The forest environmental frontier in Russia: Between sustainable forest management discourses and ‘wood mining’ practice

With 20% of the world’s forests, Russia has global potential in bioeconomy development, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, unsustainable forest management based on ‘wood mining’ reduces this potential. Based on document analysis, participant observations and interviews, this article shows how non-state actors—environmental NGOs and forest companies—address forest resource depletion and primary forest loss in Russia. We analyse two key interrelated forest discourses driven by non-state actors in Russia: (1) intensive forest management in secondary forests as a pathway towards sustained yield and primary forest conservation; (2) intact forest landscapes as a priority in primary forest conservation. We illustrate how these discourses have been integrated into policy debates, institutions and practices and discuss their relation to relevant global discourses. The article concludes that despite successful cases in conserving intact forest landscapes, there is still a frontier between sustainable forest management discourses and forestry practice in Russia.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01643-6.     

Psychosocial and ergonomic survey of office and field jobs in a utility company

Introduction. The effect of different kinds of work on the psychosocial assessment of workers under the same management and organizational environment is investigated. Methods. A voluntary assessment in a utility company was carried out using the short version of the Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire (CoPsoQ) on two occasions, 1.5 years apart. Initially, 25 office workers (11 men and 14 women) participated, while 14 of those workers (8 women and 6 men) participated in the second assessment together with 32 field workers. The sewage, water treatment and maintenance workers, totaling 32 men, also participated in a field ergonomics assessment using the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries field work ergonomic checklist. Results. The longitudinal outlook was fairly stable, with sustained severe scores in many CoPsoQ subscales and intensification of severity of workers’ control over work and esteem for men. A significantly higher esteem score resulted for field rather than office workers. Workers subjected to foul odors showed similar severity of psychosocial factors. Discussion. For most psychosocial dimensions, the organizational design and management system in place, as well as the overall cultural environment in which it operates, create a much stronger and more decisive impact than job-specific factors.     

Examination of Salmonella and Escherichia coli translocation from hog manure to forage, soil, and cattle grazed on the hog manure-treated pasture

Use of hog (Sus scrofa) manure as a fertilizer is a practical solution for waste re-utilization, however, it may serve as a vehicle for environmental and domestic animal contamination. Work was conducted to determine whether pathogens, naturally present in hog manure could be detected in cattle (Bos taurus) grazed on the manure-treated pasture, and whether forage contamination occurred. During two 3 mo summer trials manure was applied to yield < or = 124 kg available N per hectare in a single spring or split spring and fall application. Samples of hog manure, forage, soil, and cattle feces were analyzed for naturally occurring Salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Escherichia coli. To follow movement of Salmonella in the environment isolates were identified to serovar and serotyped. Transfer of E. coli from hog manure to soil and cattle was examined by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of >600 E. coli isolates. While Y. enterocolitica was absent from all samples, in both years S. enterica Derby and S. enterica Krefeld were found in most hog manure samples, but were only on forage samples in the second year. Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, absent from hog manure was present on some forage in the first year. Cattle feces and soil samples were consistently Salmonella negative. These contaminations could not be traced to manure application. During this study, Salmonella and E. coli found in hog manure had different RAPD genomic profiles from those found in the feces of cattle grazing on manure-treated pasture.     

Profiling climate change vulnerability of forest indigenous communities in the Congo Basin

The livelihood strategies of indigenous communities in the Congo Basin are inseparable from the forests, following their use of forest ecosystem goods and services (FEGS). Climate change is expected to exert impacts on the forest and its ability to provide FEGS. Thus, human livelihoods that depend on these FEGS are intricately vulnerable to climate impacts. Using the livelihood strategies of the two main forest indigenous groups; the Bantus and Pygmies, of the high forest zone of southern Cameroon; this paper examines the nature and pattern of their vulnerability to different climate risks as well as highlights how place of settlement in the forest contributes to the vulnerability of people in forest systems. Forests provide different capitals as FEGS and make direct and indirect contributions to livelihoods which are exploited differently by the two indigenous groups. The results show that vulnerability of forest communities is structured by lifestyle, culture and the livelihood strategies employed which are largely shaped by the place of settlement in the forest. The Pygmies living within the forests are engaged in nomadic gathering and foraging of non-timber forest resources. The Bantus prefer forest margins and are mostly preoccupied with sedentary farming, using the forest as additional livelihood opportunity. The contrasting lifestyles have implications on their vulnerability and adaptation to climate impacts which need to be taken into considerations in planning and implementation of national climate change adaptation strategies.     

