An ecosystem report on the Panama Canal: monitoring the status of the forest communities and the watershed

In 1996, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Republic of Panama's Environmental Authority, with support fromthe United States Agency for International Development, undertook a comprehensive program to monitor the ecosystem of the Panama Canal watershed. The goals were to establish baselineindicators for the integrity of forest communities and rivers. Based on satellite image classification and ground surveys, the2790 km² watershed had 1570 km² of forest in 1997, 1080 km² of which was in national parks and nature monuments. Most of the 490 km² of forest not currently in protected areas lies along the west bank of the Canal, and its managementstatus after the year 2000 turnover of the Canal from the U.S. to Panama remains uncertain. In forest plots designed to monitorforest diversity and change, a total of 963 woody plant specieswere identified and mapped. We estimate there are a total of 850–1000 woody species in forests of the Canal corridor. Forestsof the wetter upper reaches of the watershed are distinct in species composition from the Canal corridor, and have considerably higher diversity and many unknown species. Theseremote areas are extensively forested, poorly explored, and harbor an estimated 1400–2200 woody species. Vertebrate monitoring programs were also initiated, focusing on species threatened by hunting and forest fragmentation. Large mammals are heavily hunted in most forests of Canal corridor, and therewas clear evidence that mammal density is greatly reduced in hunted areas and that this affects seed predation and dispersal. The human population of the watershed was 113 000 in 1990, and grew by nearly 4% per year from 1980 to 1990. Much of this growth was in a small region of the watershed on the outskirts of Panama City, but even rural areas, including villages near and within national parks, grew by 2% per year. There is no sewage treatment in the watershed, and many towns have no trashcollection, thus streams near large towns are heavily polluted. Analyses of sediment loads in rivers throughout the watershed did not indicate that erosion has been increasing as a result ofdeforestation, rather, erosion seems to be driven largely by total rainfall and heavy rainfall events that cause landslides.Still, models suggest that large-scale deforestation would increase landslide frequency, and failure to detect increases inerosion could be due to the gradual deforestation rate and the short time period over which data are available. A study of runoff showed deforestation increased the amount of water fromrainfall that passed directly into streams. As a result, dry season flow was reduced in a deforested catchment relative to aforested one. Currently, the Panama Canal watershed has extensive forest areasand streams relatively unaffected by humans. But impacts of hunting and pollution near towns are clear, and the burgeoningpopulation will exacerbate these impacts in the next few decades.Changes in policies regarding forest protection and pollution control are necessary.     

Heavy Metal Tolerance in Chromogenic and Non-Chromogenic Marine Bacteria from Arabian Gulf

A simple method – direct agar diffusion assay – was optimised for rapid assessment of heavy metal toxicity to marine chromogenic and non-chromogenic bacteria. The procedure involved spotting of a 10 microliter test solution on the seeded agar plate and incubation of the plates at 30°C to accelerate bacterial growth. Under optimum conditions, test results were obtainable within 12–18 hr instead of 96 hr incubation time generally required for a marine bacterial assay by conventional agar plate methods. A range of sixteen heavy metals, each at 5 different concentrations was tested. Toxicity was demonstrated by the formation of a clear zone of growth inhibition around the point of application. Toxicity of tested chemicals could be easily demonstrated at concentrations as low as 0.1 g per spot on the agar plate. A dose dependent relation between metal concentration (g/spot) and the diameter of the clear zone on agar plate was observed, suggesting potential of this method as an easy and economical tool in quantitative toxicology studies.     

A Zone-Wise Ecological-Economic Analysis of Indian Wetlands

In view of their sensitivity and importance, an ecological-economic analysis of wetlands has been carried out for various Indian states. Subsequently, the ecological wealths of different zones (north, south, east and west) have been computed and compared. Amongst states, Karnataka (7896.5 million US dollars yr(-1)), Gujarat (7689.4 million US dollars yr(-1)) and Andhra Pradesh (7670.9 million US dollars yr(-1)) are found to be the richest, whereas Nagaland (3.1 million US dollars yr(-1)), Meghalaya (5.9 million US dollars yr(-1)) and Sikkim (15.9 million US dollars yr(-1)) turn out to be the poorest. Amongst different zones, Southern Zone turns out to be the richest and the Northern Zone poorest. A ratio called ANR [Artificial (A) Wetland Wealth to Natural (N) Wetland Wealth Ratio (R)] has also been devised, which is the ratio of the ecological-economic values of artificial and natural wetlands. In other words, this ratio indicates the level of environmental concern of a given region. ANR ratio is found to be the highest for Madhya Pradesh (564.1) and Karnataka (159.8) states.     

Photochemistry of 1-nitro-2-phenylnaphthalene available to the environment

Photolysis (254 nm, 72h) of 1-nitro-2-phenylnaphthalene $\text{1}$ in methanol gave 2-phenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone-4-monoxime $\text{2}$, 2,2′-diphenyl-4,4′-binaphth-1,1′-diol $\text{3}$ and 2,2′-diphenyl-4,4′-binaphth-1,1′-dione $\text{4}$. Straightforward reactions available to the environment account for the formation of the products: (a) isomerisation of the nitro compound into a nitrite ester followed by either (a) migration of the nitroso group and isomerisation into the oxime $\text{2}$ or (b) oxidative coupling and solvolysis into the binaphthol $\text{3}$ and followed by oxidation into the binaphthone $\text{4}$.     

