Socio-demographic determinants of municipal waste generation: case study of the Czech Republic

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Increasing pressure of the European Union on diverting municipal waste from landfills requires an active role of households and commands a radical...     

Sustainable forest management in a mountain region in the Central Western Carpathians,northeastern Slovakia: the role of climate change

European forestry is facing many challenges, including the need to adapt to climate change and an unprecedented increase in forest damage. We investigated these challenges in a Norway spruce-dominated mountain region in Central Europe. We used the model Sibyla to explore forest biomass production to the year 2100 under climate change and under two alternative management systems: the currently applied management (CM), which strives to actively improve the forest’s adaptive capacity, and no management (NM) as a reference. Because biodiversity is thought to have mostly positive effects on the adaptive capacity of forests and on the quality of ecosystem services, we explored how climate change and management affect indicators of biodiversity. We found a differential response across the elevation-climatic gradient, including a drought-induced decrease in biomass production over large areas. With CM, the support of non-spruce species and the projected improvement of their growth increased tree species diversity. The promotion of species with higher survival rates led to a decrease in forest damage relative to both the present conditions and NM. NM preserved the high density of over-matured spruce trees, which caused forest damage to increase. An abundance of dead wood and large standing trees, which can increase biodiversity, increased with NM. Our results suggest that commercial spruce forests, which are not actively adapted to climate change, tend to preserve their monospecific composition at a cost of increased forest damage. The persisting high rates of damage along with the adverse effects of climate change make the prospects of such forests uncertain.     

Ultrasonographic features in a case of heterozygous achondroplasia at 25 weeks' gestation

Prenatal diagnosis of heterozygous achondroplasia at 25 weeks is described. First-level fetal ultrasonography demonstrated short long bones of the lower limbs. Second-level examination showed a large head; shortened femur, fibula, and tibia; a ‘trident’-shaped hand; and an abnormal facial profile.     

Dissipation of Tidal Energy and Associated Mixing in a Wide Fjord

This paper sets out to test the hypothesis that vertical mixing due to the dissipation of the internal tide accounts for a significant proportion of the total vertical mixing in a fjordic basin during a period of deep water isolation. During July and August 1999 two locations in the Clyde Sea were instrumented with moored RD Instruments Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and conductivity-temperature-pressure chains: Station C2, near the shallow entrance sill (55 m water depth), and station C1 in the deep basin (155 m water depth). A bottom pressure recorder was also deployed at station C3 by the seaward entrance to the Clyde Sea in the North Channel of the Irish Sea. A Free-falling Light Yo-yo shear microstructure profiler (FLY) was used to measure the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) throughout the water column over 25 h at both C1 and C2. These were interspersed with two-hourly conductivity-temperature-depth casts at both sites. The observations show agreement between the dissipation rate of TKE estimated by using a microstructure profiler and that estimated from the decay of the internal tide as measured by the two ADCPs. However, to account for all the implied mixing it is necessary to invoke an additional source of buoyancy flux, the most probable candidate mechanism is enhanced internal wave breaking near the sill and at the sloping boundaries of the deep basin. In addition, the vertical eddy diffusivity estimated from the micro-structure profiler (O(0.5 cm² s^–1) indicates that internal tide induced mixing away from any boundaries contributed significantly to the overall level of mixing which is required to account for the observed evolution of the deep basin water properties.     

Deposition and Fate of Lead in a Forested Catchment, Lesni Potok, Central Czech Republic

The deposition of trace elements and their fate in a forest ecosystemhas been monitored at the experimental site, Lesni Potok catchment (LP), with granite bedrock. The catchment is located 30 km ESE from Prague. Annual bulk Pb-deposition flux F_Pb was 3.41 kg km^-2 a^-1 in 1994 and gradually decreased to 0.49 kg km^-2 a^-1 in 2001. The decrease is comparable with those observed in Germany and in the U.S.A. in the 1970s and 1980s. The total sales ban of leaded gasoline in the Czech Republic since January 2001 was accompanied by a pronounced decrease of F_Pb in a single year. The residual Pb-deposition flux is assigned to both the long-range transport of fine-grained vehicular lead aerosol (with a long residence time in the atmosphere) and to theemissions from power plant boilers burning lignite mined in the Czech northwest coal basin. The F_Pb of lead correlates stronglywith those of As, Cd, Cu, Zn and Be, the typical metals in coal fly ash, at two monitored sites. Topsoil horizons contain elevated concentrations of Pb (53–67 mg kg^-1), which are of anthropogenicorigin. Soils in the riparian areas contain increased concentrations of Pb when compared to soils on the hillslope areas. Significant amounts of Pb were found on a stream substrate and Fe-precipitate sampled from the stream. Low concentrations of Pb in bark and bole wood suggest that the uptake of Pb by vegetation is negligible. The very small surface water outputs (average of 0.002 kg km^-2 a^-1) compared to inputs (average of 1.890 kg km^-2 a^-1) from the LP catchment indicate an ongoing accumulation of Pb in a forested landscape.     

Citizen participation in disaster recovery projects and programmes in rural communities: a comparison of the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina

This study investigates predictors of local participation in recovery projects and programmes following Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005 and the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Using two sets of survey data, it examines whether disaster impacts and social capital (social trust and civic engagement) are associated with disaster recovery participation and compares predictors of such engagement in the two locations. Multivariate logistic regression results reveal that physical injuries, limited community mobility, and government trust increase recovery participation in Haiti (n=278), whereas emotional distress and homeownership decrease it. On the Gulf Coast of the US (n=259), physical injuries and higher civic engagement augment recovery participation, while homeownership and age reduce it. The confounding factors of national contexts and post‐disaster time frames might explain the differences in the results. The discussion addresses the relation between country‐specific vulnerability and recovery participation and suggests implications for policy and practice to improve local citizens’ capabilities to participate in sustainable recovery processes.     

