Reviving wood-pastures for biodiversity and people: A case study from western Estonia

Wood-pastures are associated with high cultural and biodiversity values in Europe. However, due to their relatively low productivity, large areas of wood-pastures have been lost over the last century. In some areas, incentive schemes have been developed to revive wood-pastures. We investigated the effects of one such scheme in western Estonia. We compared the structure of grazed wood-pastures (old and restored) to those of abandoned wood-pastures and ungrazed forest stands to explore the effects of management, and conducted interviews with 24 farmers to investigate their motivations to carry out the management. We found a positive influence of active management on the semi-open structure of wood-pastures. Financial support was vital for management, but personal values related to tradition also played an important role. The interviewees differed widely in their range of motivations, suggesting that other strategies in addition to financial incentives would further improve the management of wood-pastures in the region.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0719-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Arsenic exposure in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

Inorganic arsenic is a potent human carcinogen and toxicant which people are exposed to mainly via drinking water and food. The objective of the present study was to assess current exposure to arsenic via drinking water in three European countries. For this purpose, 520 individuals from four Hungarian, two Slovakian and two Romanian countries were investigated by measuring inorganic arsenic and methylated arsenic metabolites in urine by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Arsenic in drinking water was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Significantly higher concentrations of arsenic were found in both the water and the urine samples from the Hungarian counties (median: 11 and 15 microg dm(-3), respectively; p < 0.001) than from the Slovakian (median: 0.94 and 4.5 microg dm(-3), respectively) and Romanian (median: 0.70 and 2.1 microg dm(-3), respectively) counties. A significant correlation was seen between arsenic in water and arsenic in urine (R(2)= 0.46). At low water arsenic concentrations, the relative amount of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in urine was increased, indicating exposure via food. Also, high body mass index was associated with higher concentrations of arsenic in urine (p= 0.03), mostly in the form of DMA. Smokers had significantly higher urinary arsenic concentrations than non-smokers (p= 0.03). In conclusion, elevated arsenic exposure via drinking water was prevalent in some of the counties. Exposure to arsenic from food, mainly as DMA, and cigarette smoke, mainly as inorganic arsenic, are major determinants of arsenic exposure at very low concentrations of arsenic in drinking water.     

Trace metals in soil and leaves of Jacaranda mimosifolia in Tshwane area,South Africa

Plant and soil have been identified as major sink of pollutants in the environment. We evaluated the reliability of biomonitoring of heavy metals in Tshwane area with the use of leaves of Jacaranda mimosifolia. The concentrations of heavy metals such as Ca, Mg, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Sb were measured in leaves of J. mimosifolia and soils collected from 10 sites in the city of Tshwane during two sampling periods. The metals were analyzed with the use of ICP-MS. The result shows significant differences in the concentration of trace metals in all the sites (p < 0.01). The differences between the two sampling periods were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Concentration of metals from high traffic and industrial sites were significantly higher than in the residential areas (p < 0.01). Concentration factor suggests that translocation of metals from roots to leaves could be relevant only for some metals such as Ca, Mg and Sb. The study reveals an anthropogenic source for the trace metals. Leaves of J. mimosifolia were found to be a useful biomonitor of the determined trace metals.     

Phthalate and PAH concentrations in dust collected from Danish homes and daycare centers

