Trees on the move: using decision theory to compensate for climate change at the regional scale in forest social-ecological systems

Regional Environmental Change - The adaptation of social-ecological systems such as managed forests depends largely on decisions taken by forest managers who must choose among a wide range of...     

Potential for electricity savings by reducing potable water consumption in a city scale

Nowadays, it is very important that water and energy resources are used appropriately as this is a challenge to promote sustainable development. In some sectors, such as water and sewerage utilities, energy consumption depends on water consumption. The main objective of this work is to estimate the potential for electricity savings in a water and sewerage utility by reducing potable water consumption in the residential, commercial and public sectors in the city of Florianópolis, southern Brazil. These three sectors account for 98.9% of the total water consumption in the city. By using data related to energy consumption and costs that apply to the local water utility for water and sewage treatment, and also the potential for potable water savings over the three sectors, it is possible to estimate the potential for energy savings by reducing potable water consumption and sewage treatment. Potable water savings were estimated by using data available in the literature about water end-uses for different types of buildings located in Florianópolis. Three options were considered: installing dual-flush toilets, reusing greywater and using rainwater. The average potential for potable water savings were 30.0%, 53.4% and 60.3%, respectively, for the residential, commercial and public sectors. Thus, the average potable water savings amount to about 10,153,835 m³/year, and the electricity savings amount to 4.4 GW h/year, which would be enough to supply 1217 houses or flats in Florianópolis, with an average energy consumption of 300 kW h/month.     

Particle emission from heavy-duty engine fuelled with blended diesel and biodiesel

In this study, particulate matter (PM) were characterized from a place impacted by heavy-duty vehicles (Bus Station) fuelled with diesel/biodiesel fuel blend (B3) in the city of Londrina, Brazil. Sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) concentrations were analyzed in the samples by their association with atmospheric PM, mass size distributions and major ions (fluorite, chloride, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, nitrite, oxalate; fumarate, formate, succinate and acetate; lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and ammonium). Results indicate that major ions represented 21.2% particulate matter mass. Nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium, respectively, presented the highest concentration levels, indicating that biodiesel may also be a significant source for these ions, especially nitrate. Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene and indeno[1,2,3,-cd]pyrene were the main PAH found, and a higher fraction of PAH particles was found in diameters lower than 0.25 μm in Londrina bus station. The fine and ultrafine particles were dominant among the PM evaluated, suggesting that biodiesel decreases the total PAH emission. However, it does also increase the fraction of fine and ultrafine particles when compared to diesel.     

Carnauba (Copernicia prunifera) palm tree biomass as adsorbent for Pb(II) and Cd(II) from water medium

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plant-based biomass (CFB (carnauba fruit biomass)) obtained from the fruit exocarp of the species Copernicia prunifera (Mill.) H.E. Moore (carnauba)...     

Toxicity testing of pesticides in zebrafish—a systematic review on chemicals and associated toxicological endpoints

The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) has arisen as a promising biological platform for toxicity testing of pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Therefore, it is relevant to assess the use of zebrafish in models of exposure to investigate the diversity of pesticide-associated toxicity endpoints which have been reported. Thus, this review aimed to assess the recent literature on the use of zebrafish in pesticide toxicity studies to capture data on the types of pesticide used, classes of pesticides, and zebrafish life stages associated with toxicity endpoints and phenotypic observations. A total of 352 articles published between September 2012 and May 2019 were curated. The results show an increased trend in the use of zebrafish for testing the toxicity of pesticides, with a great diversity of pesticides (203) and chemical classes (58) with different applications (41) being used. Furthermore, experimental outcomes could be clustered in 13 toxicity endpoints, mainly developmental toxicity, oxidative stress, and neurotoxicity. Organophosphorus, pyrethroid, azole, and triazine were the most studied classes of pesticides and associated with various toxicity endpoints. Studies frequently opted for early life stages (embryos and larvae). Although there is an evident lack of standardization of nomenclatures and phenotypic alterations, the information gathered here highlights associations between (classes of) pesticides and endpoints, which can be used to relate mechanisms of action specific to certain classes of chemicals.     

