Inventory of emissions from major air pollutant categories in Turkey

In this study, an inventory of air pollutant emission estimates from major air polluting sources in Turkey for period between 1985 and 2005 with 5-year intervals were estimated. Inventory covers anthropogenic sources of five major air pollutants of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Their break-down with respect to main activity sectors were shown and their distribution by the largest industrial source categories were worked out as annual estimates. This inventory and its analysis point to serious environmental implications of air pollutants and a need to develop a policy plan for reducing these emissions.     

Practical environmental monitoring of major construction projects

Independent teams undertook environmental monitoring of particular concentrations of major construction projects forming part of Hong Kong’s U.S. $20 billion airport infrastructure programme located in dense urban areas. The team combination of environmental specialists with experienced civil engineers enabled pragmatic mitigation measures to be developed and accepted by the construction personnel with the result that potentially significant adverse impacts were averted. The authors discuss the mechanism and success of this innovative approach.     

Hydrogen storage and distribution systems

Hydrogen storage and transportation or distribution is closely linked together. Hydrogen can be distributed continuously in pipelines or batch wise by ships, trucks, railway or airplanes. All batch transportation requires a storage system but also pipelines can be used as pressure storage system. Hydrogen exhibits the highest heating value per weight of all chemical fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen is regenerative and environment friendly. There are two reasons why hydrogen is not the major fuel of toady’s energy consumption: First of all, hydrogen is just an energy carrier. And, although it is the most abundant element in the universe, it has to be produced, since on earth it only occurs in the form of water. This implies that we have to pay for this energy, which results in a difficult economic task, because since the industrialization we are used to consuming energy for free. The second difficulty with hydrogen as an energy carrier is the low critical temperature of 33 K, i.e. hydrogen is a gas at room temperature. For mobile and in many cases also for stationary applications the volumetric and gravimetric density of hydrogen in a storage system is crucial. Hydrogen can be stored by six different methods and phenomena: high pressure gas cylinders (up to 800 bar), liquid hydrogen in cryogenic tanks (at 21 K), adsorbed hydrogen on materials with a large specific surface area (at T < 100 K), absorbed on interstitial sites in a host metal (at ambient pressure and temperature), chemically bond in covalent and ionic compounds (at ambient pressure), oxidation of reactive metals e.g. Li, Na, Mg, Al, Zn with water. These metals easily react with water to the corresponding hydroxide and liberate the hydrogen from the water. Finally, the metal hydroxides can be thermally reduced to the metals in a solar furnace.     

Alteration in Rhizosphere Soil Properties of Afforested <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhamnus lycioides</Emphasis> Seedlings in Short-Term Response to Mycorrhizal Inoculation with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glomus intraradices</Emphasis> and Organic Amendment

The reestablisment of autochthonous plant species is an essential strategy for recovering degraded areas under semiarid conditions. A field experiment was carried out to assess the short-term effect of two reafforestation methods involving mycorrhizal inoculation and compost addition on soil quality parameters and Rhamnus lycioides seedling growth. The nutrient content (NPK) and enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase, urease, protease-BAA, acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase) increased and bulk density decreased in the rhizosphere soil with the organic amendment. Biomass C of rhizosphere soil increased by at least 240% with respect to the control soil after mycorrhizal inoculation and the combination of compost addition + mycorrhizal inoculation. Both mycorrhizal inoculation and composted organic residue addition increased R. lycioides seedling growth in the same proportion. In the short term, we conclude that the application of both reafforestation methods not only enhances the establishment of R. lycioides seedlings, but also improves soil quality.     

Natural biodegradation of wood preservatives

Natural biodegradation can contain groundwaters impacted by creosote and pentachlorophenol. Using natural biodegradation for such sites is attractive because groundwater restoration is often impracticable, but the dissolved plumes are biodegradable and exert relatively low oxygen demands. Three case studies of its successful use are presented, with emphasis on the types of evidence needed, the rates and extents of removal, and the strategies for incorporating natural biodegradation into a remediation approach. Natural biodegradation was proven at all three sites, using a combination of field geochemical measurements, laboratory simulations, and computer modeling. Contaminant plumes at these three sites were contained within 100 to 700 feet downgradient of the apparent sources, although the rates of biodegradation varied widely. Natural biodegradation should be considered as part of an overall remedial strategy for most sites contaminated by creosote and/or pentachlorophenol.     

