High deforestation rates in tropical countries continue to reduce forest cover and thereby habitat quantity and quality. However, in some places the forest is recovering and expanding thus offsetting the biodiversity and ecosystem service losses. In order to characterize the forest recovery, land use and land cover (LUC) changes were analyzed using aerial photographs, taken between 1952 and 2009, of a peri-urban watershed in the Andes region of Venezuela. The qualities of the changes were assessed using landscape indices and hemeroby indicators. In that period, the forest cover increased about 18 %, mainly due to abandoned pastures on steep slopes. At the same time, the urban area expanded about 4 % on valley bottoms, while pastures and crop fields were reduced about 20 %. The results also showed that forest patches were aggregating, whereas pastures were fragmenting. A reduction in direct human impacts on forests growing on abandoned pastures resulted in a slight recovery of the lower montane cloud forest structure and plant composition. But non-native species were found in all LUC categories. During the study period, we documented not only forest recovery, but also urban area growth, intensified land use and invasions by non-native species all of which could partially counterbalance the positives of forest recovery. 相似文献
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The present study is concerned with an overview of the main aspects of the selective collection from the municipal solid waste in São... 相似文献
Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Nowadays, there is a need to obtain eco-friendly materials, especially plastics that are responsible for most of the environmental pollution. In this... 相似文献
Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Agri-food waste and by-products are being increasingly revalued, exploiting their potential. One of the attractive alternatives is their use as raw... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Wastewater tertiary treatment has been pointed out as an effective alternative for reducing the concentration of antibiotic resistant bacteria and... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of highly toxic, resistant, and persistent organic pollutants, among which 2-chlorobiphenyl (PCB-1) is... 相似文献
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), and expanded polystyrene (EXPS) are the most common plastics found in every home of the world, but only ~ 10% enter the recycling chains. Consequently, the study of plastic biodegradation by microorganisms and insects, such as the wax moths, has gained special interest. Galleria mellonella (L.) has been shown to consume single-layered polyethylene and polystyrene, though biological impacts of this consumption have been rarely reported. We evaluated the consumption of different plastics by G. mellonella larvae (L7, mean size: 25–30 mm) and its effect on larval duration, survival, and development. For this, we offered the larvae five diets: single-layered LDPE, EXPS, BOPP, triple-layered polyethylene (SB, for silo-bags), and a control with beeswax. We recorded the state and weight of the materials and the state of larvae until they reached the adult stage. Larvae consumed more PE (both LDPE and SB) and EXPS than BOPP; still, they were able to emerge as adults in all treatments. Larvae that consumed plastics turned into pupal stage faster than those that consumed beeswax, regardless of the type and amount of plastic consumed. This is the first report of wild G. mellonella larvae in Argentina consuming biaxially polypropylene and silo-bags.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - One of the most populated areas of the world is the Metropolitan Zone of the Mexican Valley, which has serious atmospheric pollution problems. To the... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The search for effective vaccines to stop the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented amount of global scientific production and activity. This... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Here, we report on new data (75 analyses) of plutonium (Pu) isotopes to elucidate activity concentrations, inventories, sources, and their transport... 相似文献