Evaluating Alternative Temporal Survey Designs for Monitoring Wetland Area and Detecting Changes Over Time in California

Evaluation of wetland extent and changes in extent is a foundation of many wetland monitoring and assessment programs. Probabilistic sampling and mapping provides a cost‐effective alternative to comprehensive mapping for large geographic areas. One unresolved challenge for probabilistic or design‐based approaches is how best to monitor both status (e.g., extent at a single point in time) and trends (e.g., changes in extent over time) within a single monitoring program. Existing wetland status and trends (S&T) monitoring programs employ fixed sampling locations; however, theoretical evaluation and limited implementation in other landscape monitoring areas suggest that alternative designs could increase statistical efficiency and overall accuracy. In particular, designs that employ both fixed and nonfixed sampling locations (alternately termed permanent and temporary samples), termed sampling with partial replacement (SPR), are considered to efficiently and effectively balance monitoring current status with detection of trends. This study utilized simulated sampling to assess the performance of fixed sampling locations, SPR, and strictly nonfixed designs for monitoring wetland S&T over time. Modeled changes in wetland density over time were used as inputs for sampling simulations. In contrast to previous evaluations of SPR, the results of this study support the use of a fixed sampling design and show that SPR may underestimate both S&T.     

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAUSED BY SEDIMENT FROM AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCES1

Environmental and economic damages caused by agricultural nonpoint source inputs of sediment and associated pollutants are examined. Widespread water quality problems are identified in lakes, rivers, and estuaries in agricultural areas, and billions of dollars of on-site and offsite costs result from this eroded soil every year. Some water bodies have been irretrievably damaged, and expensive rehabilitation programs are needed to remedy in-place water pollution problems if Clean Water Act goals are to be achieved. Unless effective abatement and rehabilitation programs are established, billions of dollars of benefits to future generations will not be realized as more waters become irretrievably damaged, and billions more will continue to be spent by government to treat symptoms of these sediment-related problems.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi involvement in zinc and cadmium speciation change and phytoaccumulation

Over the past few years, there has been a greater study and understanding of the application of phytoremediation to remediate contaminated soil. The enhancement of phytoaccumulation of heavy metals—zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and selenium (Se)—in plants has been shown by inoculation of roots using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). This article presents the results of in vitro lab experiments conducted to verify the effects of AMF ( Glomus intraradices) hyphae on speciation of essential Zn and nonessential Cd heavy metals in order to change these metals from a water‐ insoluble carbonate to a soluble and phytoavailable form. Results show that in the presence of heavy metals in a nonavailable form to plants, endomycorrhizal hyphae can change the metal from carbonate to a water‐ soluble species. This phenomenon is more apparent with a nonessential (Cd) than with an essential metal (Zn). Zn saturation is reached in the G. intraradices colonized roots at around 400 ppm, independently of initial ZnCO₃ concentrations. Cd saturation is not reached; in the lower Cd treatment, the plant/media metal ratio is 3:1, and in the higher treatment, the ratio is 1:1. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bewertung der Luftqualität in Rheinland-Pflaz mittels verschiedener Luftqualitätsindizes

Goal and Scope

The constant increase of traffic and the rising energy and material consumption both in industry and trade as well as in private households mean a constant challenge to environmental protection and to the air pollution control. With the commencement of the Federal ambient pollution control act in April 1974, the legal basis for the monitoring of air pollution was created. In future, the limit values laid down in the Council Directive 1999/30/EG, 2000/69/EG and 96/62/EG, will be valid. In town and regional planning there is a great demand for a simple index to evaluate the air quality. From the available data of PM₁₀, NO₂, O₃, CO, SO₂, trends of the air quality will be derived.

Methods

The indices LQI and TLQ suggested by Mayer et al. (2002) were calculated for selected stations of the air pollution monitoring network (ZIMEN) in Rhineland-Palatine. All analysis are based on hourly recorded value, Mean values and frequency distributions are used for the interpretation. Furthermore, the characteristics and trends of the indices under different weather conditions were examined and discussed.

