Terrestrial and Aquatic Invertebrates as Bioindicators for Environmental Monitoring, with Particular Reference to Mountain Ecosystems

The use of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates as a management tool for monitoring change in ecosystems is reviewed and critically evaluated. Their suitability and value for assessing a range of environmental problems from pollution impacts, through habitat evaluation for conservation to the long-term degradation and recovery of ecosystems, is critically discussed. Guidelines are provided for the choice of appropriate bioindicators. Examples of the use of a broad spectrum of invertebrates to assess a variety of environmental problems are summarized. The particular potential of invertebrates for monitoring montane ecosystems is highlighted.     

The acetochlor registration partnership state ground water monitoring program

The Acetochlor Registration Partnership (ARP) conducted a 7-yr ground water monitoring program at a total of 175 sites in seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. While acetochlor [2-chloro-N-(ethoxymethyl)-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-acetamide] was the primary focus, the analytical methods also quantified alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)-acetamide], atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)-acetamide], and two classes of soil degradates for acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor. Ground water samples were collected monthly for five years and quarterly for two additional years. All samples were analyzed for the presence of parent herbicides, and degradates were monitored during the last three years. Parent acetochlor was detected above 0.1 microg L(-1) in three or more samples at just seven sites. Alachlor and metolachlor were also rarely detected, but atrazine was detected in 36% of all samples analyzed. Even more widespread were the tertiary amide sulfonic acid (ethanesulfonic acid, ESA) degradates of acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor, which were detected at 81, 76, and 106 sites, respectively. The other class of monitored soil degradates (oxanilic acid, OXA) was detected less frequently, at 26, 16, and 63 sites for acetochlor OXA, alachlor OXA, and metolachlor OXA, respectively. The geographic distribution of detections did not follow the pattern originally expected when the study began. Rather than being a function primarily of soil texture, the detection of these herbicides in shallow ground water was related to site-specific factors associated with local topography, the occurrence of surface water drainage features, irrigation practices, and the vertical positioning of the well screen.     

Cadmium phytoextraction using short-rotation coppice Salix: the evidence trail

A substantial body of evidence has now accumulated that raises expectations that clean-up of Cd-contaminated land can be achieved through cultivation and harvest of selected clones of short-rotation coppice willow within a realistic crop lifecycle. Cd uptake rates into Salix are high compared to other trace elements and to other plant species. Effective phytoextraction would require (i) careful targeting of hotspots, (ii) repeated harvest prior to leaf fall and (iii) final removal of the root bole.     

Biodegradability of a Selected Range of Polymers and Polymer Blends and Standard Methods for Assessment of Biodegradation

Synthetic polymers are important to the packaging industry but their use raises aesthetic and environmental concerns, particularly with regard to solid waste accumulation problems and the threat to wildlife. Some concerns are addressed by attention to problems associated with source reduction, incineration, recycling and landfill. Others are addressed by the development of new biodegradable polymers either alone or in blends. Materials used for biodegradable polymers include various forms of starch and products derived from it, biopolyesters and some synthetic polymers. Starch is rapidly metabolised and is an excellent base material for polymer blends or for infill of more environmentally inert polymers where it is metabolised to leave less residual polymer on biodegradation. This should help to improve the environmental impact of waste disposal. A number of standard methods have been developed to estimate the extent of biodegradability of polymers under various conditions and with a variety of organisms. They tend to be used mainly in the countries where they were developed but there is much overlap between the standards of different countries and wide scope for development of consistent and international standards.     

City Partners Maintain Climate Change Action Despite National Cuts: Residential Energy Efficiency Programme Valued at Local Level

Cities, regional governments and their local utilities are taking leading roles in programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agenda 21 highlighted the need for such local action to achieve the goals of the 1992 Earth Summit and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This trend of increasing local action was demonstrated dramatically in Canada in 2006 when the newly elected federal government cancelled many of the previous government's climate change programmes. The EnerGuide for Houses Program illustrates the growing importance of local decisions where the federal government developed a home energy rating system that was delivered through a range of partnerships across the country. Despite all political parties voting to increase funding for the programme in 2005, the Conservative government cancelled it in May 2006. The response by provincial and local governments was immediate. Their actions revealed the ability and desire among lower-tier governments to sustain popular climate change initiatives. Both the political responses and financial implications are included in the examination of the shift in environmental responsibility from the national to the local sphere.     

FORECASTING QUARTER-MONTHLY RIVERFLOW1

Recent developments with respect to transfer function-noise models are reviewed and used to model and forecast quarter-monthly (i.e., near-weekly) natural inflows to the Lac St-Jean reservoir in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The covariate series are rainfall and snowmelt, the latter being a novel derivation from daily rainfall, snowfall and temperature series. It is clearly demonstrated using the residual variance and the Akaike information criterion that modeling is improved as one starts with a deseasonalized ARMA model of the inflow series and successively adds transfer functions for the rainfall and snowmelt series. It is further demonstrated that the transfer function-noise model is better than a periodic autoregressive model of the inflow series. A split-sample experiment is used to compare one-step-ahead forecasts from this transfer function-noise model with forecasts from other stochastic models as well as with forecasts from a so-called conceptual hydrological model (i.e., a model which attempts to mathematically simulate the physical processes involved in the hydrological cycle). It is concluded that the transfer function-noise model is the preferred model for forecasting the quarter-monthly Lac St-Jean inflow series.     

Fetal blood group studies during mid-trimester pregnancy and the management of severe isoimmunization

Fetal blood samples collected at 14–22 weeks' gestation by fetoscopy have been analysed for 25 different red cell antigens and anti-A antibodies. The results obtained demonstrate that the technique can be used to determine fetal blood groups during mid-pregnancy and also to provide the opportunity to study the physiological and pathological developments of blood groups and their antibodies and to manage more rationally those pregnancies threatened by erythroblastosis fetalis.     

Biodiversity Conservation and Resource Tenure Regimes: A Case Study from Northeast Cambodia

The management of tropical protected areas is a contentious issue in resource management and often leads to an unproductive polarization of viewpoints supporting either protectionist or sustainable development paradigms. This paper argues for a context-driven approach whereby effective management requires inputs from both paradigms in different situations. A key element of context is understanding long-practiced resource tenures and their ability to meet future conservation and livelihood goals. Different types of tenure arrangements are often required for different resources. This approach is illustrated by analysis of Virachey National Park in NE Cambodia. This park encompasses part of the ancestral territory of ethnic Brao people, who rely upon swidden agriculture, fish, terrestrial wildlife, and various nontimber forest products (NTFPs) for their livelihoods. These people have developed a mix of resource tenure regimes to promote sustainable use and to maximize local benefits. In the face of contemporary pressures, some of these traditional approaches are effective, while others are not. The paper suggests avenues for building on long-established management practices of the Brao to achieve park management goals while enhancing the welfare of the Brao people. A mix of private ownership, common property management, and central government involvement may be required to maximize benefits to local people and ensure long-term protection of biodiversity.