Changes in the assemblage of necrophilous invertebrates under the effect of pollution with emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter

Changes in the abundance and taxonomic and trophic structure of necrophilous invertebrates inhabiting mixed forests have been studied in the area polluted with the emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. It has been shown that the abundance of most taxa decreases by factors of 2 to 80 along the pollution gradient, but the trophic structure and composition of major groups vary insignificantly. Changes in the necrophilous assemblage can be caused by either direct (toxic) action of industrial pollutants or their indirect effect exerted through modification of habitats.     

Dynamics of Trophic Activity of Leaf-Eating Insects on Birch during Reduction of Emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter

The trophic activity of birch leaf-eating insects in background and impact (highly polluted) sites near the Middle Ural Copper Smelter has been recorded in 2008–2015. Reduction of emissions leads to a significant decrease in the concentration of heavy metals in birch leaves, and the existing differences in the proportion of damaged leaves between the background and impact sites are leveling off. An increasing temporal trend in foliar damage at the impact site confirms that the trophic activity of leaf-eating insects is being recovered following reduction of toxic load, and the remaining differences from the background territory indicate that this process is still continuing.     

Changes in the taxonomic structure of herpetobiont arachnids along the gradient of pollution with emissions from a copper smelter

Changes in the dynamic density of herpetobiont arachnids and the ratio of spider life forms have been studied in southern taiga forests transformed under the impact of emissions from a copper smelter. Along the pollution gradient, the dynamic density of spiders decreases; web-spinning spiders are replaced by ambush spiders, since the abundance of families Lycosidae and Gnaphosidae increases while that of the family Linyphiidae decreases; and spatial variation in the abundance of arachnids increases. One harvestmen family (Nemastomatidae) completely disappears near the copper smelter.     

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...     

Responses of leaf-eating insects feeding on aspen to emissions from the Middle Ural copper smelter

Foliar damage to aspen from leaf-chewing insects and miners has been assessed during a 4-year period in the environs of a large copper smelter in the Middle Urals. It has been shown that the total area removed, proportion of damaged leaves, and average area removed per damaged leaf are considerably smaller near the smelter than in the background zone. The degree of the effect is similar for all three parameters and remains stable with time. Both groups of leaf pests display lower trophic activity in the impact zone, but the effect of pollution on leaf-chewing insects is greater than on miners, while individual features of the tree and its environment affect miners more strongly than leaf-chewing insects.     

Intraspecific variation in Melandrium album along a radioactive contamination gradient at the Eastern Ural radioactive trace

Specific ecogenetic features of plants and parameters of seed progeny have been studied in Melandrium album cenopopulations from test plots established along the radioactive contamination gradient in the zone of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT), where absorbed radiation doses in buffer and impact plots exceeded the background level by factors of 2–18 and 330–418, respectively. It has been shown that interannual variation in parameters characterizing the viability of seed progeny largely depends on fluctuations of weather conditions. This dependence is more distinct in cenopopulations from the EURT than in control samples, which is indicative of interaction between radiation and other relevant ecological factors. The radioresistance of seed progeny is contingent on its viability, being independent of radiation load at the sites of maternal plant growth. Hermaphrodite plants occur only in irradiated M. album cenopopulations. This character is inherited: all F ₁ descendants of such plants grown in a vegetation experiment had hermaphrodite flowers. The mutability of seed progeny formed in the EURT zone exceeds the background level. The occurrence and frequencies of recorded anomalies has proved to vary by years and, therefore, can be interpreted as nonheritable modifications.     