As part of the Danish Indoor Environment and Children’s Health (IECH) study, dust samples were collected from 500 bedrooms and 151 daycare centers of children (ages 3 to 5) living on the island of Fyn. The present paper reports results from the analyses of these samples for five phthalate esters (diethyl phthalate (DEP), di(n-butyl) phthalate (DnBP), di(isobutyl) phthalate (DiBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) and three PAHs (pyrene, benz[a]anthracene (B[a]A) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)). The three PAHs and DEHP were detected in dust samples from all sites, while DEP, DnBP, DiBP and BBzP were detected in more than 75% of the bedrooms and more than 90% of the daycare centers. The dust mass-fractions of both phthalates and PAHs were log-normally distributed. With the exception of DEP, the mass-fractions of phthalates in dust were higher in daycare centers than homes; PAH mass-fractions in dust were similar in the two locations. There was no correlation among the different phthalates in either homes or daycare centers. In contrast, the PAH were correlated with one another – more strongly so in homes (R² = 0.80–0.90) than in daycare centers (R² = 0.28–0.45). The dust levels of several phthalates (BBzP, DnBP and DEHP) were substantially lower than those measured in a comparable study conducted 6–7 years earlier in Sweden. Although usage patterns in Denmark differ from those in Sweden, the current results may also reflect a change in the plasticizers that are used in common products including toys. PAH levels were roughly an order of magnitude lower than those measured in Berlin and Cape Cod residences, suggesting that the Danish sites are less impacted by motor vehicle emissions.     

Comparison of land-use regression models between Great Britain and the Netherlands

Land-use regression models have increasingly been applied for air pollution mapping at typically the city level. Though models generally predict spatial variability well, the structure of models differs widely between studies. The observed differences in the models may be due to artefacts of data and methodology or underlying differences in source or dispersion characteristics. If the former, more standardised methods using common data sets could be beneficial. We compared land-use regression models for NO₂ and PM_10, developed with a consistent protocol in Great Britain (GB) and the Netherlands (NL).Models were constructed on the basis of 2001 annual mean concentrations from the national air quality networks. Predictor variables used for modelling related to traffic, population, land use and topography. Four sets of models were developed for each country. First, predictor variables derived from data sets common to both countries were used in a pooled analysis, including an indicator for country and interaction terms between country and the identified predictor variables. Second, the common data sets were used to develop individual baseline models for each country. Third, the country-specific baseline models were applied after calibration in the other country to explore transferability. The fourth model was developed using the best possible predictor variables for each country.A common model for GB and NL explained NO₂ concentrations well (adjusted R² 0.64), with no significant differences in intercept and slopes between the two countries. The country-specific model developed on common variables for NL but not GB improved the prediction.The performance of models based upon common data was only slightly worse than models optimised with local data. Models transferred to the other country performed substantially worse than the country-specific models. In conclusion, care is needed both in transferring models across different study areas, and in developing large inter-regional LUR models.     

Pulmonary Function Changes Associated with an Air Pollution Episode in January 1987

In January 1987, an air pollution episode occurred In central and western Europe. Levels of SO₂, NO₂, black smoke, sulphates and other components were elevated, with 24 hour average concentrations of SO₂ reaching a maximum of close to 300 μg/m3 In an area In the southeast of the Netherlands. Pulmonary function was measured In a group of children of 6- 12 years old at the end of the episode, and also two and three and a half weeks after the episode. A baseline lung function value was obtained about three months before the episode. Pulmonary function growth between baseline and retest dates was estimated from a simple growth model which was validated using measured pulmonary function growth data from a longitudinal study. A decline of pulmonary function (FVC, FEV₁ and PEF) from predicted baseline levels was observed, starting on the last day of the episode. Two weeks after the episode, FVC, FEV₁ PEF and MMEF were all decreased, and three and a half weeks after the episode, there was still a deficit compared to predicted baseline levels for FVC and FEV₁     

Fukushima fallout in Northwest German environmental media

Traces of short- and long-lived fallout isotopes (¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) were found in environmental samples collected in Northwest Germany (rain water, river sediment, soil, grass and cow milk) from March to May 2011, following the radioactivity releases after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. The measured concentrations are consistent with reported concentrations in air, amount of rainfall and expected values applying simple radioecological models. The [¹³⁴Cs]/[¹³⁷Cs] ratio reported for air (about 1) allows for discrimination between “recent” and “old” ¹³⁷Cs. Expected ¹³⁶Cs values fell below the detection limits of the instrumentation, despite large sample masses and long counting times.     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials in sediment-associated samples

Background, aim, and scope  The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents (HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances. Materials and methods  The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method. Results  This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%. Discussion  Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples. Conclusions  The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods. The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰. Recommendations and perspectives  In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments.