Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Microplastic abundance in beach sediments of the Kiel Fjord,Western Baltic Sea

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We assessed the abundance of microplastics (0.2–5 mm) in drift line sediments from three sites in Kiel Fjord, Western Baltic...     

Development of a accelerated solvent extraction and gel permeation chromatography analytical method for measuring persistent organohalogen compounds in adipose and organ tissue analysis

A new analytical method has been developed for the quantification of 59 different persistent organohalogen compounds, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PCB metabolites, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in biological organ tissues. The optimum extraction and cleanup procedures were examined using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), automated gel permeation chromatography (GPC) on Biobeads S-X3 and automated solid phase extraction (SPE) on silica-gel. The target compounds were divided into two fractions, non-polar compounds and more polar compounds, which in the latter fraction was subsequently methylated using diazomethane. Detection can be achieved by GC/MS in negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode. The average recoveries of the compounds spiked in swine liver, heart, kidney, and cattle adipose tissues were considered satisfactory, and it was confirmed that the method could be used in routine analysis.     

Cosolvent effect on the catalytic reductive dechlorination of PCE

Reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic contaminants is an effective approach to treat this widespread group of environmentally hazardous substances. Metalloporphyrins can be used to catalyze reduction reactions by shuttling electrons from a reducing agent (electron donor) to chlorinated organic contaminants, thus rendering them to non-chlorinated acetylene, ethylene or ethane as major products. Iron, nickel and vanadium oxide tetraphenyl porphyrins (TPPs) were used as models of non-soluble metalloporphyrins that are common in subsurface environments, and hence may inflect on the ability to use natural ones. The effect of cosolvents on metalloporphyrins is demonstrated to switch the reduction of tetrachlorethylene (PCE) from no reaction to complete PCE transformation within 24 h and the production of final non-chlorinated compounds. Variations in product distributions for the different metalloporphyrins indicate that changes in the core metal can influence reaction rates and effective pathways. Furthermore, different cosolvents can generate varied product distributions, again suggesting that different pathways and/or rates are operative in the reduction reactions. Comparison of different cosolvent effects on PCE reduction using vitamin B12--a soluble natural metalloporphyrinogen--as the catalyst shows less pronounced differences between reactions in various cosolvent solutions versus only aqueous solution.     

Non-aqueous phase liquid spreading during soil vapor extraction

Many non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) are expected to spread at the air-water interface, particularly under non-equilibrium conditions. In the vadose zone, this spreading should increase the surface area for mass transfer and the efficiency of volatile NAPL recovery by soil vapor extraction (SVE). Observations of spreading on water wet surfaces led to a conceptual model of oil spreading vertically above a NAPL pool in the vadose zone. Analysis of this model predicts that spreading can enhance the SVE contaminant recovery compared to conditions where the liquid does not spread. Experiments were conducted with spreading volatile oils hexane and heptane in wet porous media and capillary tubes, where spreading was observed at the scale of centimeters. Within porous medium columns up to a meter in height containing stagnant gas, spreading was less than ten centimeters and did not contribute significantly to hexane volatilization. Water film thinning and oil film pinning may have prevented significant oil film spreading, and thus did not enhance SVE at the scale of a meter. The experiments performed indicate that volatile oil spreading at the field scale is unlikely to contribute significantly to the efficiency of SVE.     

Water quality and health in northern Canada: stored drinking water and acute gastrointestinal illness in Labrador Inuit

