Connecting with Country in Mungo National Park,Australia: a case study to measure the emotional dimension of experience and place attachment

Connecting people with nature improves well-being, but how people connect with natural places is not well documented. We asked 43 people (19 Aboriginal Australians, 24 non-Aboriginal people) about the messages they received from Country during an interactive experience in the remote Mungo National Park, Australia, and analysed the physical senses, emotions and cognitive processes they mentioned. The physical senses mentioned by most respondents were sight, hearing and motion (particularly walking). These senses helped people receive messages from Country and connect with place. We used the primary-process emotional systems of Panksepp [2010. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 12 (4), 533–545] as a framework to capture the emotional dimension of experience. Most people reported positive emotions; they spoke about being nurtured by the group and the land (CARE), and the intense joy (PLAY) of being part of the community, being on Country and being accompanied by Aboriginal people. However, our results indicate the framework does not capture the breadth of positive emotions, particularly those associated with connection to place and spiritual experiences. Both groups mentioned cognitive processes reflecting their beliefs, existing knowledge, or sharing and acquiring new knowledge. Our results indicate that the emotional dimension of experience has the potential to measure connection to place, and provide a subjective measure of well-being. More research is needed to document this dimension of experience, and how it changes with context. Our case study provides further insight for those who manage protected areas and seek to enrich the experience of visitors.     

Fate of prions in soil: a review

Prions are the etiological agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSSEs), a class of fatal neurodegenerative diseases affecting humans and other mammals. The pathogenic prion protein is a misfolded form of the host-encoded prion protein and represents the predominant, if not sole, component of the infectious agent. Environmental routes of TSE transmission areimplicated in epizootics of sheep scrapie and chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer, elk, and moose. Soil represents a plausible environmental reservoir of scrapie and CWD agents, which can persist in the environment for years. Attachment to soil particles likely influences the persistence and infectivity of prions in the environment. Effective methods to inactivate TSE agents in soil are currently lacking, and the effects of natural degradation mechanisms on TSE infectivity are largely unknown. An improved understanding of the processes affecting the mobility, persistence, and bioaviailability of prions in soil is needed for the management of TSE-contaminated environments.     

Hydroclimatic variability drives episodic expansion of a floating peat mat in a North American kettlehole basin

The coming century is predicted to feature enhanced climatic variability, including increased frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme climatic events. Ecologists are faced with the critical challenge of anticipating potentially nonlinear ecosystem responses to these changes. High-resolution paleoecological data sets that capture past ecosystem responses to climate variability provide valuable long-term perspectives on the sensitivity of ecosystems to climate-forced state shifts. We used a suite of paleoecological analyses at Titus Bog in northwestern Pennsylvania, USA, to test the hypothesis that the development and expansion of floating peatlands in kettlehole basins represents a threshold response to hydroclimate variability. In contrast with expectations of gradual autogenic peat mat expansion, our results indicate that peat mat expansion at Titus Bog was highly episodic and occurred in three distinct pulses centered on 800, 650, and 400 cal yr BP. Each of these expansion events coincided with or immediately followed decadal-to-mutlidecadal droughts recorded in regional paleoclimate reconstructions. These patterns indicate that peatland development in kettlehole basins can follow nonlinear trajectories, with episodes of rapid advancement triggered by climatic forcing. Future climate changes may increase the likelihood of peatland expansion in kettlehole basins, potentially leading to abrupt changes in adjacent lake ecosystems.     

Remediation of uranium-contaminated soil using the segmented gate system and containerized vat leaching techniques: A cost-effectiveness study

Using an innovative, two-stage process to remediate uranium-contaminated soils, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL's) Technical Area 33 (TA-33) successively reduced 218 cubic yards of contaminated soil to approximately 30 gallons of leachate solution and resins. In the first step, the contaminated soil is separated from the clean soil using the Thermo Nuclean (a division of the Thermo NUtech company) Segmented Gate System (SGS). Contaminated soil proceeds via conveyor belt to a separate storage bin to await further processing, while uncontaminated soil is returned to its original location. From the 218 cubic yards of soil excavated from the test site at TA-33, only seven cubic yards were found to contain uranium contamination above the criterion release limit, yielding an initial waste volume reduction of 97 percent. Using the containerized vat leaching (CVL) method, a technique borrowed from the mining industry, the uranium was then removed from the reduced volume of contaminated soil. This article describes the two processes and analyzes potential cost savings based on different disposal and storage options.     