Chemical composition of the NH3-HNO3-H2SO4-NaCl system in the atmosphere of Athens,Greece

This paper presents a procedure for estimating the distribution of ionic material in the NH₃-HNO₃-H₂SO₄-NaCl system and applies this procedure in a particular case. The data used were measurements of HNO₃, NH₃, NO ₃ ^– , SO ₄ ^– , NH ₄ ⁺ Cl^– and Na⁺ performed during February 1989 – February 1990 in a central Athens street with high traffic density. According to the procedure, ions combine in the following manner: Na⁺ combines preferentially with SO ₄ ^– , then with NO ₃ ^– , followed by NH ₄ ⁺ with the remaining SO ₄ ^– and then with the remaining NO ₃ ^– to form bisulphates, sulphates and nitrates. The combination procedure showed that the main constituents of the NH₃-HNO₃-H₂SO₄-NaCl system are primarily (NH₄)₂SO₄ and, to a lesser extent, NH₄NO₃ and NH₄HSO₄, with mean and maximum concentrations, during morning hours, (NH₄)₂SO₄: 14.5 (max 46.8), NH₄NO₃: 2.97 (max 23) and NH₄HSO₄: 1.78 (max 40.6) µg m^–3. Lower concentations of Na₂SO₄, NaHSO₄, NaNO₃ and NH₄Cl and very low concentrations of H₂SO₄ are also present, depending on the availability of NaCl. It became apparent from the ionic distribution that there is sufficient NH₃ to neutralize the H₂SO₄ and HNO₃. It was also shown that a significant fraction of the HNO₃, especially on days with high pollution, occurs as aqueous NO ₃ ^– . A number of empirical equations have been proposed, which enable the approximate estimation of the constituents of the NH₃-HNO₃-H₂SO₄-NaCl system from air pollution monitoring data and meteorological parameters.     

Culture and the environment in France

Although the French concern for environmental protection dates back several centuries, a committed movement toward environmental protection did not begin until the second half of the 19th century. The Romantic influence of Rousseau and others led to the formation of various societies aimed at protecting the French landscape.Until the most recent environmental crusades of the 1960s and 1970s, the cause of protecting the natural environment seemed to fall largely on the shoulders of scientists and anglers, who voiced their concern over increasing environmental degradation in pamphlets and recreational journals. Their pressure aided in the passage of legislation on water quality.During the 1960s, environmental organizations proliferated and, in league with student activists, played an important role in raising the environmental consciousness of the French. During the 1970s, these activists began to turn to traditional political mobilization as a way of drawing attention to their platform. Environmental activism reached its peak with the antinuclear rallies of the late 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, many environmental associations had grown up in the French culture, but the future of environmentalism remains questionable owing to a number of economic realities, including the oil crisis, which made nuclear power much more acceptable to the public.     

Water Quality Functions of Riparian Forest Buffers in Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

/ Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, USA, have agreed to reduce nutrient loadings to Chesapeake Bay by 40% by the year 2000. This requires control of nonpoint sources of nutrients, much of which comes from agriculture. Riparian forest buffer systems (RFBS) provide effective control of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in some types of agricultural watersheds. Control of NPS pollution is dependent on the type of pollutant and the hydrologic connection between pollution sources, the RFBS, and the stream. Water quality improvements are most likely in areas of where most of the excess precipitation moves across, in, or near the root zone of the RFBS. In areas such as the Inner Coastal Plain and Piedmont watersheds with thin soils, RFBS should retain 50%-90% of the total loading of nitrate in shallow groundwater, sediment in surface runoff, and total N in both surface runoff and groundwater. Retention of phosphorus is generally much less. In regions with deeper soils and/or greater regional groundwater recharge (such as parts of the Piedmont and the Valley and Ridge), RFBS water quality improvements are probably much less. The expected levels of pollutant control by RFBS are identified for each of nine physiographic provinces of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Issues related to of establishment, sustainability, and management are also discussed.KEY WORDS: Riparian forest buffers; Chesapeake Bay; Nonpoint source pollution; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Sediment     

A Regional Approach to Projecting Land-Use Change and Resulting Ecological Vulnerability

This study explores ecological vulnerability to land-use change in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region by spatially extrapolating land and economic development, and overlaying these projections with maps of sensitive ecological resources. As individual extrapolations have a high degree of uncertainty, five methods with different theoretical bases are employed. Confidence in projections is increased for counties targeted by two or more projection methods. A county is considered at risk if it currently supports three or more sensitive resources, and is projected to experience significant growth by the year 2010 by two or more methods. Analysis designated 19 counties and two cities as at risk, highlighting within a large region the priority areas where state and regional efforts would contribute the most to integrating environmental considerations into the process of land development. The study also found that potentially severe ecological effects of future land-use change are not limited to the outskirts of major urban areas. Recreational demands on smaller communities with mountain and coastal resources are also significant, as are initiatives to promote economic development in rural areas of high ecological quality. This approach provides a comprehensive overview of potential regional development, leading to an objective prioritization of high-risk areas. The intent is to inform local planning and decision-making so that regional and cumulative ecological degradation are minimized.