Lead and cadmium contaminations in feathers of heron and egret chicks

In birds, concentrations of heavy metal contaminants were associated with their diet and environmental quality. This study presents concentrations of lead and cadmium in feathers and the relationship between concentrations in the feather and stomach content of three species of heron and egret chicks. Cadmium concentrations were higher in the Little Egret (geomean 0.75 μg/g dry weight) and Black-crowned Night Heron (geomean 0.88 μg/g dry weight) chicks than in Grey Heron chicks (geomean 0.48 μg/g dry weight). Lead and cadmium concentrations had significant correlations between feathers and stomach contents of heron and egret chicks. The mean lead and cadmium concentrations in feathers were within the background levels for wild birds. Heron and egret species forage around breeding colony (4–7 km). Lead and cadmium concentrations in heron and egret chicks were moderately associated with those of prey concentrations. These results suggest that contaminant concentrations such as lead and cadmium in feathers of heron and egret chicks can reflect local heavy metal contaminations and serve as a great biological indicator for monitoring heavy metal contamination. In addition, the feathers can be a routine monitoring tool over time and space without harming the wild birds.     

Utilizing the great blue heron (Ardea herodias) in ecological risk assessments of bioaccumulative contaminants

Selection of an appropriate species is a key element of effective ecological risk assessments (ERA), especially when site-specific field studies are to be employed. Great blue herons (GBH) possess several ideal characteristics of a receptor species for the assessment of bioaccumulative compounds in the environment, such as ease of study, high potential for exposure, widespread distribution, and territorial foraging behavior. Methodologies for assessing exposure and population health are described herein. As outlined, the collection of GBH eggs, GBH nestling blood, and adult GBH blood allows for the determination of contaminant concentrations in various GBH tissues, a top-down assessment, which can be done in conjunction with predicted dietary exposure, a bottom-up assessment, to support a multiple lines of evidence approach. Additionally, population parameters, such as productivity and survival, can also be measured to elucidate if the contaminant exposure may be causing population level effects. Over the course of two years, three GBH rookeries were monitored for productivity and nestling exposure. Nests were monitored from blinds and individually accessed at multiple time points to obtain measures of nestling health, band nestlings, and collect eggs and nestling plasma. Multiple nests could frequently be accessed by climbing one tree, resulting in minimal effort to obtain the necessary sample size. Additionally, 51 adult GBH, captured in their foraging areas, were banded, and provided a blood sample. With these samples, a statistical difference in tissue based exposure was identified between the reference and target area. Statistically significant differences were also identified between the upper and lower reaches of the target area, thereby identifying a range of doses geographically which could be correlated to specific measurement endpoints. The ability to identify a dose response greatly increases the ability of the dataset to determine causation, a key goal of such studies. Overall, the use of the described methods allowed for the collection of a statistically sufficient and ecologically relevant dataset with reasonable effort and minimal impact on GBH.     

Public Debt,Life Expectancy,and the Environment

The economic literature has shown that some countries may be trapped in what is called an ”environmental poverty trap”: poor longevity implies little maintenance of the environment, which leads to high levels of pollution that in turn keeps life expectancy low. Since life expectancy is an important determinant of saving, these economies may not be able to grow. This article aims to provide policy recommendations to improve both environmental quality and growth in the context of debt consolidation. Notably, it studies how public debt and public maintenance may be used to escape from the environmental poverty trap. A welfare analysis is then undertaken to show that public debt is an instrument which helps to solve the capital over-accumulation problem and to achieve environmental objectives.     

Mercury, cadmium, lead, and selenium in fish from a Norwegian fjord and off the coast, the importance of sampling locality

Hepatic levels of mercury, cadmium, lead, and selenium and levels of mercury and selenium in muscle tissue were analysed in tusk from the Nordfjord in Norway. With the exception of selenium in the muscle tissue, the metal levels were significantly higher in the fjord fish than in fish caught off the coast. No local source is known to explain the difference in levels, and this indicates that the fjord efficiently accumulates atmospheric contaminants. The present results demonstrate the importance of sampling area when determining levels of metals in marine organisms far from point sources. The liver was increasingly used as a storage compartment for mercury and selenium with increasing exposure.     

