Exploring the risks and benefits of flexibility in biodiversity offset location in a case study of migratory shorebirds

Biodiversity offsets aim to counterbalance the residual impacts of development on species and ecosystems. Guidance documents explicitly recommend that biodiversity offset actions be located close to the location of impact because of higher potential for similar ecological conditions, but allowing greater spatial flexibility has been proposed. We examined the circumstances under which offsets distant from the impact location could be more likely to achieve no net loss or provide better ecological outcomes than offsets close to the impact area. We applied a graphical model for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway as a case study to explore the problems that arise when incorporating spatial flexibility into offset planning. Spatially flexible offsets may alleviate impacts more effectively than local offsets; however, the risks involved can be substantial. For our case study, there were inadequate data to make robust conclusions about the effectiveness and equivalence of distant habitat-based offsets for migratory shorebirds. Decisions around offset placement should be driven by the potential to achieve equivalent ecological outcomes; however, when considering more distant offsets, there is a need to evaluate the likely increased risks alongside the potential benefits. Although spatially flexible offsets have the potential to provide more cost-effective biodiversity outcomes and more cobenefits, our case study showed the difficulty of demonstrating these benefits in practice and the potential risks that need to be considered to ensure effective offset placement.     

Recycling food and agriculture by-products to mitigate climate change: a review

Food loss and waste is a major issue affecting food security, environmental pollution, producer profitability, consumer prices, and climate change. About 1.3 billion tons of food products are yearly lost globally, with China producing approximately 20 million tons of soybean dregs annually. Here, we review food and agricultural byproducts with emphasis on the strategies to convert this waste into valuable materials. Byproducts can be used for animal and plant nutrition, biogas production, food, extraction of oils and bioactive substances, and production of vinegar, wine, edible coatings and organic fertilizers. For instance, bioactive compounds represent approximately 8–20% of apple pomace, 5–17% of orange peel, 10–25% of grape seeds, 3–15% of pomegranate peel, and 2–13% of date palm seeds. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry uses approximately 6.5% of the total output of gelatin derived from fish bones and animal skin. Animals fed with pomegranate peel and olive pomace improved the concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein, the litter size, the milk yield, and nest characteristics. Biogas production amounts to 57.1% using soybean residue, 53.7% using papaya peel, and 49.1% using sugarcane bagasse.

     

Inexpensive substrate sampler for macroinvertebrates

Assessment of aquatic macroinvertebrates is a critical component of many watershed monitoring programs and passive samplers are often used to collect long-term site data, especially in environments where active sampling is not possible. However, standard passive samplers can be expensive and lost in extreme conditions. We developed a sampler using plastic soda bottles (PSB) filled with river rock and compared its effectiveness with standard Hester-Dendy samplers in both lotic and lentic environments. Abundance, taxa richness, and macroinvertebrate composition showed no significant differences between sampler types in either habitat type. PSB samplers, which can be constructed for less than one dollar each, collected the same number of organisms and represented the same diversity as Hester-Dendy devices that cost around $38 each. In studies where funds are limited, PSB samplers appear to be suitable for passive monitoring.     

Sulfonated graphene nanomaterials for membrane antifouling,pollutant removal,and production of chemicals from biomass: a review

Water pollution and the unsustainable use of fossil fuel derivatives require advanced catalytic methods to clean waters and to produce fine chemicals from modern biomass. Classical homogeneous catalysts such as sulfuric, phosphoric, and hydrochloric acid are highly corrosive and non-recyclable, whereas heterogeneous catalysts appear promising for lignocellulosic waste depolymerization, pollutant degradation, and membrane antifouling. Here, we review the use of sulfonated graphene and sulfonated graphene oxide nanomaterials for improving membranes, pollutant adsorption and degradation, depolymerization of lignocellulosic waste, liquefaction of biomass, and production of fine chemicals. We also discuss the economy of oil production from biomass. Sulfonated graphene and sulfonated graphene oxide display an unusual large theoretical specific surface area of 2630 m²/g, allowing the reactants to easily enter the internal surface of graphene nanosheets and to reach active acid sites. Sulfonated graphene oxide is hydrophobic and has hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, and epoxy, thus creating cavities on the graphene nanosheet’s surface. The adsorption capacity approached 2.3–2.4 mmol per gram for naphthalene and 1-naphthol. Concerning membranes, we observe an improvement of hydrophilicity, salt rejection, water flux, antifouling properties, and pollutant removal. The nanomaterials can be reused several times without losing catalytic activity due to the high stability originating from the stable carbon–sulfur bond between graphene and the sulfonic group.

     

Materials,fuels, upgrading,economy, and life cycle assessment of the pyrolysis of algal and lignocellulosic biomass: a review

Climate change issues are calling for advanced methods to produce materials and fuels in a carbon–neutral and circular way. For instance, biomass pyrolysis has been intensely investigated during the last years. Here we review the pyrolysis of algal and lignocellulosic biomass with focus on pyrolysis products and mechanisms, oil upgrading, combining pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion, economy, and life cycle assessment. Products include oil, gas, and biochar. Upgrading techniques comprise hot vapor filtration, solvent addition, emulsification, esterification and transesterification, hydrotreatment, steam reforming, and the use of supercritical fluids. We examined the economic viability in terms of profitability, internal rate of return, return on investment, carbon removal service, product pricing, and net present value. We also reviewed 20 recent studies of life cycle assessment. We found that the pyrolysis method highly influenced product yield, ranging from 9.07 to 40.59% for oil, from 10.1 to 41.25% for biochar, and from 11.93 to 28.16% for syngas. Feedstock type, pyrolytic temperature, heating rate, and reaction retention time were the main factors controlling the distribution of pyrolysis products. Pyrolysis mechanisms include bond breaking, cracking, polymerization and re-polymerization, and fragmentation. Biochar from residual forestry could sequester 2.74 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton biochar when applied to the soil and has thus the potential to remove 0.2–2.75 gigatons of atmospheric carbon dioxide annually. The generation of biochar and bio-oil from the pyrolysis process is estimated to be economically feasible.

