic cascades, as well as climate change, Arctic shipping and more industrial development to come. In light of these dramatic ecological changes, we conclude with an urgent request for an improved effective conservation management for Iceland, the North Atlantic and its stakeholders for directly related global governance to handle problems proactively.