Book reviews

French Land Use Planning in the Fifth Republic: Real or imagined decentralisation?

Irene B. Wilson, Nijmeegse Planologische Cahiers No. 27, Geografisch en Planologisch Instituut, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands, 1988. 228pp. ISBN 90–70219–23–9.

Environmental and Resource Economics: an Introduction

Common, M. (1988). Longman i‐xiv 1–319.

The Greening of Aid: Sustainable Livelihoods in Practice.

C. Conroy & M. Litvinoff (Eds.) Earthscan Publications Ltd, London, 1989, pp.293, £8.95 (pb).

Private Supply of Public Services: Evaluation of Real Estate Exactions, Linkage, and Alternative Land Policies.

Rachelle Alterman (Ed), New York University Press, 1988. 273pp, ISBN 0–8147–0589–8.

City Politics

Hegemonic Projects and Discourse, by Maarten A. Hajer, published by Avebury Press, the Gower Publishing Company Ltd 1989, 140 pp.

The Genius Of The Place

The English Landscape Garden 1620–1820

John Dixon Hunt and Petér Willis. Price £12.50 (Paperback) & £26.95 (Cloth). M.I.T. Press.

Vacationscape

Designing Tourist Regions — 1988 2nd Ed.

Clare A. Gunn, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, $34.95 (cloth)

Loft Living — Culture and Capital in Urban Change

Sharon Zukin. Published, British Edition ‘Radius (Century Hudson) London, 1988 Price £8.95.

First Pub. U.S. John Hopkins University Press, 1982. Note: The British Edition has an added Chapter ’More Market Forces’.

William Kent Landscape Garden Designer

John Dixon Hunt. A. Zwemmer Ltd London. 1987, 176pp.

The Pattern of Landscape

Sylvia Crowe and Mary Mitchell (1988). Packard Publishing Ltd, Chichester. 127pp, 161 photographs. Price £30. ISBN 185341 020.

International Environmental Diplomacy

Edited by J. E. Carroll     

INCOME AND PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND FOR WATER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES1

ABSTRACT: The income and proce elasticity of demand for domestic water is estimated for Penang Island, Malaysia. A cross-sectional analysis of a random sample of 1400 households indicated an income-elasticity of zero for low-income families (per capita income less than US$300) and an elasticity of 0.2-0.4 for higher-income families. A time-series analysis of a subsample of individuals of varying income levels suggests a short-run price elasticity of -0.1 to -0.2. The implications of these results for demand forecasting are discussed.     

Pyrene degradation in forest humus microcosms with or without pine and its mycorrhizal fungus

The mineralization potential of forest humus and the self-cleaning potential of a boreal coniferous forest environment for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds was studied using a model ecosystem of acid forest humus (pH = 3.6) and pyrene as the model compound. The matrix was natural humus or humus mixed with oil-polluted soil in the presence and absence of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and its mycorrhizal fungus (Paxillus involutus). The rates of pyrene mineralization in the microcosms with humus implants (without pine) were initially insignificant but increased from Day 64 onward to 47 microg kg(-1) d(-1) and further to 144 microg kg(-1) d(-1) after Day 105. In the pine-planted humus microcosms the rate of mineralization also increased, reaching 28 microg kg(-1) d(-1) after Day 105. The 14CO2 emission was already considerable in nonplanted microcosms containing oily soil at Day 21 and the pyrene mineralization continued throughout the study. The pyrene was converted to CO2 at rates of 0.07 and 0.6 microg kg(-1) d(-1) in the oily-soil implanted microcosms with and without pine, respectively. When the probable assimilation of 14CO2 by the pine and ground vegetation was taken into account the most efficient microcosm mineralized 20% of the 91.2 mg kg(-1) pyrene in 180 d. The presence of pine and its mycorrhizal fungus had no statistically significant effect on mineralization yields. The rates of pyrene mineralization observed in this study for forest humus exceeded the total annual deposition rate of PAHs in southern Finland. This indicates that accumulation in forest soil is not to be expected.     

