Use of the environmentally sensitive areas rule by county governments in Washington State

The Washington SEPA empowers local governments with the responsibility of reviewing otherwise exempt proposals which could affect important natural resources. Most county governments have not used the ESA system, but reasons have varied from counties which have legal review systems in place, and for which non-use of the SEPA provision is a technicality, to counties which simply do not recognize ESAs. Most counties recognize some important fragile resources, and in one form or another attempt to influence land uses which could diminish those resources or cause public harm. The question remains as to whether the review process in each county includes a comprehensive approach to “… places with unstable soils, steep slopes, unusual or unique plants or animals, wetlands, or areas which lie within floodplains” (WAC 197-11-908). Additionally, it is unclear if local governments are adequately maintaining natural resources within their jurisdictions in the public interest by using the current planning strategy. This study shows that a county level environmental review process for sensitive natural resources in Washington is highly inconsistent among counties in choice of resources for review consideration and in criteria used to define resources. A uniform statewide approach toward ESAs may be appropriate for resources such as wetlands and critical wildlife habitats which require ecologically consistent regional management.     

Quality assurance in measuring the elemental composition of the alga Fucus vesiculosus

Algae are increasingly used for the purpose of environmental biomonitoring, for instance in the long-term program of the Federal Environmental Specimen Bank of Germany. Therefore, for the studies presented here, freeze-dried samples of Fucus vesiculosus collected from the North Sea shores were analyzed for a broad range of elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), while inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were carried out on digests. The entire analytical procedures, including field sampling, cleaning of material, sample handling, determination of blanks and instrumental parameters, are described. Certified reference materials analyzed in parallel with real samples and intermethod comparisons were used for assuring the accuracy of the analytical data. Reproducibility of INAA measurements was between 4 and 6% depending on the element considered. Possible sources of uncertainty and variation of the contaminant origins are discussed. Boundary conditions for the performance of algae sampling within environmental monitoring programs and the application of this marine bioindicator for the purpose of controlling time-dependent and local differences in element patterns are presented.     

A Knowledge-Based Approach to Environmental Biomonitoring

This paper presents the design, development and implementation of an integrated GIS-controlled knowledge-based system for environmental monitoring applications, utilizing indigenous flora for assessing quality. The system gathers and combines geographical, ecological, and physicochemical data of organisms' response to pollution within an intelligent computer program that (a) recognises groups of indigenous species suitable for long-term monitoring of a specific pollutant or a combination of pollutants, (b) estimates the ambient concentration of pollutant(s) from the population of the species comprising the bioindicator group and (c) provides biomonitoring capacity indices at national and international/transboundary levels. Significantly, a novel system in the form of a rational framework at the conceptual design level has been developed, that actually contributes towards achieving a cost-effective long-term biomonitoring program, with the flexibility to counter on-course any (anticipated or not) variations/modifications of the surveillance environment: the scheme assumes a robust dynamic cooperation between instrumental and biomonitoring systems, with a view to minimise uncertainty and monitoring costs and increase reliability of pollution control and abatement, aiming eventually at the shifting, partially or totally, from instrumental to natural monitoring. The proposed approach is presently implemented at pilot-scale for establishing a biomonitoring network at a large industrial area in Greece. The results obtained indicate that a cost-effective program can be only attained and maintained under a suitable financial/organizational scheme at the macro level, whereas the micro level viability strongly depends upon careful management of human resources and fixed assets.     

