Modeling the Landscape Drivers of Fire Recurrence in Sardinia (Italy)

Although recurrent fire events with very short return periods have the most dangerous effects on landscape degradation, only a few papers have explored the landscape ecological factors that drive the probability of fire recurrence. In this paper we apply a habitat suitability model for analyzing the spatial relationship between a selected set of landscape factors (mainly land use types) and fire recurrence in Sardinia (Italy) in the years 2005–2010. Our results point out that fire occurrence in already burned areas is lower than expected in natural and semi-natural land cover types, like forest and shrublands. To the contrary, like in all regions where human activity is the main source of fire ignitions, the probability of fire recurrence is higher at low altitudes and close to roads and to urban and agricultural land cover types, thus showing marked preference for those landscape factors denoting higher anthropogenic ignition risk.     

The use of the ecological footprint in local politics and administration: results and implications from Norway

Our experiences calculating a local ecological footprint of Oslo form the basis for a discussion of key methodological aspects supporting the use of local sustainability indicators. The footprint's strength is its ability to communicate simply the complexity of global environmental challenges. Initially developed for measuring per capita consumption at the national level, the footprint has been adopted at local and regional levels. We argue for adjustments in the footprint methodology when shifting from a national to a local policy context, to ensure the indicator's applicability in local politics and administration. First, the analysis should be limited to consumption aspects relevant to the local environmental policy agenda. Second, the analysis should integrate as much genuine local data as possible. We argue also that a standardised methodology based on the national footprint approach, with the main purpose of international benchmarking of cities, cannot but reduce the indicator's usefulness for administrative/political guidance, due to the methodology's lack of transparency and inability to identify local variations.     

Potential Risk of Norovirus Infection Due to the Consumption of “Ready to Eat” Food

In this study, we investigated the presence of enteric viruses such as norovirus (NoV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and adenovirus (HAdV), in vegetables available on the Italian markets. For this aim, 110 national and international ??ready to eat?? samples were collected and analyzed by biomolecular tests and positive samples were confirmed by sequencing. All samples (100?%) were negative for HAV, HEV, and HAdV, while 13.6?% (15/110) were positive for NoV. Actually there is not a formal surveillance system for NoV infections in Italy but we clearly demonstrated a potential risk associated with the consumption of ??ready to eat?? vegetables. This study confirmed for the first time in Italy the presence of norovirus in semi-dried tomatoes by PCR technique.     

Occurrence,transformation, bioaccumulation,risk and analysis of pharmaceutical and personal care products from wastewater: a review

Almost all aspects of society from food security to disease control and prevention have benefited from pharmaceutical and personal care products, yet these products are a major source of contamination that ends up in wastewater and ecosystems. This issue has been sharply accentuated during the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) due to the higher use of disinfectants and other products. Here we review pharmaceutical and personal care products with focus on their occurrence in the environment, detection, risk, and removal.

     

Treatment of industrial landfill leachate by means of evaporation and reverse osmosis

In this paper a process for the treatment of landfill leachate involving evaporation and reverse osmosis was proposed. Experimental tests were performed on an industrial landfill leachate. The leachate was subjected to evaporation so as to obtain a distillate containing a small amount of organic material and a substantial amount of inorganic substances (consisting primarily of metals and ammonium salts). The distillate of the evaporation treatment was then subjected to reverse osmosis. The reverie osmosis tests were performed using two different membranes: the AD membrane (thin two-ply film of polyamide) and the SC membrane (thin three-ply film of polyamide). Tests carried out at different values of pH showed a reduction of organic content of about 88% when AD membranes were used and about 80% with SC membranes independently of pH. As regards ammonium, comparable reductions of over 97% were registered for both types of membrane in the optimal conditions of pH = 6.4 (97.1% for AD membranes and 97.7% for SC).     

Environmental impact of incineration of calorific industrial waste: Rotary kiln vs. cement kiln

Rotary kiln incinerators and cement kilns are two energy intensive processes, requiring high temperatures that can be obtained by the combustion of fossil fuel. In both processes, fossil fuel is often substituted by high or medium calorific waste to avoid resource depletion and to save costs. Two types of industrial calorific waste streams are considered: automotive shredder residue (ASR) and meat and bone meal (MBM). These waste streams are of current high interest: ASR must be diverted from landfill, while MBM can no longer be used for cattle feeding. The environmental impact of the incineration of these waste streams is assessed and compared for both a rotary kiln and a cement kiln. For this purpose, data from an extensive emission inventory is applied for assessing the environmental impact using two different modeling approaches: one focusing on the impact of the relevant flows to and from the process and its subsystems, the other describing the change of environmental impact in response to these physical flows. Both ways of assessing emphasize different aspects of the considered processes. Attention is paid to assumptions in the methodology that can influence the outcome and conclusions of the assessment. It is concluded that for the incineration of calorific wastes, rotary kilns are generally preferred. Nevertheless, cement kilns show opportunities in improving their environmental impact when substituting their currently used fuels by more clean calorific waste streams, if this improvement is not at the expense of the actual environmental impact.     

RANS-based simulation of transverse turbulent mixing in a 2D geometry

Although transverse mixing is a significant process in river engineering when dealing with the discharge of pollutants from point sources or the mixing of tributary inflows, no theoretical basis exists for the prediction of its rate, which is indeed based upon the results of experimental works carried on in laboratory channels or in streams and rivers. The paper presents the preliminary results of a numerical study undertaken to simulate the transverse mixing of a steady-state point source of a tracer in a two-dimensional rectangular geometry, which is expected to reproduce a shallow flow. This geometry is that of Lau and Krishnappan (J Hydraul Div 13(HY10):1173–1189, 1977), who collected turbulent mixing data for a shallow flow. In the numerical study an approach based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations was applied, where the closure problem was solved by using turbulent viscosity concept. Particularly, the classical two-equations k–? model was used. Two methods were applied to the model results to evaluate the turbulent transverse mixing coefficient. The effect on transverse mixing of a grid located upstream the tracer source was also studied. Numerical results were generally higher than the experimental data. This overestimation could be explained considering the hypothesis of isotropic turbulence underlying the k–? model, which can lead to large turbulent viscosities and rate of mixing. However, RANS-based results may still be considered acceptable also providing the large uncertainties associated with literature predictive equations.     

Opportunities and challenges for Common Agricultural Policy reform to support the European Green Deal

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's main instrument for agricultural planning, with a new reform approved for 2023–2027. The CAP intends to align with the European Green Deal (EGD), a set of policy initiatives underpinning sustainable development and climate neutrality in the European Union (EU), but several flaws cast doubts about the compatibility of the objectives of these 2 policies. We reviewed recent literature on the potential of CAP environmental objectives for integration with the EGD: protection of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable management of natural resources. The CAP lacks appropriate planning measures, furthering instead risks to biodiversity and ecosystem services driven by landscape and biotic homogenization. Funding allocation mechanisms are not tailored to mitigate agricultural emissions, decreasing the efficiency of climate mitigation actions. The legislation subsidies farmers making extensive use of synthetic inputs without adequately supporting organic production, hindering the transition toward sustainable practices. We recommend proper control mechanisms be introduced in CAP Strategic Plans from each member state to ensure the EU is set on a sustainable production and consumption path. These include proportional assignment of funds to each CAP objective, quantitative targets to set goals and evidence-based interventions, and relevant indicators to facilitate effective monitoring of environmental performance. Both the CAP and the EGD should maintain ambitious environmental commitments in the face of crisis to avoid further degradation of the natural resources on which production systems stand.