Effect of sodium metabisulphite on germination, growth and yield of Vigna sinensis, Savi

In the present study, the impact of sodium metabisulphite (Na2S2O5), a food preservative, on seed germination, growth and yield of Vigna sinensis, Savi has been evaluated. Observations clearly reveal the deleterious effect of Na2S2O5 on germination, stomatal development, stomatal index, chlorophyll content and yield. The shoot length exhibited a steady rise in length, while the biomass showed a gradual decrease with the increasing doses of Na2S2O5.     

The use of glyphosate as the sole source of phosphorus or carbon for the selection of soil-borne fungal strains capable to degrade this herbicide

The herbicide glyphosate was used as a selection agent for isolation of fungal strains capable to degrade phosphorus-to-carbon bond from standard sandy-clay soil. The studies have shown that the herbicide used in Martin medium as a sole source of phosphorus br carbon caused the decrease of the fungal population and substantially changed strain composition, thus selecting those which are able to degrade glyphosate.     

Paleoenvironmental conditions in the Spanish Miocene–Pliocene boundary: isotopic analyses of Hipparion dental enamel

Expansion of C₄ grasses during Late Miocene and Early Pliocene constitutes one of the most remarkable biotic events of the Cenozoic era. The Teruel–Alfambra region (northeastern Spain) contains one of the most complete Miocene–Pliocene sequences of mammalian fossil sites in the world. In this study, stable isotope (δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁸O) analyses have been performed on the tooth enamel from the equid Hipparion from 19 localities spanning a time interval from approximately 10.9 to 2.7 Ma. This time range starts with the first appearance of this genus in Spain and ends at its extinction. An increase in δ ¹³C at about 4.2 Ma has been observed, indicative of a shift toward a more open habitat. This shift may be related to a large scale vegetation change which occurred across the Miocene–Pliocene boundary when C₄ grasses expanded. This expansion might in turn be linked to global tectonic events such as the uplift of the Himalaya and/or the closure of the Panama Isthmus. However, other more regional factors may have ultimately enhanced the trend toward more open habitats in the Western Mediterranean Basin. The Messinian Salinity Crisis was a major environmental event that may have been responsible for the isotopic changes seen in the equid Hipparion from the Iberian Peninsula along with an increase in the aridity detected ~4.6 Ma ago in the Sahara. Even though the exact factor triggering the isotopic change observed in the Hipparion enamel remains mostly unknown, this study demonstrates that the global environmental changes detected across the Miocene–Pliocene boundary are also recorded in the realm of the Iberian Peninsula. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A goal oriented indicator framework to support integrated assessment of new policies for agri-environmental systems

The goal oriented framework (GOF) for indicators has been developed as part of a comprehensive research project developing computerised tools for integrated assessment of the effects of new policies or technologies on agricultural systems (SEAMLESS-IF). The ambition has therefore been to create an indicator framework where the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development can be related to each other in a consistent way. Integrated assessment tools rely on such frameworks to capture and visualise trade-offs (antagonisms or synergies) among indicators between and within the three dimensions of sustainable development. The specific aims of this paper are to (i) present the GOF (ii) present how the GOF can be used to select indicators within the integrated assessment framework SEAMLESS-IF and (iii) discuss the advantages and limitations with the proposed approach. We show that the GOF has several advantages. Its major rewards are its relative simplicity and the possibility to link indicators to policy goals of each dimension of sustainability and thereby facilitate the comparison of the impacts of the new policy on the different dimensions. Another important feature of the GOF is its multi-scale perspective, which will enable the comparison of effects of a new policy between scales. Yet, as typical for all indicator frameworks, the GOF has also biases either instigated by the issues the included models cover or by the stakeholders’ selection of indicators. However, due to the way the GOF and its indicators are technically implemented in SEAMLESS-IF, it can easily be extended and include new indicators to increase and update its policy relevance.     

The cues have it; nest-based, cue-mediated recruitment to carbohydrate resources in a swarm-founding social wasp

This study explores whether or not foragers of the Neotropical swarm-founding wasp Polybia occidentalis use nest-based recruitment to direct colony mates to carbohydrate resources. Recruitment allows social insect colonies to rapidly exploit ephemeral resources, an ability especially advantageous to species such as P. occidentalis, which store nectar and prey in their nests. Although recruitment is often defined as being strictly signal mediated, it can also occur via cue-mediated information transfer. Previous studies indicated that P. occidentalis employs local enhancement, a type of cue-mediated recruitment in which the presence of conspecifics at a site attracts foragers. This recruitment is resource-based, and as such, is a blunt recruitment tool, which does not exclude non-colony mates. We therefore investigated whether P. occidentalis also employs a form of nest-based recruitment. A scented sucrose solution was applied directly to the nest. This mimicked a scented carbohydrate resource brought back by employed foragers, but, as foragers were not allowed to return to the nest with the resource, there was no possibility for on-nest recruitment behavior. Foragers were offered two dishes—one containing the test scent and the other an alternate scent. Foragers chose the test scent more often, signifying that its presence in the nest induces naïve foragers to search for it off-nest. P. occidentalis, therefore, employs a form of nest-based recruitment to carbohydrate resources that is mediated by a cue, the presence of a scented resource in the nest.     