A national ozone biomonitoring program--results from field surveys of ozone sensitive plants in northeastern forests (1994-2000)

Ozone biomonitoring is a detection and monitoring techniquethat involves documenting ozone-induced visible injury toknown ozone-sensitive species under conditions of ambientexposure. The USDA Forest Service administers a long-term,nationwide ozone biomonitoring program to address public andscientific concerns about ozone impacts on forest health. Asystematic grid is used as the basis for biomonitoring sitelocations. At each site, trained field crews evaluate amaximum of thirty plants of up to six species and record the amount and severity of leaf-injury on individualplants. Injury from ozone was found more often on biomonitoring sites in the eastern Unites States than in theinterior or west-coast areas. Further results from thenortheast reveal that in any year, there is a higherpercentage of ozone-injured plants with more severe symptomsin areas with relatively high ozone concentrations than inareas with relatively low ozone. In very dry years (e.g.,1999) the percentage of injured plants and injury severityestimates are both sharply reduced even though ambient ozoneexposures are high. These findings demonstrate thatbiomonitoring data provide meaningful evidence of when highozone concentrations during the growing season have biologicalsignificance. Any assessment of ozone stress in the forestenvironment must include both biomonitoring (i.e., plantresponse) and air quality data to be complete.     

Which group is best? Attributes of different biological assemblages used in freshwater biomonitoring programs

Of the many groups of organisms proposed for use in biomonitoring, assemblages of fish, algae, and benthic macroinvertebrates are the most commonly selected. Purported advantages and disadvantages of using these groups, along with those of zooplankton, were assembled from 65 different publications and websites. From these, 13 categories of advantages and nine of disadvantages were created. The diversity of the assemblage and its importance to the ecosystem were reported as advantages in >20% of citations for each group; these similarities suggest that some redundancy exists among the different groups in terms of these features. Likewise, sampling difficulties and lack of analytic metrics were disadvantages listed in >20% of citations for each group. Few reported advantages (e.g. recreational value of fish) or disadvantages (e.g. short generation time of algae) were unique for a particular assemblage. The validity of reported advantages and disadvantages were sometimes region specific, other times incorrect. The choice of which assemblage is most appropriate for a biomonitoring program ultimately depends on the characteristics of the area to be studied and the program objectives.     

Biomonitoring and environmental management

The advantages of biological monitoring of the environment have been long recognised. Direct measurements on biota of importance rather than the use of chemical surrogates, integration over time and the ability to measure the perhaps subtle changes brought about by minor or intermittent pollution have all been propounded as adantages.There appear to be a variety of barriers to the wider adoption of biomonitoring approaches. The perception that biomonitoring takes longer and is more expensive than chemical monitoring. The idea that chemical measurements are an adequate surrogate for direct measurements of biological change. The belief that interpretation of biological data is complex and uncertain in comparison with chemical data. These widely held myths are addressed and some broad principles to guide the development of biomonitoring programs are developed.     

Bioindication of a surplus of heavy metals in terrestrial ecosystems

A survey of the methods of boindication of heavy metals in terrestrial ecosystems and their effectiveness for predicting the consequences of environmental stress on organisms is presented. Two main inputs of heavy metals for terrestrial ecosystems have been considered: airborne and soil-borne. Airborne metals can be monitored due to physical adsorption on plant surfaces or due to chemical exchange processes in cell walls. Active biomonitoring widely uses both aspects, however, without predictive values. Meaningful bioindication of soilborne heavy metals can only be achieved by passive monitoring. Due to the different functions of heavy metals in organisms-micronutrients and trace elements-the knowledge of natural background values is important, considering the qualitative aspects of metals in the soil. In exceptional situations morphological and anatomical changes of plant organs will facilitate bioindication; in every case chemical analysis of the concentration of heavy metals is an essential part of the monitoring program. A long-term exposure of organisms to heavy metals will influence the genetic structure of populations. Therefore measurement of heavy metal tolerance of plants has to be a standard procedure in monitoring programs.     

Planning for sustainability at the local government level

While the primary objective of the 1992 Earth Summit was to generate new commitments from national governments on global environmental issues, one of the most tangible outcomes of the summit was to focus international attention on the role of cities as central actors in the Earth's ecosystem. As a result, the recent UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) extended its focus, originally on housing only, to sustainable human settlements. The final product of the meeting, the Habitat Agenda, provides the greatest recognition ever offered by the United Nations to the role of local governments in the sustainable development process. The success of the Habitat Agenda will be defined by the ability of local governments to effectively adopt its recommendations.This article is a “report from the field” on local adaptations of environmental assessment andplanning procedures in order to implement the various components of the sustainable development mandate.     

