Öko-Audit eines Bio-Agrar-Betriebes

Environmental impacts of a farm which is managed in accordance with ecological criteria is assessed. To this end the ecoaudit ordinance of the European Union 1836/93/EWG is used as guiding principle. This article focuses on methods and results of the impact assessment (chapter 2, 3) and the recommendations derived from that (chapter 4). Before that, objectives of investigation (chapter 1.1), key topics of the assessment ordinance are summarised (chapter 1.2), and finally the farm and the main fields of investigation are described (chapter 1.3). The density of complex hedge rows, as one from 21 assessment criteria, exceeds the limit of tolerance. The investigation underlines the need for further methodological harmonisation.     

Okadaic acid: a potential defense molecule for the sponge <Emphasis Type="Italic">Suberites domuncula</Emphasis>

Sponges are sessile filter feeders that are exposed to toxic compounds/xenobiotics and a huge number of diverse pro- and eukaryotic organisms occurring in the aqueous milieu. To cope with these threats, sponges have developed a variety of chemical and immunological defense systems. Among them are potent secondary metabolites or toxins. The demosponge Suberites domuncula contains the bioactive compound okadaic acid; concentrations of ᅢ ng/g (ᅬ nM) of wet tissue have been quantified by LC/MS. In the present study, we sought to determine whether okadaic acid is beneficial for this sponge. Antibodies were raised against okadaic acid and used to localize this compound in situ. It could be demonstrated that the polyclonal antibodies/antiserum stained the sponge cells (endopinacocytes) which form the epithelium of the lacunae and the water channels. They also reacted with bacteria present in sponge tissue. Okadaic acid was found to augment the immune response of S. domuncula against the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). If primmorphs, a special form of 3-D aggregates, are incubated with LPS at a concentration of 3 µg/ml, a reduction in the incorporation rate of [³H] phenylalanine is measured. In the presence of okadaic acid, this effect is measured already at a concentration of 1 µg/ml, suggesting that okadaic acid sensitizes this (immune) response. Okadaic acid is a known inhibitor of protein phosphatases which, as shown here, cause an increased phosphorylation of p38, a central kinase of the MAP kinase pathway; this may explain the sensitive response of the sponge cells to LPS. At higher concentrations, okadaic acid induces apoptosis, as was demonstrated here by a differential expression of the Bcl-2 homolog and the caspase gene. It is concluded that okadaic acid has two functions in the sponge; first, at low concentrations (<100 nM) a stimulation of the defense system against bacteria, and second, at concentrations above 500 nM, a differential effect on the pro-/anti-apoptotic genes.     

Korrelation meteorologischer und pflanzenph?nologischer Indikatoren des Klimawandels

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Applicability of Fenton and H2O2/UV reactions in the treatment of tannery wastewaters

In this paper we evaluated the H2O2/UV and the Fenton's oxidation processes for the treatment of tannery wastewater under different experimental conditions. Efficiencies were judged by the amounts of organic substances degraded or eliminated under these treatment techniques. Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri were used to monitor toxicity. Organic compounds contained in the untreated and treated tannery wastewater were determined and identified using substance specific techniques. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in positive electron impact (EI(+)) mode was applied to determine volatile organics. Atmospheric pressure ionization (API) mass (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) coupled with flow injection analysis (FIA) or liquid chromatography (LC) were used to detect or identify polar organic pollutants. The experimental results indicated that both oxidation processes--H2O2/UV at pH 3 and Fenton at pH 3.5--are able to reduce TOC content by mineralisation of the organic compounds.     

Trichloroacetic acid cycling in Sitka spruce saplings and effects on sapling health following long term exposure

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA, CCl(3)COOH) has been associated with forest damage but the source of TCA to trees is poorly characterised. To investigate the routes and effects of TCA uptake in conifers, 120 Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr) saplings were exposed to control, 10 or 100 microg l(-1) solutions of TCA applied twice weekly to foliage only or soil only over two consecutive 5-month growing seasons. At the end of each growing season similar elevated TCA concentrations (approximate range 200-300 ng g(-1) dwt) were detected in both foliage and soil-dosed saplings exposed to 100 microg l(-1) TCA solutions showing that TCA uptake can occur from both exposure routes. Higher TCA concentrations in branchwood of foliage-dosed saplings suggest that atmospheric TCA in solution is taken up indirectly into conifer needles via branch and stemwood. TCA concentrations in needles declined slowly by only 25-30% over 6 months of winter without dosing. No effect of TCA exposure on sapling growth was measured during the experiment. However at the end of the first growing season needles of saplings exposed to 10 or 100 microg l(-1) foliage-applied TCA showed significantly more visible damage, higher activities of some detoxifying enzymes, lower protein contents and poorer water control than needles of saplings dosed with the same TCA concentrations to the soil. At the end of each growing season the combined TCA storage in needles, stemwood, branchwood and soil of each sapling was <6% of TCA applied. Even with an estimated half-life of tens of days for within-sapling elimination of TCA during the growing season, this indicates that TCA is eliminated rapidly before uptake or accumulates in another compartment. Although TCA stored in sapling needles accounted for only a small proportion of TCA stored in the sapling/soil system it appears to significantly affect some measures of sapling health.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Exploiting plant metabolism for the phytoremediation of persistent herbicides

Weed control by herbicides has helped us to create the green revolution and to provide food for at least the majority of human beings living today. However, some herbicides remain in the environment and pose an ecological problem. The present review describes the properties and fate of four representative herbicides known to be presistent in ecosystems. Metabolic networks are depicted and it is concluded that removal of these compounds by the ecologically friendly technique of phytoremediation is possible. The largest problem is seen in the uptake of the compounds into suitable plants and the time needed for such an approach.