Photochemical smog effects in mixed conifer forests along a natural gradient of ozone and nitrogen deposition in the San Bernardino Mountains

Toxic effects of photochemical smog on ponderosa and Jeffrey pines in the San Bernardino Mountains were discovered in the 1950s. It was revealed that ozone is the main cause of foliar injury manifested as chlorotic mottle and premature needle senescence. Various morphological, physiological and biochemical alterations in the affected plants have been reported over a period of about 40 years of multidisciplinary research. Recently, the focus of research has shifted from studying the effects of ozone to multiple pollutant effects. Recent studies have indicated that the combination of ozone and nitrogen may alter biomass allocation in pines towards that of deciduous trees, accelerate litter accumulation, and increase carbon sequestration rates in heavily polluted forests. Further study of the effects of multiple pollutants, and their long-term consequences on the mixed conifer ecosystem, cannot be adequately done using the original San Bernardino Mountains Air Pollution Gradient network. To correct deficiencies in the design, the new site network is being configured for long-term studies on multiple air pollutant concentrations and deposition, physiological and biochemical changes in trees, growth and composition of over-story species, biogeochemical cycling including carbon cycling and sequestration, water quality, and biodiversity of forest ecosystems. Eleven sites have been re-established. A comparison of 1974 stand composition with data from 2000 stand composition indicate that significant changes in species composition have occurred at some sites with less change at other sites. Moist, high-pollution sites have experienced the greatest amount of forest change, while dryer low-pollution sites have experienced the least amount of stand change. In general, ponderosa pine had the lowest basal area increases and the highest mortality across the San Bernardino Mountains.     

Surface Pollution of Meadow Plants during the Period of Reduction of Atmospheric Emissions from a Copper Smelter

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Comparison of different ecological scales with respect to efficiency in assessing ecological conditions in forests of the Southern Ural region

Ecological scales proposed by H. Ellenberg, E. Landolt, and D.N. Tsyganov have been used to evaluate the roles of three ecological factors—elevation above sea level, soil moisture, and soil nitrogen—in determining the composition of forest communities in the Southern Ural region. The results obtained with all these scales are similar, which indicates that any of them can serve the purpose.     

Soil respiration of forest ecosystems in gradients of environmental pollution by emissions from copper smelters

The effect of industrial pollution on soil respiration measured in situ has been studied along two gradients formed by emissions from large copper smelters: the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (spruce-fir forests) and Karabash Copper Smelter (birch forests). Pollution has proved to have a slight effect on soil respiration: its rate drops only in the zone of industrial barren. There is no correlation between soil respiration and distance to the emission source, metal contents in the litter, or litter acidity. A hypothesis is proposed that this may be due to a shift in the ratio of the root and microbial components of respiration in the pollution gradient.     

Spatiotemporal population structure of the bank vole in a gradient of technogenic environmental pollution

Between 1998 and 2005, specific features of spatiotemporal distribution of small mammals in transformed habitats were studied using the example of the bank vole living in a gradient of chemical environmental pollution (the Middle Urals). Technogenic degradation of spruce-fir forests proved to entail significant changes in the spatial structure and abundance of vole populations. Differences in colonization of disturbed and intact territories by bank voles at different stages of population dynamics were revealed.     

Long-Term Dynamics of Heavy Metal Concentrations in the Food and Liver of Shrews (g. Sorex) during High and Reduced Emissions Periods from the Copper Smelter

Russian Journal of Ecology - The long-term changes in the contents of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Рb) in the food and liver of four shrew species of the g. Sorex, in the vicinity of the the...     

Studies on biological features of band pine forests in the intermontane Minusinsk Depression by methods of gradient analysis

The results of gradient analysis of band pine forests in the Minusinsk Depression are presented. Methods of DCA ordination and correlation analysis have been used to reveal specific features of phytocenotic diversity formation in forest communities growing in azonal habitats of this steppe depression and to test zonal and typological forest units for ecological integrity. The role of directly acting zonal and compensatory ecological factors and specific relationships between types of forest communities and ecological-topographic conditions in the main forms of relief are considered.     

Assessment of biological effects in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plantago major</Emphasis> L. Seed progeny in the zone of impact from a Copper Smelter

The quality of seed progeny was studied in Plantago major from populations growing for a long time in the gradient of chemical pollution around the Karabash Copper Smelter (KCS). The results showed that the range of variation in seed germination and seedling survival rates was wider in background than in impact populations. The lowest values of growth parameters (the number of seedlings with a true leaf and root length) were recorded in the sample from the most polluted plot. Challenging exposure to toxic elements (seed germination in soils from polluted plots) was found to stimulate, to different extents, the rate of leaf formation and suppress root growth in the seedlings. It cannot be stated from these results that the adaptive potential of plants grown in the zone of impact from the KCS is altered, compared to that in other samples. Evaluation of the prooxidant and antioxidant status of seedlings from this zone revealed a decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities (to 60 and 33% of background values, respectively) and an increase in peroxidase activity (to 122%). The prooxidant status of seedlings in samples from the KCS zone was found to be increased, except for the sample from the most polluted plot.     