Evaluation of the effects of ozone and acidic precipitation,alone and in combination,on the photosynthesis,nutrition, and growth of red spruce and sugar maple

Substantial and widespread morbidity and mortality of red spruce have been observed in high elevation forests of the northeast under circumstances indicative of a stress-related disease. Whether red spruce at lower elevations are experiencing a more subtle loss of growth and vigor is uncertain. In addition, sugar maple has exhibited decline of varying extent and intensity for several decades. Forests in the northeast are exposed to two air pollutants, ozone (O₃) and acidic precipitation, that are widespread in occurrence and have the potential, both individually and collectively, to produce impacts to forest trees. the roles, if any, of these two stress agents in the tree declines found in the northeast are not known.In 1986, a five-year study was initiated to evaluate the effects of O₃ and acidic precipitation on red spruce and sugar maple. The trees will be exposed to controlled levels of O₃ and acidic precipitation in the field using open-top chambers. The experiment is a 4×3 factorial conducted in split plots with O₃ treatments as whole plots and simulated rain treatments comprising the split plots. Broadly stated, the research will evaluate the effects of the pollutants on the processes, fluxes, and pools associated with carbon, water, and nutrients in the soil/tree/atmosphere system. These evaluations will be conducted on a systems level and will be integrated through the development of mechanistic simulation models.Assessment of the effects of the treatments on carbon fixation by photosynthesis, the loss of carbon through respiration, and the allocation of carbon in growth will be a central focus of the study. Whole-tree cuvettes will be used to assess net photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, and stomatal conductance.Considerable emphasis will be placed on determining the influences of the treatments on the biogeochemistry of the system. These studies will focus on the leaching of nutrients from the tree canopy, the mobilization and loss of nutrients from the soil, soil solution chemistry, and the alteration of tree nutrition by the input of additional nitrogen in precipitation.Statistical and simulation modeling will be used to assess and describe the effects of the treatments. The modeling approaches are different in technique, but complementary. Statistical models will be used to describe the responses of growth and physiological variables to the ozone and acidic precipitation treatments. Simulation models will be built to describe the relationships between photosynthesis, respiration, nutrition, and water use, how these processes are affected by the treatments, and how these effects ultimately result in altered growth. The simulation models will initially provide a framework for the formulation of hypotheses regarding the interrelationships of plant components and processes and how they are affected by the treatments.Contribution from Fourth World Wilderness Congress—Acid Rain Symposium, Denver (Estes Park), Colorado, September 11–18, 1987.     

Characterization and Identification of the Sources of Chromium, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Manganese and Iron in Pm10 Particulates at the Two Sites of Kolkata, India

Monitoring of ambient PM₁₀ (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter) has been done at residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003 to November 2004. These sites were selected depending on the dominant anthropogenic activities. Metal constituents of atmospheric PM₁₀ deposited on glass fibre filter paper were estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). Chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are the seven toxic trace metals quantified from the measured PM₁₀ concentrations. The 24 h average concentrations of Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn and Fe from ninety PM₁₀ particulate samples of Kolkata were found to be 6.9, 506.1, 79.1, 3.3, 7.4, 2.4 and 103.6 ng/m³, respectively. The 24 h average PM₁₀ concentration exceeded national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) as specified by central pollution control board, India at both residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) areas with mean concentration of 140.1 and 196.6 μg/m³, respectively. A simultaneous meteorology study was performed to assess the influence of air masses by wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, relative humidity and temperature. The measured toxic trace metals generally showed inverse relationship with wind speed, relative humidity and temperature. Factor analysis, a receptor modeling technique has been used for identification of the possible sources contributing to the PM₁₀. Varimax rotated factor analysis identified four possible sources of measured trace metals comprising solid waste dumping, vehicular traffic with the influence of road dust, road dust and soil dust at residential site (Kasba), while vehicular traffic with the influence of soil dust, road dust, galvanizing and electroplating industry, and tanning industry at industrial site (Cossipore).     

