Ein Moosbiomonitoring zur Ermittlung atmosphärischer Elementeinträge in die Euroregion Neiße (D, PL, CZ)

This article describes a biomonitoring using mosses in order to determine the amount and distribution of the atmospheric deposition of 37 elements in the European region of the Neisse river following the political and economic changes. These results are compared with the findings in other regions. Additionally, the accumulation characteristics ofPleurozium schreberi andPolytrichum formosum, the two moss species used in the study, were compared with one another. Until the beginning of the 1990s, this region was part of the socalled “black triangle”, an area characterised by extremely high atmospheric dust pollution. Through the closing of numerous factories, the equipment of power plants with filters, and the decreasing importance of brown coal as a source of household heating, the situation has changed considerably. Today, the pollution levels in the European region of the Neisse river are comparable with those in the western part of Germany. Higher levels were only determined for Fe and Ti, which can be attributed to the broader usage of brown coal as a source of energy. In the area around Katowice, Poland, the levels of certain elements were found to be more than ten times higher than in the European region of the Neisse. These highly elevated levels of atmospheric contamination in the industrial district of Upper Silesia indicate that action is urgently needed.     

Water regime of mechanical-biological pretreated waste materials under fast-growing trees.

In this study mechanical-biological pre-treated waste material (MBP) was tested for suitability to serve as an alternative surface layer in combination with fast-growing and water-consumptive trees for final covers at landfill sites. The aim was to quantify evapotranspiration and seepage losses by numerical model simulations for two sites in Germany. In addition, the leaf area index (LAI) of six tree species over the growing season as the driving parameter for transpiration calculations was determined experimentally. The maximum LAI varied between 3.8 and 6.1 m2 m(-2) for poplar and willow clones, respectively. The evapotranspiration calculations revealed that the use of MBP waste material for re-cultivation enhanced evapotranspiration by 40 mm year(-1) (10%) over an 11 year calculation period compared to a standard mineral soil. Between 82% (for LAI(max) = 3.8) and 87% (for LAI(max) = 6.1) of the average annual precipitation (506 mm) could be retained from the surface layer assuming eastern German climate conditions, compared with a retention efficiency between 79 and 82% for a mineral soil. Although a MBP layer in conjunction with water-consumptive trees can reduce vertical water losses as compared to mineral substrates, the effect is not sufficient to meet legal regulations.     

Globale chemische Fraktionierungstrends und Lagerstättenbildung

Professor Dr. Hans-Jochen Schneider zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

Economic costs of protecting islands from invasive alien species

Biological invasions represent a key threat to insular systems and have pronounced impacts across environments and economies. The ecological impacts have received substantial focus, but the socioeconomic impacts are poorly synthesized across spatial and temporal scales. We used the InvaCost database, the most comprehensive assessment of published economic costs of invasive species, to assess economic impacts on islands worldwide. We analyzed socioeconomic costs across differing expenditure types and examined temporal trends across islands that differ in their political geography—island nation states, overseas territories, and islands of continental countries. Over US$36 billion in total costs (including damages and management) has occurred on islands from 1965 to 2020 due to invasive species’ impacts. Nation states incurred the greatest total and management costs, and islands of continental countries incurred costs of similar magnitude, both far higher than those in overseas territories. Damage-loss costs were significantly lower, but with qualitatively similar patterns across differing political geographies. The predominance of management spending differs from the pattern found for most countries examined and suggests important knowledge gaps in the extent of many damage-related socioeconomic impacts. Nation states spent the greatest proportion of their gross domestic products countering these costs, at least 1 order of magnitude higher than other locations. Most costs were borne by authorities and stakeholders, demonstrating the key role of governmental and nongovernmental bodies in addressing island invasions. Temporal trends revealed cost increases across all island types, potentially reflecting efforts to tackle invasive species at larger, more socially complex scales. Nevertheless, the already high total economic costs of island invasions substantiate the role of biosecurity in reducing and preventing invasive species arrivals to reduce strains on limited financial resources and avoid threats to sustainable development goals.     

Rating the risks of anticoagulant rodenticides in the aquatic environment: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Anticoagulant rodenticides are used worldwide to control commensal rodents for hygienic and public health reasons. As anticoagulants act on all vertebrates, risk...     

An adaptive annual rhythm in the sex of first pigeon eggs

When the reproductive value of male and female offspring varies differentially, parents are predicted to adjust the sex ratio of their offspring to maximize their fitness (Trivers and Willard, Science 179:90–92, 1973). Two factors have been repeatedly linked to skews in avian offspring sex ratio. First, laying date can affect offspring sex ratio when the sexes differ in age of first reproduction, such that the more slowly maturing sex is overproduced early in the season. Second, position of the egg in the laying sequence of a clutch may affect sex ratio bias since manipulating the sex of the first eggs may be least costly to the mother. We studied both factors in two non-domesticated pigeon species. Both the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the Rock pigeon (Columba livia) have long breeding seasons and lay two-egg clutches. In the field, we determined the sex of Wood pigeon nestlings. In Rock pigeons, housed in captivity outdoors, we determined embryo sex after 3 days of incubation. On the basis of their sex-specific age of first reproduction, we predicted that males, maturing at older age than females, should be produced in majority early and females later in the year. This was confirmed for both species. The bias was restricted to first eggs. Rock pigeons produced clutches throughout the year and show that the sex of the first egg followed an annual cycle. To our knowledge, this study presents the first evidence of a full annual rhythm in adaptive sex allocation in birds. We suggest that this reflects an endogenous seasonal program in primary sex ratio controlled by a preovulatory mechanism.     

Defining and achieving sustainable development

SUMMARY

This paper analyses the fundamental problems of defining and achieving sustainable development. A common core of the various definitions of sustainability circulating is identified. Economic and scientific approaches to operationalize sustainability generally lead to management rules, which — if obeyed — should guarantee sustainability. Since it is not possible to precisely predict the future, this scientific—technical—economic route to sustainability may fail. A second, ethical way, to sustainability which interprets sustainability as an ideal for fair play is introduced. How the two different ways may complement one another with a three-step hierarchy of political goals is elucidated.