Identifying Determinants of Nations' Wetland Management Programs Using Structural Equation Modeling: An Exploratory Analysis

Integrated management and policy models suggest that solutions to environmental issues may be linked to the socioeconomic and political characteristics of a nation. In this study, we empirically explore these suggestions by applying them to the wetland management activities of nations. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate a model of national wetland management effort and one of national wetland protection. Using five predictor variables of social capital, economic capital, environmental and political characteristics, and land-use pressure, the multivariate models were able to explain 60% of the variation in nations' wetland protection efforts based on data from 90 nations, as defined by level of participation in the international wetland convention. Social capital had the largest direct effect on wetland protection efforts, suggesting that increased social development may eventually lead to better wetland protection. In contrast, increasing economic development had a negative linear relationship with wetland protection efforts, suggesting the need for explicit wetland protection programs as nations continue to focus on economic development. Government, environmental characteristics, and land-use pressure also had a positive direct effect on wetland protection, and mediated the effect of social capital on wetland protection. Explicit wetland protection policies, combined with a focus on social development, would lead to better wetland protection at the national level.     

Atrazine toxicity to Handroanthus heptaphyllus,a nontarget species from a Brazilian biome threatened by agriculture

The economic basis of the Brazilian midwest is agriculture, concentrating most of the grain production in the country. With the purpose of increasing yield, farmers have intensified land use and the use of atrazine among other pesticides, which can supposedly compromise human health and photosynthetic metabolism of plant species from Cerrado, such as Handroanthus heptaphyllus. The aim of this study was to determine experimentally the sensitivity level of H. heptaphyllus to atrazine, by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chloroplastidic pigments, and membrane permeability. The experiment was conducted in a factorial scheme. Nine‐month‐old H. heptaphyllus plants were treated with six realistic doses of atrazine: 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 g a.i. ha^–1 (corresponding to 10, 20, 40, 80, and 100% of the commercial dose recommended for corn crops, respectively), with five replications. Evaluations were performed at 12, 36, 84, 180, and 276 h after treatment application. Photosynthesis, the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, and electron transport rate were gradually reduced by the action of atrazine. On the other hand, the nonphotochemical quenching increased gradually, which indicates that this mechanism was not sufficient to avoid oxidative stress and cellular damage in H. heptaphyllus treated plants. Based on these results, we concluded that the action of the herbicide in the photosynthetic reduction occurs by the electron transport rate limitation. Therefore, H. heptaphyllus trees are at risk in Cerrado areas next to agricultural lands.     

PBAT-based Microfiltration Membranes Using Porogen Saturated Solutions: Architecture,Morphology, and Environmental Profile

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - There is a scientific consensus that the use of membranes for water filtration presents itself as a promising research area for removing a wide range of...     

Does invasion by Pteridium aquilinum (Dennstaedtiaceae) affect the ecological succession in Atlantic Forest areas after a fire?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pteridium aquilinum (Dennstaedtiaceae) colonization affects ecological and restoration processes. The knowledge of the impacts on the ecological...     

Life cycle approach applied to the production of ceramic materials incorporated with ornamental stone wastes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The use of the ornamental stone wastes, such as the originated from granite or marble, has been the subject of technological studies that evaluated...     

Annealing Effect on Pla/Eva Blends Performance

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - PLA has aroused industrial and scientific interest in recent years, mainly due to its biodegradable character. However, PLA is brittle and displays low...