Environmentally safe sewage sludge disposal: the impact of liming on the behaviour of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn

Dewatered sewage sludge containing relatively high total concentrations of Cr (945 micrograms ml-1), Cu (523 micrograms ml-1), Ni (1186 micrograms ml-1) and Zn (2950 micrograms ml-1) was treated with quicklime and sawdust for sludge disinfection and post-stabilisation. The mobility of the heavy metals in the sludge samples was assessed by applying a modified five-step Tessier sequential extraction procedure. Water was added as a first step for estimation of the proportion of the easily soluble metal fractions. To check the precision of the analytical work the concentrations of heavy metals in steps 1-6 of the extraction procedure were summed and compared to the total metal concentrations. The mass balance agreed within +/- 3% for Cd, Cu, Cr, and Zn and within +/- 5% for Ni, Pb, Fe and Mn. Data from the partitioning study indicate that in the lime-treated sludge at a pH of 12 the mobility of Cu and Ni notably increased with the solubilisation of these metals from their organic and/or carbonate and Fe and Mn oxide and hydroxide fractions, respectively. Liming slightly decreased the proportion of other heavy metals in the easily soluble fractions while its impact on the partitioning between other sludge phases was almost insignificant. Due to the increased solubility of Ni and Cu as well as potential Cr oxidation at high pH, liming cannot be recommended for sludge disinfection. Addition of sawdust did not change the heavy metal partitioning.     

Selenium in the Blackfoot, Salt, and Bear River Watersheds

Nine stream sites in the Blackfoot River, Salt River, and Bear River watersheds in southeast Idaho, USA were sampled in May 2001 for water, surficial sediment, aquatic plants, aquatic invertebrates, and fish. Selenium was measured in these aquatic ecosystem components, and a hazard assessment was performed on the data. Water quality characteristics such as pH, hardness, and specific conductance were relatively uniform among the nine sites. Of the aquatic components assessed, water was the least contaminated with selenium because measured concentrations were below the national water quality criterion of 5 g/L at eight of the nine sites. In contrast, selenium was elevated in sediment, aquatic plants, aquatic invertebrates, and fish from several sites, suggesting deposition in sediments and food web cycling through plants and invertebrates. Selenium was elevated to concentrations of concern in fish at eight sites (> 4 g/g in whole body). A hazard assessment of selenium in the aquatic environment suggested a moderate hazard at upper Angus Creek (UAC) and Smoky Creek (SC), and high hazard at Little Blackfoot River (LiB), Blackfoot River gaging station (BGS), State Land Creek (SLC), upper (UGC) and lower Georgetown Creek (LGC), Deer Creek (DC), and Crow Creek (CC). The results of this study indicate that selenium concentrations from the phosphate mining area of southeast Idaho were sufficiently elevated in several ecosystem components to cause adverse effects to aquatic resources in southeastern Idaho.     

Characterization of Benthic Communities and Physical Habitat in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers, California

The primary goal of this study was to characterize physical habitat and benthic communities (macroinvertebrates) in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers in California’s San Joaquin Valley in 2003. These rivers have been listed as impaired water bodies (303 (d) list) by the State of California due to the presence of organophosphate (OP) insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon, Group A pesticides (i.e., organochlorine pesticides), mercury, or unknown toxicity. Based on 10 instream and riparian physical habitat metrics, total physical habitat scores in the Stanislaus River ranged from 124 to 188 (maximum possible total score is 200). The highest total habitat score was reported at the upstream site. Tuolumne River physical habitat scores ranged from 86 to 167. Various Tuolumne River physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, increased from downstream to upstream in this river. Merced River physical habitat scores ranged from 121 to 170 with a significant increase in various physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, reported from downstream to upstream. Channel flow (an instream metric) and bank stability (a riparian metric) were the most important physical habitat metrics influencing the various benthic metrics for all three rivers. Abundance measures of benthic macroinvertebrates (5,100 to 5,400 individuals) were similar among the three rivers in the San Joaquin watershed. Benthic communities in all three rivers were generally dominated by: (1) Baetidae species (mayflies) which are a component of EPT taxa generally considered sensitive to environmental degradation; (2) Chironomidae (midges) which can be either tolerant or sensitive to environmental stressors depending on the species; (3) Ephemerellidae (mayflies) which are considered sensitive to pollution stress; and (4) Naididae (aquatic worms) which are generally considered tolerant to environmental stressors. The presence of 117 taxa in the Stanislaus River, 114 taxa in the Tuolumne River and 96 taxa in the Merced River implies that the benthic communities in these streams are fairly diverse but without a clear definition of benthic community expectations it is unknown if these water bodies are actually impaired.     