Biomonitoring with epiphytic lichens as a complementary method for the study of mercury contamination near a cement plant

The study was focused on understanding the mercury contamination caused by a cement plant. Active and passive biomonitoring with epiphytic lichens was combined with other instrumental measurements of mercury emissions, mercury concentrations in raw materials, elemental mercury concentrations in air, quantities of dust deposits, temperatures, precipitation and other measurements from the cement plant's regular monitoring programme. Active biomonitoring with transplanted lichens Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf was performed at seven of the most representative sites around the cement plant and one distant reference site for periods of 3, 6 and 12 months. In situ lichens of different species were collected at the beginning of the monitoring period at the same sites. Mercury speciation of the plant exhaust gas showed that the main form of emitted mercury is reactive gaseous mercury Hg2?, which is specific for cement plants. Elemental mercury in air was measured in different meteorological conditions using a portable mercury detector. Concentrations in air were relatively low (on average below 10 ng m?3). In situ lichens showed Hg concentrations comparable to lichens taken from the background area for transplantation, indicating that the local pollution is not severe. Transplanted lichens showed an increase of mercury, especially at one site near the cement plant. A correlation between precipitation and Hg uptake was not found probably due to a rather uniform rainfall in individual periods. Dust deposits did not influence Hg uptake significantly. Lichens vitality was affected over longer biomonitoring periods, probably due to some elements in dust particles, their alkalinity and the influence of other emissions. Mercury uptake measured in vital transplanted lichens was in a good correlation with the working hours (i.e. emitted Hg quantity) of the kiln. The study showed that selected lichens could be used to detect low to moderate Hg emissions from a cement plant and that the biomonitoring procedure could be further standardized and used as part of an environmental monitoring programme.     

Dependence of Ozone Biomonitoring on Meteorological Conditions of Different Sites in Catalonia (N.E. Spain)

Evaluation of visual symptoms of ozone damage was conducted in the network of bioindicator rural stations of Catalonia (NE Spain) every 14 days from May to October. Damage rates of ozone (and consequently, ozone biomonitoring capacity of bioindicators) were found to vary highly in time and space depending on the local environmental and meteorological conditions. Lower ozone damage to foliage was produced when meteorological conditions favour stomata resistance. Modulatory effects of meteorological conditions need to be considered in biomonitoring and when modeling plant ozone doses and damage.     

Innovative Environmental Education Contributes to Improved Management Practices in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

The Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA) and its partner, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have developed a graduate-level course focused on successful application of science by decision-makers to address a particular problem. Students conduct a literature review, interview the decision-makers and scientists, and synthesize and document the management problem, the science that was applied to that problem, and other issues that might constrain or drive the solution (e.g., legalities, social pressures, expense, politics, personalities, etc.). Students also quantify the results, evaluate who the intended audience is and how they most appropriately target them, and determine if there are other management problems that could be addressed with the science. The final products are short publications geared towards other decision-makers who might have a similar problem and might be seeking successful innovative solutions. MAIA is distributing these short publications to decision-makers throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. The publications have been very positively received by state and local governments and watershed groups.     

An innovative approach to inventory and monitoring of natural resources in the Mexican State of Jalisco

This paper discusses the statistical design and estimation processes developed for the assessment of key land resources relevant to questions of their condition and change in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Some initial results of the first phase of Jalisco's Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring Program (IMRENAT) conducted in 2006 are presented and discussed. Since this is a relatively new approach for an inventory and monitoring program of this magnitude, designed from the beginning specifically for integration with orbital satellite data, it is anticipated that changes will have to be made over time to improve conceptual and operational design aspects. Alternative remote sensing capabilities to further improve local information, more sophisticated analysis to satisfy the requirements of officials as they become more aware of the capabilities of the system, possible improvements in change assessments over time, and opportunities to focus on specific interesting changes will be assessed. As this study indicates, current and future information technology advancements provide a solid prospect for the development and application of integrative sampling strategies to support sustainability science and management processes.     

