An indicator for effects of organic toxicants on lotic invertebrate communities: Independence of confounding environmental factors over an extensive river continuum

Distinguishing between effects of natural and anthropogenic environmental factors on ecosystems is a fundamental problem in environmental science. In river systems the longitudinal gradient of environmental factors is one of the most relevant sources of dissimilarity between communities that could be confounded with anthropogenic disturbances. To test the hypothesis that in macroinvertebrate communities the distribution of species' sensitivity to organic toxicants is independent of natural longitudinal factors, but depends on contamination with organic toxicants, we analysed the relationship between community sensitivity SPEAR_organic (average community sensitivity to organic toxicants) and natural and anthropogenic environmental factors in a large-scale river system, from alpine streams to a lowland river. The results show that SPEAR_organic is largely independent of natural longitudinal factors, but strongly dependent on contamination with organic toxicants (petrochemicals and synthetic surfactants). Usage of SPEAR_organic as a stressor-specific longitude-independent measure will facilitate detection of community disturbance by organic toxicants.     

我国环境技术创新的影响因素与应对策略

本文分析了环境技术概念的演化和环境技术创新的含义.首次对我国环境技术创新的主要影响因素进行了大规模的社会调查,在对社会调查结果统计分析的基础上,根据国外环境技术创新的政策设计与实施经验,提出了促进我国环境技术创新的政策建议.     

Combining Environmental Factors and Agriculturalists’ Observations of Environmental Changes in the Traditional Terrace System of the Amalfi Coast (Southern Italy)

Terraces are traditional engineered ecosystems that affect the hydro-geological equilibrium, slope stability, and local communities. The aims of this paper are (i) identifying environmental factors that affect terrace stability in the Amalfi Coast, (ii) defining agriculturalists’ observations on environmental changes within that system and (iii) exploring potentiality of these observations to better define conservation strategies. All available data on physical and ecological factors recognized to affect the terrace system were collected and analyzed. Interviews were conducted with agriculturalists to obtain long-term observations on environmental factors that interact with this system. Landslides are more frequent where rainfall is high and during winter. Fires have an uneven annual distribution, with higher frequency during summers. Agriculturalists detailed complex interactions among environmental factors, economic elements, and terraces. These observations represent a valuable resource for defining causes and effects of abandonment and for better addressing conservation strategies.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-013-0433-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Survey and evaluation on residents' environmental awareness in Jiangsu Province of China

A survey was designed to evaluate the present status of residents' environmental awareness in Nanjing and Yangzhong in China. First, it set up an index model to evaluate the level of residents' environmental awareness from three aspects: environmental attitudes, environmental behaviour and environmental knowledge. Then, the influence of individual factors on environmental awareness was analysed. The questionnaire shows that people have certain knowledge about the subject, common feelings about the severity of environmental pollution, anxiety about the effects of environmental pollution on personal health, and objection to developing the economy at the cost of environmental destruction. Most of the residents investigated showed a willingness to do voluntary work for environmental improvement. When asked for individual donations, however, some of them showed some reluctance. Some people lacked the initiative to acquire environmental protection knowledge and increase their environmental awareness.     

Geographical scenario uncertainty in generic fate and exposure factors of toxic pollutants for life-cycle impact assessment

In environmental life-cycle assessments (LCA), fate and exposure factors account for the general fate and exposure properties of chemicals under generic environmental conditions by means of 'evaluative' multi-media fate and exposure box models. To assess the effect of using different generic environmental conditions, fate and exposure factors of chemicals emitted under typical conditions of (1).Western Europe, (2). Australia and (3). the United States of America were compared with the multi-media fate and exposure box model USES-LCA. Comparing the results of the three evaluative environments, it was found that the uncertainty in fate and exposure factors for ecosystems and humans due to choice of an evaluative environment, as represented by the ratio of the 97.5th and 50th percentile, is between a factor 2 and 10. Particularly, fate and exposure factors of emissions causing effects in fresh water ecosystems and effects on human health have relatively high uncertainty. This uncertainty is mainly caused by the continental difference in the average soil erosion rate, the dimensions of the fresh water and agricultural soil compartment, and the fraction of drinking water coming from ground water.     

