Evaluating the potential of biodiversity offsets to achieve net gain

Evaluating the outcomes and tracking the trajectory of biodiversity offsets is essential to demonstrating their effectiveness as a mechanism to conciliate development and conservation. We reviewed the literature to determine the principles that should underpin biodiversity offset planning and the criteria for offset evaluation at the project level. According to the literature, the core principles of equivalence, additionality, and permanence are used as criteria to evaluate conservation outcomes of offsets. We applied the criteria to evaluate offsets of a large iron ore mining project in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. We examined equivalence in terms of the amount of area per biodiversity value affected and fauna and flora similarity, additionality in terms of landscape connectivity, and permanence in terms of guarantees to ensure protection and restoration offsets lasting outcomes. We found an offset ratio (amount of affected area:offset area) of 1:1.8 for forests and 1:2 for grasslands. Ecological equivalence (i.e., similarity between affected and offset areas) was found for forested areas, but not for ferruginous rupestrian grasslands or for fauna. Landscape metrics showed that connectivity improved relative to the preproject situation as a result of locating restoration offsets in the largest and best-connected forest patch. Permanence of offsets was addressed by establishing covenants and management measures, but financial guarantees to cover maintenance costs after mine closure were lacking. Offsets should be equivalent in type and size, provide conservation outcomes that would not be obtained without them (additionality), and be lasting (permanence). To monitor and evaluate offsets, it is necessary to determine how well these 3 principles are applied in the planning, implementation, and maintenance of offsets. Achieving measurable conservation outcomes from offsets is a long-term endeavor that requires sustained management support, and is information intensive. Thus, offsets require ongoing monitoring and evaluation as well as adaptive management.     

Spatial and Temporal Trends of Physicochemical Parameters in the Water of the Reconquista River (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

The Reconquista river is one of the most polluted watercourses in Argentina. More than 3 million people and over 10,000 industries are settled on its basin. The available data show that pollution is mainly related to the discharge of domestic and industrial liquid wastes that are poured into the river almost untreated. At present no site of the river can be characterized as free of pollutants. Samples were taken monthly from 5 sites of the river; some 18–20 physicochemical parameters were determined in each sample. Analyses revealed significant differences in the degree of deterioration between sites. Two of them, close to the source of the river (Cascallares-S₁ and Paso del Rey-S₂) resulted less polluted than the two points located close to the mouth of the river (San Martin-S₄ and Bancalari-S₅). The worsening of the water quality in S₄–S₅ was attributed to the discharges of the Moron stream, a tributary that flows into the main course of the river a complex mixture of non treated waste waters. PCA was used in the ordination of samples (sites, season and physicochemical parameters). In the PCA performed using all variables, the first principal component showed positive correlation with N-NH₄ ⁺, conductivity, orthophosphate, BOD₅, COD and alkalinity, and negative correlation with DO. The second principal component was positively correlated with pH, temperature and chlorophyll a and negatively with phenols and hardness. In respect to the spatial distribution, the plot of the scores for the first two components of samples taken in each sampling station showed S₁ and S₂ values displayed farthest at the left side of the X axis with high DO. In contrast, S₄ and S₅ values stayed at the right side of this axis with high N-NH₄ ⁺, conductivity, orthophosphate, BOD₅, COD and alkalinity; data of S₃ were “intermediate". In order to identify seasonal trends in the concentration of contaminants scores of cases labeled by season were plotted. The line drawn on the ordination plane showed that summer samples tended to converge to the upper right portion of the graph where pollution variables had more importance on the first axis, and along the second axis with high correlation with pH, temperature and chlorophyll a. Winter scores were settled in the left lower part of the plot with minor contribution of pollution parameters and more importance of DO on the first axis. Samples of autumn and spring did not fit a clear cut pattern. Deceased     

Cytotoxicity assessment of four pharmaceutical compounds on the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) haemocytes, gill and digestive gland primary cell cultures

Pharmaceutical compounds are considered the new environmental pollutants but at present few studies have evaluated their ecotoxicity on aquatic invertebrates. This study was aimed to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity of four common drugs, namely atenolol (ATL), carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and gemfibrozil (GEM), on three different cell typologies from the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha): haemocytes, gill and digestive gland cells. Results obtained by the Trypan blue exclusion test revealed that exposure to increasing concentrations (0.001; 0.01; 0.1; 1 and 10 mg L⁻¹) of CBZ, DCF and GEM were able to significantly decrease the viability of each cell type, while the MTT (3(4,5-dimethyl-2thiazholyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) reduction assay highlighted only a slight reduction of mitochondrial activity of gill and digestive gland cells. Overall, DCF was the most cytotoxic drug for zebra mussel cells, followed by GEM, CBZ, while ATL has not a noteworthy toxic potential. Our preliminary results lay the groundwork for further in vitro evaluations, which will allow a better definition of the potential toxicity of these drugs.     

Integral use of plants and their residues: the case of cocoyam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthosoma sagittifolium</Emphasis>) conversion through biorefineries at small scale

During last decades, there has been a growing interest of decreasing the environmental impact generated by humans. This situation has been approached from different perspectives being the integral use of raw materials as one of the best alternatives. It was estimated that 3.7?×?10⁹ tonnes of agricultural residues are produced annually worldwide. Then, the integral use of feedstocks has been studied through the biorefinery concept. A biorefinery can be a promissory option for processing feedstocks in rural zones aiming to boost the techno-economic and social growth. However, many plants produced at small scale in rural zones without high industrial use contribute with residues usually not studied as raw materials for other processes. Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) is a plant grown extensively in tropical regions. Nigeria, China, and Ghana are the main producers with 1.3, 1.18, and 0.9 million tonnes/year, respectively. In Colombia, there are no technified crops, but it is used where it is grown mainly as animal feed. This plant consists of leaves, stem, and a tuber but the use is generally limited to the leaves, discarding the other parts. These discarded parts have great potential (lignocellulose and starch). This work proposes different processing schemes using the parts of the plant to obtain value-added products, and their techno-economic and environmental assessment. The simulation was performed with Aspen Plus and the economic package was used for the economic assessment. For the environmental assessment, Waste Algorithm Reduction of the U.S. EPA was implemented. The obtained results showed that the integral use of plants under a biorefinery scheme allows obtaining better techno-economic and environmental performance and that small-scale biorefineries can be a promissory option for boosting rural zones.     

