Mapping and evaluating sugarcane expansion in Brazil’s savanna using MODIS and intensity analysis: a case-study from the state of Tocantins

In Brazil, the main biofuel crop is sugarcane, and with its rapid expansion, there is much debate about what land uses and land covers it is replacing, and what are the associated environmental and social impacts. Some argue sugarcane is mainly replacing cattle pasture, thus having minimal impacts on native vegetation and small-scale family farming. In contrast, others claim sugarcane is replacing cropland traditionally under soybeans, rice, beans, and corn. Thus, food security is negatively affected and small-scale family farming livelihoods and culture are threatened. This is a proof-of-concept paper illustrating methods contributing toward the resolution of such debates. First we map land use and cover change in areas undergoing sugarcane expansion using satellite data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer); second, we test the hypothesis that sugarcane is replacing traditional annual crops using intensity analysis, via a case study of land change in the municipality of Pedro Afonso, Tocantins in northern Brazil between the 2008–2013 crop years. Maps matched reference data with overall agreements between 87–91%. Intensity analysis confirmed sugarcane is replacing annual crops much more than cattle pasture and other land uses and covers, pointing to particular economic and social processes driving land change.     

Whole pictures of halogenated disinfection byproducts in tap water from China’s cities

When bromide/iodide is present in source water, hypobromous acid/hypoiodous acid will be formed with addition of chlorine, chloramine, or other disinfectants. Hypobromous acid/hypoiodous acid undergoes reactions with natural organic matter in source water to form numerous brominated/iodinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs). In this study, tap water samples were collected from eight cities in China. With the aid of electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry by setting precursor ion scans of m/z 35, m/z 81, and m/z 126.9, whole pictures of polar chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated DBPs in the tap water samples were revealed for the first time. Numerous polar halogenated DBPs were detected, including haloacetic acids, newly identified halogenated phenols, and many new/unknown halogenated compounds. Total organic chlorine, total organic bromine, and total organic iodine were also measured to indicate the total levels of all chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated DBPs in the tap water samples. The total organic chlorine concentrations ranged from 26.8 to 194.0 μg·L^–1 as Cl, with an average of 109.2 μg·L^–1 as Cl; the total organic bromine concentrations ranged from below detection limit to 113.3 μg·L^–1 as Br, with an average of 34.7 μg·L^–1 as Br; the total organic iodine concentrations ranged from below detection limit to 16.4 μg·L^–1 as I, with an average of 9.1 μg·L^–1 as I; the total organic halogen concentrations ranged from 31.3 to 220.4 μg·L^–1 as Cl, with an average of 127.2 μg·L^–1 as Cl.     

A decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions: evidence from Malaysia’s tourism industry

The most important question raised from issues of environmental degradation is how economic activities bring about changes that will result in pollution. In the pursuit of tourism economy, contrary to popular interest, the travel and tourism (T&T) industry may cause environmental damages through the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from energy consumption in areas such as transportation and delivery of amenities. Given this major concern, this paper attempts to investigate the linkage between tourism and CO₂ emissions in Malaysia between 1981 and 2011. In particular, this study fills the knowledge gap by taking a closer look at the impact of international tourist arrivals on CO₂ emissions by sector – electricity and heat generation and transport. Results from the bound test method suggest that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables under consideration when CO₂ emissions become the dependent variable. The original result is similarly robust to alternatives, which are CO₂ emissions from sectors of electricity and heat generation and transport. Furthermore, the vector error correction model causality analysis indicates a causal relationship between tourism and CO₂ emissions by transport and electricity and heat generation. Subsequently, several tourism-related policies are drawn from these findings.     

An oligarchy of nest-site scouts triggers a honeybee swarm’s departure from the hive

Animals that travel in groups must synchronize the timing of their departures to assure cohesion of the group. While most activities in large colonies of social insects have decentralized control, certain activities (e.g., colony migration) can have centralized control, with only a special subset of well-informed individuals making a decision that affects the entire colony. We recently discovered that a small minority of individuals in a honeybee colony—an oligarchy—decides when to trigger the departure of a swarm from its hive. The departure process begins with some bees producing the worker-piping signal (the primer for departure) and is followed by these bees producing the buzz-run signal (the releaser for departure). In this study, we determined the identity of these signalers. We found that a swarm’s nest-site scouts search for potential nest cavities prior to the departure of the swarm from its hive. Furthermore, we found that the predeparture nest-site scouts are the sole producers of the worker-piping signal and that they are the first producers of the buzz-run signal. The control of the departure of a honeybee swarm from its hive shows how a small minority of well-informed individuals in a large social insect colony can make important decisions about when a colony should take action.     