One of the highest self-reported incidence rates of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in the global peer-reviewed literature occurs in Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. This high incidence of illness could be due, in part, to the consumption of contaminated water, as many northern communities face challenges related to the quality of municipal drinking water. Furthermore, many Inuit store drinking water in containers in the home, which could increase the risk of contamination between source and point-of-use (i.e., water recontamination during storage). To examine this risk, this research characterized drinking water collection and storage practices, identified potential risk factors for water contamination between source and point-of-use, and examined possible associations between drinking water contamination and self-reported AGI in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Canada. The study included a cross-sectional census survey that captured data on types of drinking water used, household practices related to drinking water (e.g., how it was collected and stored), physical characteristics of water storage containers, and self-reported AGI. Additionally, water samples were collected from all identified drinking water containers in homes and analyzed for presence of Escherichia coli and total coliforms. Despite municipally treated tap water being available in all homes, 77.6% of households had alternative sources of drinking water stored in containers, and of these containers, 25.2% tested positive for total coliforms. The use of transfer devices and water dippers (i.e., smaller bowls or measuring cups) for the collection and retrieval of water from containers were both significantly associated with increased odds of total coliform presence in stored water (OR_{transfer device} = 3.4, 95% CI 1.2–11.7; OR_dipper = 13.4, 95% CI 3.8–47.1). Twenty-eight-day period prevalence of self-reported AGI during the month before the survey was 17.2% (95% CI 13.0–22.5), which yielded an annual incidence rate of 2.4 cases per person per year (95% CI 1.8–3.1); no water-related risk factors were significantly associated with AGI. Considering the high prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, indicator bacteria in drinking water stored in containers, potential exposure to waterborne pathogens may be minimized through interventions at the household level.     

Large-scale environmental degradation results in inequitable impacts to already impoverished communities: A case study from the floating villages of Cambodia

Cambodian subsistence communities within the Tonle Sap Great Lake area rely on resource extraction from the lake to meet livelihood needs. These fishing communities—many of which consist of dwellings floating on the lake—face potentially profound livelihood challenges because of climate change and changing hydrology due to dam construction for hydroelectricity within the Mekong Basin. We conducted interviews across five village communities, with local subsistence fisher people in the Tonle Sap in 2015, and used thematic analysis methods to reveal a fishery system that is undergoing rapid ecological decline, with local fishing communities increasingly experiencing reductions in available fish stocks. As a result, over 100 000 people living in these communities are experiencing a direct loss of well-being and livelihood. We discuss these losses and consider their implications for the future viability of Cambodian floating village communities.     

Combination of biochar amendment and phytoremediation for hydrocarbon removal in petroleum-contaminated soil

Remediation of soils contaminated with petroleum is a challenging task. Four different bioremediation strategies, including natural attenuation, biochar amendment, phytoremediation with ryegrass, and a combination of biochar and ryegrass, were investigated with greenhouse pot experiments over a 90-day period. The results showed that planting ryegrass in soil can significantly improve the removal rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and the number of microorganisms. Within TPHs, the removal rate of total n-alkanes (45.83 %) was higher than that of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (30.34 %). The amendment of biochar did not result in significant improvement of TPH removal. In contrast, it showed a clear negative impact on the growth of ryegrass and the removal of TPHs by ryegrass. The removal rate of TPHs was significantly lower after the amendment of biochar. The results indicated that planting ryegrass is an effective remediation strategy, while the amendment of biochar may not be suitable for the phytoremediation of soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.     

Latent effects of early life stage exposure to triclosan on survival in fathead minnows,Pimephales promelas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of early life stage triclosan (5-chloro-2-(2,4, dichlorophenoxy)phenol, TCS) exposure on hatching, development, and survival in the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas. Embryonic minnows were exposed to TCS (50 and 100 µg L^?1) for 10 days followed by 6 weeks depuration. Mortality and morphological deformities were recorded and quantified during exposure and at the end of depuration. No significant effects on embryonic survival, time to reach the eyed stage, or hatching were found. However, at the conclusion of the depuration period, survival was significantly reduced in TCS exposed fish depending on the concentration. Visual inspection of the exposed fish suggests that mortality is related to spinal deformities, emaciation, and reduced foraging ability. Triclosan exhibits deleterious effects in fish at lower concentrations over longer durations than previously reported. Further, mortality in exposed fish 6 weeks after exposure demonstrates the need for various exposure assays to evaluate effects of TCS.