Removal of selenate from water by zerovalent iron

Zerovalent iron (ZVI) has been widely used in the removal of environmental contaminants from water. In this study, ZVI was used to remove selenate [Se(VI)] at a level of 1000 microg L(-1) in the presence of varying concentrations of Cl-, SO(2-)4, NO(-)3, HCO(-)3, and PO(3-)4. Results showed that Se(VI) was rapidly removed during the corrosion of ZVI to iron oxyhydroxides (Fe(OH)). During the 16 h of the experiments, 100 and 56% of the added Se(VI) was removed in 10 mM Cl- and SO(2-)4 solutions under a closed contained system, respectively. Under an open condition, 100 and 93% of the added Se(VI) were removed in the Cl- and SO(2-)4 solutions, respectively. Analysis of Se species in ZVI-Fe(OH) revealed that selenite [Se(IV)] and nonextractable Se increased during the first 2 to 4 h of reaction, with a decrease of Se(VI) in the Cl- experiment and no detection of Se(VI) in the SO(2-)4 experiment. Two mechanisms can be attributed to the rapid removal of Se(VI) from the solutions. One is the reduction of Se(VI) to Se(IV), followed by rapid adsorption of Se(IV) to Fe(OH). The other is the adsorption of Se(VI) directly to Fe(OH), followed by its reduction to Se(IV). The results also show that there was little effect on Se(VI) removal in the presence of Cl- (5, 50, and 100 mM), NO(-)3 (1, 5, and 10 mM), SO(2-)4 (5 mM), HCO(-)3 (1 and 5 mM), or PO(3-)4 (1 mM) and only a slight effect in the presence of SO(2-)4 (50 and 100 mM), HCO(-)3 (10 mM), and PO(3-)4 (5 mM) during a 2-d experiment, whereas 10 mM PO(3-)4 significantly inhibited Se(VI) removal. This work suggests that ZVI may be an effective agent to remove Se from Se-contaminated agricultural drainage water.     

Integrating fisheries into the national development plans of Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Ten years on from Barbados

The development and effective introduction of strategies designed to ensure the ecologically and economically sustainable utilization of coastal and marine resources is perhaps the major challenge for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In response, the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) called upon the SIDS to implement appropriate coastal and marine strategies and, crucially, ensure that such strategies were integrated into sustainable national development plans (NDPs). This article examines the extent to which contemporary NDPs and donor support programmes have incorporated the fisheries sector — arguably the most important coastal/marine resource for many SIDS — into such documents. Applying an assessment methodology, originally developed to identify levels of environmental mainstreaming within World Bank country assistance strategies to NDPs and donor support programmes, we are able to identify those SIDS who have most effectively integrated the fisheries sector into such documents. Comparison with data indicating the importance of the sector to the national economy (in terms of generating foreign exchange, employment generation and/or supporting domestic protein consumption levels) enables us to pinpoint those countries with substantial fisheries sectors, but a correspondingly lower than expected degree of sectoral mainstreaming. We suggest that the January 2005 review of the BPoA offers an opportune moment for such countries to redress these omissions.     

Spatial variability of soil phosphorus in relation to the topographic index and critical source areas: sampling for assessing risk to water quality

A measure of soil P status in agricultural soils is generally required for assisting with prediction of potential P loss from agricultural catchments and assessing risk for water quality. The objectives of this paper are twofold: (i) investigating the soil P status, distribution, and variability, both spatially and with soil depth, of two different first-order catchments; and (ii) determining variation in soil P concentration in relation to catchment topography (quantified as the "topographic index") and critical source areas (CSAs). The soil P measurements showed large spatial variability, not only between fields and land uses, but also within individual fields and in part was thought to be strongly influenced by areas where cattle tended to congregate and areas where manure was most commonly spread. Topographic index alone was not related to the distribution of soil P, and does not seem to provide an adequate indicator for CSAs in the study catchments. However, CSAs may be used in conjunction with soil P data for help in determining a more "effective" catchment soil P status. The difficulties in defining CSAs a priori, particularly for modeling and prediction purposes, however, suggest that other more "integrated" measures of catchment soil P status, such as baseflow P concentrations or streambed sediment P concentrations, might be more useful. Since observed soil P distribution is variable and is also difficult to relate to nationally available soil P data, any assessment of soil P status for determining risk of P loss is uncertain and problematic, given other catchment physicochemical characteristics and the sampling strategy employed.     