中国淡水大型底栖无脊椎动物条形码数据库构建

大型底栖无脊椎动物是得到广泛应用的水质生物监测和评价指示生物,但在实际应用过程中,受类群多样性高、形态鉴定专业性强、鉴定资料不全等影响,难以将其精确鉴定到种。新兴的DNA条形码技术能够快速、精确地鉴定物种,在生物多样性调查和监测等领域被寄予厚望。该方法的有效性与准确性依赖于完整、全面的参考数据库,然而现有公共数据库无法满足底栖动物鉴定的需求。鉴于此,南京农业大学等10余所高校及科研院所携手构建了中国淡水大型底栖无脊椎动物条形码数据库。基于该数据库网络平台,用户可以在线进行底栖动物条形码和环境DNA-宏条形码比对,完成对物种的精准注释。该数据库的建成为我国应用环境DNA-宏条形码技术开展底栖动物多样性调查、水质生物监测与评价提供了重要的数据资源。     

河流生态系统指示生物与生物监测:概念、方法及发展趋势

综述了河流生物监测的概念、常用指示生物与监测指标、国外相对完善的技术体系及发展趋势。大型底栖动物、着生藻类、鱼类是河流生物监测中最常使用的指示生物,可以单独使用,也可结合使用,详述了这些类群在河流生态系统中的重要地位及用于生物监测的优点。常用的监测指标包括生物多样性指数、生物指数、多参数指数、多变量指数及功能性指数。许多国家和地区(如英国、美国、欧盟等)都已经将生物监测纳入水环境管理系统,并开发出自己的技术体系。未来的河流生物监测中,功能性指数的应用会越来越多,分子技术的介入也会为提高分类辨识度和检测遗传多样性提供更为有效的途径。最后,思考并总结了国内河流生物监测的现状及趋势。     

中国底栖动物水质生物监测指数和水质等级构建

水质生物监测是水生态环境质量管理的重要内容,构建实用性强的生物指数有助于推动中国的水质生物监测工作。根据江苏、浙江、辽宁、江西和湖南等省份的溪流与河流湖泊共计839个底栖动物数据,将中国已有的底栖动物科级分类单元水质敏感性分值打分表扩充和修订至159个科。采用统计法分别构建了符合中国可涉水水体(溪流等)和不可涉水水体(河流、湖泊等)底栖动物分值指数(Chinese Macroinvertebrate Score Index,CMSI)和底栖动物平均分值指数(Average Chinese Macroinvertebrate Score Index,ACMSI)及水质评价等级体系。CMSI和ACMSI与总氮、总磷、高锰酸盐指数和溶解氧之间Pearson相关性显著,表明研究构建的CMSI和ACMSI是可以反映水质变化的。建议通过实践进一步验证CMSI和ACMSI的可靠性和实用性。     

An improved stochastic life-cycle cost analysis model for examining the impact of environmental policy instruments on construction equipment replacement

Both contractors and governments are eager for a model that can assist them to examine the impact of environmental policy instruments (EPIs) on construction equipment replacement from a stochastic perspective. Therefore, this study introduces an improved stochastic life cycle cost (LCC) analysis model and designs eight scenarios in which different EPIs are considered for such examination. The limitation of the traditional LCC analysis model has been examined. The effectiveness of the improved LCC analysis model is demonstrated with its application in a 2002 Sterling LT9500 dump truck in the US market. The results show that: (1) The traditional LCC analysis model is not robust due to failing to consider costs incurred by EPIs and a lack of stochastic perspective. (2) Mandatory administration policy instruments (EPI_A) can promote earlier replacement of construction equipment, but EPI_A can put a heavy financial burden on contractors. (3) When economic incentive policy instruments such as grants or subsidies programs (EPI_BGS) and tax credits programs (EPI_BT) are not lucrative enough, it is very hard to involve contractors in these programs, which will hardly motivate them to replace their construction equipment earlier. (4) A combination of EPI_A, EPI_BGS and EPI_BT can work better, which can motive contractors to earlier replace existing equipment, and reduce the financial burden of contractors to some extent.     