The immediate costs and long-term benefits of assisted gene flow in large populations

With the genetic health of many plant and animal populations deteriorating due to climate change outpacing adaptation, interventions, such as assisted gene flow (AGF), may provide genetic variation necessary for populations to adapt to climate change. We ran genetic simulations to mimic different AGF scenarios in large populations and measured their outcomes on population-level fitness to determine circumstances in which it is worthwhile to perform AGF. In the absence of inbreeding depression, AGF was beneficial within a few generations only when introduced genotypes had much higher fitness than local individuals and traits affecting fitness were controlled by a few genes of large effect. AGF was harmful over short periods (e.g., first ∼10–20 generations) if there was strong outbreeding depression or introduced deleterious genetic variation. When the adaptive trait was controlled by many loci of small effect, the benefits of AGF took over 10 generations to realize—potentially too long for most climate-related management scenarios. The genomic integrity of the recipient population typically remained intact following AGF; the amount of genetic material from the donor population usually constituted no more of the recipient population's genome than the fraction of the population introduced. Significant genomic turnover (e.g., >50% replacement) only occurred when the selective advantage of the adaptive trait and translocation fraction were extremely high. Our results will be useful when adaptive management is used to maintain the genetic health and productivity of large populations under climate change.     

Sulphate, Nitrogen and Base Cation Budgets at 21 Forested Catchments in Canada, the United States and Europe

To assess the concern over declining base cation levels in forest soils caused by acid deposition, input-output budgets (1990s average) for sulphate (SO₄), inorganic nitrogen (NO₃-N; NH₄-N), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) were synthesised for 21 forested catchments from 17 regions in Canada, the United States and Europe. Trend analysis was conducted on monthly ion concentrations in deposition and runoff when more than 9 years of data were available (14 regions, 17 sites). Annual average SO₄ deposition during the 1990s ranged between 7.3 and 28.4 kg ha⁻¹ per year, and inorganic nitrogen (N) deposition was between 2.8 and 13.8 kg ha⁻¹ per year, of which 41–67% was nitrate (NO₃-N). Over the period of record, SO₄ concentration in deposition decreased in 13/14 (13 out of 14 total) regions and SO₄ in runoff decreased at 14/17 catchments. In contrast, NO₃-N concentrations in deposition decreased in only 1/14 regions, while NH₄-N concentration patterns varied; increasing at 3/14 regions and decreasing at 2/14 regions. Nitrate concentrations in runoff decreased at 4/17 catchments and increased at only 1 site, whereas runoff levels of NH₄-N increased at 5/17 catchments. Decreasing trends in deposition were also recorded for Ca, Mg, and K at many of the catchments and on an equivalent basis, accounted for up to 131% (median 22%) of the decrease in acid anion deposition. Base cation concentrations in streams generally declined over time, with significant decreases in Ca, Mg and K occurring at 8, 9 and 7 of 17 sites respectively, which accounted for up to 133% (median 48%) of the decrease in acid anion concentration. Sulphate export exceeded input at 18/21 catchments, likely due to dry deposition and/or internal sources. The majority of N in deposition (31–100%; median 94%) was retained in the catchments, although there was a tendency for greater NO₃-N leaching at sites receiving higher (<7 kg ha^-1 per year) bulk inorganic N deposition. Mass balance calculations show that export of Ca and Mg in runoff exceeds input at all 21 catchments, but K export only exceeds input at 16/21 sites. Estimates of base cation weathering were available for 18 sites. When included in the mass balance calculation, Ca, Mg and K exports exceeded inputs at 14, 10 and 2 sites respectively. Annual Ca and Mg losses represent appreciable proportions of the current exchangeable soil Ca and Mg pools, although losses at some of the sites likely occur from weathering reactions beneath the rooting zone and there is considerable uncertainty associated with mineral weathering estimates. Critical loads for sulphur (S) and N, using a critical base cation to aluminium ratio of 10 in soil solution, are currently exceeded at 7 of the 18 sites with base cation weathering estimates. Despite reductions in SO₄ and H⁺ deposition, mass balance estimates indicate that acid deposition continues to acidify soils in many regions with losses of Ca and Mg of primary concern. The U.S. Government's right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged. The Canadian Crown reserves the right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright.     

Lipid synthesis from acetate by the in vitro incubated ovaries of the penaeid shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus

The present research was aimed at studying the synthesis of lipids from ¹⁴C-acetate in vitro by ovarian tissue in relation to oogenesis and at examining the binding of newly synthesized lipids to ovarian proteins. Lipid synthesis gradually increased during oogenesis. Fifty percent of the newly synthesized lipids was phosphatidyl choline; triacylglycerols reached 30 to 35%; diacylglycerol was a relatively important component of the synthesized neutral lipids in immature ovaries. Cholesterol was not synthesized. Only saturated (73%) and monounsaturated (26%) fatty acids were labeled. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were not synthesized. Bound lipids in developing ovaries were associated mainly with vitellin. Lipids were bound also to two other proteins in immature ovaries. Binding of lipids to vitellin was observed at the commencement of vitellogenesis. Up to a third of the newly synthesized lipids was bound to vitellin, with triacylglycerols and phosphatidyl choline as the main bound lipids. Peneaus semisulcatus individuals examined in the present study were collected in Haifa Bay, Israel during the years 1990 to 1992.