Climate change impacts on the leaching of a heavy metal contamination in a small lowland catchment

The Keersop catchment (43km(2)) in the south of The Netherlands has been contaminated by the emissions of four zinc ore smelters. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of future projected climate change on the hydrology and the leaching of heavy metals (i.e. Cd and Zn) in the catchment. The numerical, quasi-2D, unsaturated zone Soil Water Atmosphere Plant model was used with 100-year simulated daily time series of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. The time series are representative of stationary climates for the periods 1961-1990 ("baseline") and 2071-2100 ("future"). The time series of future climate were obtained by downscaling the results of eight regional climate model (RCM) experiments, driven by the SRES A2 emissions scenario, using change factors for a series of climate statistics and applying them to stochastic weather generator models. The time series are characterized by increased precipitation in winter, less precipitation in summer, and higher air temperatures (between 2°C and 5°C) throughout the year. Future climate scenarios project higher evapotranspiration rates, more irrigation, less drainage, lower discharge rates and lower groundwater levels, due to increased evapotranspiration and a slowing down of the groundwater system. As a result, lower concentrations of Cd and Zn in surface water are projected. The reduced leaching of heavy metals, due to drying of the catchment, showed a positive impact on a limited aspect of surface water quality.     

Strategies to evaluate biodegradability: application to chlorinated herbicides

The biodegradability of nitrochlorinated (diuron and atrazine) and chlorophenoxy herbicides (2,4-D and MCPA) has been studied through several bioassays using different testing times and biomass/substrate ratios. A fast biodegradability test using unacclimated activated sludge yielded no biodegradation of the herbicides in 24 h. The inherent biodegradability test gave degradation percentages of around 20–30 % for the nitrochlorinated herbicides and almost complete removal of the chlorophenoxy compounds. Long-term biodegradability assays were performed using sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (SB-MBR). Fixed concentrations of each herbicide below the corresponding EC₅₀ value for activated sludge were used (30 mg L^?1 for diuron and atrazine and 50 mg L^?1 for 2,4-D and MCPA). No signs of herbicide degradation appeared before 35 days in the case of diuron and atrazine and 21 days for 2,4-D, whereas MCPA was partially degraded since the early stages. Around 25–36 % degradation of the nitrochlorinated herbicides and 53–77 % of the chlorophenoxy ones was achieved after 180 and 135 days, respectively, in SBR, whereas complete disappearance of 2,4-D was reached after 80 days in SB-MBR.     

An Ecoregional Context for Forest Management on National Wildlife Refuges of the Upper Midwest,USA

To facilitate forest planning and management on National Wildlife Refuges, we synthesized multiple data sources to describe land ownership patterns, land cover, landscape pattern, and changes in forest composition for four ecoregions and their associated refuges of the Upper Midwest. We related observed patterns to ecological processes important for forest conservation and restoration, with specific attention to refuge patterns of importance for forest landbirds of conservation priority. The large amount of public land within the ecoregions (31–80%) suggests that opportunities exist for coarse and meso-scale approaches to conserving and restoring ecological processes affecting the refuges, particularly historical fire regimes. Forests dominate both ecoregions and refuges, but refuge forest patches are generally larger and more aggregated than in associated ecoregions. Broadleaf taxa have increased in dominance in the ecoregions and displaced fire-dependent taxa such as pine (Pinus spp.) and other coniferous species; these changes in forest composition have likely also affected refuge forests. Despite compositional changes, larger forest patches on refuges suggests that they may provide better habitat for area-sensitive forest landbirds of mature, compositionally diverse forests than surrounding lands if management continues to promote increased patch size. We reason that although fine-scale research and monitoring for species of conservation priority is important, broad scale (ecoregional) assessments provide crucial context for effective forest and wildlife management in protected areas.     

Analyzing the cost effectiveness of Santiago, Chile's policy of using urban forests to improve air quality

Santiago, Chile has the distinction of having among the worst urban air pollution problems in Latin America. As part of an atmospheric pollution reduction plan, the Santiago Regional Metropolitan government defined an environmental policy goal of using urban forests to remove particulate matter less than 10 microm (PM(10)) in the Gran Santiago area. We used cost effectiveness, or the process of establishing costs and selecting least cost alternatives for obtaining a defined policy goal of PM(10) removal, to analyze this policy goal. For this study, we quantified PM(10) removal by Santiago's urban forests based on socioeconomic strata and using field and real-time pollution and climate data via a dry deposition urban forest effects model. Municipal urban forest management costs were estimated using management cost surveys and Chilean Ministry of Planning and Cooperation documents. Results indicate that managing municipal urban forests (trees, shrubs, and grass whose management is under the jurisdiction of Santiago's 36 municipalities) to remove PM(10) was a cost-effective policy for abating PM(10) based on criteria set by the World Bank. In addition, we compared the cost effectiveness of managing municipal urban forests and street trees to other control policies (e.g. alternative fuels) to abate PM(10) in Santiago and determined that municipal urban forest management efficiency was similar to these other air quality improvement measures.     