基于可持续发展的西北少数民族贫困县主体功能区划分初探

西北贫困县中,少数民族县占了很大比例。这些少数民族贫困县大都地处偏远、生态环境脆弱、资源承载能力较弱,可持续发展水平低。进行主体功能区规划是增强可持续发展能力、促进区域协调发展的重要手段。本研究依据国家和省级主体功能区规划的要求,结合西北少数民族贫困县现状,构建主体功能区划分指标体系;以新疆木垒哈萨克自治县为例,在整个...     

Impact of environmental policy on eco-efficiency in country districts in Poland: How does the decreasing return to scale change perspectives?

In macroeconomic analyses usually a simple proportional trade-off between economic growth and environmental pressure is assumed, i.e. constant return to scale (CRS). In this study authors show how changing CRS assumption affects environmental policy effectiveness based on Polish example. The problem revealed in the conducted analysis is actual in many countries, where the local perspective may efface global threats. The empirical objective of this paper is to assess cost-effectiveness of environmental policies at the county level under various return to scale (RTS) scenarios. First, environmental pressure was measured in four dimensions: air, soil, water pollution and bio-uniformity; second, the double-bootstrapped truncated regression model under different RTS were estimated, verifying the cost-effectiveness of county and transnational policies. The results send a message that the adoption of CRS assumption recommended in a such case by literature and usually followed by local authorities may lead to misleading assessment of the eco-efficiency level. It was found that local policy loses its impact on the eco-efficiency under VRS and 40% of local authorities in Poland can no longer benefit from economies of scale. The article offers original methodology, first, for measuring eco-efficiency in macroeconomic approach, second, a frontier-based cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), adopting the double-bootstrapped modelling procedure.     

Studies on antioxidant status in Mugil cephalus in response to heavy metal pollution at Ennore estuary

Estuaries, the important component of natural environment are under pressure nowadays due to pollution from different sources like industries, agricultural fields etc. Ennore estuary one of the highly polluted estuary situated in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, due to heavy industrialization surrounding this site poses serious threat to its inhabitants. The present paper focuses on studying the response of the fish Mugil cephalus with reference to its antioxidants during their exposure to metals like iron and chromium present in the industrial effluents that are discharged into the Ennore estuary. The results on comparison with unpolluted Kovalam estuary showed that fish from Ennore experiences severe oxidative stress with significant alteration being observed with antioxidant enzyme activities. Since these results were also found to vary with seasons, the determination of oxidative stress biomarkers in M. cephalus along with seasonal variations may serve as a convenient approach during pollution biomonitoring programme.     

Environmental quality of Korean coasts as determined by modified Shannon–Wiener evenness proportion

The coast of the Korean peninsula experiences a range of human impacts, including pollution, shipping, reclamation, and aquaculture, that have motivated numerous local studies of macrobenthic organisms. In this paper, 1,492 subtidal stations were compiled from 23 studies (areas) to evaluate environmental quality on a broader scale. A common index in biomonitoring, Shannon–Wiener evenness proportion (SEP), could not incorporate azoic or single-species samples. This shortcoming was overcome by developing an inverse function of SEP (ISEP), which was positively correlated with independent measures of water quality available for nine sites and was not biased by the size of the sampling unit. Additionally, at Shihwa Dike, where samples were collected before and after reinstating a tidal connection with the ocean, ISEP values improved over time, as expected. Thus, it is now possible to assign Korean subtidal sites to seven ISEP “grades” and to use their values and trends to guide coastal management.