Assessment of trace metal air pollution in Paris using slurry-TXRF analysis on cemetery mosses

Mosses are useful, ubiquitous accumulation biomonitors and as such can be used for biomonitoring surveys. However, the biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution can be compromised in urban contexts if the targeted biomonitors are regularly disturbed, irregularly distributed, or are difficult to access. Here, we test the hypothesis that cemeteries are appropriate moss sampling sites for the evaluation of air pollution in urban areas. We sampled mosses growing on gravestones in 21 urban and peri-urban cemeteries in the Paris metropolitan area. We focused on Grimmia pulvinata (Hedwig) Smith, a species abundantly found in all studied cemeteries and very common in Europe. The concentration of Al, As, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, V, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sr, Ti, and Zn was determined by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence technique coupled with a slurry sampling method (slurry-TXRF). This method avoids a digestion step, reduces the risk of sample contamination, and works even at low sample quantities. Elemental markers of road traffic indicated that the highest polluted cemeteries were located near the highly frequented Parisian ring road and under the influence of prevailing winds. The sites with the lowest pollution were found not only in the peri-urban cemeteries, adjoining forest or farming landscapes, but also in the large and relatively wooded cemeteries located in the center of Paris. Our results suggest that (1) slurry-TXRF might be successfully used with moss material, (2) G. pulvinata might be a good biomonitor of trace metals air pollution in urban context, and (3) cemetery moss sampling could be a useful complement for monitoring urban areas.

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Graphical abstract We tested the hypothesis that cemeteries are appropriate moss sampling sites for the evaluation of air pollution in urban areas. We sampled 110 moss cushions (Grimmia pulvinata) growing on gravestones in 21 urban and peri-urban cemeteries in the Paris metropolitan area. The concentration of 20 elements in mosses was determined by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence technique coupled with a slurry sampling method. Statistical analysis revealed that: - Urbanized Parisian areas crossed by traffic roads have the highest polluted cemeteries with a strong influence of main wind direction on the distribution of air pollutants - As expected, small cemeteries with low tree density were heavily polluted - Less obvious, large green spaces such as large cemeteries (Père Lachaise, Montmartre, Montparnasse) in the center of a dense metropolis like Paris present the same level of atmospheric trace metal pollution as cemeteries in less urbanized areas or nearing a very large forest. This suggests that even in densely urbanized areas, there is more spatial variability in pollution distribution than usually assumed and that large urban areas with low traffic and green filters such as trees are likely to intercept air pollutants

     

Biodiversity resilience in the Central Indian Highlands is contingent on maintaining and recovering landscape connectivity: the tiger as a case study

Corridors (variably called landscape linkages, connectors, and gateways) are expanses of a landscape that facilitate the flow or movement of individuals, genes, and ecological processes. Protected areas with their buffer zones and the corridors that connect them are cornerstones of modern conservation actions to maintain the biodiversity we have and restore what we have lost. Policy and governance to guide the establishment and management of protected areas and supporting buffer zones is well established in the Central Indian Highlands. A policy and governance structure to create the context and enabling conditions for corridor maintenance, creation, and recovery is emerging but is constrained by the reigning land-management paradigm that separates conservation from development rather than mainstreaming species and habitat conservation into the rural development agenda. Well-nourished, healthy human populations and healthy ecosystems are inextricably linked. The worsening ecological conditions in the Central Indian Highlands can trigger the emergence of a common agenda for an inclusive, caring, and environment-friendly mode of development. The alternative is the business-as-usual scenario: a continuation of worsening ecological conditions. Entry points through the biodiversity, agriculture production, resource extraction, and economic/social sectors to enable integrated sustainable landscape management are identified. These include deepening what it means to successfully conserve a species combined with explicit threat analysis for at-risk tigers and the landscapes that supports them; landscape scenario modeling to advance communication by synthesizing diverse forms of research and articulating and evaluating alternative socio-economic futures; and the use of the smart green infrastructure process as an approach to development rather than only as a way to mitigate environmental damage. Models are presented to scale up from isolated conservation interventions to collective impact that unites supportive government partners with individuals, NGOs, and economic interests to achieve viable long-term relationships in human and natural systems to value, maintain, and recover landscape connectivity.