Changing morphology of Ghana’s Accra coast

Coastal features in Ghana's Accra coast reflect both past and present processes that have been undergoing changes. These changes are influenced by a range of morphogenic factors such as geology and climatic conditions. These regimes have shaped the coastal geomorphic features through weathering processes that decompose and disintegrate the coastal rock. Sea level rise due to climate change is expected to increase coastal erosion and thus result in rapid changes in shoreline positions. Historic rate of sea level rise in Accra coast is about 2 mm/yr (Ibe & Quelennec, 1989) which is predicted to reach approximately 6 mm/yr in the next century since it conforms to the global change (Armah et al., 2005). This will result in flooding of vulnerable areas and enable waves to break closer inland. The effectiveness of the erosion process is aided considerably by the type of geology. Accra coastal zone has three types of rock in three identified geomorphic regions. They include unconsolidated and poorly consolidated rock along the western region, the Accraian series occupying the central region and the Dahomeyan series in the eastern region. The geology has thus influenced the extent to which the coastal features have changed and the type of cliff that is formed as a result of erosion within the regions. Generally, soft rock coastal features decay more rapidly than those of hard rock and tend to act as sediment sources. Human activities such as dam construction over the Densu River, engineering interventions to check the spread of erosion and sand mining has created sediment deficit which has exacerbated coastal erosion in Accra. Anthropogenic factors are estimated to account for 70-90% of coastal erosion problems in Accra.     

Analysis of Sydney’s recycled water schemes

Recycled water provides a viable opportunity to partially supplement fresh water supplies as well as substantially alleviate environmental loads. Currently, thousands of recycled water schemes have been successfully conducted in a number of countries and Sydney is one of the leading cities, which has made massive effort to apply water reclamation, recycling and reuse. This study aims to make a comprehensive analysis of recycled water schemes in Sydney for a wide range of end uses such as landscape irrigation, industrial process uses and residential uses (e.g., golf course irrigation, industrial cooling water reuse, toilet flushing and clothes washing etc.). For each representative recycled water scheme, this study investigates the involved wastewater treatment technologies, the effluent quality compared with specified guideline values and public attitudes toward different end uses. Based on these obtained data, multi criteria analysis (MCA) in terms of risk, cost-benefit, environmental and social aspects can be performed. Consequently, from the analytical results, the good prospects of further expansion and exploration of current and new end uses were identified toward the integrated water planning and management. The analyses could also help decision makers in making a sound judgment for future recycled water projects.     

The effect of environmental regulation competition on haze pollution: evidence from China’s province-level data

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Haze pollution has drawn lots of public concern due to its potential damages to human health. Strategic interaction of environmental regulation among local...     

Can domestic production of iLUC-free feedstock from arable land supply Sweden’s future demand for biofuels?

The increasing biofuel production from agricultural crops has been suggested to cause indirect land use change (iLUC). This increases interest in biofuel feedstocks that qualify as iLUC-free: (1) residues without a market, (2) crops from previously unused arable land, (3) additional crops and (4) biomass from intensified production. In the present study, biofuel potential from such feedstocks was quantified for Sweden and compared against the predicted biofuel demand from agricultural resources in 2030. The results indicate that straw (category 1) could cover up to 37% of future biofuel demand. Grass leys from intensified production (category 4), set-aside and abandoned land (category 2) and excess grass silage (category 1) could cover up to 79%. Intermediate and ecological focus area crops (category 3) could contribute up to 21%. To realize the biofuel targets, a high implementation rate of additional iLUC-free feedstock is needed. Future studies need to investigate impacts of low-iLUC policies.     

Towards improved socio-economic assessments of ocean acidification’s impacts

Ocean acidification is increasingly recognized as a component of global change that could have a wide range of impacts on marine organisms, the ecosystems they live in, and the goods and services they provide humankind. Assessment of these potential socio-economic impacts requires integrated efforts between biologists, chemists, oceanographers, economists and social scientists. But because ocean acidification is a new research area, significant knowledge gaps are preventing economists from estimating its welfare impacts. For instance, economic data on the impact of ocean acidification on significant markets such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism are very limited (if not non-existent), and non-market valuation studies on this topic are not yet available. Our paper summarizes the current understanding of future OA impacts and sets out what further information is required for economists to assess socio-economic impacts of ocean acidification. Our aim is to provide clear directions for multidisciplinary collaborative research.     

