Incorporating stakeholders’ preferences into a multi-criteria framework for planning large-scale Nature-Based Solutions

Hydro-meteorological risks are a growing issue for societies, economies and environments around the world. An effective, sustainable response to such risks and their future uncertainty requires a paradigm shift in our research and practical efforts. In this respect, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) offer the potential to achieve a more effective and flexible response to hydro-meteorological risks while also enhancing human well-being and biodiversity. The present paper describes a new methodology that incorporates stakeholders’ preferences into a multi-criteria analysis framework, as part of a tool for selecting risk mitigation measures. The methodology has been applied to Tamnava river basin in Serbia and Nangang river basin in Taiwan within the EC-funded RECONECT project. The results highlight the importance of involving stakeholders in the early stages of projects in order to achieve successful implementation of NBSs. The methodology can assist decision-makers in formulating desirable benefits and co-benefits and can enable a systematic and transparent NBSs planning process.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01419-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Using Landsat 8 imagery for remote monitoring of total phosphorus as a water quality parameter of irrigation ponds in Taiwan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Monitoring water body quality parameters with high spatial and temporal resolutions is crucial because mitigation of pollution is usually costlier...     

Preparation of cross-linked magnetic chitosan with quaternary ammonium and its application for Cr(VI) and P(V) removal

Pollutants that exist in anionic species are issues of concern in water treatment. Compared to cationic pollutants, the removal of anionic pollutants by adsorption is more difficult because most adsorbents carry predominantly negative charges in neutral and alkaline environments. In this study, a cross-linked chitosan derivative with quaternary ammonium and magnetic properties（QM-chitosan） was prepared and employed to remove chromium（VI） and phosphorus（V）（Cr（VI） and P（V）） from aqueous environments. The QM-chitosan was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry（FT-IR）,thermogravimetric analysis（TGA）, energy dispersive X-ray（SEM-EDX） and zeta potential.Batch experiments show that QM-chitosan can effectively remove Cr（VI） and P（V）, and the main mechanism was believed to be electrostatic interaction. A pseudosecond-order model was fitted to describe the kinetic processes of Cr（VI） and P（V） removal. The adsorption isotherms of both Cr（VI） and P（V） on the QM-chitosan were well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm equation. The saturated adsorption capacity of P（V）（2.783 mmol/g） was found to be higher than that of Cr（VI）（2.323 mmol/g）, resulting from the size of the H2PO-4ions being smaller than that of the HCr O-4ions. However, the theoretical calculation and experimental results showed that QM-chitosan had a stronger affinity for Cr（VI） than P（V）. The adsorption–desorption of the QM-chitosan was evaluated, and high regeneration rates were demonstrated.     

Progress in carbon dioxide separation and capture： A review

This article reviews the progress made in CO2 separation and capture research and engineering. Various technologies, such as absorption, adsorption, and membrane separation, are thoroughly discussed. New concepts such as chemical-looping combustion and hydrate-based separation are also introduced briefly. Future directions are suggested. Sequestration methods, such as forestation, ocean fertilization and mineral carbonation techniques are also covered. Underground injection and direct ocean dump are not covered.     

Nutrient release and sediment oxygen demand in a eutrophic land-locked embayment in Hong Kong

Tolo Harbour is a large eutrophic land-locked estuarine embayment in Hong Kong. The rapid urbanization, commercio-industrial activities and lack of legislative control around the Tolo catchment produced large quantities of untreated or partially treated municipal sewage, agricultural wastes and cottage industrial effluents which were discharged into Tolo Harbour via rivers and watercourses. Control measures were implemented to reduce the external nutrient loading into the harbour since the early 1980s. Nutrient data for the period 1982 to 1997 were analyzed for temporal trends. Over the period of observation, the total inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus both show an increasing trend, despite a decade of efforts in reducing nutrient loading. The release rates of potentially mobile nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the sediments collected from Tolo Harbour were determined by N and P release experiments under oxic conditions. The experimental results showed that the sediment released significant amount of nutrients, especially orthophosphates and ammonia nitrogen. The maximum release rates were 15.0 and 206.0 mg/m2/day, respectively. Although the external nutrient loading has been reduced, nutrients could gradually be released back into the water column from the contaminated sediments and delay improvement of the water quality.     

Diagnostic indicators of elevated nitrogen deposition

Tissue N content of mosses, which has been shown to be an indicator of enhanced N, was studied at a range of locations dominated either by wet or dry deposited and oxidised and reduced forms of N. Tissue N responded differently to wet and dry deposited N. For a 1 kg ha(-1) y(-1) increase in N deposition, tissue N increased by 0.01% at wet deposition sites but by 0.03% at sites dominated by dry deposited NH3. Tissue N at wet deposition sites responded more to concentrations of NO3- and NH4+ in precipitation (r(2) 0.63) than to total N deposition (r(2) 0.27), concentration explaining 66% of the variation in tissue N, wet deposition 33%. The study clearly concludes that tissue N concentration in mosses provides a good indication of N deposition at sites where deposition is dominated by NH3, and is also valuable in identifying vegetation exposed to large concentrations of NH4+ or NO3-, in wet deposition dominated areas, such as hilltops and wind exposed woodland edges.     

Less-invasive autopsy for early pregnancy loss

Autopsy investigations provide valuable information regarding fetal death that can assist in the parental bereavement process, and influence future pregnancies, but conventional autopsy is often declined by parents because of its invasive approach. This has led to the development of less-invasive autopsy investigations based on imaging technology to provide a more accessible and acceptable choice for parents when investigating their loss. Whilst the development and use of more conventional clinical imaging techniques (radiographs, CT, MRI, US) are well described in the literature for fetuses over 20 weeks of gestational age, these investigations have limited diagnostic accuracy in imaging smaller fetuses. Techniques such as ultra-high-field MRI (>3T) and micro-focus computed tomography have been shown to have higher diagnostic accuracy whilst still being acceptable to parents. By further developing and increasing the availability of these more innovative imaging techniques, parents will be provided with a greater choice of acceptable options to investigate their loss, which may in turn increase their uptake. We provide a narrative review focussing on the development of high-resolution, non-invasive imaging techniques to evaluate early gestational pregnancy loss.     

Exploring the interaction relationship between Beautiful China-SciTech innovation using coupling coordination and predictive analysis: a case study of Zhejiang

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Exploring interaction of Beautiful China and SciTech Innovation is an important way to realize economic transformation and sustainable development in...     

Satellite imagery: a way to monitor water quality for the future?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Monitoring water at high spatial and temporal resolutions is important for maintaining water quality because the cost of pollution remediation is...