Implementing the monitoring breakdown structure: native lichens as biomonitors of element deposition in the southern Patagonian forest connected with the Puyehue volcano event in 2011—a 6-year survey (2006–2012)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aims to investigate the airborne elements’ deposition by using native Usnea barbata lichens as biomonitors in the forested areas of...     

Monitoring of marine mucilage formation in Italian seas investigated by infrared spectroscopy and independent component analysis

The aim of this study is to present and to discuss some characteristics of recalcitrant organic matter mechanism and formation. These aggregates called mucilages that are produced by the degradation reactions of several algae, have been investigated by infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FTIR spectra of macroaggregates produced by different algal samples have been daily collected in order to investigate the steps of aggregation. Afterwards, they have been elaborated by means of Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ICA investigation of FTIR spectra showed that the global aggregation process of marine mucilage always consisted of two different phases or independent components (ICs). One IC is related to the first degradation step of algal cells leading to the production of mono and oligosaccharides with aminoacids and oligopeptides. The second IC is related to the polymerization of oligosaccharides with aminoacids and oligopeptides and to their interaction with less polar compounds such as lipids thus producing supramolecular structures. The emerging mechanisms of anomalous size aggregates of organic matter match those of natural organic matter aggregation. The approach we suggest is to use synthetic mucilages which allows to monitor the macroaggregates formation because it can hardly be performed by means of natural marine macroaggregates.     

Comparison of environmental impacts related to municipal solid waste and construction and demolition waste management and recycling in a Latin American developing city

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Construction and demolition waste (CDW) and municipal solid waste (MSW) are the waste flows mostly generated at a global level. In developing...     

Copper availability assessment of Cu-contaminated vineyard soils using black oat cultivation and chemical extractants

Grapevines grown on acid soils with low fertility in southern Brazil are treated with intense foliar applications of copper (Cu) fungicides, resulting in an increased level of Cu in the soil and increased toxicity. The present study evaluated the accumulation and bioavailability of Cu, and soils with varying levels of Cu from the main producing regions of southern Brazil were collected. The forms of Cu present in the soil were assessed using chemical extractants; additionally, oat cultivation was performed, reflecting the use of the plant as an indicator of Cu bioavailability. Cu accumulated in the topsoil, mainly in bioavailable forms, and there was also an increase of Cu up to a depth of 0.4 m. Cu was primarily found in the mineral fraction, with apparent saturation of the soil organic matter functional groups. Inceptisol and Alfisol soils with a long history of cupric fungicide application were found to have levels of Cu toxic to oat plants. Furthermore, accumulated copper in Alfisol soil from the Campanha Gaúcha region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul had higher bioavailability compared to Cu accumulated in Inceptisol soil from the Serra Gaúcha region. In addition, the copper concentration in roots was found to serve as an indicator of Cu bioavailability in soil, but not of copper phytotoxicity in plants.     

Knowing the past to forecast the future: a case study on a relictual,endemic species of the SW Alps, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Berardia subacaulis</Emphasis>

Future climate change may lead to a substantial loss of biodiversity, particularly affecting mountain regions, including the Alps. Range-size reduction in high mountain plant species is predicted to be more pronounced for endemic species. Investigating the broad temporal spectrum of range shifts is important for the conservation of biodiversity, since learning how species responded to climate change in the past provides useful insights on how they might react to warming trends in the present and future. Using species distribution models and an ensemble forecasting approach, we explored how the distribution of Berardia subacaulis, a monospecific genus endemic of the south-west Alps, may be affected by past and future projected climate change. During the last interglacial, the habitat suitability of Berardia was lower than present and a progressive increase was observed from the last glacial maximum until now. In the future, Berardia appears to lose more than 80 % of its range, becoming endangered by 2050. Our results suggest that Berardia probably survived past warmer periods in situ, expanding its distributional range during cooler periods. The severe future range contraction predicted for Berardia reflects similar results for other endemic species. As Berardia represents an interesting model species to evaluate the effects of climate warming on range size and shifts, demographic and precise range monitoring may be undertaken on this species.     

Size-dependent concentrations of trace metals in four Mediterranean gastropods.

In order to gain more information on the possible use of four gastropod species as metal biomonitors for the Mediterranean area, the influence of body weight upon Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations was studied in specimens collected at locations with different degrees of environmental pollution. The selected species were the marine snails Monodonta turbinata Born and Monodonta mutabilis Philippi, and the limpets Patella caerulea L. and Patella lusitanica Gmelin. Significant differences between metal concentrations in individuals from different stations were tested by ANCOVA on log-transformed data with log body weight as covariate. For all species a positive correlation between metal concentrations and body weight was observed, which means that the largest individuals contained the highest levels of metals. The inclusion of body weight as covariate in the statistical analysis explained from 81% to 99% of the metal variability within the organisms and enabled the achievement of improvements in the detection of differences among sites. The four selected species provided a rather univocal picture of bioavailable metal loads at the different stations of the experimental area. Except for Cd, the metal concentrations recorded at the clean stations were found to lie in the range of the lowest values reported in the literature and can be employed as useful background levels which can be referred to for intraspecific comparison within the Mediterranean area. It is concluded that in view of its distribution, unambiguous identification, resistance to pollution and accumulation patterns M. turbinata has considerable potential as a biomonitor of trace metals over the Mediterranean.     

A Concentric Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization on the Threatened European Tree Frog in an Agricultural Landscape

Abstract:  Pond-breeding amphibians are affected by site-specific factors and regional and landscape-scale patterns of land use. Recent anthropogenic landscape modifications (drainage, agriculture intensification, larger road networks, and increased traffic) affect species by reducing the suitable habitat area and fragmenting remaining populations. Using a robust concentric approach based on permutation tests, we evaluated the impact of recent landscape changes on the presence of the endangered European tree frog ( Hyla arborea ) in wetlands. We analyzed the frequency of 1 traffic and 14 land-use indices at 20 circular ranges (from 100-m up to 2-km radii) around 76 ponds identified in western Switzerland. Urban areas and road surfaces had a strong adverse effect on tree frog presence even at relatively great distances (from 100 m up to 1 km). When traffic measurements were considered instead of road surfaces, the effect increased, suggesting a negative impact due to a vehicle-induced effect. Altogether, our results indicate that urbanization and traffic must be taken into account when pond creation is an option in conservation management plans, as is the case for the European tree frog in western Switzerland. We conclude that our easy-to-use and robust concentric method of analysis can successfully assist managers in identifying potential sites for pond creation, where probability of the presence of tree frogs is maximized.     

Honeybees and their products as potential bioindicators of heavy metals contamination

The concentrations of three representative heavy metals(cadmium, chromium and lead) were measured by atomic absorptionspectroscopy in honeybees and in apiary's products (honey,pollen, propolis, and wax). Samples were collected from fivedifferent sampling points: four from areas surrounding the cityof Rome, and the fifth in the city center which receives intensevehicular traffic. All apiaries employed for this study werespecifically constructed without any metal part in order toavoid the risk of contamination of the assayed materials.Sample collection was conducted over a 3-month period (6samplings for honey and pollen, 3 sampling for propolis and wax,2 samplings for honeybees, all of which were collected in duplicate). Experimental data revealed, in general,statistically significant differences between the backgroundlevels of heavy metals recorded from the reference sites and thelevels measured in the site located in the center of the city ofRome.These results indicate that honeybees and, to a lesser extent,some of their products (pollen, propolis, wax, but not honey),can be considered representative bioindicators of environmentalpollution.