Technical Information Resources in the Air Pollution Field

In common with other technical fields and disciplines, the air pollution area has “information explosion” problems, compounded by the interdisciplinary nature of the field and the current increased emphasis on air pollution and its control. The development of technical information programs to meet these needs is traced, with emphasis on the Air Pollution Technical Infor-mation Center established by the National Air Pollution Control Administration of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Center is based on a delegation of responsibility by the Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President, and now contains over 12,000 current references, with an acquisition rate of approximately 200 per month. In addition to the U. S. journal literature, particular emphasis is placed on the foreign literature and on U. S. Government research reports. Other programs discussed include the Air Pollution Control Association, Bay Area Air Pollution Control District, Center for Air Environment Studies at Penn State, and centers serving particular industries. Services available from each are described.     

Hazardous Waste Reduction Initiatives and the State Of Rhode Island

A comparative analysis of forest precipitation depositions was performed using pine tree barks as biomonitoring tools and throughfall collectors in pine stands at various test sites in eastern Germany. For the elements sulfate sulfur (SO₄-S), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH₄-N), calcium (Ca), and iron (Fe), regression equations with r² values between 0.81 and 0.96 were derived, enabling yearly conversion of bark loads to throughfall rates (TFRs) in pine stands (g*m^-2*year^-1).

Applying this method to a network of 53 measuring sites in Dübener Heide nature park, north of Leipzig, lead to discovering spatial patterns of TFRs for SO₄-S, NO₃-N, and NH₄-N in 1994. Differences between the TFRs of sulfur and nitrogen were traced back to different emission sources and the temporal trend related to major infrastructural changes in that region since 1990. Results suggest that the bark method will be particularly suited to identifying forest precipitation depositions of ecotoxicologically relevant airborne pollutants on regional scales.     

Emissions of reduced sulphur compounds from the surface of primary and secondary wastewater clarifiers at a Kraft Mill

Emissions of reduced sulphur compounds (RSCs) from the primary and secondary clarifiers at a Kraft mill were measured for respectively 8 and 22 days using a floating flux chamber. In the primary clarifier, dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) had the highest mean flux (0.83 microg s(-1) m(-2)) among all RSCs, and the mean flux of total reduced sulphur (TRS) was 1.53 microg s(-1) m(-2). At the secondary clarifier, dimethyl sulphide (DMS) had the highest mean flux (0.024 microg s(-1) m(-2)), and the mean flux of total reduced sulphur (TRS) was 0.025 microg s(-1) m(-2). Large variations in fluxes as a function of sampling date were observed in both clarifiers. Emission fluxes of DMS from the secondary clarifier were correlated with temperature in the flux chamber and with the biological and chemical oxygen demands (BOD and COD) of the wastewater. Emission rates of RSCs from the clarifiers were found to be insignificant by comparison with other mill sources.     

Biodiversity Conservation in Traditional Coffee Systems of Mexico

In Mexico, coffee is cultivated on the coastal slopes of the central and southern parts of the country in areas where two or more types of vegetation make contact. Based on management level and vegetational and structural complexity, it is possible to distinguish five main coffee production systems in Mexico: two kinds of traditional shaded agroforests (with native trees), one commercially oriented polyspecific shaded system, and two "modern" systems (shaded and unshaded monocultures). Traditional shaded coffee is cultivated principally by small-scale, community-based growers, most of whom belong to some indigenous culture group. Through an exhaustive review of the literature, we found that traditional shaded coffee plantations are important repositories of biological richness for groups such as trees and epiphytes, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods. We evaluated the conservation role of these traditional shaded systems by estimating the percentage of the whole coffee area under traditional management, by reviewing the ecological and geographical distribution of coffee areas in Mexico, and by connecting the geographical distribution of these coffee areas with recognized centers of species richness and endemism. The assesment revealed that in Mexico, coffee fields are located in a biogeographically and ecologically strategic elevational belt that is an area of overlap between the tropical and temperate elements and of contact among the four main types of Mexican forests. We also found that between 60% and 70% of these coffee areas are under traditional management and that at least 14 of 155 priority regions selected by experts as having high numbers of species and endemics overlap with or are near traditional coffee-growing areas.     

Roles of academia in regional sustainability initiatives: outreach for a more sustainable future

Institutions of Higher Education have to cope with an array of challenges in the 21st century including globalization of teaching, research and outreach activities; additionally there are dramatic increases in competition for students, staff and funding sources. Meanwhile, local and regional involvement in regional sustainable development is increasing in importance as well. This latter process is driven by the mandates from many sources for academic involvement in working on the multi-faceted issues pertaining to Sustainable Development (SD). This requires concerted action not only at the global, but also at the local and regional levels. This article provides an overview of this special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production on the Roles of Academia in Regional Sustainable Development Initiatives. The essence of the 11 articles contained in this special issue is summarized and contextualized within the rapidly evolving academic efforts on SD. Recommendations are made of ways for academia to help their regions to make more rapid progress toward SD via involvement of their faculty, students and staff in Regional SD programs and processes.     

Biotic homogenization and differentiation of plant communities in tropical and subtropical forests

Anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity can lead to biotic homogenization (BH) and biotic differentiation (BD). BH is a process of increasing similarity in community composition (including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic components), whereas BD is a process of decreasing similarity over space and time. Here, we conducted a systematic review of BH and BD in plant communities in tropical and subtropical forests to identify trends and knowledge gaps. Our bibliometric search in the Web of Science returned 1989 papers, of which 151 matched our criteria and were included in the analysis. The Neotropical region had the largest number of articles, and Brazil was the most represented country with 92 studies. Regarding the type of change, homogenization was more frequent than differentiation (noted in 69.6% of publications). The taxonomic diversity component was measured more often than functional and phylogenetic diversity components. Most studies (75.6%) assessed homogenization and differentiation based on a single observation in time; as opposed to few studies that monitored plant community over multiple years. Forest fragmentation was cited as the main determinant of homogenization and differentiation processes (57.2% of articles). Our results highlight the importance of evaluating community composition over time and more than taxonomic components (i.e., functional and phylogenetic) to advance understanding of homogenization and differentiation. Both processes were scale dependent and not mutually exclusive. As such, future research should consider differentiation as a potential transition phase to homogenization and that potential differences in both processes may depend on the spatial and temporal scale adopted. Understanding the complexity and causes of homogenization and differentiation is essential for biodiversity conservation in a world increasingly affected by anthropogenic disturbances.     

Environmental monitoring of water resources around a municipal landfill of the Rio Grande do Sul state,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In Brazil, landfills are commonly used as a method for the final disposal of waste that is compliant with the legislation. This technique, however,...     

Atmospheric influence on the distribution of organic pollutants in the Guadalquivir River estuary, SW Spain

In the lower Guadalquivir river basin, a system stressed by a wide variety of anthropogenic activities, eight pesticides (four triazines, two chloroacetanilide herbicides, one organochlorine, and one organophosphorus insecticide); and four emerging pollutants (two personal care products, one organophosphorous flame retardant, and one xanthine alkaloid) were analyzed in river water during a 2-year monitoring program, and after rain episodes. Samples were extracted using the solid phase extraction (SPE) technique prior to determination of compounds using gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer detector. Except for caffeine, recoveries were mostly above 80 %, while limits of detection and quantification were in the low nanograms per liter level (except for dimethoate). Terbuthylazine, simazine (triazine herbicides), and dimethoate (organophosphorus insecticide), present in agrochemicals, were predominant in the river water, although concentrations were below the quality standards established by the EU Water-Framework-Directive. A general trend to increase concentration was observed after rain events, in particular for pesticides, possibly as a consequence of surface runoff.