     

Temporal variation in total phosphorus concentrations revealed from a multidecadal monitoring program on Big Platte Lake,Michigan

Effective water quality management depends on enactment of appropriately designed monitoring programs to reveal current and forecasted conditions. Because water quality conditions are influenced by numerous factors, commonly measured attributes such as total phosphorus (TP) can be highly temporally varying. For highly varying processes, monitoring programs should be long-term and periodic quantitative analyses are needed so that temporal trends can be distinguished from stochastic variation, which can yield insights into potential modifications to the program. Using generalized additive mixed modeling, we assessed temporal (yearly and monthly) trends and quantified other sources of variation (daily and subsampling) in TP concentrations from a multidecadal depth-specific monitoring program on Big Platte Lake, Michigan. Yearly TP concentrations decreased from the late 1980s to late 1990s before rebounding through the early 2000s. At depths of 2.29 to 13.72 m, TP concentrations have cycled around stationary points since the early 2000s, while at the surface and depths ≥?18.29 concentrations have continued declining. Summer and fall peaks in TP concentrations were observed at most depths, with the fall peak at deeper depths occurring 1 month earlier than shallower depths. Daily sampling variation (i.e., variation within a given month and year) was greatest at shallowest and deepest depths. Variation in subsamples collected from depth-specific water samples constituted a small fraction of total variation. Based on model results, cost-saving measures to consider for the monitoring program include reducing subsampling of depth-specific concentrations and reducing the number of sampling depths given observed consistencies across the program period.     

Assessment of the State of Lung Lichen, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lobaria pulmonaria</Emphasis> (L.) Hoffm., in Forest Communities with Different Times Since Disturbance in the Northeast of European Russia

Quantitative parameters of cenopopulations of Lobaria pulmonaria, an endangered cyanolichen, have been studied in spruce phytocenoses of Karelia recovering after disturbance through the successional stage of aspen stands for a period ranging from 80 to 450 years. The results show that, as the time since disturbance increases, the total number of L. pulmonaria thalli and the number of colonized substrate units increase as well, with no stabilization of these parameters being observed in the series of communities studied. The total area of thalli in the phytocenoses is restored within approximately 200 years after the last disturbance. In old-growth forests (>400 years), L. pulmonaria thalli colonize a broad spectrum of tree species in different life states, including lower branches of young spruce trees. Even if they serve as temporary substrates, this can markedly strengthen the potential of the species for further expansion within the community in case of shortage in the main phorophyte (aspen). Thus, the proportion of regressive populations decreases, while that of colonizing populations increases, which is indicative of successful reproduction of the species.     

Carbon Emission from the Surface of Coarse Woody Debris in Korean Pine Forests of Southern Primorye

Carbon dioxide fluxes from the surface of coarse woody debris (CWD) have been measured in Korean pine forests of the southern Sikhote-Alin mountain range. The seasonal dynamics of oxidative conversion of CWD carbon have been evaluated, and average values of the CO₂ emission rate have been determined for CWD fragments of three tree species at different stages of decomposition. The degree of decomposition is an important factor of spatial variation in CO₂ emission rate, and temporal variation in this parameter is adequately described by an exponential function of both CWD temperature and air temperature (R² = 0.65–0.75).     

Hunting Selectivity and Its Influence on the Structure of Sable Populations in the Cis-Ural Region

The structure of commercial sable samples from the Cis-Ural region was studied taking into account hunting method (shooting or trapping). The proportion of adult animals was found to be significantly lower in samples taken during the first half of the hunting season, compared to the second half, indicating predominant harvesting of young animals. To estimate the degree of hunting selectivity (I), the ratios of demographic groups among shot and trapped animals were calculated. The results confirmed the fact of selective hunting for underyearlings both by shooting (I = 1.49–1.60 for the Cis-Ural region and I = 2.46–3.37 for the Western Sayan Mountains) and by trapping (I = 2.80–4.37), especially during the first half of winter. Samples taken during the second half of the season were characterized by prevalence of adult animals making up the reproductive core of the population (I = 1.43–2.07). It is considered that the process of reproduction in Cis-Ural sable populations in the 1960s to 1980s was stimulated by intensive commercial hunting. To maintain reproduction of sable populations at a safe level, it is necessary to reduce the period of hunting in the first quarter of the year. It is proposed to use the phenomenon of hunting selectivity for managing sable populations, regulating their exploitation, and improving the economic productivity of habitats. Commercial hunting in terms of its impact on the population can act as a factor of conscious or unconscious artificial selection.     

Injection-Molded Bioblends from Lignin and Biodegradable Polymers: Processing and Performance Evaluation

This paper investigates the effects of the incorporation of lignin and small quantities of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) as an impact modifying agent on blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The addition of lignin resulted in a slight improvement of flexural strength and modulus of the ternary blending system. Incorporation of ENR into the blend resulted in an increase in notched Izod impact strength from 40 to 135% depending on the concentration of ENR. The addition of lignin into the blend resulted in an improvement of thermal stability of the ternary blend system. Morphological analysis showed a good dispersion of PHBV phases and lignin within the PCL matrix. Rheological characterization revealed that the presence of lignin resulted in increased storage modulus of the bioblend.