Putting transdisciplinarity into practice: a mixed mode procedure for stakeholder participation in natural resource management

The definition of management actions in natural resource management requires the integration of all types of knowledge involved. An appropriate approach for such a challenge is the ideal of transdisciplinarity. A transdisciplinary process can be considered “consultative” when knowledge is simply gathered and collated, or “participatory” when knowledge integration is undertaken collectively. In this paper, we present a mixed mode procedure (i.e., using interviews, questionnaires, and group discussions) that empirically demonstrates the difference between consultative and participatory transdisciplinary processes. The mixed mode procedure is used for identifying the most relevant problems occurring in the coastal system of Praia da Vitória bay, Azores, Portugal. This mixed mode procedure is likely to be useful for other studies, because the results highlight the need to promote face-to-face interaction at the earliest opportunity, and because it allows an understanding to be gained of social learning processes, the influence of power, and participant behaviour during interaction with others.     

Ecological risk assessment of metal and hydrocarbon pollution in sediments from an urban tropical estuary: Tijuca lagoon (Rio de Janeiro,Brazil)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Urban tropical lagoons are often impacted by eutrophication, metal, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, but the toxicity of their...     

Physiological responses and phytoremediation capacity of floating and submerged aquatic macrophytes exposed to ciprofloxacin

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) water contamination is a global concern, having reached disturbing concentrations and threatening the aquatic ecosystems. We...     

Soil heavy metal content on the hillslope region of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: reference values

The increasing concern regarding the preservation of soil quality suggests the adoption of quality reference values as a first step in environmental monitoring actions. In this context, the objective of this study was to establish soil quality reference values for Al, Zn, Mn, Cd, Fe, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Cu and to correlate several soil properties with the occurrence of these elements in the hillslope region of Rio de Janeiro State. Sixty-two samples were collected at depths of 0–20 and 20–40 cm and analyzed using the USEPA method 3051A. After clustering analysis, the samples were separated into three groups. Classification functions were obtained based on the variables pH - Mg - Fe - Mn, i.e., the variables that were best related to heavy metal content. We determined to establish the quality reference values for the 75th percentile of the three groups. The relief forms of the area, which facilitate the transport of soil fine-particle fractions and accumulation in lowlands, were revealed to be one of most important factors in understanding the distribution of soil heavy metals.     

Funneliformis mosseae and Invasion by Exotic Legumes in a Brazilian Tropical Seasonal Dry Forest

Russian Journal of Ecology - Parkinsonia aculeata and Prosopis juliflora are two of the most problematic invasive plant species in the Brazilian tropical seasonal dry forest, but the mechanisms...     

On the road to ‘research municipalities’: analysing transdisciplinarity in municipal ecosystem services and adaptation planning

Transdisciplinary research and collaboration is widely acknowledged as a critical success factor for solution-oriented approaches that can tackle complex sustainability challenges, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate-related hazards. In this context, city governments’ engagement in transdisciplinarity is generally seen as a key condition for societal transformation towards sustainability. However, empirical evidence is rare. This paper presents a self-assessment of a joint research project on ecosystem services and climate adaptation planning (ECOSIMP) undertaken by four universities and seven Swedish municipalities. We apply a set of design principles and guiding questions for transdisciplinary sustainability projects and, on this basis, identify key aspects for supporting university–municipality collaboration. We show that: (1) selecting the number and type of project stakeholders requires more explicit consideration of the purpose of societal actors’ participation; (2) concrete, interim benefits for participating practitioners and organisations need to be continuously discussed; (3) promoting the ‘inter’, i.e., interdisciplinary and inter-city learning, can support transdisciplinarity and, ultimately, urban sustainability and long-term change. In this context, we found that design principles for transdisciplinarity have the potential to (4) mitigate project shortcomings, even when transdisciplinarity is not an explicit aim, and (5) address differences and allow new voices to be heard. We propose additional guiding questions to address shortcomings and inspire reflexivity in transdisciplinary projects.     

Lichen microalgae are sensitive to environmental concentrations of atrazine

The identification of new organisms for environmental toxicology bioassays is currently a priority, since these tools are strongly limited by the ecological relevance of taxa used to study global change. Lichens are sensitive bioindicators of air quality and their microalgae are an untapped source for new low-cost miniaturized bioassays with ecological importance. In order to increase the availability of a wider range of taxa for bioassays, the sensitivity of two symbiotic lichen microalgae, Asterochloris erici and Trebouxia sp. TR9, to atrazine was evaluated. To achieve this goal, axenic cultures of these phycobionts in suspension were exposed to a range of environmental concentrations of the herbicide atrazine, a common water pollutant. Optical density and chlorophyll autofluorescence were used as endpoints of ecotoxicity and ecophysiology on cell suspensions. Results show that lichen microalgae show high sensitivity to very low doses of atrazine, being higher in Asterochloris erici than in Trebouxia sp. TR9. We conclude that environmental concentrations of atrazine could modify population dynamics probably through a shift in reproduction strategies of these organisms. This seminal work is a breakthrough in the use of lichen microalgae in the assessment of micropollution effects on biodiversity.     