Characteristics of the PAH emissions from the incineration of livestock wastes with/without APCD

This study was conducted on two batch-type livestock waste incinerators, including the one with an air-pollution control device (APCD)-one wet scrubber (WSB) and the other without APCD for the disposal of livestock wastes. The concentration and composition of 21 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the stack flue gas (gas and particle phases), bottom ash, and effluent of WSB were determined. Stack flue gas samples were collected by a PAH stack-sampling system. Twenty-one individual PAHs were analyzed by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Due to the low combustion temperature, a remarkable and significant increase in the total-PAH concentration of emission from the stack with APCD was observed when compared with the case without APCD. Measured total-PAH emission factors were 285 and 2.86 mg/kg waste for the incineration with and without APCD, respectively, while BaP (the most carcinogenic PAH) emission factors were 0.79 and 0.12 mg/kg waste for the incineration with and without APCD. The total-PAH output/input mass ratios averaged 0.011 and 0.004 with and without APCD, respectively. The result reveals that the PAH content in the auxiliary fuel during the incinerating process could affect the emission of PAH.     

Model reconstruction of 90Sr concentrations in fish from 16 Ural lakes contaminated by the Kyshtym accident of 1957

The paper outlines the results of the ECOMOD model application to simulate 90Sr dynamics in fish dwelling in Southern Ural lakes and contaminated as a result of the Kyshtym accident. The detailed reconstruction of 90Sr behavior in fish for the 40-year period (1957-1997) was made for the most contaminated lakes (Uruskul and Berdenish). The adapted ECOMOD model was applied for the other 14 Ural lakes to explain the peculiarities in 90Sr accumulation by fish in lakes with different concentrations of Ca2+ ions in lake water.     

Changes in the ratio of plants with different mycorrhizal status in the course of pasture digression in the Southern Ural steppes

Trends in the proportions of plants differently interacting with mycorrhizal fungi in the course of pasture digression have been analyzed in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. Estimates of species richness and abundance of plant groups with different mycorrhizal status have been obtained by comparing original data on the structure of phytocenoses with published data on the ability of plant species to form mycorrhizae. It has been shown that the proportions and abundance of obligate mycorrhizal species decrease significantly in the course of digression, with consequent increase in those of species less dependent on or independent of symbiosis with fungi, i.e., facultative mycorrhizal or obligate nonmycorrhizal plants.     

Characteristics of oxidant precursor emissions from anthropogenic sources in the United States

Hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) have been identified as the most important precursor pollutants for oxidant formation in the atmosphere. These pollutants are emitted both from natural and anthropogenic sources; however, these two types of sources are generally geographically separated. Anthropogenic emissions are dominant in and around urban centers, where the majority of severe oxidant problems occur. Based on data gathered by the MAP3S/RAINE emissions inventory project, anthropogenic emissions of HC in the conterminous United States were 24.8 million metric tons in 1979. HC emissions were predominantly from area sources, the transportation sector being the largest contributor with 39.8% of the total. State-by-state breakdowns are also included. Based on analyses by other emissions inventory projects, the nonreactive fraction of the emissions from the transportation sector is less than 20% by weight. The highest proportion of HC emissions occur at low altitudes (0–50 m range) in high population density areas. Anthropogenic emissions of NO_x were 23.7 million metric tons in 1979; 50.8% were from point sources. The transportation sector and the electric utilities sector account for 37.1% and 30.9% of the NO_x emissions, respectively. The NO₂ fraction of the emissions from the transportation and electric utilities sectors is less than 10% by weight, based on NO/NO₂ speciation data from two other emissions inventories. Highest rates of NO_x emissions occur in high population density areas and are released at low altitude (0–50 m); three areas of high electric generating capacity were found to have high release altitudes.