Correction to: Impact of precipitation disparity on groundwater fluctuation in a semi-arid region (Vellore district) of southern India using geospatial techniques

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13406-7     

Changes in the Distribution of Broadleaf Tree Species in the Central Part of the Southern Urals since the 1970s

Russian Journal of Ecology - Changes in the distribution of broadleaf tree species—Tilia cordata Mill., Quercus robur L., Acer platanoides L., and Ulmus glabra Huds.—in the central part...     

Dynamics of the Community of Hole-nesting Birds upon Reduction of Industrial Emissions (the Example of the Middle Ural Copper Smelter)

Russian Journal of Ecology - The dynamics of the species richness, breeding density, and structure of the community of birds occupying nest-boxes upon a 50-fold reduction of atmospheric emissions...     

A particle swarm optimization methodology to design an effective air quality monitoring network

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Good air quality is highly essential to the well-being of mankind, all living organisms and the environment. The quality of air is degrading at a...     

A multivariate statistical approach for the evaluation of spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water quality from the small reservoir located in the drought-prone area of South-West India: a case study of Tiru reservoir (India)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the use of different multivariate statistical analysis methods, spatio-temporal fluctuations in the water parameters of Tiru reservoir located at...     

Improving inferences about private land conservation by accounting for incomplete reporting

Private lands provide key habitat for imperiled species and are core components of function protectected area networks; yet, their incorporation into national and regional conservation planning has been challenging. Identifying locations where private landowners are likely to participate in conservation initiatives can help avoid conflict and clarify trade-offs between ecological benefits and sociopolitical costs. Empirical, spatially explicit assessment of the factors associated with conservation on private land is an emerging tool for identifying future conservation opportunities. However, most data on private land conservation are voluntarily reported and incomplete, which complicates these assessments. We used a novel application of occupancy models to analyze the occurrence of conservation easements on private land. We compared multiple formulations of occupancy models with a logistic regression model to predict the locations of conservation easements based on a spatially explicit social–ecological systems framework. We combined a simulation experiment with a case study of easement data in Idaho and Montana (United States) to illustrate the utility of the occupancy framework for modeling conservation on private land. Occupancy models that explicitly accounted for variation in reporting produced estimates of predictors that were substantially less biased than estimates produced by logistic regression under all simulated conditions. Occupancy models produced estimates for the 6 predictors we evaluated in our case study that were larger in magnitude, but less certain than those produced by logistic regression. These results suggest that occupancy models result in qualitatively different inferences regarding the effects of predictors on conservation easement occurrence than logistic regression and highlight the importance of integrating variable and incomplete reporting of participation in empirical analysis of conservation initiatives. Failure to do so can lead to emphasizing the wrong social, institutional, and environmental factors that enable conservation and underestimating conservation opportunities in landscapes where social norms or institutional constraints inhibit reporting.     

The deflectors influence on flow complexity,bed morphology,sediment transport and water quality of urban lotic waters - A laboratory study

In this laboratory study different combinations of bed (sand, pebble gravel [gravel], and a mix of sand and gravel) and flow (typical and overtopping) were experimented with to investigate the impact of porous deflectors in flow diversity, water quality, and fish performance in prismatic open channels. Deflectors changed the gradually varied flow to a rapidly varied flow, as a sudden change in the water depth was observed at the deflectors, and this change was large for smooth beds. With the presence of gravel, the scouring near the downstream deflector was almost twice that of the sand bed, and with the scouring at its own upstream deflector, irrespective of whether the flow was typical or overtopping. This behavior was a result of sand mobilization due to shear stress and sand mobilization aided gravel transport. The mixed bed showed less gravel movement compared to the gravel-only bed. The percentage of sediment washed out was minor for all bed scenarios, indicating that sediment transport was local. Relative to the sand bed without deflectors (representing a typical urban canal), deflectors resulted in reduced and improved water quality (in terms of sediment load) for sand, and mixed bed, respectively. The fishes found refuge and were comfortable in the pool areas created by deflectors unlike in channels without deflectors where they showed exhaustion.     

Impact of floodplain and Stage 0 stream restoration on flood attenuation and floodplain exchange during small frequent storms

River flooding impacts human life and infrastructure, yet provides habitat and ecosystem services. Traditional flood control (e.g., levees, dams) reduces habitat and ecosystem services, and exacerbates flooding elsewhere. Floodplain restoration (i.e., bankfull floodplain reconnection and Stage 0) can also provide flood management, but has not been sufficiently evaluated for small frequent storms. We used 1D unsteady Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System to simulate small storms in a 5 km-long, second-order generic stream from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and varied % channel restored (starting at the upstream end), restoration location, restoration bank height (distinguishes bankfull from Stage 0 restoration), and floodplain width/Manning's n. Stream restoration decreased (attenuated) peak flow up to 37% and increased floodplain exchange by up to 46%. Floodplain width and % channel restored had the largest impact on flood attenuation. The incremental effects of new restoration projects on flood attenuation were greatest when little prior restoration had occurred. By contrast, incremental effects on floodplain exchange were greatest in the presence of substantial prior restoration, setting up a tradeoff. A similar tradeoff was revealed between attenuation and exchange for project location, but not bank height or floodplain width. In particular, attenuation and exchange were always greater for Stage 0 than for bankfull floodplain restoration. Stage 0 thus may counteract human impacts such as urbanization.     

Dyes removal from water using polymeric nanocomposites: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Most dyes are pollutants that should be removed from waters due to their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties, requiring advanced adsorption methods. Here, we...     

Study of the performance of a coolant mixed with an Al2O3/SiC nanomaterial in an engine radiator

One of the important components of a car to control the temperature of a car's engine is the radiator. To increase the heat absorption capacity of the coolant/fluid used in the radiator with minimum pumping power, innovative fluids called nanofluids have become the main area of research these days. Therefore, with the development of new technologies in the field of “nano-materials” and “nano-fluids,” the physical and chemical properties of coolant/fluid can be improved which in turn improves the radiator and engine efficiency, and reduces radiator weight and size. In this article, the heat transfer by forced convection in nanofluids based on Al₂O₃ and SiC was studied experimentally and compared to that of base fluid in an automotive radiator. The nanofluid is mixed with ethylene glycol and the fluid is prepared by the sonication method. The nanofluids were prepared by varying the nanomaterials and the amounts of nanomaterials in the base fluid and their heat transfer performance in the radiator was analyzed using ANSYS FLUENT software. Approximately 15% and 12% increase in radiator efficiency by using Al₂O₃ mixed nanofluid and SiC mixed nanofluid, respectively.