Contributions of green infrastructure to enhancing urban resilience

After briefly reviewing key resilience engineering perspectives and summarising some green infrastructure (GI) tools, we present the contributions that GI can make to enhancing urban resilience and maintaining critical system functionality across complex integrated social–ecological and technical systems. We then examine five key challenges for the effective implementation of GI that include (1) standards; (2) regulation; (3) socio-economic factors; (4) financeability; and (5) innovation. We highlight ways in which these challenges are being dealt with around the world, particularly through the use of approaches that are both context appropriate and socially inclusive. Although progress surmounting these challenges has been made, more needs to be done to ensure that GI approaches are inclusive and appropriate and feature equally alongside more traditional ‘grey’ infrastructure in the future of urban resilience planning. This research was undertaken for the Resilience Shift initiative to shift the approach to resilience in practice for critical infrastructure sectors. The programme aims to help practitioners involved in critical infrastructure to make decisions differently, contributing to a safer and better world.     

Magneto-biomonitoring of intra-urban spatial variations of particulate matter using tree leaves

Preliminary mineral magnetic results from a pilot project investigating the suitability of roadside tree leaves as depositories of vehicular pollution are presented. Tree leaf surfaces (Lime: Tilia europaea; Sycamore: Acer pseudoplatanus) at four roadside and one woodland location in Wolverhampton, UK, have been monitored (July 2003 to November 2003). Mineral magnetic technologies have revealed spatial variations of particulate pollution concentration throughout the conurbation and data analysis indicates that magnetic concentration parameters are suitable proxies for fine particulate pollution, which are particularly hazardous to health. Site-specific traffic management and associated vehicle behaviour appear to be chiefly responsible for the magnetic concentration differences between sites. Magneto-biomonitoring in this way allows the high-resolution spatial mapping of particulate matter (PM) pollution, which may also benefit epidemiology in better assessing exposure to vehicular-derived particulates. Given the speed, measurement sensitivity and non-destructive nature of the technique, it is proposed that this low-cost approach offers some advantages over centralised monitoring stations to monitor urban roadside particulate pollution.     

Reduced sulfur compounds in gas from construction and demolition debris landfills

The biological conversion of sulfate from disposed gypsum drywall to hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) in the anaerobic environment of a landfill results in odor problems and possible health concerns at many disposal facilities. To examine the extent and magnitude of such emissions, landfill gas samples from wells, soil vapor samples from the interface of the waste and cover soil, and ambient air samples, were collected from 10 construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfills in Florida and analyzed for H(2)S and other reduced sulfur compounds (RSC). H(2)S was detected in the well gas and soil vapor at all 10 sites. The concentrations in the ambient air above the surface of the landfill were much lower than those observed in the soil vapor, and no direct correlation was observed between the two sampling locations. Methyl mercaptan and carbonyl sulfide were the most frequently observed other RSC, though they occurred at smaller concentrations than H(2)S. This research confirmed the presence of H(2)S at C&D debris landfills. High concentrations of H(2)S may be a concern for employees working on the landfill site. These results indicate that workers should use proper personal protection at C&D debris landfills when involved in excavation, landfill gas collection, or confined spaces. The results indicate that H(2)S is sufficiently diluted in the atmosphere to not commonly pose acute health impacts for these landfill workers in normal working conditions. H(2)S concentrations were extremely variable with measurements occurring over a very large range (from less than 3 ppbv to 12,000 ppmv in the soil vapor and from less than 3 ppbv to 50 ppmv in ambient air). Possible reasons for the large intra- and inter-site variability observed include waste and soil heterogeneities, impact of weather conditions, and different site management practices.     