Early development of vegetation in restored dune plant microhabitats on a nourished beach at Ocean City, New Jersey

Topography and vegetation of restored dunes on a developed barrier island were examined after a large-scale beach nourishment project. Restoration began in 1993 using sand-trapping fences andAmmophila breviligulata Fern. plantings. Subsequent growth of dunes was favored by installing new fences and suspending beach raking to accommodate nesting birds. Plant species richness, percent cover of vegetation, and height ofA. breviligulata were sampled in 1999 on seven shore perpendicular transects in six dune microhabitats (backdune, primary crest, mid-foredune, swale, seaward-most fenced ridge, incipient dune on the backbeach). A total of 26 plant taxa were found at all seven sites. Richness and percent cover were greatest in the backdune and crest, especially in locations that predated the 1992 nourishment. Richness was greater where fences enhanced stabilization. Fences initially compensate for time and space and allow vegetation to develop rapidly, but maintenance nourishment is required to protect against wave erosion and ensure long-term viability of habitat. An expanded environmental gradient is an option, where beach nourishment provides space for a species-rich crest and backdune to develop, while the incipient dune remains dynamic. Options where space is restricted include a dynamic, full-sized seaward section of a naturally functioning dune (truncated gradient) or a spatially restricted sampler of a wider natural dune (compressed gradient) maintained using fences. Expanded and truncated gradients may become self-sustaining and provide examples of natural cycles of change. Compressed gradients provide greater species richness and flood protection for the available space, but habitats are vulnerable to erosion, and resident views may be impaired.     

Stronger predation in the tropics shapes species richness patterns in marine communities

Species interactions are widely assumed to be stronger at lower latitudes, but surprisingly few experimental studies test this hypothesis, and none ties these processes to observed patterns of species richness across latitude. We report here the first experimental field test that predation is both stronger and has a disproportionate effect on species richness in the tropics relative to the temperate zone. We conducted predator-exclusion experiments on communities of sessile marine invertebrates in four regions, which span 32 degrees latitude, in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Over a three-month timescale, predation had no effect on species richness in the temperate zone. In the tropics, however, communities were from two to over ten times more species-rich in the absence of predators than when predators were present. While micro-and macro-predators likely compete for the limited prey resource in the tropics, micropredators alone were able to exert as much pressure on the invertebrate communities as the full predator community. This result highlights the extent to which exposure to even a subset of the predator guild can significantly impact species richness in the tropics. Patterns were consistent in analyses that included relative and total species abundances. Higher species richness in the absence of predators in the tropics was also observed when species occurrences were pooled across two larger spatial scales, site and region, demonstrating a consistent scaling relationship. These experimental results show that predation can both limit local species abundances and shape patterns of regional coexistence in the tropics. When preestablished diverse tropical communities were then exposed to predation for different durations, ranging from one to several days, species richness was always reduced. These findings confirmed that impacts of predation in the tropics are strong and consistent, even in more established communities. Our results offer empirical support for the long-held prediction that predation pressure is stronger at lower latitudes. Furthermore, we demonstrate the magnitude to which variation in predation pressure can contribute to the maintenance of tropical species diversity.     

Defining Nutrient and Biochemical Oxygen Demand Baselines for Tropical Rivers and Streams in São Paulo State (Brazil): A Comparison Between Reference and Impacted Sites

Determining reference concentrations in rivers and streams is an important tool for environmental management. Reference conditions for eutrophication-related water variables are unavailable for Brazilian freshwaters. We aimed to establish reference baselines for São Paulo State tropical rivers and streams for total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN), nitrogen-ammonia (NH₄ ⁺) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) through the best professional judgment and the trisection methods. Data from 319 sites monitored by the São Paulo State Environmental Company (2005 to 2009) and from the 22 Water Resources Management Units in São Paulo State were assessed (N = 27,131). We verified that data from different management units dominated by similar land cover could be analyzed together (Analysis of Variance, P = 0.504). Cumulative frequency diagrams showed that industrialized management units were characterized by the worst water quality (e.g. average TP of 0.51 mg/L), followed by agricultural watersheds. TN and NH₄ ⁺ were associated with urban percentages and population density (Spearman Rank Correlation Test, P < 0.05). Best professional judgment and trisection (median of lower third of all sites) methods for determining reference concentrations showed agreement: 0.03 &; 0.04 mg/L (TP), 0.31 &; 0.34 mg/L (TN), 0.06 &; 0.10 mg-N/L (NH₄ ⁺) and 2 &; 2 mg/L (BOD), respectively. Our reference concentrations were similar to TP and TN reference values proposed for temperate water bodies. These baselines can help with water management in São Paulo State, as well as providing some of the first such information for tropical ecosystems.