Comparative study of estrogenic potencies of estradiol, tamoxifen, bisphenol-A and resveratrol with two in vitro bioassays

This study was undertaken to compare the sensitivity of two in vitro screening test methods and to determine the accuracy of predicted response to spiked laboratory water samples. A newly developed enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) and a widely used yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay were selected to evaluate the estrogenic responses. Four natural, pharmaceutical, xenobiotic or phytobiotic chemicals: 17beta-estradiol (E2), tamoxifen, bisphenol-A and resveratrol were examined, and 17beta-E2 was used as a positive control. 17beta-E2 can strongly induce estrogenic response in both test systems, however, ELRA was found to be more sensitive to 17beta-E2 with a detection limit of 0.07 microg/l compared to 0.88 microg/l in YES assay. Similar results were obtained for bisphenol-A and resveratrol, and their estrogen potencies relative to E2 (100%) determined by ELRA were at least 5.6 times greater than produced by YES assay. ELRA was unable to distinguish the anti-estrogen tamoxifen and YES assay is also poor at distinguishing. Comparison of response to spiked laboratory water samples show that ELRA can give accurate determination to all four chemicals with recoveries among 70-120%, while YES can only give accurate determination to 17beta-E2 and bisphenol-A with recoveries among 69-112%. The comparative results provide evidence that ELRA is more suitable for rapid screening estrogenic potency of the environmental samples. Combination of ELRA and mammalian cellular assay will constitute an advantageous test to specify agonistic or antagonistic effects.     

A radon and meteorological measurement network for the Alligator Rivers Region, Australia

The network described in this paper has been set up to provide detailed time-series data on concentrations of 222Rn in air at various locations within the Alligator Rivers Region, over a time frame of several years. These data will be important in assessing the effects of uranium mining operations on radon levels in the region, both in providing baseline and monitoring data and in calibrating and verifying predictive models. At present, three stations are operating in the region with a fourth being commissioned. Each station logs half hourly average radon concentrations and relevant meteorological data (wind speed, direction and variability, air pressure and temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature, rain and sunshine rates). It is intended to operate the four stations at selected locations for one- or two-year intervals, at the end of which three will be moved to new locations (one station at Mudginberri will be kept as a constant control station). Sites for which extensive datasets are currently available include: Jabiru Town, Jabiru East, Djarr Djarr, East Alligator Ranger Station and Nabarlek minesite. Illustrative data from these sites are presented.     

The East African decapod crab Neosarmatium meinerti (de Man) sweeps mangrove floors clean of leaf litter

Leaf litter removal by the abundant mangrove decapod crab Neosarmatium meinerti was studied in series of field and laboratory experiments in East Africa. In the high intertidal Avicennia marina zone crabs buried all leaves placed on the forest floor and consumed on average 67% of them within 2 hrs. High shore crabs in Kenya buried 4 g m(-2) leaf-litter in 1 hr, i.e. approx. twice the daily litter fall. In contrast, in the low shore Sonneratia alba zone, where typical leaf-eating crabs were absent, none of the offered leaves showed signs of herbivory. Leaf choice experiments in the laboratory showed that N. meinerti preferred some species to others. Leaf consumption per gram crab was higher in females than males. The laboratory studies also indicated that crabs could consume substantially more than the average daily litter fall. Video recordings documented frequent fights to gain or retain fallen leaves, suggesting strong competition for leaf litter. Earlier studies indicating that N. meinerti may sweep mangrove forest floors clean of leaf litter are confirmed. In high shore mangroves of East and South Africa where N. meinerti is common, energy flow appears unique: virtually all litter production is retained.     

Effects of ash application on cadmium concentration in small mammals

In order to assess the effects of wood ash application to forests on small mammals, we collected bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and common shrews (Sorex araneus) from a forest area in southern Finland. Part of the sample population was from sites that had been treated with ash 1.5 years earlier, part from untreated control sites. The ash increased the soil pH and gave an average cadmium load in soil of 44 g ha(-1). When comparing treated and control areas, we found slightly but significantly lower Cd concentrations in vole muscle, liver, and kidney from treated plots, whereas the Cd concentrations in shrew tissues were greater in animals from treated plots. In voles we detected an increase in Cd concentrations during the 45-d sampling period in treated and untreated plots. The relative weight of kidneys was greater from the ash-treated areas than untreated areas for both voles and shrews. The difference in Cd concentrations between the voles and shrews could be explained by the different food habits.     

Increased acidification in the rhizosphere of cactus seedlings induced by Azospirillum brasilense

Acidification of the rhizosphere of cactus seedlings (giant cardon, Pachycereus pringlei) after inoculation with the plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense Cd, in the presence or absence of ammonium and nitrate, was studied to understand how to increase growth of cardon seedlings in poor desert soils. While ammonium enhanced rhizosphere and liquid culture acidification, inoculation with the bacteria enhanced it further. On the other hand, nitrate increased pH of the rhizosphere, but combined with the bacterial inoculation, increase in pH was significantly smaller. Bacterial inoculation with ammonium enhanced plant growth.