Toxicity of three halogenated flame retardants to nitrifying bacteria, red clover (Trifolium pratense), and a soil invertebrate (Enchytraeus crypticus)

Halogenated flame retardants have a high sorption affinity to particles, making soils and sediments important sinks. Here, three of the most commonly used flame retardants have been tested for sub-lethal toxicity towards soil nitrifying bacteria, a terrestrial plant (seed emergence and growth of the red clover, Trifolium pratense), and a soil invertebrate (survival and reproduction of Enchytraeus crypticus). Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) was quite toxic to enchytraeids, with significant effects on reproduction detected already at the 10 mgkg(-1) exposure level (EC(10)=2.7 mgkg(-1)). In contrast, decabromodiphenyl ether (DeBDE) was not toxic at all, and short-chain chloroparaffins (CP(10-13)) only affected soil nitrifying bacteria at the highest test concentration (EC(10)=570 mgkg(-1)). Exposure concentrations were verified by chemical analysis for TBBPA and DeBDE, but not for CP(10-13), as a reliable method was not available. Based on the generated data, a PNEC for soil organisms can be estimated at 0.3 mgkg(-1) for TBBPA and 57 mgkg(-1) for short-chain chloroparaffins. No PNEC could be estimated for DeBDE. Measurements of TBBPA in soil are not available, but measured concentrations in Swedish sludge are all lower than the estimated threshold value for biological effects in soil.     

MEAD: an interdisciplinary study of the marine effects of atmospheric deposition in the Kattegat

This paper summarises the results of the EU funded MEAD project, an interdisciplinary study of the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on the Kattegat Sea between Denmark and Sweden. The study considers emissions of reactive nitrogen gases, their transport, transformations, deposition and effects on algal growth together with management options to reduce these effects. We conclude that atmospheric deposition is an important source of fixed nitrogen to the region particularly in summer, when nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth, and contributes to the overall eutrophication pressures in this region. However, we also conclude that it is unlikely that atmospheric deposition can, on its own, induce algal blooms in this region. A reduction of atmospheric nitrogen loads to this region will require strategies to reduce emissions of ammonia from local agriculture and Europe wide reductions in nitrous oxide emissions.     

基因学与动物生态学相结合:了解动物育种中的驯化、行为及可持续性的新途径

动物行为是动物福利的核心部分,是可持续的动物育种的基础.在驯化过程中,动物已在行为和一系列其它显著特性方面产生适应性.我们对原鸡和白莱亨蛋鸡(为产蛋而选,间接为产肉而选)的行为进行了比较.原鸡在群居、探索、抗捕食和进食试验方面表现出更积极的行为.对一只原鸡与白莱亨鸡杂交后代进行的定量特性位点(QTLs)基因组扫描显示,不同的特性具有一些明显的或启示性的QTLs.一些生产QTLs与行为QTLs相重合,表明生物多向性效应对育种显型的发展也许是重要的.我们定位了一种基因,它对成为啄毛行为受害者方面有强烈影响,而啄毛是一种有害的行为紊乱现象.现代基因学配以行为分析,也许有益于未来设计出更加可持续的育种方式,培育出耐力更强的动物.     

PHOSPHATE IN WATERS: I. REDUCTION USING NORTHERN LIGNITE FLY ASH1

Fly ashes fiom lignite coal fixed steam electric plants contain appreciable amounts of materials that can, in principle, decrease the phosphorus concentration in surface waters. Typical samples of un-weathered fly ash were used to test efficacies of removal of phosphorus from standard phosphate solutions and actual lake water samples. The effects of changing parameters such as contact time, pH, fly ash/water ratios, and solution temperature are presented. Water soluble and insoluble factors in the ash both appear to be reactive constituents. Trials with municipal waste waters showed near quantitative removal of ortho-phosphate.     