Adaptation to environmental stress in Daphnia magna simultaneously exposed to a xenobiotic

In standardized ecotoxicological testing chemicals are investigated under optimal conditions for the test organisms despite the fact that environmental factors such as predation pressure and food availability are important parameters regulating natural populations. Food limitation and predator presence can induce shifts in life-history traits in various Daphnia species, especially trade-offs in reproductive biomass allocation. These adaptive responses are thought to ensure survival of the population in a highly variable environment. A xenobiotic dispersant (used in textile dyeing processes) also shifted the biomass allocation of Daphnia magna. To assess whether the dispersant could hinder D. magna adaptation to varying environmental conditions, we conducted experiments with food level and presence of Chaoborus larvae as environmental factors and simultaneous exposure to the dispersant. At low food level and in presence of the predator, D. magna produced fewer but larger sized neonates, regardless of dispersant exposure. The dispersant shifted biomass allocation towards more but smaller sized offspring in all experiments. However, the adaptive response to the environmental factors and the dispersant effect cancelled each other out in that they induced independently from each other opposite shifts in biomass allocation. In summary, the dispersant exposure resulted not in an inhibition of the adaptive response but in a reduction of the value of the response. Our study with this model substance demonstrates that xenobiotics can affect the adaptation of organisms to environmental stress which can result in effects likely to be overlooked in standardized testing.     

基于水动力数值模型的港口规划累积影响评价

累积影响评价是战略环境评价的主要方法和重要内容之一,但目前还缺乏通用的评价程序和方法.通过识别港口规划的累积影响源和途径,建立了基于水动力数值模型的累积影响评价的量化评估和分析框架.以厦门港嵩屿港区规划为例,通过对海湾纳潮量及各敏感点流速的模拟,计算淤积量及其分布变化,进而推测海域水质和底质变化,并分析了由此引起的海洋生物群落的变化趋势.通过比较不同岸线方案的累积影响,为港区岸线优选提供了科学判据.实践表明,该方法框架综合运用定量预测和定性分析手段,其结果能为港口规划的战略环境评价提供科学依据.     

化工厂环境风险评估方法探讨

对某化工厂事故隐患进行了周密调查及工程分析，筛选出主要风险因子并进行风险预测；运用概率统计法对不同生产方案、不同污染源强及不同环境功能区的污染风险进行了综合评价研究。     

人口增长、经济增长、技术变化与环境变迁——中国现代环境变迁(1952—1990)

本文主要研究人口增长、经济增长、技术变化三大因素对环境质量变化的影响。作者提出环境变迁曲线,与人口转变曲线、工业化过程相联系,并划分了环境变迁四个阶段。根据环境变迁过程以及动因,在国际比较范围内,进一步说明了中国环境变迁的特点。作者认为,强化减少污染型技术因素是改善环境质量的主要途径,与此同时,坚持控制人口增长,以减少环境压力。     

土壤环境质量及其演变的影响因素

阐述了土壤环境质量的定义以及近百年来的土壤环境质量的演变，着重分析了土壤环境质量演变的诸多影响因素，并提出了土壤污染防治的对策。     

杭州市城区冬季大雾频发的原因及防治对策

杭州市１９９８年冬季大雾频发,这是气象因素与环境共同作用的结果,加强环境管理,减少大气层中颗粒物的排放,降低大气中颗粒物的浓度,是控制冬季大雾频发的有效途径。     

Sensitivity of schemes for ecotoxicological hazard ranking of chemicals

Data from an environmental hazard profile, including different tests on accumulation and degradation as well as Daphnia acute toxicity were used for a classification of chemicals into three categories: High hazard potential, uncertain hazard potential, and low likelyhood of environmental hazard. Giving the used evaluation factors different weights, leads to a modification in classification.     

Urban returns to scale and environmental resources: an estimate of environmental externalities in an urban production function

The paper deals with the measurement of the economic advantages and environmental disadvantages of an urban setting. Based on a large sample of Italian cities, the paper provides results from an estimate of an urban production function which contains, in addition to the traditional labour and capital production factors, a variable representing the environmental resource consumption and the negative environmental externalities associated with urban life. A major result highlighted in the paper is that cities have in themselves mechanisms to favour an efficient consumption of environmental resources; however, the use of these resources has a cost in terms of environmental output, of negative externalities that are generated on the environment and which become worse by increasing the urban size.     

Lynx Body Size in Norway is Related to its Main Prey (Roe Deer) Density,Climate, and Latitude

We studied the effect of various factors on body size variation of the Eurasian lynx in Norway, using data from 374 lynx collected between 1960 and 1976 and whose locality of capture, year of birth, sex, and age were known. Body size of lynx in Norway was mainly affected by sex and age. Female skull size (and by implication body size) was also positively affected by the availability of its main prey (roe deer) and by latitude, and negatively by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Male size was not affected by any of the environmental factors examined. We interpret the effects of NAO and latitude on body size through their effect on the local climate and particularly snow conditions. We suggest that females are more sensitive to environmental factors than males.     