Perceptions of using low-quality irrigation water in vegetable production in Morogoro,Tanzania

This study was conducted to examine perceptions of the farmers and key informants on the use of low-quality irrigation water for vegetable production in urban and peri-urban areas in Morogoro, Tanzania. The methods used to collect data were farmer surveys (n = 60), focus group discussions (n = 4) and key informants interviews (n = 15). The results showed that the respondents had a positive perception on using low-quality irrigation water for vegetable production. The reported benefits include availability of water throughout the year, highest soil and crop nutrients in irrigation water, less costs of buying commercial fertilizers, vegetable production all year round, sustainable income generation from selling vegetables and also jobs creation in the community among farmers and vegetable sellers. Findings from Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test score on farmers perception scales indicate an association between the source of low-quality water used and the respondents’ sex. Accordingly, female farmers had higher positive perception on the benefits of low-quality water compared to male farmers. Higher perception score was also observed among farmers who used polluted river water in irrigation vegetable production compared to farmers who used wastewater. Since low-quality irrigation water is a good strategy of coping with scarcity of freshwater for communities which have no alternative source of irrigation water, the study recommends multi-sectorial agencies across the country to be involved in formulating policies and creating health promotion awareness for safe use of low-quality water for benefit maximization and health risk reduction.     

Disposal of dredged sediments in tropical soils: ecotoxicological effects on earthworms

The upper limit concentrations of metals established by international legislations for dredged sediment disposal and soil quality do not take into consideration the properties of tropical soils (generally submitted to more intense weathering processes) on metal availability and ecotoxicity. Aiming to perform an evaluation on the suitability of these threshold values in tropical regions, the ecotoxicity of metal-contaminated dredged sediment from the Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was investigated. Acute and avoidance tests with Eisenia andrei were performed with mixtures of dredged sediment with a ferralsol (0.00, 6.66, 13.12, 19.98, and 33.30 %) and a chernosol (0.00, 6.58, 13.16, 19.74, and 32.90 %). Mercury, lead, nickel, chromium, copper, and zinc concentrations were measured in test mixtures and in tissues of surviving earthworms from the acute tests. While ferralsol test mixtures provoked significant earthworm avoidance response at concentrations ≥13.31 %, the chernosol mixtures showed significant avoidance behavior only at the 19.74 % concentration. The acute tests showed higher toxicity in ferralsol mixtures (LC50?=?9.9 %) compared to chernosol mixtures (LC50?=?16.5 %), and biomass increased at the lowest sediment doses in treatments of both test soils. Most probably, the expansive clay minerals present in chernosol contributed to reduce metal availability in chernosol mixtures, and consequently, the ecotoxicity of these treatments. The bioconcentration factors (BCF) for zinc and copper were lower with increasing concentrations of the dredged sediment, indicating the existence of internal regulating processes. Although the BCF for mercury also decreased with the increasing test concentrations, the known no biological function of this metal in the earthworms metabolism lead to suppose that Hg measured was not present in bioaccumulable forms. BCFs estimated for the other metals were generally higher in the highest dredged sediment doses.     

Quantitative PCR analysis of fungi and bacteria in building materials and comparison to culture-based analysis

Prolonged moisture on building materials can lead to microbial growth on them. Microbes can emit spores, metabolites and structural parts into the indoor air and thus, cause adverse health effects of people living and working in these buildings. So far, culture methods have been used for assessment of microbial contamination of building materials. In this work, we used quantitative PCR (qPCR) for the detection of selected fungal and bacterial groups in 184 building materials of different types and compared the results with culture-based analysis. Nine either commonly found species, genera or groups of fungi, or those considered as moisture damage indicators, and one bacterial genus, Streptomyces, were determined using qPCR. Fungi and mesophilic actinomycetes were also cultivated using standard media and conditions of the routine analysis. The bacterial genus Streptomyces and the fungal group Penicillium/Aspergillus/Paecilomyces were the most prevalent microbial groups in all building material types, followed by Stachybotrys chartarum and Trichoderma viride/atroviride/koningii. The highest prevalences, concentrations and species diversity was observed on wooden materials. In general, the results of the two methods did not correlate well, since concentrations of fungi and streptomycetes were higher and their occurrence more prevalent when determined by qPCR compared to culture-based results. However, with increasing concentrations, the correlation generally increased. The qPCR assay did not detect Aspergillus versicolor and Acremonium strictum as often as culture.