Reducing the risk of invasive forest pests and pathogens: Combining legislation,targeted management and public awareness

Intensifying global trade will result in increased numbers of plant pest and pathogen species inadvertently being transported along with cargo. This paper examines current mechanisms for prevention and management of potential introductions of forest insect pests and pathogens in the European Union (EU). Current European legislation has not been found sufficient in preventing invasion, establishment and spread of pest and pathogen species within the EU. Costs associated with future invasions are difficult to estimate but past invasions have led to negative economic impacts in the invaded country. The challenge is combining free trade and free movement of products (within the EU) with protection against invasive pests and pathogens. Public awareness may mobilise the public for prevention and detection of potential invasions and, simultaneously, increase support for eradication and control measures. We recommend focus on commodities in addition to pathways, an approach within the EU using a centralised response unit and, critically, to engage the general public in the battle against establishment and spread of these harmful pests and pathogens.     

Valuation of ecotoxicological impacts from tributyltin based on a quantitative environmental assessment framework

In the scientific literature, few valuations of biodiversity and ecosystem services following the impacts of toxicity are available, hampered by the lack of ecotoxicological documentation. Here, tributyltin is used to conduct a contingent valuation study as well as cost–benefit analysis (CBA) of measures for improving the environmental status in Swedish coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. Benefits considering different dimensions when assessing environmental status are highlighted and a quantitative environmental assessment framework based on available technology, ecological conditions, and economic valuation methodology is developed. Two scenarios are used in the valuation study: (a) achieving good environmental status by 2020 in accordance with EU legislation (USD 119 household⁻¹ year⁻¹) and (b) achieving visible improvements by 2100 due to natural degradation (USD 108 household⁻¹ year⁻¹) during 8 years. The later scenario was used to illustrate an application of the assessment framework. The CBA results indicate that both scenarios might generate a welfare improvement.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0682-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Soil pH effects on the interactions between dissolved zinc,non-nano- and nano-ZnO with soil bacterial communities

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used in an array of products and processes, ranging from personal care products to antifouling paints, textiles, food additives, antibacterial agents and environmental remediation processes. Soils are an environment likely to be exposed to manmade nanoparticles due to the practice of applying sewage sludge as a fertiliser or as an organic soil improver. However, understanding on the interactions between soil properties, nanoparticles and the organisms that live within soil is lacking, especially with regards to soil bacterial communities. We studied the effects of nanoparticulate, non-nanoparticulate and ionic zinc (in the form of zinc chloride) on the composition of bacterial communities in soil with a modified pH range (from pH 4.5 to pH 7.2). We observed strong pH-dependent effects on the interaction between bacterial communities and all forms of zinc, with the largest changes in bacterial community composition occurring in soils with low and medium pH levels (pH 4.8 and 5.9). The high pH soil (pH 7.2) was less susceptible to the effects of zinc exposure. At the highest doses of zinc (2500 mg/kg dw soil), both nano and non-nano particulate zinc applications elicited a similar response in the soil bacterial community, and this differed significantly to the ionic zinc salt treatment. The results highlight the importance of considering soil pH in nanotoxicology studies, although further work is needed to determine the exact mechanisms controlling the toxicity and fate and interactions of nanoparticles with soil microbial communities.     

Occurrence of PPCPs in the marine environment: a review

Little research has been conducted on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the marine environment despite being increasingly impacted by these contaminants. This article reviews data on the occurrence of PPCPs in seawater, sediment, and organisms in the marine environment. Data pertaining to 196 pharmaceuticals and 37 personal care products reported from more than 50 marine sites are analyzed while taking sampling strategies and analytical methods into account. Particular attention is focused on the most frequently detected substances at highest concentrations. A snapshot of the most impacted marine sites is provided by comparing the highest concentrations reported for quantified substances. The present review reveals that: (i) PPCPs are widespread in seawater, particularly at sites impacted by anthropogenic activities, and (ii) the most frequently investigated and detected molecules in seawater and sediments are antibiotics, such as erythromycin. Moreover, this review points out other PPCPs of concern, such as ultraviolet filters, and underlines the scarcity of data on those substances despite recent evidence on their occurrence in marine organisms. The exposure of marine organisms in regard to these insufficient data is discussed.     

