Environmental threats to buried archaeological remains

The last century's environmental pollution has created health problems, acidification of ground and lakes, and serious damage to our cultural heritage. Outdoor monuments suffer from this pollution, but so do buried archaeological remains. However, research on the deterioration of archaeological artifacts underground has so far been limited, and it is important to draw attention to this neglected field. This article presents results obtained at the Swedish National Heritage Board on the degradation of archaeological objects of bronze and iron and of bones from prehistoric graves, materials of which seem to be most affected by pollutants. The investigation methods, which were employed, are described. Other relevant studies are briefly reviewed. It is obvious that the deterioration rate of archaeological artifacts, especially of inorganic materials, has accelerated in recent years, and that this increased deterioration to a large part can be attributed to anthropogenic pollution. Regions that might be endangered are exemplified.     

Synthetic attractants for the bark beetle parasitoid Coeloides bostrichorum Giraud (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Coeloides bostrichorum Giraud parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) attack late larval stages of various bark beetle species breeding in spruce. Volatile compounds collected from Norway spruce (Picea abies) infested by Ips typographus L. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) were analysed by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). Monoterpene hydrocarbons are the predominant volatile compounds of fresh Norway spruce, while the presence of oxygenated monoterpenes indicates damaged trees. Between one and eight EAD-active oxygenated monoterpenes were used, in amounts reflecting their natural abundance in spruce trees containing bark beetle larvae, to prepare five synthetic baits which were tested in wind tunnel bioassays. Odour samples collected from spruce logs containing the preferred host stage were attractive, while similar samples from uninfested logs failed to elicit any flight activity. However, when a four- or an eight-component synthetic bait was added to volatiles collected from uninfested spruce logs, this combination was as attractive as volatiles collected from infested spruce logs.     

An actor game on implementation of environmental quality standards for nitrogen in a Swedish agricultural catchment

Despite political efforts, diffuse pollution from agriculture continues to be the single largest source of nitrogen (N) emissions into the aquatic environment in many countries and regions. This fact, and the recent enactment of a new Swedish environmental code, led to the design of a study targeted at the evaluation of new N pollution abatement strategies. An actor game was chosen as the key component of the study, with a focus on four major goals: to test the implementability of legally binding environmental quality standards for nitrate concentration in groundwater and N transport to the sea, to find sets of agriculturally feasible and cost-effective measures to decrease N loads, to investigate the possibilities for collective action through negotiated and institutionalized actor cooperation, and to investigate the role of mathematical modeling in environmental N management. Characteristics from the agriculturally dominated catchment of Genevads?n (224 km2) on the southwest coast of Sweden served as the playing field for the actor game. The most noteworthy result from the study was that it appeared to be possible to meet ambitious environmental N standards with less economically drastic measures than anticipated by most of the participants. The actor game was shown to be a good method for learning about the new Swedish environmental code and its application and for gaining deeper insight into the issues of N management. In addition, the actor game functioned as an arena for gaining a more thorough understanding of the views of different stakeholders.     

The representation of cyanobacteria life cycle processes in aquatic ecosystem models

Two simplified versions of a numerical life cycle model for diazotrophic cyanobacteria (of the order Nostocales) are developed and evaluated. Both consider two-life cycle stages, one growing, nitrogen-fixing stage and one stage that combines the resting, germinating and vegetative stages. The versions differ in the vertical resolution of the non-diazotrophic stage: version 1 collects the biomass in one layer at the bottom, version 2 considers sinking and rising of biomass explicitly. The results of the two versions are compared with a complex cyanobacteria life cycle model which describes four different life cycle stages each with two internal quotas for energy and nitrogen. The two simplified approaches show a good agreement with respect to the main characteristics of cyanobacteria dynamics (timing and duration of blooms, magnitude of nitrogen fixation, interannual variability). Our model study shows that both simplified approaches are suitable to be implemented into three-dimensional coastal or lake models.     

Nitrogen and metals in two regions in Central Europe: Significant differences in accumulation in mosses due to land use?

The study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the regional variability of nitrogen (N) and metal accumulations in terrestrial ecosystems are due to historical and recent ways of landuse. To this end, two regions of Central Europe were selected for investigation: the Weser-Ems Region (WER) and the Euro Region Nissa (ERN). They were assumed to have land use-specific accumulation profiles. Thus, the metal and N accumulations in both regions were examined by means of geostatistically based comparative moss analysis. The sampling and chemical analysis of mosses were conducted in accordance with the convenient guidelines and methods, respectively. The spatial representativity of the sampling sites was computed by means of a land classification which was calculated for Europe by means of classification trees and GIS-techniques. The differences of deposition loads were tested for statistical significance with regard to time and space. The measurement values corroborated the decline of metal accumulation observed since the beginning of the European Metals in Mosses Surveys in 1990. The metal loads of the mosses in the ERN exceeded those in the WER significantly. The opposite holds true for the N concentrations: those in the WER were significantly higher than those in the ERN. The reduction of emissions from power plants, factories and houses was strongly correlated with the decline of deposition and bioaccumulation of metals. As proved by the European Metals in Mosses Surveys, this tendency is due to successful environmental policies. But no such success could be verified by monitoring the accumulation of N in mosses.     

The rule of sustainability and planning adaptivity

This article confronts present main stream planning approaches against the perspective of ecological sustainability, as relevant for Rule of Law countries and based on a modern environmental law approach. It discusses the setting and implementation of environmental goals against the general experience of massive implementation deficits regarding environmental policies all over the world. In this confrontation, environmental planning, with at least some principles picked up from New Zealand's Resource Management Act, and much more taken from modern environmental law theory on legal operationalisation, is compared to adaptive management approaches which also allow for modifying the environment related goal if implementation fails or seems very difficult. The concept of adaptive environmental planning (AEP) is suggested as a possible road to choose for planning for sustainability, while maximizing development within the framework legally defined by means of environmental limits. This article presents five criteria, all of which must be met by AEP planning. One of these relates to a planning hierarchy which, among other things, leads to the conclusion that coastal planning, if it is intended to aim at sustainability, can not be dealt with in isolation, although such planning might have to meet very complex problems at the regional level.