灰色模型在确定关键污染因子中的应用

将灰色模型引入水环境质量评价中，通过对某个时间段内污染物原始监测数据的灰色处理，从动态演变中找出关键因子，客观地判定各污染因子所起的作用，并对各因子在下一个时间段的发展趋势作出判断，增加了评价的准确性。经过实例运用分析表明，该方法物理意义明确，简便易用。     

提高环评报告书质量加快浙江省环境影响评价有效性建设

影响环境影响评价(EIA)有效性的因素较多．如相应的政策法规、管理机制和技术的正确性等。文章从环评技术角度出发,以抽样选取的浙江省1997～2001年间完成的100本环评报告书(EIS)为统计对象．按建设项目环保审批6项原则为依据,从产业政策符合性、选址与总图布局合理性、清洁生产、达标排放、总量控制、区域环境质量可达性等方面进行分析．评估了浙江省EIA有效性,探讨了目前EIA中存在的问题及原冈,提出了一些提高EIS质量、加快浙江省EIA有效性建设的建议     

Environmental quality vs economic growth in a developing economy: complements or conflicts

An increase in economic activities which leads to economic growth has been adduced as a possible factor for environmental degradation. While some other studies have argued that as economies keep growing, there are possibilities for resource redistribution which could engender environmental balance, thus engendering the argument on the conflicting-complementary position of the environment-growth nexus. In the light of this, this study uses previous activities between economic activities and the environment to determine the conflicting or complementary relationship that exists between economic growth and the environment. Also, using Nigeria as a case study, the design of environmental growth nexus to achieving sustainable development is assessed. Annual time series data between 1970 and 2014 were sourced from the World Development Indicators. Following the neoclassical perspective on ecological growth and the Kuznets inverted U-hypothesis on the environment-growth relations, stationarity test was performed, and the autoregressive distributed lag estimates were employed. From the study, it is seen that factors like rainfall that promotes environmental quality in the long run promote economic growth (per capita and GDP growth) in Nigeria. Similarly, factors like natural resource utilization, which depletes environmental quality, increases economic growth but reduces economic growth per capita; thus, with questions for development, the possibility of a complementary relationship for environmental quality and economic growth is spotted if the right policies are ensured. Also, the study found evidence of a growing conflicting relation between environmental quality (CO₂) and economic growth (per capita and GDP growth). Meanwhile, these conflicts to a great extent find expression in the Kuznets hypothesis; such that, if policies that promote income per capita reduces pollution and pursues eco-efficiency via economic growth are properly harnessed, there are the prospects of meeting up with the goals of environmental sustainability in developing economies.

     

Developing interdisciplinary environmental frameworks

The purpose of this article is to review interdisciplinary systemic frameworks of environmental protection and evaluate their use as tools, educational policymaking and education. We analyze the pressures-state-responses (PSR) framework of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the drivers-pressures-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework developed in the European Environment Agency and a later environmental political dynamics framework developed by Schroll and Staerdahl. We then continue the discussion by introducing a comprehensive model, labeled as the environmental protection process (EPP) framework that can be used to analyze and teach why there are environmental problems, what are their characteristics, and in which ways they can be mitigated. The EPP model is used for classifying measures of coping with environmental problems. Finally, a submodel of individual and societal factors affecting human action is formed. Environmental issues of transport are used as an illustrative example. We hope to contribute a relevant way to outline a wide interdisciplinary picture of environmental problems and solutions.     

Implications of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on polycystic ovarian syndrome: A comprehensive review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a complex multifactorial disorder of unknown pathogenesis in which genetic and environmental factors contribute...     

Interactions of Environmental Factors on the Sensitivity of Plants to Air Pollution

Before potential damage to vegetation can be adequately forecast, even after an air pollution alert has been placed in effect, a clear understanding of the interactions of environment on plant sensitivity must be ascertained. This involves detailed study of single factors and then multiple factors using the phytotoxicants in question. Factors studied or suggested include light (quality, intensity, and duration), temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, humidity, wind, soil moisture, soil aeration, nutrient levels, and soil texture. This paper presents a review of the work relating plant injury to specific air pollutants as conditioned by several environmental conditions supported by research on the interactions of ozone with these environmental conditions.