Do we need “more research” or better implementation through knowledge brokering?

“More research is needed” is an iconic catchphrase used by scientists worldwide. Yet policy and management decisions are continually being made with variable levels of reliance on scientific knowledge. Funding agencies have provided incentives for knowledge exchange at the interfaces between science and policy or practice, yet it remains the exception rather than the rule within academic institutions. An important step forward would be the establishment and professionalization of knowledge brokering (i.e., as a complement to existing technology transfer and communications departments). This would require an explicit commitment of resources by both funding agencies and institutions. Many academic scientists are genuinely interested in the applications of their research. This interest could be stimulated by providing support for the process of knowledge brokering and by integrating the natural, social, and engineering sciences to address broad policy- and practice-relevant questions.     

Effects of irrigation on the environment of selected areas of the Western United States and implications to world population growth and food production

Studies of irrigation drainage in the Western United States have documented some of the effects of irrigating land without first understanding and then considering implications from the interdependent relationships of hydrology, geology, geochemistry, biology, climatology, land use and socio-economic issues. In studies completed in 26 areas, selenium is the trace element found most often at elevated concentrations in water, bottom material and biota. Boron, arsenic, mercury and pesticide residues have also been found at elevated levels in some areas. Bioaccumulation of constituents associated with irrigation drainage is common. As the world experiences an explosive population growth, particularly in poorer countries, demands for food production from marginal, submarginal and newly irrigated soils are likely to cause severe adverse environmental impacts from allocation of limited water resources and contamination from irrigation drainwater. Cultivated marginal land is highly susceptible to degradation from soil erosion, salinization and waterlogging, not withstanding release of contaminants from application of irrigation water.     

Characteristics of winter backcountry use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Numerous backcountry and wilderness use studies have been conducted over the last decade, but nearly all of them have concentrated on peak season and summer use. This study investigates use patterns and user characteristics of winter campers, and implications for the management of winter backcountry overnight use. Use pattern data were collected from 580 backcountry use permits for both winter and summer campers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). A two-page questionnaire was also mailed to 300 of the winter users to survey their characteristics, past backpacking experience, and reasons for winter camping. Backcountry permit data indicate that use patterns differ significantly between winter and summer campers, with winter campers taking shorter, weekend, destination-type trips. Winter campers engage in backcountry camping nearly twice as often during winter as other seasons of the year, both in and outside GSMNP. They are also experienced hikers that tend to avoid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the summer because of heavy visitor use. This suggests that winter backcountry campers are different enough from peak season campers that management of these two user groups may require different styles.     

Arsenic-speciation in arsenate-resistant and non-resistant populations of the earthworm,Lumbricus rubellus

Arsenic speciation was determined in Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister from arsenic-contaminated mine spoil sites and an uncontaminated site using HPLC-MS, HPLC-ICP-MS and XAS. It was previously demonstrated that L. rubellus from mine soils were more arsenate resistant than from the uncontaminated site and we wished to investigate if arsenic speciation had a role in this resistance. Earthworms from contaminated sites had considerably higher arsenic body burdens (maximum 1,358 mg As kg-1) compared to the uncontaminated site (maximum 13 mg As kg-1). The only organo-arsenic species found in methanol/water extracts for all earthworm populations was arsenobetaine, quantified using both HPLC-MS and HPLC-ICP-MS. Arsenobetaine concentrations were high in L. rubellus from the uncontaminated site when concentrations were expressed as a percentage of the total arsenic burden (23% mean), but earthworms from the contaminated sites with relatively low arsenic burdens also had these high levels of arsenobetaine (17% mean). As arsenic body burden increased, the percentage of arsenobetaine present decreased in a dose dependent manner, although its absolute concentration rose with increasing arsenic burden. The origin of this arsenobetaine is discussed. XAS analysis of arsenic mine L. rubellus showed that arsenic was primarily present as As(III) co-ordinated with sulfur (30% approx.), with some As(v) with oxygen (5%). Spectra for As(III) complexed with glutathione gave a very good fit to the spectra obtained for the earthworms, suggesting a role for sulfur co-ordination in arsenic metabolism at higher earthworm arsenic burdens. It is also possible that the disintegration of As(III)-S complexes may have taken place due to (a) processing of the sample, (b) storage of the extract or (c) HPLC anion exchange. HPLC-ICP-MS analysis of methanol extracts showed the presence of arsenite and arsenate, suggesting that these sulfur complexes disintegrate on extraction. The role of arsenic speciation in the resistance of L. rubellus to arsenate is considered.     

Linking National Sustainable Development Strategy and Local Implementation: a case study in Sweden

Sweden has led the way in Europe in environmental protection, ecologically based technological innovation and social democracy. As new economic and ethnographic realities impact upon it, it faces challenges to its policies and practices long familiar elsewhere in Europe. We report on a study for the Swedish Research Councils in which we examined the national framework and political strategy for sustainable development, and how the strategy is being implemented in Sweden's three major cities and two case-study municipalities. History and tradition, cultural homogeneity and a strong and shared sense between sectors of 'the public good', emerged as very important. Until recently, these have obviated the need for formal links between the environmental, social and economic agendas. They now appear inadequately developed at all levels of governance. Tensions in policy are being played out at the level of the municipality, to which power is highly devolved, and Local Agenda 21, interpreted as project rather than process, seems unequal to the task of integration. We suggest what lessons may be drawn from the Swedish experience if issues of power and trust, leadership and participatory vs representative democracy are to be resolved.