Air toxics in Canada measured by the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program and their relation to ambient air quality guidelines

This study reports ambient concentrations of 63 air toxics that were measured in Canada by the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program over the period 2009–2013. Measured concentrations are compared with ambient air quality guidelines from Canadian jurisdictions, and compounds that exceeded guidelines are identified and discussed. Although this study does not assess risk or cumulative effects, air toxics that approached guidelines are also identified so that their potential contribution to ambient air toxics pollution can be considered. Eleven air toxics exceeded at least one guideline, and an additional 16 approached guidelines during the study period. Four compounds were measured using methods whose detection limits exceeded a guideline value, three of which could not be compared with guidelines, since they were not detected in any samples. The assessment of several metal(loid) concentrations is tentative, since they were measured only in fine particulate matter (PM) but compared with guidelines based on coarse or total PM. Improvements to sampling and analysis techniques for the latter compounds as well as for those whose methods are subject to known uncertainties would improve confidence in reported concentrations and their relation to applicable guidelines. Analysis of sampling strategies for all compounds found to exceed or approach guidelines would contribute to ensuring that their spatiotemporal coverage is adequate. Examination of the air toxics not measured by NAPS but having guidelines in Canadian jurisdictions or being included in other programs such as the U.S. National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) would contribute to ensuring that the full suite of pollutants relevant to ambient air quality in Canada is subject to adequate study. The results of this study can be applied to evaluating the effectiveness of toxic substances management in Canada.

Implications: Recent measurements of 63 air toxics in Canada by the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program showed that 11 compounds exceeded daily or annual ambient air quality guidelines and that an additional 16 compounds approached such guidelines within an order of magnitude. The results of this study can be applied to evaluating the effectiveness of toxic substances management in Canada and to identifying compounds that merit further investigation.     

Exploring socio-cultural values of ecosystem service categories in the Central Alps: the influence of socio-demographic factors and landscape type

The socio-cultural assessment of ecosystem services has been proposed as a promising tool for eliciting people’s preferences towards ecosystem services. Despite an increasing integration of the socio-cultural perspective in ecosystem service research, little knowledge exists about linkages between landscape and the socio-cultural values people assign to ecosystem services. This paper combines a socio-cultural valuation approach with the use of landscape pictures to analyse and compare people’s perceived importance of the provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem service categories across three landscape types (i.e. larch meadows, spruce forests, and hay meadow). A survey with 470 tourists visiting the region of South Tyrol (Italy) was conducted to link people’s perceived importance to their socio-demographic background and to the landscape types explored. The results show that regulating ecosystem services are preferred over provisioning and cultural services, whereby environmental awareness is found to be more influential than formal education levels regarding the perceived importance of regulating services. The results further demonstrate that cultural background is an important driver in determining people’s perceived importance of cultural services. The underlying landscape types, however, exert an even stronger influence on people’s socio-cultural valuation of ecosystem service categories. This finding suggests that the focus of most ecosystem services assessments on the study area as a whole risks mistakenly attributing differences in people’s socio-cultural values to socio-demographic characteristics only. A better knowledge of the spatial integration of socio-cultural values, however, could help with anticipating the consequences of changes in the landscape and provide better guidance for future landscape planning.     

Benefits from and threats to European treeline ecosystem services: an exploratory study of stakeholders and governance