Method to Partition Between Attached and Unattached E. coli in Runoff From Agricultural Lands1

Abstract: Remediation of waters impaired by bacterial indicators is usually dictated by total maximum daily load plans, which are heavily dependent on fate and transport modeling of bacterial indicators. Nonpoint source pollution models are most frequently used to assess bacterial transport to surface waters and most models typically simulate bacterial transport as a dissolved pollutant. Previous studies have found that cells preferentially attach to sediments; however, a variety of techniques have been used to assess attachment including filtration, fractional filtration, and centrifugation. In addition, a variety of chemical and physical dispersion techniques are used to release attached and bioflocculated cells from particulates. Here we developed and validated an easy‐to‐replicate laboratory procedure for separation of unattached from attached E. coli which will also identify particle sizes to which E. coli preferentially attach. Physical and chemical dispersion techniques were evaluated and a combined hand shaker treatment for 10 min followed by dilutions in 1,000 mg/l of Tween 85 significantly increased total E. coli concentrations by 31% when compared with a control. In order to separate unattached from attached fractions, two commonly used techniques, fractional filtration, and centrifugation were combined. The filtration and centrifugation treatments did not reduce E. coli concentrations when compared with a control (p > 0.05), indicating that damage was not inflicted upon the E. coli cells during the separation procedure.     

Jasmonic acid treatment and mammalian herbivory differentially affect chemical defenses and growth of wild mustard (Brassica kaber)

Summary. Jasmonic acid (JA) is a wound-related hormone found in most plants that, when applied exogenously, can induce increases in levels of chemical defenses in patterns similar to those induced by mechanical damage or insect feeding. Relative to responses to insect and pathogen attack, chemical responses of herbaceous plants to mammalian herbivore attack have been little studied. In a field experiment, we compared the effects of JA treatment and naturally occurring mammalian herbivory on the expression of trypsin inhibitors, glucosinolates, peroxidase activity and growth of wild mustard (Brassica kaber). Exogenous JA significantly increased trypsin inhibitor activity and glucosinolate concentration, and moderately increased peroxidase activity in the eighth true leaves of five-week-old plants, relative to untreated controls. In contrast, levels of these chemical defenses in the eighth true leaves or in regrowth foliage of plants that had ∼80% of their leaf area removed by groundhogs (Marmota monax) did not differ from that in undamaged and untreated controls. Although exogenous JA significantly elevated levels of chemical defenses, it did not affect height of plants through the season and only slightly reduced time to first flower. Groundhog herbivory significantly reduced height and delayed or abolished flowering, but these effects were not substantial unless coupled with apical meristem removal. We hypothesize that the lack of effect of groundhog herbivory on chemical defenses may be due in part to the speed and pattern of leaf area removal by groundhogs, or physiological constraints caused by leaf area loss. Despite having no effect on chemical defense production, leaf area loss by groundhogs was more costly to growth and fitness than the effects of JA application in this study, but only substantially so if coupled with apical meristem removal. We suggest that in general, costs of defense production in plants are likely to be minimal when compared to the risk of losing large amounts of leaf area or primary meristematic tissue. Thus, if they are effective at deterring herbivory, the benefits of inducible defense production likely outweigh the costs in most cases. Received 20 December 2000; accepted 3 May 2001     

Assessing regulatory violations of disinfection by-products in water distribution networks using a non-compliance potential index

Inactivating pathogens is essential to eradicate waterborne diseases. However, disinfection forms undesirable disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the presence of natural organic matter. Many regulations and guidelines exist to limit DBP exposure for eliminating possible health impacts such as bladder cancer, reproductive effects, and child development effects. In this paper, an index named non-compliance potential (NCP) index is proposed to evaluate regulatory violations by DBPs. The index can serve to evaluate water quality in distribution networks using the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN). BBN is a graphical model to represent contributing variables and their probabilistic relationships. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), and free residual chlorine (FRC) are selected as the variables to predict the NCP index. A methodology has been proposed to implement the index using either monitored data, empirical model results (e.g., multiple linear regression), and disinfectant kinetics through EPANET simulations. The index’s usefulness is demonstrated through two case studies on municipal distribution systems using both full-scale monitoring and modeled data. The proposed approach can be implemented for data-sparse conditions, making it especially useful for smaller municipal drinking water systems.