Assessment of compost dosage in farmland through ecotoxicological tests

A research project was carried out to evaluate ecotoxicological effects of mature compost addition to agricultural soil, using a battery of ecotoxicological tests. The following species were selected: plant of Lepidium sativum, earthworm Eisenia foetida, aquatic crustacean Daphnia magna and bacteria Vibrio fischeri. The tests were classified as “direct tests” using solid compost samples and “indirect tests” using compost leaching test eluate. The direct bioassays were performed using compost added to artificial soil in concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 100 % (w/w); the indirect ones considered compost eluate, added to a standard solution in the same concentrations used in the direct tests. Both tests aimed at obtaining the ecotoxicological parameters (LC₅₀ and EC₅₀). These values were then utilized to implement the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) analysis and extrapolate the Hazard Concentration (HC), a useful threshold to preserve the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems. Results indicated an increase in compost toxicity with greater compost concentrations; in particular, for direct tests compost dosage below 10 % showed low toxicity, while for indirect ones the toxicity was higher. Furthermore, SSD analysis showed a Hazardous Concentration (HC₅) for direct bioassays of 3.5 % and for indirect of 14 %.     

Temperature and discharge variations in natural mineral water springs due to climate variability: a case study in the Piedmont Alps (NW Italy)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - In the context of global climate change, understanding the relationships between climate and groundwater is increasingly important. This study in the NW Alps...     

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”: a case study to evaluate the influence of visitors on the Museum preservation systems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The most important parameter to obtain an appropriate preservation condition of museum environments concerns the indoor air quality. The exposure of...     

Metal accumulation in poplar plant grown with industrial wastes

In this study the effects of different levels of industrial wastes on growth traits and metal accumulation in aerial portions were determined for Populusxeuramericana clone I-214. The experiment started in April 2003. Scions of Populusxeuramericana clone I-214, were grown outdoor near Pisa (Italy), in lisimeters filled with soil naturally present in the land around the experimental site, were daily drip irrigated, hand weeded, monthly fertilized, pruned for a unique shoot and cultivated with four increasing treatments: soil non-amended, soil amended with 4.8 kgm(-2), with 9.6 kgm(-2) and with 19.2 kgm(-2) of fresh tannery waste. The climatic parameters were daily recorded throughout the whole experiment. Growth relieves were performed during the growing season. After six months since the plantation of the scions, aerial portions of every plant were harvested for biomass and metal content analyses. Data demonstrated that the waste exerted beneficial effects on poplars mainly through a general increase of growth traits and that the nutrients relocation is the mechanisms involved in modulating growth rate. The concentration and the amount of the mineral elements analysed (N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, S, B, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr) changed determinately among treatments, organs and position. We concluded that phytoremediation strategies of tannery wastes might be possible and sustainable for polar plantations in soil amended with non-hazardous levels of industrial waste, which maintain total heavy metals concentration close to background values.