Mediterranean forests,land use and climate change: a social-ecological perspective

Regional Environmental Change - Mediterranean forests are found in the Mediterranean basin, California, the South African Cape Province, South and southwestern Australia and parts of Central Chile....     

Corporations,Consumerism and Culpability: Sustainability in the British Press

Sustainability and sustainable development are prominent themes in international policy-making, corporate PR, news-media and academic scholarship. Its definitions are contested, however sustainability is associated with a three-pillar focus on economic development, environmental conservation and social justice, most recently espoused in the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. In spite of its common usage, there is little research about how sustainability is represented and refracted in public discourse in different national contexts. We examine British national press coverage of sustainability and sustainable development in 2015 in a cross-market sample of national newspapers. Our findings show that key international policy events and environmental and social justice frames are peripheral, while neoliberalism and neoliberal environmentalism vis-à-vis the promotion of technocratic solutions, corporate social responsibility and “sustainable” consumerism are the predominant frames through which the British news-media reports sustainability. This holds regardless of newspaper quality and ideological orientation.     

New perspectives on horizontal to vertical well ratios for site cleanup

Directional drilling has been used for a variety of purposes, including utilities, dewatering, and remedial activities. Using this method for site cleanup versus traditional vertical extraction wells needs to be considered based upon today's remedial challenges. Traditionally, it has been stated that a single horizontal well can substitute for up to 11 vertical wells. This “rule” is arbitrary, since length and depth of the plume, surface access, and hydrogeological conditions must be considered. A better way to evaluate the cost‐benefit of a horizontal versus vertical well system is a predicted zone of influence using a mathematical and hydrogeological approach, as described herein.     

Reduction of urban traffic–related particulate matter—leaf trait matters

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Particulate matter in European cities, especially in urban areas, is mainly from urban road traffic and constitutes a great threat to the health of...     

Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.     

Groundwater and surface-water exchange and resulting nitrate dynamics in the Bogue Phalia basin in northwestern Mississippi

During April 2007 through September 2008, the USGS collected hydrogeologic and water-quality data from a site on the Bogue Phalia to evaluate the role of groundwater and surface-water interaction on the transport of nitrate to the shallow sand and gravel aquifer underlying the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in northwestern Mississippi. A two-dimensional groundwater/surface-water exchange model was developed using temperature and head data and VS2DH, a variably saturated flow and energy transport model. Results from this model showed that groundwater/surface-water exchange at the site occurred regularly and recharge was laterally extensive into the alluvial aquifer. Nitrate was consistently reported in surface-water samples (n = 52, median concentration = 39.8 μmol/L) although never detected in samples collected from in-stream piezometers or shallow monitoring wells adjacent to the stream (n = 46). These two facts, consistent detections of nitrate in surface water and no detections of nitrate in groundwater, coupled with model results that indicate large amounts of surface water moving through an anoxic streambed, support the case for denitrification and nitrate loss through the streambed.     

Links among nitrification, nitrifier communities, and edaphic properties in contrasting soils receiving dairy slurry

Soil biotic and abiotic factors strongly influence nitrogen (N) availability and increases in nitrification rates associated with the application of manure. In this study, we examine the effects of edaphic properties and a dairy (Bos taurus) slurry amendment on N availability, nitrification rates and nitrifier communities. Soils of variable texture and clay mineralogy were collected from six USDA-ARS research sites and incubated for 28 d with and without dairy slurry applied at a rate of ~300 kg N ha(-1). Periodically, subsamples were removed for analyses of 2 M KCl extractable N and nitrification potential, as well as gene copy numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA). Spearman coefficients for nitrification potentials and AOB copy number were positively correlated with total soil C, total soil N, cation exchange capacity, and clay mineralogy in treatments with and without slurry application. Our data show that the quantity and type of clay minerals present in a soil affect nitrifier populations, nitrification rates, and the release of inorganic N. Nitrogen mineralization, nitrification potentials, and edaphic properties were positively correlated with AOB gene copy numbers. On average, AOA gene copy numbers were an order of magnitude lower than those of AOB across the six soils and did not increase with slurry application. Our research suggests that the two nitrifier communities overlap but have different optimum environmental conditions for growth and activity that are partly determined by the interaction of manure-derived ammonium with soil properties.     

