Prevalence and drivers of poison use by South African commercial farmers and perceptions of alternative livestock protection measures

The use of poison to eliminate predators is causing African vulture populations to collapse. To understand the prevalence and motivations of this practice we conducted an extensive survey with South African commercial farmers. Using a specialised questioning technique and ad hoc quantitative methods we found that an estimated 22% and 31% of farmers used poison over a 1-year and 5-year period, respectively. Poison use hotspots generally coincided with small stock farming areas. The strongest predictor of poison use was whether farmers believed the practice to be common amongst their peers. Our results suggest that farmers’ attitudes to vultures are primarily positive, and farmers are less likely to use poisons if they frequently encounter vultures on their farm. Overall, our findings provide an understanding on poison use that provides leverage points to change farmers’ behaviour and help avert the African vulture crisis and possible cascading ecosystem impacts.Supplementary informationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01461-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Element accumulation performance of living and dead lichens in a large-scale transplant application

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In bioaccumulation studies, sample devitalization through acid washing or oven drying is commonly applied to enhance the element accumulation...     

Spatial variability of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde and residential exposure of children in the industrial area of Viadana,Northern Italy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chipboard production is a source of ambient air pollution. We assessed the spatial variability of outdoor pollutants and residential exposure of...     

Photoactive titanium dioxide nanoparticles modify heterotrophic microbial functioning

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (nTiO2) is frequently applied, raising concerns about potential side effects on the environment. While various...     

Zooming on light packaging waste differences by scanning electron microscopy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present paper, different types of pure and commercial plastic waste from different EU countries (UK, France, Italy, and Romania) were...     

Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in two EU countries: A comparison

The paper presents some data regarding waste electrical and electronic (WEEE) management in one of the founding countries of the EU, Italy, and in a recent entry into the EU, Romania. The aim of this research was to analyze some problems that countries entering the EU will have to solve with respect to WEEE management. The experiences of Italy and Romania could provide an interesting reference point. The strengths and weaknesses that the two EU countries have encountered can be used in order to give a more rational plan for other countries. In Italy the increase of WEEE collection was achieved in parallel with the increase of the efficiency of selective Municipal Solid Waste collection. In Romania, pilot experiences were useful to increase the awareness of the population. The different interests of the two populations towards recyclable waste led to a different scenario: in Romania all types of WEEE have been collected since its entrance into the EU; in Italy the “interest” in recycling is typically related to large household appliances, with a secondary role of lighting equipment.     

Vehicle-Induced Lead and Cadmium Contamination of Roadside Soil and Plants in Italy

Lead and cadmium concentrations in spontaneous vegetation and in soil sampled at various distances (0–208 m) from several motorways throughout Italy were measured. Lead and cadmium concentrations appear to be correlated to distance from the motorway and to traffic levels. A comparison with data from a remote and unpolluted site shows that foliar lead concentrations can be up to 40 times higher, and foliar cadmium concentrations up to 3 times higher. Plants behave differently in their accumulation of lead and cadmium; conifers present the highest levels. Also the various receptors and compartments of the roadside ecosystem differ in their accumulation of lead and cadmium; soil and bark have consistently higher concentrations, while the leaves and twigs of trees have consistently lower levels. the data recorded by ad hoc introduced bio-accumulating plants (Lolium multiflorum L.) are consistent with those of the spontaneous vegetation. the concentrations of both lead and cadmium in Lolium vary from June to November, following in part the fluctuation in traffic density.     

Some characteristics of a plume from a point source based on analytical solution of the two-dimensional advection–diffusion equation

The moments of the concentration distribution obtained using a recent analytical solution of the steady-state two-dimensional advection–diffusion equation are presented. The solving methodology is the Generalized Integral Laplace Transform Technique, which allows obtaining a reliable solution of the advection–diffusion equation without any restrictive assumption about the eddy diffusivity coefficients and wind speed profiles. The first four moments and value and position of maximum ground level concentration are calculated. The concentration standard deviation is compared against the semi-empirical ones used in operative Gaussian models.