山水林田湖草生态保护修复江苏实践与思考

“实施山水林田湖草生态保护和修复工程，全面提升自然生态系统稳定性和生态服务功能”是习近平生态文明思想的重要创新成果，为开展生态环境保护修复工作提供了重要指引和根本遵循。2019年以来，江苏省开展山水林田湖草生态保护修复省级试点工程共5类59个工程项目。在总结了试点地区工作经验做法的基础上，针对存在的生态保护修复和绿色发展协同理念认识不足、生态修复保护整体性和系统性不够、生态修复经验总结及全周期管理有待加强、打破界限的体制机制改革创新亟需完善等问题及难点，提出了相应的工作政策建议，以期打造全国生态保护修复的江苏样板。     

Prediction of the solubility of zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, and lead in metal-contaminated soils

Risk assessment of metal-contaminated soil depends on how precisely one can predict the solubility of metals in soils. Responses of plants and soil organisms to metal toxicity are explained by the variation in free metal ion activity in soil pore water. This study was undertaken to predict the free ion activity of Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Pb in metal-contaminated soil as a function of pH, soil organic carbon, and extractable metal content. For this purpose, 21 surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected from agricultural lands of various locations receiving sewage sludge and industrial effluents for a long period. One soil sample was also collected from agricultural land which has been under intensive cropping and receiving irrigation through tube well water. Soil samples were varied widely in respect of physicochemical properties including metal content. Total Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Pb in experimental soils were 2,015?±?3,373, 236?±?286, 103?±?192, 29.8?±?6.04, and 141?±?270 mg kg^?1, respectively. Free metal ion activity, viz., pZn²⁺, pCu²⁺, pNi²⁺, pCd²⁺, and pPb²⁺, as estimated by the Baker soil test was 9.37?±?1.89, 13.1?±?1.96, 12.8?±?1.89, 11.9?±?2.00, and 11.6?±?1.52, respectively. Free metal ion activity was predicted by pH-dependent Freundlich equation (solubility model) as a function of pH, organic carbon, and extractable metal. Results indicate that solubility model as a function of pH, Walkley–Black carbon (WBC), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-extractable metals could explain the variation in pZn²⁺, pCu²⁺, pNi²⁺, pCd²⁺, and pPb²⁺ to the extent of 59, 56, 46, 52, and 51 %, respectively. Predictability of the solubility model based on pH, KMnO₄-oxidizable carbon, and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-extractable or CaCl₂-extractable metal was inferior compared to that based on EDTA-extractable metals and WBC.     

Where,why, and to what extent have rangelands in the Karoo,South Africa,desertified

We used simple questionnaire surveys to obtain rough categorical information on the status of semiarid and arid rangelands in the Karoo, South Africa. We sent questionnaires to extension officers of the Department of Agricultural Development, asking them to rank the condition of the rangeland in their extension districts (usually about 500 farms) on a three- or five-point scale. The questionnaire also sought information on the possible reasons for changes in the condition of the rangelands; vegetation types most at risk on mismanaged rangelands; and changes in the status of plants, birds, and mammals. Extension officers rated 35% of the semiarid rangelands in southwestern South Africa (the Karoo and southern Kalahari Desert) as being in poor condition. There was some congruency between the perceived condition of the agricultural extension district and the percentage that the stocking rate had decreased. Rangeland condition in more arid areas tends to be poor. Stocking rates have decreased disproportionately more in arid areas than in the more mesic areas of southwestern South Africa. Grasses were rated as the most threatened group of plants, and succulents the least threatened group. Overgrazing in the past was considered to be the most important cause of present-day rangeland condition, followed by present overstocking of rangelands. Antelope were considered more threatened by rangeland management than mammalian carnivores. Avian raptors and bustards, gamebirds, and tortoises were all perceived to be threatened by rangeland mismanagement.     

Occurrence,sources, and ecological risks of PBDEs,PCBs, OCPs,and PAHs in surface sediments of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster,China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 25 surface sediments in three cities (Nantong, Wuxi, and Suzhou) in the Yangtze River Delta, eastern China were measured. The mean concentrations were 378, 45.8, 1.98, 4,002 ng/g for PBDEs, OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, respectively. Their levels in the sediments in the three cities were generally consistent with the city industrialization. PBDEs and OCPs were markedly dominated by deca-BDE (>90 %) and DDTs (>70 %). A principle component analysis of the analytes identified three major factors suggesting different sources of the contaminants in the sediments. PBDEs and the organic carbon in the sediments have common sources from industrial activities; whereas OCPs and PCBs, correlated with the second factor, were mainly from historical sources. The third factor with loadings of PAHs is indicative of various combustion sources. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the potential highest risk is from DDTs, for which 22 sites exceed the effects range low (ERL) values and three sites exceed the effects range median (ERM) value.     