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) is being increasingly applied in environmental governance and science. To safeguard key ES in changing and complex social–ecological systems such as treeline areas, we need to (1) map key ES in different types of treeline landscapes, (2) identify the stakeholders benefiting from and threatening ES, and (3) examine how ES could be governed more sustainably. We explore these questions in European treeline areas by using quantitative and qualitative social science techniques to analyse responses from a survey of local scientific experts in 20 altitudinal and polar treeline areas in 15 European countries. In contrast to the prevalent consideration of treeline areas as a single type of a social–ecological system, we show that European treeline areas can be divided into two types that significantly differ in the delivery of ES. Our analyses allowed us to categorize stakeholders according to their benefits from and threats to ES; “Green key players” formed the most numerous group, while smaller number of stakeholder groups was categorized as “Harmless crowd”, “Occasional stressors”, and “Risky users”. However, behaviour of stakeholders is very much site-specific. Of 595 pairs of stakeholders analysed, we found <5 EU-wide “Allies” and “Opponents”. Recommendations for improved governance include adjusting governance instruments to specific problems in divergent treeline systems and creating participatory structures where stakeholders better interact with scientists and can genuinely influence management decisions.     

Enhanced science–stakeholder communication to improve ecosystem model performances for climate change impact assessments

In recent years, climate impact assessments of relevance to the agricultural and forestry sectors have received considerable attention. Current ecosystem models commonly capture the effect of a warmer climate on biomass production, but they rarely sufficiently capture potential losses caused by pests, pathogens and extreme weather events. In addition, alternative management regimes may not be integrated in the models. A way to improve the quality of climate impact assessments is to increase the science–stakeholder collaboration, and in a two-way dialog link empirical experience and impact modelling with policy and strategies for sustainable management. In this paper we give a brief overview of different ecosystem modelling methods, discuss how to include ecological and management aspects, and highlight the importance of science–stakeholder communication. By this, we hope to stimulate a discussion among the science–stakeholder communities on how to quantify the potential for climate change adaptation by improving the realism in the models.     

Construction and demolition waste management in Kosovo: a survey of challenges and opportunities on the road to circular economy

Managing Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a severe and growing urban challenge, particularly in post-conflict countries. Though Kosovo has significantly rebuilt and developed after the Liberation War, these initiatives have accompanied suboptimal waste management. This research evaluates CDW management in Kosovo by assessing current practices and operations vis-a-vis the legal framework and EU requirements. It identifies instruments and policies capable of ameliorating gaps and proposes a more sustainable and circular CDW management system for Kosovo. Information was primarily collected during on-site visits to Pristina and the surroundings by a cohort of Urban Management Students from the Technische Universität Berlin, students from Kosovo, and the local office of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ. The analysis identified gaps in Kosovo's CDW management and its observance and enforcement of existing CDW legislation, including an ambiguous licensing system impeding sustainable demolition, storage, and transport; the absence of approved CDW storage options leading to uncontrolled disposal; and an underdeveloped market for recycling and reuse, deterring stakeholders from further pursuit of circular practices. These gaps were compounded by poor recordkeeping, obscuring precise information on CDW streams. Possible instruments and incentives to support Kosovo's transition to a more sustainable CDW management system were then identified.

     

Spatiotemporal evolution of soil pH and zinc after the Aznalcollar mine spill

The residual pollution after the Aznalcóllar (southwestern Spain) pyrite mine spill is still a threat due to the continuing oxidation of sulfuric minerals. The objective of this paper was to analyze the combined effect of pyrite oxidation, sugar beet foam applications, and meteorological conditions on the spatiotemporal evolution of the pH and EDTA-extractable Zn concentration, using non co-located data from 11 sampling dates between June 1999 and March 2002. Median pH values ranged from 4.4 at the beginning of the monitoring period to 7.6 at the end, although values near 2.5 were observed throughout the entire period, despite of two sugar beet foam (SBF) applications. Zinc distributions were positively skewed and median concentrations ranged from 17 to 94 mg kg(-1). The inverse relationship between pH and Zn became weaker toward the end of the monitoring period as a consequence of the precipitation and posterior dissolution of newly formed minerals from the reaction products of the pyrite oxidation. Normal score maps showed that after the SBF applications only 0.5% of the monitored area was below the pH = 4 threshold, while on other dates up to one-third of the area remained below this value. The better performance of the second SBF application could be explained in terms of pyrite oxidation pathways and environmental conditions. From this analysis, with data obtained under uncontrolled field conditions, it is concluded that SBF should be applied before or during the wet and cold season to alleviate acidification, caused by the oxidation of pyrite or other sulfuric minerals.