New insight to tourism-environment nexus in Mediterranean countries: evidence from panel vector autoregression approach

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper analyzed the relationship between environmental performance and tourism sector development in Mediterranean countries for the period from...     

Leaching Characteristics of Fly Ash from Thermal Power Plants of Soma and Tunçbilek, Turkey

Use of lignite in power generation has led to increasing environmental problems associated not only with gaseous emissions but also with the disposal of ash residues. In particular, use of low quality coal with high ash content results in huge quantities of fly ash to be disposed of. The main problem related to fly ash disposal is the heavy metal content of the residue. In this regard, experimental results of numerous studies indicate that toxic trace metals may leach when fly ash contacts water. In this study, fly ash samples obtained from thermal power plants, namely Soma and Tunçbilek, located at the west part of Turkey, were subjected to toxicity tests such as European Committee for standardization (CEN) and toxicity characteristic leaching (TCLP) procedures of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The geochemical composition of the tested ash samples from the power plant show variations depending on the coal burned in the plants. Furthermore, the CEN and TCLP extraction results showed variations such that the ash samples were classified as `toxic waste' based on TCLP result whereas they were classified as `non-toxic' wastes based on CEN results, indicating test results are pH dependent.     

GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation for olive mill wastewater disposal site selection

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The installation of an olive mill wastewater (OMW) disposal site without well-defined standards and constraints may cause undesirable long-term...     

Skin prick test reactivity in allergic rhinitis patients to airborne pollens

The aim was to investigate the impact of atmospheric pollen in determining allergic rhinitis. It was conducted with 130 patients with allergic rhinitis in three different sites in Eskisehir, Turkey, in 2000-2001, using a gravimetric method with a Durham sampler. Skin prick test results, the symptoms of patients and their findings all confirmed the presence of allergic reactions to pollen allergens in the patients observed. During the period, a total of 47,082 pollen grains/cm(2) belonging to 45 taxa were recorded. Of the total pollen grains, 81.0% were arboreal and 18% non-arboreal. The majority of the investigated pollen grains were from Pinaceae, Salix spp., Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Cupressaceae and Poaceae. Pollen concentrations reached the highest level in May (54.36%). The pollen allergens provoking severe sensitization were grasscereal mixtures (58.5%), followed by arboreals (33.8%). All patients (100.0%) were sensitive to grass. This study emphasizes the significance of determining the types and concentrations of pollen with a view to comparing changes in highly concentrated allergens.     

Study of a winter PM episode in Istanbul using the high resolution WRF/CMAQ modeling system

High winter-time PM₁₀, sulfate, nitrate and ammonium levels in Istanbul were investigated using a high resolution WRF/CMAQ mesoscale model system. A model-ready anthropogenic emission inventory on 2 km spatial resolution was developed for the area and the present study is the first attempt to test these emissions. The results suggested that the system was capable of producing the magnitudes. PM₁₀ levels calculated by the model underestimated the observations with an average of 10 per cent at Bogazici University sampling station, whereas an overestimation of 12 per cent is calculated for all stations. High uncertainties, particularly in traffic and coal combustion, led to over estimations around emission hot spots. Base case results together with the sensitivity studies pointed significant contribution of local sources, pointing to the need of control strategies focusing on primary particulate emissions.     

Interactions between metals accumulated in the narrow-clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) in Dikilitaş Lake,Turkey

The accumulations of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in the exoskeleton, gills, hepatopancreas and abdominal muscles of crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) were determined. The strongest correlation observed was between Cr and Ni in the gills (r?=?0.904); moderate to strong correlations between Al, Cr, Fe, Ni and Cu were also observed in gill tissue. Disregarding the gills, the strongest correlation was found between Cu and Zn in the hepatopancreas (r?=?0.808); the correlation between these two metals might have been a result of metallothionein activity. The accumulation of Pb was found to correlate with that of Cd in the exoskeleton, Cd and Zn in the gills, Zn and Cu in the hepatopancreas and Cu in the abdominal muscle. None of these correlations were present in lakewater and sediment samples, suggesting that the crayfish metabolism may be responsible for the co-accumulation of metal–metal pairs. As all correlations in non-gill tissues are observed between divalent metals, a shared transporter such as divalent metal transporter 1 might be involved in the accumulation of these metals.     

Determination of Impact of Urbanization on Agricultural Land and Wetland Land Use in Balçovas’ Delta by Remote Sensing and GIS Technique

Because of their intense vegetation and the fact that they include areas of coastline, deltas situated in the vicinity of big cities are areas of greet attraction for people who wish to get away from in a crowded city. However, deltas, with their fertile soil and unique flora and fauna, need to be protected. In order for the use of such areas to be planned in a sustainable way by local authorities, there is a need for detailed data about these regions. In this study, the changes in land use of the Balçova Delta, which is to the immediate west of Turkey’s third largest city Izmir, from 1957 up to the present day, were investigated. In the study, using aerial photographs taken in 1957, 1976 and 1995 and an IKONOS satellite image from the year 2005, the natural and cultural characteristics of the region and changes in the coastline were determined spatially. Through this study, which aimed to reveal the characteristics of the areas of land already lost as well as the types of land use in the Balçova delta and to determine geographically the remaining areas in need of protection, local authorities were provided with the required data support. Balçova consists of flat and fertile wetland with mainly citrus-fruit orchards and flower-producing green houses. The marsh and lagoon system situated in the coastal areas of the delta provides a habitat for wild life, in particular birds. In the Balçova Delta, which provides feeding and resting for migratory birds, freshwater sources are of vital importance for fauna and flora. The settlement area, which in 1957 was 182 ha, increased 11-fold up to the year 2005 when it reached 2,141 ha. On the other hand, great losses were determined in farming land, olive groves, forest and in the marsh and lagoon system. This unsystematic and rapid urbanization occurring in the study region is not only causing the loss of important agricultural land and wetland, but also lasting water and soil pollution.     

Allelopathic effects of weeds extracts against seed germination of some plants

This study investigated the allelopathic effects of various weeds extracts on seed germination of 11 crop species. Most of the weed extracts tested had inhibitory effects on seed germination of common bean, tomato, pepper, squash, onion, barley, wheat, and corn at different application rates as compared with the 10% acetone control. Chickpea seed germination was inhibited by extracts of Solanum nigrum L., Chenopodium album L., and Matricaria chamomilla L. (10%, 20% and 22.5%, respectively) at the end of 21 day incubation period. However, Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers., and Reseda lutea L. extracts stimulated chickpea seed germination at the rates of 95%, 94%, and 93%, respectively, compared to control. It was concluded that some of the weed extracts tested in this study could be used as inhibitor while others could be used as stimulator for the crops.     

The impact of natural resources and gross capital formation on economic growth in the context of globalization: evidence from developing countries on the continent of Europe,Asia, Africa,and America

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this paper is to investigate the nexus between natural resources, gross capital formation, globalization, and economic growth in the...