Proponent-Indigenous agreements and the implementation of the right to free,prior, and informed consent in Canada

Indigenous peoples have gained considerable agency in shaping decisions regarding resource development on their traditional lands. This growing agency is reflected in the emergence of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) when Indigenous rights may be adversely affected by major resource development projects. While many governments remain non-committal toward FPIC, corporate actors are more proactive at engaging with Indigenous peoples in seeking their consent to resource extraction projects through negotiated Impact and Benefit Agreements. Focusing on the Canadian context, this article discusses the roots and implications of a proponent-driven model for seeking Indigenous consent to natural resource extraction on their traditional lands. Building on two case studies, the paper argues that negotiated consent through IBAs offers a truncated version of FPIC from the perspective of the communities involved. The deliberative ethic at the core of FPIC is often undermined in the negotiation process associated with proponent-led IBAs.     

Concentrations of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Selenium, and Zinc in Fish from the Mississippi River Basin, 1995

Fish were collected in late 1995 from 34 National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP) stations and 12 National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) stations in the Mississippi River basin (MRB), and in late 1996 from a reference site in West Virginia. The NCBP sites represented key points (dams, tributaries, etc.) in the largest rivers of the MRB. The NAWQA sites were typically on smaller rivers and were selected to represent dominant land uses in their watersheds. The West Virginia site, which is in an Eastern U.S. watershed adjacent to the MRB, was selected to document elemental concentrations in fish used for other aspects of a larger study and to provide additional contemporaneous data on background elemental concentrations. At each site four samples, each comprising (nominally) 10 adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio, 'carp') or black bass (Micropterus spp., 'bass') of the same sex, were collected. The whole fish were composited by station, species, and gender for analysis of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) by atomic absorption spectroscopy and for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) by inductively-coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Concentrations of most of the elements examined were lower in both carp and bass from the reference site, a small impoundment located in a rural area, than from the NCBP and NAWQA sites on rivers and larger impoundments. In contrast, there were few overall differences between NCBP sites NAWQA sites. The 1995 results generally confirmed the continued weathering and re-distribution of these elemental contaminants in the MRB; concentrations declined or were unchanged from 1984-1986 to 1995 at most NCBP sites, thus continuing two-decade trends. Exceptions were Se at Station 77 (Arkansas R. at John Martin Reservoir, CO), where concentrations have been elevated historically and increased slightly (to 3.8-4.7 microg g-(1) in bass and carp); and Pb, Cd, and Zn at Station 67 (Allegheny R. at Natrona, PA), where levels of these metals were high in the past and increased from 1986 to 1995.     

Distribution, speciation, and risk assessment of selected metals in the gold and iron mine soils of the catchment area of Miyun Reservoir, Beijing, China

In order to investigate the metal distribution, speciation, correlation and origin, risk assessment, 86 surface soil samples from the catchment area around the Miyun Reservoir, Beijing, including samples from gold and iron mine areas, were monitored for fractions of heavy metal and total contents. Most of the metal concentrations in the gold and iron mine soil samples exceeded the metal background levels in Beijing. The contents of most elements in the gold mine tailings were noticeably higher than those in the iron mine tailings. Geochemical speciation data of the metals showed that the residual fraction dominated most of the heavy metals in both mines. In both mine areas, Mn had the greatest the acid-soluble fraction (F1) per portion. The high secondary-phase fraction portion of Cd in gold mine samples indicated that there was a direct potential hazard to organisms in the tested areas. Multivariate analysis coupled with the contents of selected metals, showed that Hg, Pb, Cr, and Ni in gold mine areas represented anthropogenic sources; Cd, Pb, and Cr in iron mine areas represented industrial sources. There was moderate to high contamination of a few metals in the gold and iron soil samples, the contamination levels were relatively higher in gold mine than in iron mine soils.     

