Cadmium in aquatic microcosms: Implications for screening the ecological effects of toxic substances

A two-phase set of experiments was conducted to address some of the problems inherent in ecological screening of toxic substances in aquatic microcosms. Phase I was a 4×4 factorial experiment dealing with the interactive effects of cadmium and nutrients in static microcosms. Phase II was a 2×4 factorial experiment using flowthrough microcosms to study temporal aspects of system behavior in response to nutrient loading and chronic versus acute cadmium perturbations. Nutrient enrichment resulted in increased biomass and metabolic activity in both static and flowthrough microcosms. Cadmium treatments generally resulted in a decrease in abundance of grazing crustaceans and a subsequent increase in community respiration, suggesting a change in community structure from a grazing to a detritus food chain. Of the variables measured, community metabolism, community composition, and output/input ratios of nitrate-nitrogen were the most useful indicators of system response to cadmium. Nutrient enrichment significantly influenced cadmium effects with respect to most of the variables measured; high levels of enrichment reduced the effects of cadmium. For screening the ecological effects of toxic chemicals, a series of experiments is proposed, including 1) relatively simple static microcosms, 2) flow through microcosms, and 3) more detailed but selective studies in microcosms derived from specific ecosystems. Each step yields increasingly more information and serves as a guide for subsequent experiments; in addition, each step more closely approximates natural ecosystems.     

The forest environmental frontier in Russia: Between sustainable forest management discourses and ‘wood mining’ practice

With 20% of the world’s forests, Russia has global potential in bioeconomy development, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, unsustainable forest management based on ‘wood mining’ reduces this potential. Based on document analysis, participant observations and interviews, this article shows how non-state actors—environmental NGOs and forest companies—address forest resource depletion and primary forest loss in Russia. We analyse two key interrelated forest discourses driven by non-state actors in Russia: (1) intensive forest management in secondary forests as a pathway towards sustained yield and primary forest conservation; (2) intact forest landscapes as a priority in primary forest conservation. We illustrate how these discourses have been integrated into policy debates, institutions and practices and discuss their relation to relevant global discourses. The article concludes that despite successful cases in conserving intact forest landscapes, there is still a frontier between sustainable forest management discourses and forestry practice in Russia.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01643-6.     

Enhancing the economic potential of organic waste by co-composting using ratio modelling toward a circular economy

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Co-composting, a circular economy approach to waste management, has economic potential and environmental benefits through nutrient recycling and...