Toxicant-induced fecundity compensation: A model of population responses

A mathematical model widely applied in population studies and in assessment of the impact of exploitation on fish populations was applied to assess cadmium toxicity in laboratory populations ofDaphnia galeata mendotae. Over a range of toxicant concentrations, the birth rate of the population increased to balance the death rate and the population compensated for the increased mortality. The model describes the relation between toxicant concentration, toxicant-induced mortality, and equilibrium population size. Compensation for increased mortality is described in terms of the decrease in population size necessary to produce an increase in the birth rate that will balance the increased death rate. The relative capacity of different aquatic organisms to compensate for toxicant-induced mortality is examined and a relation between compensatory capacity and the innate capacity for increase is developed.     

Food Safety and Ethics: The Interplay between Science and Values

The general public in Europe seems tohave lost its confidence in food safety. Theremedy for this, as proposed by the Commissionof the EU, is a scientific rearmament. Thequestion, however, is whether more science willbe able to overturn the public distrust.Present experience seems to suggest thecontrary, because there is widespread distrustin the science-based governmental controlsystems. The answer to this problem is thecreation of an independent scientificFood Authority. However, we argue thatindependent scientific advice alone is unlikelyto re-establish public confidence. It is muchmore important to make the scientific advicetransparent, i.e., to state explicitlythe factual and normative premises on which itis based. Risk assessments are based on arather narrow, but well-defined notion of risk.However, the public is concerned with a broadervalue context that comprises both benefits andrisks. Transparency and understanding of thepublic's perception of food risks is anecessary first step in establishing theurgently required public dialogue about thecomplex value questions involved in foodproduction.     

Sketching sustainable land use in Europe by 2040: a multi-stakeholder participatory approach to elicit cross-sectoral visions

The continuously growing global demands on a finite land resource will require better strategic policies and management of trade-offs to avoid conflicts between different land-use sectors. Visions of the future can support strategic planning by stimulating dialogue, building a consensus on shared priorities and providing long-term targets. We present a novel approach to elicit stakeholder visions of future desired land use, which was applied with a broad range of experts to develop cross-sectoral visions in Europe. The approach is based on (i) combination of software tools and facilitation techniques to stimulate engagement and creativity; (ii) methodical selection of stakeholders; (iii) use of land attributes to deconstruct the multifaceted sectoral visions into land-use changes that can be clustered into few cross-sectoral visions, and (iv) a rigorous iterative process. Three cross-sectoral visions of sustainable land use in Europe in 2040 emerged from applying the approach in participatory workshops involving experts in nature conservation, recreation, agriculture, forestry, settlements, energy, and water. The three visions—Best Land in Europe, Regional Connected and Local Multifunctional—shared a wish to achieve a land use that is sustainable through multifunctionality, resource use efficiency, controlled urban growth, rural renewal and widespread nature. However, they differ on the scale at which land services are provided—EU-wide, regional or local—reflecting the land-sparing versus land-sharing debate. We discuss the usefulness of the approach, as well as the challenges posed and solutions offered by the visions to support strategic land-use planning.

     

Transport of phosphate through artificial macropores during film and pulse flow

Flow through artificial macropores may occur as a water film along the macropore walls (film flow) or as moving water segments separated by air bubbles (pulse flow). To investigate the effect of macropore flow pattern (i.e., film and pulse flow) on the interaction of solutes with macropore walls, we studied orthophosphate (P) transport and sorption in artificial macropores. The experimental setup consisted of a column (height = 20 cm, diameter = 20 cm) homogenously packed with glass beads and fitted at outflow with a vertical artificial macropore placed below the column. The artificial macropore consisted of ceramic tubes (3 or 8 mm i.d.; 31.5 cm long) coated on the inside with iron oxide serving as phosphate sorbents. An orthophosphate solution containing 0.04 mg P L(-1) was applied at a rate of 9 to 12 mm h(-1) to the column, eventually causing macropore flow. In the 8-mm-i.d. tubes only film flow occurred. Pulse flow was dominating in the 3-mm-i.d. tubes. Generally, the flow patterns were reproducible and seldom did pulse flow replaced film flow or vice versa. During film flow, a significantly larger decrease in macropore P concentration per tube was observed relative to that with pulse flow events. However, pulse and film flow lead to almost the same amounts of P sorbed per unit surface area when exposed to the same solute P concentration. Comparison with P sorption capacity experiments indicated that the sorption rate, rather than the sorption capacity, controls the amount of sorbed P during macropore flow in the studied system.