Monitoring the impacts of urbanization and industrialization on the agricultural land and environment of the Torbali, Izmir region, Turkey

The aim of this research is to determine agricultural land loss and environmental pollution caused by industrialization and urban sprawl using the Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing technique (RS). Remotely sensed data is the most powerful tool for monitoring land use changes and GIS is the best way to store and reproduce various kinds of integrated data. Considering the rapid increase of population the loss of fertile agricultural soils is a very dangerous situation for the future of the country. Thus, people are living in the cities in (with adverse) conditions of insufficient drinking water, infrastructure problems, inadequate landscape and many unsolved (extreme) environmental problems. During the last 36 years, unplanned urbanization and industrialization have led to the use of agricultural areas for non-agricultural purposes in the Torbali (Izmir) region, which has the most fertile soils of the Aegean Region. Within this study, a database was created on the parameters of land loss and environmental pollution by means of field observation, interpretation of satellite images (ASTER), aerial photos(1/25.000 scale), topographic map ,soil map, and 1/5.000 scale cadastral map. Results of previous researches and the archives of Torbali municipality were used as ancillary data. In the research, urbanization and industrialization of the town was studied by (using) GIS and RS between 1965 and 2001. Since 1965, 4.742.357 m² agricultural land, mostly of first and second land use capability classes, has been lost due to unplanned urban and industrial developments. Urbanization and industrialization involved an area of which 58% was being used as irrigated lands, 25 % rain feed (rain fed lands)and 17 % for olive growing.     

Quantifying the Effects of Forest Management Strategies on the Production of Forest Values: Timber,Carbon, Oxygen,Water, and Soil

Forest management practices alter forest structure quantified with ecosystem characteristics and values. In this paper, we utilized a forest management simulation model to assess the effects of three forest management strategies focusing on timber production, carbon sequestration, oxygen production, soil erosion, and water production of a forest management unit in Turkey. A forest simulation model “ETÇAPSimülasyon” was developed and used to project forest ecosystem development over 100 years under three forest management policies of timber-oriented forest management (TFM), multipurpose forest management (MFM), and no intervention (NI). The results showed that TFM strategy produced more timber and its net present value than MFM and NI strategies did. The amount of carbon sequestration and oxygen production potential was also found to be the highest with TFM strategy than with the MFM and NI strategies. Compared with the other strategies, however, NI strategy produced the highest amount of water production and soil losses over the planning horizon. The effects of a forest management strategy depend mainly on the initial forest structure, the rate of development and the level of forest management interventions. Therefore, forest dynamics under various management strategies should be explained before the final management decision. Understanding long-term effects of any management strategies on forest structure will provide the basis for better reaching the management objectives.     

Permits and effluent charges in the water pollution control policies of France,West Germany,and the Netherlands

In this article the water pollution control policies of these countries and their effects on emitters are analyzed. In the Netherlands, local water control boards levy pollution charges on both direct and indirect emitters. The charges are based upon measured emissions and actual treatment costs and they vary among the boards. Discharges into surface waters are by permission only. West German law sets nationally uniform rates only for direct emitters and some pollutants, irrespective of treatment costs. The States (Länder), however, may make indirect emitters liable to pay as well. In France, river basin agencies charge emitters and grant discounts where abatement facilities have been installed. Further policy instruments are tax cuts, subsidies, and standards set on local and national levels. France, in this complex policy, also uses contrats de branche where government and industries agree by contract on pollution abatement. Evidence shows that all these policies have reduced water pollution. As emissions decrease, problems of overcapacity might occur where collective water treatment plants have been installed already. Moreover, investment in additive abatement technology may inhibit the introduction of low-waste, integrated technologies. Yet the development of the latter, though expensive in the short run, should enable industry to meet more stringent standards in the future.     

Oil Production, Agriculture, and Groundwater Quality in the Southeastern Gulf Coast Aquifer, Texas

Associations between groundwater quality and land usewere evaluated in the southeastern Gulf Coast Aquifer,Texas. Data from 19 234 oil/gas wells and 256 water wellswere mapped with a geographic information system (GIS) andstatistically analyzed. Water wells near oil/gas wells hadsignificantly higher levels of chloride, bromide, and totaldissolved solids (TDS). Bromide-chloride ratios were alsohigher at water wells near oil/gas wells. Shallower waterwells had significantly higher chloride, bromide, TDS, andnitrate concentrations. Nitrate concentrations were higherbeneath cropland compared to other land uses. Results ofthis study suggest that oil/gas production and agriculturehave impacted water quality in the Gulf Coast Aquifer.