Environmental assessment of green hardboard production coupled with a laccase activated system

European consumption of wood-based panels reached record levels in recent years driven mostly by demand from end-use sectors: residential construction, furniture, cabinets, flooring and mouldings. The main panel types are composite boards such as particleboard, high density fiberboard (HDF), medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and other adhesively bonded composites such as plywood and wet-process fiberboard (hardboard). The synthetic resins used in their manufacture come from non-renewable resources, such as oil and gas. Several consequences are associated to this type of adhesives: variation in the availability and cost of these wood adhesives depends on raw materials, the formaldehyde emissions as well as the limited recyclability of the final product. Hence, in the search for alternatives to petroleum-based wood adhesives, efforts are being devoted to develop adhesives by using phenolic substitutes based on lignin, tannin or starch. In this context, the forest industry is increasingly approaching to enzyme technology in the search of solutions. The main goal of this study was to assess the environmental impacts during the life cycle of a new process for the manufacture of hardboards manufacture, considering the use of a two-component bio-adhesive formulated with a wood-based phenolic material and a phenol-oxidizing enzyme. This new product was compared to the one manufactured with the conventional phenol-formaldehyde resin. The study covers the life cycle of green hardboards production from a cradle-to-gate perspective, analysing in detail the hardboard plant and dividing the process chain in three subsystems: Fibers Preparation, Board Forming and Board Finishing.Auxiliary activities such as chemicals, bio-adhesive, wood chips, thermal energy and electricity production and transport were included within the system boundaries.Global warming (GW), photochemical oxidant formation (PO), acidification (AC) and eutrophication (EP) were the impact categories analysed in this study. Additionally, the cumulative energy demand was evaluated as another impact category. According to the results, four stages significantly influenced the environmental burdens of the production system: laccase production, on-site thermal energy and electricity production as well as wood chipping stage. Due to the environmental impact associated to the production of green bonding agents, a sensitivity analysis with special focus on the eutrophying emissions was carried out by evaluating the amount of laccase and lignin based phenolic material used. The combined reduction in both bonding agents may slightly reduce the contributions to this impact category. In addition, a hypothetical scenario with no laccase and with a higher concentration of the lignin based material (25% more) could improve the environmental profile in all impact categories with a reduction of 1.5% in EP.Further research should focus mainly on laccase production, in order to reduce its energy demand as well as on the amount of green adhesive required to obtain mechanical and swelling properties similar to those of conventional hardboard.     

Modeling population effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a long-lived species

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana to heavy oiling that caused increased mortality and chronic disease and impaired reproduction in surviving dolphins. We conducted photographic surveys and veterinary assessments in the decade following the spill. We assigned a prognostic score (good, fair, guarded, poor, or grave) for each dolphin to provide a single integrated indicator of overall health, and we examined temporal trends in prognostic scores. We used expert elicitation to quantify the implications of trends for the proportion of the dolphins that would recover within their lifetime. We integrated expert elicitation, along with other new information, in a population dynamics model to predict the effects of observed health trends on demography. We compared the resulting population trajectory with that predicted under baseline (no spill) conditions. Disease conditions persisted and have recently worsened in dolphins that were presumably exposed to DWH oil: 78% of those assessed in 2018 had a guarded, poor, or grave prognosis. Dolphins born after the spill were in better health. We estimated that the population declined by 45% (95% CI 14–74) relative to baseline and will take 35 years (95% CI 18–67) to recover to 95% of baseline numbers. The sum of annual differences between baseline and injured population sizes (i.e., the lost cetacean years) was 30,993 (95% CI 6607–94,148). The population is currently at a minimum point in its recovery trajectory and is vulnerable to emerging threats, including planned ecosystem restoration efforts that are likely to be detrimental to the dolphins’ survival. Our modeling framework demonstrates an approach for integrating different sources and types of data, highlights the utility of expert elicitation for indeterminable input parameters, and emphasizes the importance of considering and monitoring long-term health of long-lived species subject to environmental disasters. Article impact statement: Oil spills can have long-term consequences for the health of long-lived species; thus, effective restoration and monitoring are needed.     

Aerobic oxidation of secondary benzyl alcohols catalyzed by phosphinite-based palladium pincer complexes

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Aerobic oxidation of organic compounds is receiving attention because molecular oxygen is an abundant, cheap and comparatively safe reagent. Several catalyst...     

Sustainability of recycling plastic waste as fibers for concrete: a review

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Plastic waste management is of global concern while construction industry keeps searching for innovations to become more sustainable. In this...