Bioverfügbarkeit von Schwermetallen in Seen unterschiedlichen Huminstoffgehaltes — Beeinflussung der Schwermetallaufnahme in Wasserpflanzen

Untersuchungen anMyriophyllum verticillatum, Potamogeton natans undNymphaea alba in Seen unterschiedlicher Trophiestufen best?tigen, da? in humin- und fulvo-s?urereichen Seen auch bei erh?htem Schwermetallangebot bei einer Reihe von metallen niedrigere Biokonzentrationsfaktoren als in huminstoffarmen Seen zu verzeichnen sind.     

Leachability testing of sludge from street gullies.

Sludge from gullies, on two types of streets with different traffic intensity, was investigated using two recommended EU methods for leachability testing of waste: a two-stage batch test and an up-flow percolation test. The main purpose of this investigation was to gain more knowledge about these leaching test methods to be able to make future decisions on the general applicability of the proposed tests. A number of parameters were determined in the sludge as well as in the eluates obtained from the two leaching tests. These include pH, conductivity, dissolved organic carbon and inorganic ions as chloride ions. A number of metals as Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni and Zn, were determined by inductive coupled plasmamass spectrometry and organic compounds were screened by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array UV detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. It was found that the concentrations of metals and organic compounds in the sludge were several orders of magnitudes higher than the actual eluate concentrations. For all metals the concentrations were well below the proposed limit values for non-hazardous waste included in the Council decision document 2003/33/EC. Generally, concentrations obtained in batch test were equal or higher than from percolation tests. The repeatability of the percolation and the batch test were in average 28 and 17%, respectively.     

Adsorption of Disperse Blue SBL dye by synthesized poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite

The present study has been undertaken to evaluate the adsorption in batch mode of a disperse dye (Disperse Blue SBL) by poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite synthesized by coprecipitation between Ca(NO_3)_2 and (NH_4)_2HPO4 reagents in aqueous solution at room temperature. The adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the factors that influence the dye uptake by the adsorbent, such as the contact time under agitation, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, solution temperature, and pH. The e...     

Nitrate leaching under vegetable field above a shallow aquifer in Slovenia

In the search for new technologies that would ensure optimum yield and environmental sustainability, various irrigation, nitrogen and cropping system management strategies for the production of vegetables with a shorter growing period were assessed at a benchmark site in Slovenia for the years 2006 and 2007. In the studied years four irrigation and fertilization treatments were applied: (1) 50% drip irrigation of plants water requirements ET_crop and the farmer's practice of fertilisation (broadcasting), (2) fertilisation and 100% drip irrigation (fertigation), (3) the farmer's practice of irrigation (sprinkler irrigation using water stored in plastic tanks) and fertilisation, and (4) control (the farmer's practice of irrigation but no fertilisation). An equivalent of 80, 80 and 200 kg ha⁻¹ of nitrogen (N), 50, 50 and 80 kg ha⁻¹ of phosphorous (P) and 120, 120 and 300 kg ha⁻¹ of potassium (K) was added for iceberg lettuce, endive and cabbage, respectively. Nitrogen (N) labelled fertilizer (¹⁵N) was applied to trace the movement of the applied N fertiliser. The tested irrigation and fertilisation techniques for the production of vegetables with a shorter growing period in the Slovenian climate showed that environmentally sustainable practices (split application of nutrients compared to broadcast incorporating fertilisation) should be a practice of choice in water protection zones. The results confirm that fertigation and improved irrigation scheduling can be an effective way of minimizing nitrate leaching, and should be considered for vegetable production in or close to groundwater protection zones.     

Positive long-term effect of mulching on species and functional trait diversity in a nutrient-poor mountain meadow in Central Europe

Oligotrophic mountain meadows are threatened biodiversity hotspots throughout Europe. The traditional summer hay-making followed by autumn grazing is no longer economic and question is whether alternative managements can maintain both plant species and functional diversity typical of these habitats. In the Bohemian Forest Mts., we applied three treatments (mowing once a year - i.e., cutting and removing the biomass, mulching once a year - cutting and leaving the crushed biomass to decompose in situ, fallowing - no cutting) in order to assess temporal changes in meadow vegetation, plant trait composition and biomass production in a 13-year experiment. We recorded for each species twenty-five traits as to be most informative of plant strategies related to growth, resource acquisition and carbon-water economy. We compared different components of trait composition (community averages that mostly reflect traits of dominant species vs. the Rao index of functional diversity that reflects trait dissimilarity among species) and their impact on biomass production. We show that mulching promotes species and functional diversity by facilitating heliophilous forbs and legumes with more acquisitive strategies in resource use and release, e.g., higher foliar N and P content. This occurs at the expense of tall grasses (with resource-retentive strategies, e.g., high leaf dry matter content) which dominate the mown and fallow plots. The divergence in most quantitative traits indicates that niche complementarity is the dominant assembly process in mulched plots, which can prevent competitive exclusion and enable species coexistence. The divergent development was detected only after 5-6 years. This slow floristic and functional response is caused by acidity of soil and severe mountain climate that preclude rapid responses of vegetation to land-use changes. We conclude that mulching represents a good compromise maintaining both plant species and functional diversity as well as a relatively high biomass production. Mowing without grazing leads to gradual nutrient loss and thus reduces the productivity and diversity in these oligotrophic ecosystems. Fallowing causes gradual loss in diversity by increased grass competition and litter accumulation.