Raumbezug in der ?kosystemaren Umweltbeobachtung Anforderungen an die modellhafte Umsetzung im Biosph?renreservat Rh?n

Am Beispiel des l?nderübergreifenden Biosph?renreservates Rh?n wurde das Konzept einer ?kosystemaren Umweltbeobachtung konkretisiert. Die Arbeiten dienten der Operationalisierung der hohen fachlichen Anforderungen des Rats von Sachverst?ndigen für Umweltfragen an eine ‘Allgemeine ?kologische Umweltbeobachtung’, die medienund sektorübergreifende sowie m?glichst weitgehend harmonisierte Datenerhebungen und eine integrierte Datenauswertung vorsieht. Es werden die Bausteine einer stufenweisen Harmonisierung der Datenerhebung und Auswertung vorgestellt. Vertiefend behandelt werden Fragen nach methodischen Ans?tzen für eine nachvollziehbare Auswahl von Beobachtungsr?umen und Messtandorten sowie für die r?umliche Verallgemeinerung von Beobachtungsergebnissen. Das Konzept der ?kosystemaren Umweltbeobachtung nutzt hierfür das Instrument der bundesweiten standort?kologischen Raumgliederung sowie geostatistische Verfahren zur r?umlichen Zusammenführung bestehender Beobachtungsprogramme und Messnetze. Ferner werden M?glichkeiten aufgezeigt, wie mit der Durchführung hydrologischer Gebietsanalysen und mit einem ?kosystemarem Wasserhaushaltsmodell auf der Grundlage verfügbarer Daten integrierende Aussagen zur Entwicklung von Wassereinzugsgebieten getroffen werden k?nnen.     

Bodenschutzverordnung bringt einheitliche Werte für Bodenbelastungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Systems of innovation, the urban order and sustainable development.

Innovative cities are essential for the economic growth and development of countries. At the same time, however, social and environmental problems related to city growth can be serious threats to the full realisation of the socio-economic contribution that cities can make. City environments thus often provide both new problems and the creative and diverse environments, which make it possible to solve them. The question of whether or not sustainable development is possible largely will be answered in cities. This is also the case for problems related to waste management. Landfills may be located in the countryside, but if a country is to reduce environmental costs, the results will rest on the innovation power of cities. In this paper it is argued that the notion of a 'system of innovation' is helpful in understanding the factors that shape the processes of innovation and that determine the extent to which environmental problems may be solved. In this context, institutional innovation and political innovation as compared to technical innovation are of special importance.     

Occurrence of Human Enteric Viruses in Commercial Mussels at Retail Level in Three European Countries

In this study, the prevalence of different enteric viruses in commercial mussels was evaluated at the retail level in three European countries (Finland, Greece and Spain). A total of 153 mussel samples from different origins were analysed for human norovirus (NoV) genogroups I and II, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV). Human adenovirus (HAdV) was also tested as an indicator of human faecal contamination. A full set of controls (such as sample process control, internal amplification controls, and positive and negative controls) were implemented during the process. The use of a sample process control allowed us to calculate the efficiencies of extraction, which ranged from 79 to 0.5?%, with an average value of 10?%. Samples were positive in 41?% of cases, with HAdV being the most prevalent virus detected (36?%), but no significant correlation was found between the presence of HAdV and human NoV, HAV and HEV. The prevalences of human norovirus genogroup II, HEV and human NoV genogroup I were 16, 3 and 0.7?%, respectively, and HAV was not detected. The estimated number of PCR detectable units varied between 24 and 1.4?×?10³?g^?1 of digestive tract. Interestingly, there appeared to be a significant association between the type of mussel species (M. galloprovincialis) and the positive result of samples, although a complete overlap between country and species examined required this finding to be confirmed including samples of both species from all possible countries of origin.     

Degradation of biochanin A in soil

Degradation of biochanin A, 400 μg (1.41 μmol) per gram of dry soil, was studied and the initial degradation products, dihydrobiochanin A, pratensein and genistein were identified and quantified. The maximum concentrations of these compounds were determined as 166 pmol/g dry soil after 2 days of incubation, 175 pmol/g dry soil after 1 day and 1,236 pmol/g dry soil after 1 day, respectively. Biochanin A and the initially formed products degrade too fast to be responsible for clover soil sickness (DT₉₀ <20 days), but could be precursors for the responsible compounds. The immediate degradation products from biochanin A are all biologically active and are the prime candidates for a reduction of weed pressure caused by clover.     

Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Soil Biological Properties in Mined Dune Areas During Re-vegetation

The aim of this study was to describe the impact of re-vegetation on the restoration of microbial community structure and soil microbiological properties in sand dunes that had been affected by mining activity. Soil samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons from a chronosequence (1, 9, 21 years) of re-vegetated dunes using a single preserved dune as a reference. The composition of the fatty acid methyl esters and soil microbial properties were evaluated. The results showed that the changes in microbial community structure were related to seasonal variations: biomarkers of Gram-positive bacteria were higher than Gram-negative bacteria during the dry season, showing that this group of organisms is more tolerant to these stressful conditions. The microbial community structure in the natural dune was less affected by seasonal variation compared to the re-vegetated areas, whereas the opposite was observed for microbiological properties. Thus, in general, the proportion of saprobic fungi was higher in the natural dune, whereas Gram-negative bacteria were proportionally more common in the younger areas. Although over time the re-vegetation allows the recovery of the microbial community and the soil functions, these communities and functions are different from those found in the undisturbed areas.