Molarity provides better clarity – using molar-based data when evaluating chlorinated volatile organic compound impacted sites

Abstract

Chlorinated volatile organic compounds are common constituents observed at many contaminated groundwater sites. Common industry practice has been to measure these constituents in groundwater on a weight concentration basis (e.g. µg/l, mg/l). This paper highlights the use of molar-based concentrations, especially in the case of parent-daughter degradation sequences commonly observed with the chloroethene, chloroethane, and chloromethane families of compounds. Converting to molar-based concentrations provides the practitioner greater insight into groundwater plume behavior including better evaluation of degradation processes, remedial progress, possible commingling, and/or sourcing. For example, this paper provides a tank analogy to evaluate whether the commonly misinterpreted observation of “DCE-stall” may be occurring at a site. Multiple examples of the benefits of using molar-based concentration data are also summarized in a project case study presented herein. As demonstrated in this paper, molarity does provide better clarity and can be a powerful evaluation tool in the groundwater practitioner’s toolbox.     

The identification of three previously unreported lindane metabolites from mammals

Previously unreported metabolites from the urine of rats treated with lindane have been identified as configurational isomers of 2,4,5,6- and 2,3,4,6-tetrachloro-2-cyclohexen-1-ol. In addition, an intermediate metabolite from the incubation of lindane with liver preparations, under N₂, has been identified as the configurational isomer γ-3,4,5,6-tetrachlorocyclohex-1-ene. The pathways leading to these metabolites appear to have an important role in the metabolism of lindane by mammals.     

Modeling radium and radon transport through soil and vegetation

A one-dimensional flow and transport model was developed to describe the movement of two fluid phases, gas and water, within a porous medium and the transport of 226Ra and 222Rn within and between these two phases. Included in this model is the vegetative uptake of water and aqueous 226Ra and 222Rn that can be extracted from the soil via the transpiration stream. The mathematical model is formulated through a set of phase balance equations and a set of species balance equations. Mass exchange, sink terms and the dependence of physical properties upon phase composition couple the two sets of equations. Numerical solution of each set, with iteration between the sets, is carried out leading to a set-iterative compositional model. The Petrov-Galerkin finite element approach is used to allow for upstream weighting if required for a given simulation. Mass lumping improves solution convergence and stability behavior. The resulting numerical model was applied to four problems and was found to produce accurate, mass conservative solutions when compared to published experimental and numerical results and theoretical column experiments. Preliminary results suggest that the model can be used as an investigative tool to determine the feasibility of phytoremediating radium and radon-contaminated soil.     

Atmospheric volatilization and distribution of (Z)- and (E)-1,3-dichloropropene in field beds with and without plastic covers

The fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) is considered to be a potential replacement for methyl bromide when methyl bromide is phased out in 2005. This study on surface emissions and subsurface diffusion of 1,3-D in a Florida sandy soil was conducted in field beds with or without plastic covers. After injection of the commercial fumigant Telone II by conventional chisels to field beds at 30cm depth which were covered with polyethylene film (PE), virtually impermeable film, or no cover (bare), (Z)- and (E)-1,3-D rapidly diffused upward. Twenty hours after injection, majority of (Z)- and (E)-1,3-D had moved upward from 30 cm depth to the layer of 5-20 cm depth. Downward movement of the two isomers in the beds with or without a plastic cover was not significant. (Z)-1,3-D diffused more rapidly than (E)-1,3-D. Virtually impermeable films (VIF) had a good capacity to retain (Z)- and (E)-1,3-D in soil pore air space. Vapor concentrations of the two isomers in the shallow subsurface of the field bed covered with VIF were greater than that in the two beds covered with polyethylene film (PE) or no cover (bare). In addition, VIF cover provided more uniform distribution of (Z)- and (E)-1,3-D in shallow subsurface than PE cover or no cover. Virtually impermeable film also had a better capability to retard surface emissions of the two isomers from soil in field beds than PE cover or no cover.     

Oxygenated fuel induced cosolvent effects on the dissolution of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil

The cosolvent-induced dissolution of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from contaminated soil caused by oxygenated fuel spills was studied. Oxygenated fuel induces a solvent flushing effect on the contaminated soil due to the high content of oxygenated compounds (i.e., methanol, ethanol, and methyl tert butyl ether (MTBE)). The miscible displacement techniques were applied to evaluate the increased potential for secondary contamination in an impacted site. Significant solubility enhancement of the 18 PAHs monitored during fuel spill simulation and cosolvent flushing is clearly evident when compared to normal water dissolution. The breakthrough concentration profile for each PAH constituent was integrated over the cumulative effluent volume (i.e., the zeroth moment) to determine the total PAH mass removed during the experiment. The removal efficiency of PAHs ranges from 46.6% to 99.9% in three oxygenated fuels (i.e., M85, E85, and oxygenated gasoline) during the fuel spill. Several factors including hydrophobicity of compounds, nonequilibrium dissolution due to nonuniform coal tar distribution, and heterogeneous media properties affect the oxygenated compound-induced dissolution process. This study provides a basis to predict the facilitated transport of hydrophobic organic compounds from subsurface environment due to the cosolvent effects of oxygenated fuels.