Toxic mine drainage from Asia’s biggest copper mine at Malanjkhand,India

This paper has studied the environmental deterioration due to copper mining in Malanjkhand at Central-east India. No data is available on environmental degradation at the studied site although geological aspects are well studied. Mine drainage from the mines is definitively toxic. The site is also undergoing various stages of acid mine drainage (AMD) particularly from the heap leaching sites and the tailing area. AMD impacted water steam and sediment were also analysed. Results show substantial level of contamination of almost all segments of environment. Presence of elevated level of other heavy metal viz. Au, Ag, Pb, Cr, Cd, Fe, Cu and base metals like Na, K in AMD impacted water and sediments is due to metal leaching effect of AMD. Bio monitoring with the help of benthic macro invertebrates and metal accumulation in plants was also carried to know the impact of the toxic drainage. Results prove a very significant impact on the environmental health.     

Development of environmental management system in China’s financial sector

The establishment of the environmental management system in the financial sector can be effectively promoted through the introduction of the environmental protection concept and its implementation by the financial sector. The impact of a sustainable development system on the sector is analyzed in this article from three aspects: environmental risk assessment, financing support for environmental protection projects, and financial services to environmentally friendly corporations and individuals. Influential factors on the development of the environmental management system in China’s financial sector are discussed from the perspective of various entities such as financial institutions, financial regulation authorities, environmental protection departments, corporations, and the public. It is pointed out that China’s financial sector is now in the transitional phase from a defensive attitude to a preventive attitude. Strengthening governmental guidance, the supervision of regulators as well as public awareness of environmental protection should be used to enhance the initiative in the development of the environmental management system in the Chinese financial sector.     

The influence of COVID-19 on grid parity of China’s photovoltaic industry

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - With the more efficient involvement of both technology and policy factors in China’s whole industry-chain, the year 2020 is a key period for...     

Rising greenhouse gas emissions from the China’s aquaculture industry between 2000 and 2020

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Aquaculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, yet long-term spatiotemporal variations of emissions remain poorly documented. Here, we studied methane...     

Issues in information theory-based statistical inference—a commentary from a frequentist’s perspective

After several decades during which applied statistical inference in research on animal behaviour and behavioural ecology has been heavily dominated by null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), a new approach based on information theoretic (IT) criteria has recently become increasingly popular, and occasionally, it has been considered to be generally superior to conventional NHST. In this commentary, I discuss some limitations the IT-based method may have under certain circumstances. In addition, I reviewed some recent articles published in the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology and point to some common failures, misunderstandings and issues frequently appearing in the practical application of IT-based methods. Based on this, I give some hints about how to avoid common pitfalls in the application of IT-based inference, when to choose one or the other approach and discuss under which circumstances a mixing of the two approaches might be appropriate.     

Lead availability in soils from Portugal’s Centre Region with special reference to bioaccessibility

Previous environmental biomonitoring studies indicated higher environmental lead (Pb) pollution levels at the districts of Aveiro and Leiria (Portugal). In evaluating the risk for human health, which is associated with contaminated soils after oral uptake, total soil concentrations have generally been held against criteria established from toxicological studies based upon the assumption that the uptake of the contaminant is similar in the toxicological studies and from the soils assessed. This assumption is not always valid, as most toxicological studies are carried out with soluble forms of the contaminants, whereas many soil contaminants are or become embedded in the soil matrix and thus exhibit limited availability. This study intends to estimate the soluble fraction of Pb in the soils from central Portugal, and to assess the bioaccessibility of Pb and, hence, infer exposure and risk for human health. Yet, as the physical–chemical properties of the soil exert some control over the solubility of Pb in the surface environment, the relation between such soil properties and the estimated soluble and/or bioaccessible fractions of Pb is also investigated. Other objective, with a more practical nature, was to give some contribution to find a suitable in vitro mimetic of the gastrointestinal tract environment. The results indicate relatively low total metal concentrations in the soils, even if differences between regions were observed. The Aveiro district has the higher total Pb concentration and the metal is in more soluble forms, that is, geoavailable. Soils with higher concentrations of soluble Pb show higher estimates of bioaccessible Pb. Soil pH seems to influence human bioaccessibility of Pb.     