Precision Measurements from Very-Large Scale Aerial Digital Imagery

Managers need measurements and resource managers need the length/width of a variety of items including that of animals, logs, streams, plant canopies, man-made objects, riparian habitat, vegetation patches and other things important in resource monitoring and land inspection. These types of measurements can now be easily and accurately obtained from very large scale aerial (VLSA) imagery having spatial resolutions as fine as 1 millimeter per pixel by using the three new software programs described here. VLSA images have small fields of view and are used for intermittent sampling across extensive landscapes. Pixel-coverage among images is influenced by small changes in airplane altitude above ground level (AGL) and orientation relative to the ground, as well as by changes in topography. These factors affect the object-to-camera distance used for image-resolution calculations. ‘ImageMeasurement’ offers a user-friendly interface for accounting for pixel-coverage variation among images by utilizing a database. ‘LaserLOG’ records and displays airplane altitude AGL measured from a high frequency laser rangefinder, and displays the vertical velocity. ‘Merge’ sorts through large amounts of data generated by LaserLOG and matches precise airplane altitudes with camera trigger times for input to the ImageMeasurement database. We discuss application of these tools, including error estimates. We found measurements from aerial images (collection resolution: 5–26 mm/pixel as projected on the ground) using ImageMeasurement, LaserLOG, and Merge, were accurate to centimeters with an error less than 10%. We recommend these software packages as a means for expanding the utility of aerial image data.     

Effects of Geomorphic Setting and Urbanization on Wood,Pools, Sediment Storage,and Bank Erosion in Puget Sound Streams1

Segura, Catalina and Derek B. Booth, 2010. Effects of Geomorphic Setting and Urbanization on Wood, Pools, Sediment Storage, and Bank Erosion in Puget Sound Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(5):972-986. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00470.x Abstract: Interrelationships between urbanization, the near-riparian zone, and channel morphology were examined in 44 lowland stream reaches in the Puget Lowlands of western Washington, United States. Both the degree of urbanization and channel type control channel response to a range of instream and riparian conditions. Some of these relationships are not evident in lumped datasets (i.e., with all channel types and/or degrees of urbanization) and highlight the importance of fluvial geomorphology in determining channel response. We found that in low-urbanized watersheds dominated by forced pool-riffle and plane-bed morphologies, the frequency and distribution of large woody debris (LWD), pool spacing, sediment storage, and bank erosion have a strong relationship with channel confinement and characteristics of near-riparian vegetation. In contrast, high-urbanized reaches dominated by simplified morphologies are substantially less sensitive to the condition of the near-riparian zone (e.g., size of the near-riparian vegetation and the level of channel confinement), due to the common disconnection of stream and floodplain caused by the placement of stabilizing structures in the banks. These structures are typically placed to prevent erosion; however, they also result in fewer LWD and pools, less sediment storage, and higher potential for incision.     

Shadow attenuation with high dynamic range images

Shadow often interferes with accurate image analysis. To mitigate shadow effects in near-earth imagery (2 m above ground level), we created high dynamic range (HDR) nadir images and used them to measure grassland ground cover. HDR composites were created by merging three differentially exposed images spanning a wide exposure range and resulted in lightened shadows. HDR images showed more detail; reduced the numbers of pure black, pure white, and pixels visually indistinguishable from black and white; reapportioned skewed luma values towards a normal distribution; and increased the Euclidean distance between litter and bare ground RGB values--allowing increased feature separation; all of which facilitated an increase in real feature classification through manual image analysis. Drawbacks to the method included decreased image sharpness due to minor misalignment of images or moving vegetation, time required to create HDR images, and difficulty with acquiring primary images from a moving platform. We conclude that HDR imagery can provide more accurate measurements of bare soil cover for ecosystem monitoring and assessment.