Inundation influences on bioavailability of phosphorus in managed wetland sediments in agricultural landscapes

Agricultural runoff carries high nutrient loads to receiving waters, contributing to eutrophication. Managed wetlands can be used in integrated management efforts to intercept nutrients before they enter downstream aquatic systems, but detailed information regarding sorption and desorption of P by wetland sediments during typical inundation cycles is lacking. This study seeks to quantify and elucidate how inundation of wetland sediments affects bioavailability of P and contributions of P to downstream systems. A managed wetland cell in Tunica County, Mississippi was subjected to a simulated agricultural runoff event and was monitored for bioavailable phosphorus (water-extractable P [P], Fe-P, and Al-P) of wetland sediments and water level during the runoff event and for 130 d afterward. Inundation varied longitudinally within the wetland, with data supporting significant temporal relationships between inundation and P desorption. Concentrations of P were significantly higher at the site that exhibited variable hydroperiods (100 m) as compared with sites under consistent inundation. This suggests that sites that are inundated for longer periods of time desorb less P immediately to the environment than sites that have periodic or ephemeral inundation. Concentrations of iron oxalate and NaOH-P were significantly higher at the least inundated site as compared with all other sites (F = 5.43; = 0.001) irrespective of time. These results support the hypothesis that increased hydraulic residence time decreases the bioavailability of P in wetland sediments receiving agricultural runoff. This finding suggests that the restoration of wetlands in the mid-southern United States may be hydrologically managed to improve P retention.     

The impact of sensory learning modalities on children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in the perception of their school environment

Learning style models recognised that individuals differ in the sense learning modality of stimuli from which they best absorb, retain and process new information. The effect of sensory learning modalities on individual children’s sensitivity to sensory cues has so far been neglected. This paper reports on a study that sought to establish whether individual differences in children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in their perception of their school environmental features is influenced by their sensory learning modalities. Participants included Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils (N = 151) from four primary schools in South Gloucestershire, UK. The study used a child-friendly Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic questionnaire to establish children’s learning style modality. All children, independent of their learning style category, were exposed to three types of sensory cues, consisting of photo-safari, speech frequency and Global Positioning System. The analysis revealed that children’s sensitivity to sensory cues in their perception of school environmental features varied significantly between the three sensory learning modalities: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. The implications of these findings on research, policy and practice are discussed.     

What’s a Stream Without Water? Disproportionality in Headwater Regions Impacting Water Quality

Headwater streams are critical components of the stream network, yet landowner perceptions, attitudes, and property management behaviors surrounding these intermittent and ephemeral streams are not well understood. Our research uses the concept of watershed disproportionality, where coupled social-biophysical conditions bear a disproportionate responsibility for harmful water quality outcomes, to analyze the potential influence of riparian landowner perceptions and attitudes on water quality in headwater regions. We combine social science survey data, aerial imagery, and an analysis of spatial point processes to assess the relationship between riparian landowner perceptions and attitudes in relation to stream flow regularity. Stream flow regularity directly and positively shapes landowners’ water quality concerns, and also positively influences landowners’ attitudes of stream importance—a key determinant of water quality concern as identified in a path analysis. Similarly, riparian landowners who do not notice or perceive a stream on their property are likely located in headwater regions. Our findings indicate that landowners of headwater streams, which are critical areas for watershed-scale water quality, are less likely to manage for water quality than landowners with perennial streams in an obvious, natural channel. We discuss the relationships between streamflow and how landowners develop understandings of their stream, and relate this to the broader water quality implications of headwater stream mismanagement.