A framework of enabler’s relationship for implementation of green manufacturing in Indian context

This study aims to recognize and select the appropriate strategy for implementing green manufacturing (GM) in Indian manufacturing industry by developing an instrument which could measure the progress of an organization towards the GM philosophy. This study identifies and analyses the key enablers behind the successful achievement of environmental sustainability in Indian manufacturing industry. Based on extensive literature review and discussions with experts, the critical success factors (CSFs) of GM have been identified. After examining the internal consistency of enablers, weightage is identified for finalizing the priority by analytical hierarchical process (AHP). The pairwise comparison method of AHP identified that top management commitment, green procurement practices and societal concern for protection of natural environment art the most important enablers, and competitiveness and availability of clean technology have comparatively less importance for the studied manufacturing industries. The purpose of this paper is to rank the enablers on identified weightage and develop the framework for offering the useful insights and guides about how industries should link CSFs of GM to improve the environmental and operational performance.     

Application of Rice’s theory to recurrence statistics of concentration fluctuations in dispersing plumes

Rice’s theory for the statistical properties of random noise currents has been employed in the context of concentration fluctuations in dispersing plumes. Within this context, the theory has been extended to calculate the distribution of excursion times above a small threshold for arbitrary spacings between an up-crossing and the successive down-crossing. This approach has then been applied to a second-order stochastic model for the evolution of odour concentrations and their time derivative (simple model), and to the superstatistics extension of this model [Reynolds (2007) Phys. Fluids]. In agreement with the measurements of Yee and coworkers [Yee et al. (1993) Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 65, Yee et al. (1994) J. Appl. Meteorol. 33 ], both formulations predict a distribution of excursion times that can be well approximated by a power-law profile with exponent close to −3/2. For the superstatistical model the power-law profile extends over approximately three or more decades, for the simple model this range is smaller. Compared to the simple model, predictions for the superstatistical model are in a better agreement with the measurements.     

Chao’s lower bound estimator and the size of the Pleiades

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - In this note we would like to point out that the lower bound estimator of the frequency of hidden units in a target population, developed by Chao in...     

Network structure and prevalence of Cryptosporidium in Belding’s ground squirrels

Although pathogen transmission dynamics are profoundly affected by population social and spatial structure, few studies have empirically demonstrated the population-level implications of such structure in wildlife. In particular, epidemiological models predict that the extent to which contact patterns are clustered decreases a pathogen’s ability to spread throughout an entire population, but this effect has yet to be demonstrated in a natural population. Here, we use network analysis to examine patterns of transmission of an environmentally transmitted parasite, Cryptosporidium spp., in Belding’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi). We found that the prevalence of Cryptosporidium was negatively correlated with transitivity, a measure of network clustering, and positively correlated with the percentage of juvenile males. Additionally, network transitivity decreased when there were higher percentages of juvenile males; the exploratory behavior demonstrated by juvenile males may have altered the structure of the network by reducing clustering, and low clustering was associated with high prevalence. We suggest that juvenile males are critical in mediating the ability of Cryptosporidium to spread through colonies, and thus may function as “super-spreaders.” Our results demonstrate the utility of a network approach in quantifying mechanistically how differences in contact patterns may lead to system-level differences in infection patterns.     

Who’s what? Prompt recognition of social status in crayfish

Crayfish are excellent model organisms to study the proximate mechanisms underlying the maintenance of dominance hierarchies in invertebrates. Our aim here was to investigate whether Procambarus clarkii males use social eavesdropping to discriminate dominant from subordinate crayfish. To this end, we conducted an experiment composed of a “passive” and an “active” phase. In the passive phase, “focal” individuals were allowed (treatment 1) or not (treatment 2) to see and smell two size-matched crayfish fighting while, in the subsequent active phase, they were allowed to freely interact with the fighting dyad. None of the recorded variables showed any significant difference between the two treatments, but, invariably, focal individuals were able to promptly discriminate dominant from subordinate crayfish. This study provides evidence that male crayfish recognize the social status of a conspecific without the need of direct or indirect experience with it and avoid dominants—and thus dangerous opponents—by means of a badge of status. A form of “winner and loser effects” could also contribute to the structuring of dominance/subordinate relationships. The implication of these results in understanding the maintenance of dominance hierarchies in invertebrates are discussed and compared with findings previously achieved in the context of mate choice by P. clarkii females, who do appear to use eavesdropping to identify dominants and subordinates.