Natural concentrations and reference values of heavy metals in sedimentary soils in the Brazilian Amazon

The soils of the Brazilian Amazon exhibit large geochemical diversity reflecting the different soil formation processes in an area covering 49% of the Brazilian territory. Soil contamination by heavy metals is one of the threats to the sustainability of this Biome but establishing quality reference values (QRVs) for the region is a challenging owing to the immense territorial area of the Amazon. This study aimed to determine the natural background of heavy metals in soils from the southwestern Brazilian Amazon in order to propose QRVs for Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn for alluvial sedimentary soils. One hundred and twenty-eight soil samples were collected at a depth of 0.0–0.2 m in sites with minimal anthropogenic interference. Soil sample digestion was based on the EPA 3051A method and metal concentrations were determined by ICP-OES. QRVs calculated for the southwestern Brazilian Amazon are among the lowest recorded in Brazil (mg kg^?1): Ba (16.5), Cd (0.1), Cr (6.9), Cu (2.8), Fe (15.4), Mn (13.4), Ni (1.7), Pb (4.4), Sb (0.9), and Zn (5.7). The low metal concentration is likely a result of the sedimentary origin of the soils. The results of this study can serve as a basis for defining public policies to investigate the environmental impacts resulting from changes in land use in areas of the Brazilian Amazon.     

Effect of the pesticide lindane on the biomass of the microalgae Nannochloris oculata

This study assesses the growth of the microalgae Nannochloris oculata in the presence of lindane and the ability of N. oculata to remove lindane from media. Algal biomass increased with 0.1 and 0.5 mg L^?1 of lindane, and lindane concentrations in the media decreased. N. oculata removed 73% and 68.2% of lindane in the 0.1 and 0.5 mg L^?1 media concentrations, respectively. Algal biomass decreased to the level of the control at lindane concentrations greater than 2.5 mg L^?1, probably due to toxicity. N. oculata removed lindane from the media at concentrations lower than 1.0 mg L^?1. Thus, N. oculata may be useful for lindane bioremediation in contaminated aquatic systems.     

Prediction and assessment of ecogenotoxicity of antineoplastic drugs in binary mixtures

The combined genotoxic effects of four anticancer drugs (5-fluorouracil [5-FU], cisplatin [CDDP], etoposide [ET], and imatinib mesylate [IM]) were studied testing their binary mixtures in two crustaceans that are part of the freshwater food chain, namely Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia. Genotoxicity was assessed using the in vivo comet assay. Assessment was based on two distinct effect sizes determined from dose-response experiments. Doses for single and combined exposures expected to result in these effect sizes were computed based on Bliss independence as reference model. Statistical comparison by analysis of variance of single and combined toxicities allowed accepting or rejecting the independency hypothesis. The results obtained for D. magna showed independent action for all mixtures except for IM+5-FU that showed an antagonistic interaction. In C. dubia, most mixtures had antagonist interactions except IM+5-FU and IM+CDDP that showed Bliss independence. Despite the antagonistic interactions, our results demonstrated that combinations of anticancer drugs could be of environmental concern because effects occur at very low concentrations that are in the range of concentrations encountered in aquatic systems.     

Effects of realistic concentrations of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and ZnO nanoparticles in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prochilodus lineatus</Emphasis> juvenile fish

The impact of nanoparticles on fish health is still a matter of debate, since nanotechnology is quite recent. In this study, freshwater benthonic juvenile fish Prochilodus lineatus were exposed through water to three concentrations of TiO₂ (0.1, 1, and 10 μg l^?1) and ZnO (7, 70, and 700 μg l^?1) nanoparticles, as well as to a mixture of both (TiO₂ 1 μg l^?1?+?ZnO 70 μg l^?1) for 5 and 30 days. Nanoparticle characterization revealed an increase of aggregate size in the function of concentration, but suspensions were generally stable. Fish mortality was high at subchronic exposure to 70 and 700 μg l^?1 of ZnO. Nanoparticle exposure led to decreased acetylcholinesterase activity either in the muscle or in the brain, depending on particle composition (muscle—TiO₂ 10 μg l^?1; brain—ZnO 7 and 700 μg l^?1), and protein oxidative damage increased in the brain (ZnO 70 μg l^?1) and gills (ZnO 70 μg l^?1 and mixture) but not in the liver. Exposed fish had more frequent alterations in the liver (necrosis, vascular congestion, leukocyte infiltration, and basophilic foci) and gills (hyperplasia and epithelial damages, e.g., epithelial disorganization and epithelial loss) than the control fish. Thus, predicted concentrations of TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles caused detectable effects on P. lineatus that may have important consequences to fish health. But, these effects are much more subtle than those usually reported in the scientific literature for high concentrations or doses of metal nanoparticles.     

Nitrogen oxides and ozone in Portugal: trends and ozone estimation in an urban and a rural site

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study provides an analysis of the spatial distribution and trends of NO, NO2 and O3 concentrations in Portugal between 1995 and 2010....