Results

The examination figures out that the air pollutions indices at all stations show similar patterns in the period between January 2001 and December 2002. Neither the LQI, nor the TLQ shows an annual variation. Existing variations are mainly controlled by the general weather situation and the air temperature. High values of the indices appear at extremely high or low mean daily air temperature. The absolute value of the air pollution index is determined by local pollution factors.

Outlook and Recommendations

Both indices are well suitable to evaluate the air quality and to assess the effects of state-aided measures for air pollutant control. Therefore, the indices TLQ and LQI should be published as an additional information in the world wide web.     

CO2 reaction with Ca(OH)2 during SO2 removal with convective pass sorbent injection and high temperature filtration

The Kyoto Protocol calls for greenhouse gas emission reductions which could affect the use of coal for producing electricity. Carbon credits are being explored as a method for countries to meet their reduction commitments. Carbon dioxide removal in flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems should be considered if and when the concept of carbon credits are implemented. This paper addresses the factors affecting sulfur dioxide removal, including the reaction of carbon dioxide, occurring during convective pass sorbent injection with high temperature filtration for a typical coal-fired power plant. Significant carbonation is found to occur, and the levels are found to depend on injection/filtration temperatures and the residence time on the filter. Ca/S stoichiometry during sorbent injection is found to affect not only the sorbent conversions in the convective pass sorbent injection stage but also the final sorbent conversions in the filtration stage. Even though high sorbent carbonation hinders the sorbent utilization for SO₂ removal, slight alterations in CO₂ concentration are found to have no significant effects on the SO₂ removal of the process.     

Monitoring the impact of sulphur with the Austrian Bioindicator Grid

In Austria, the impact of sulphur has been assessed since 1985 with the help of the Austrian Bioindicator Grid on 760 sample plots with Picea abies as the main tree species (90%). The annual sampling allows a precise evaluation of the temporal and regional development of the impact of sulphur on the basis of legal standards. Despite the reduction of SO2 emissions in Austria, the legal standard is still exceeded on 8% of the plots. These plots are mainly located near large Austrian emittors, but also in areas affected by transboundary sulphur emissions from neighbouring countries. The present paper describes how the Bioindicator Grid can be applied for the control of legal requirements to enact effective clean air measures in Austria and take supportive measures that reduce the impact of sulphur from emittors in neighbouring countries.     

Dioxins and furans in emissions from medical waste incinerators

Dioxins and furans were detected in emissions from eight medical waste incinerators tested in California. Total uncontrolled emissions ranged from 363 to 11, 811 nanograms per dry standard cubic meter. The most effective of three wet scrubbers achieved an emissions control efficiency of 95 percent for total PCDD and PCDF. A baghouse was less than 30 percent efficient in removing PCDD and PCDF from the incinerator emissions.     

Effect of a base-catalyzed dechlorination process on the genotoxicity of PCB-contaminated soil

We evaluated the genotoxicity of dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of PCB-contaminated soil before and after the soil had been treated by a base-catalyzed dechlorination process. The treatment process involves heating a mixture of the soil, polyethylene glycol (or hydrocarbons with boiling points of 310–387°C), and sodium hydroxide to 250–350°C. Dechlorination reduced by >99% the PCB concentration of the soil, which was initially 2,200 ppm. The DCM extracts of both control and treated soils were not mutagenic in strain TA100 of Salmonella, but they were mutagenic in strain TA98. Based on results in strain TA98, the base-catalyzed dechlorination process reduced the mutagenic potency of the soil by approximately one-half. The DCM extracts of the soils before and after treatment were equally genotoxic in a prophage-induction assay in . , which detects some chlorinated organic carcinogens that are not detected by the Salmonella mutagenicity assay. These results suggest that treatment of PCB-contaminated soil by base-catalyzed dechlorination reduced the mutagenicity of the soil slightly.