Toxicity of atrazine and chlorsulfuron to algae

Sensitivity of three algal species, Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus acutus and Pseudanabaena galeata to herbicides atrazine and chlorsulfuron was studied using single species toxicity tests. Organisms were exposed to different concentrations of these herbicides and the algal growth was measured by turbidity at 750 nm. Atrazine appeared to be the most inhibitory to algae growth. 96 hr E_bC₅₀ of atrazine was: 1.3, 0.014, 0.014 mg/1 for C. saccharophila, S. acutus and P. galeata, respectively and 96 hr E_bC₅₀ of chlorsulfuron was 74.5 mg/1 for C.saccharophila, 0.19 mg/1 for S. acutus and 21.1 mg/1 for P. galeata     

The development and application of remote sensing to monitor sand dune habitats

Sand dunes are complex systems that contain several habitats, often as mosaics or transitions between types. Several of these habitats are afforded protection under European Legislation and in the UK nationally within Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Natural England has a statutory duty to report to Europe on the conservation status and condition of sand dunes; and is required to report to the UK Government on designated sites. To achieve this we have sought ways of capturing, analysing and interpreting data on the extent and location of sand dune habitats. This requires an ability to be able to obtain data over large areas of coastline in an efficient way. Natural England and Environment Agency Geomatics have worked collaboratively for over 16 years, sharing data and ecological knowledge. In 2012 work started to evaluate the use of remote sensing to map UK BAP and Annex I sand dune habitats. A methodology has now been developed and tested to map sand dune habitats. The key objective was to provide an operational tool that will help to map these habitats and understand change on sites around England. This has been achieved through analysis of LIDAR and Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data using Object Orientated Image Analysis. Quality Control (QC) and accuracy assessments have shown this approach to be successful and 11 sites have been mapped to date. These techniques are providing a new approach to monitoring change in coastal vegetation communities and informing management of protected sites.     

International trade causes large net economic losses in tropical countries via the destruction of ecosystem services

Despite the large implications of the use of tropical land for exports (“land absorption”) on ecosystem services (ES) and global biodiversity conservation, the magnitude of these externalities is not known. We quantify the net value of ES lost in tropical countries as a result of cropland, forestland and pastureland absorption for exports after deducting ES gains through imports (“land displacement”). We find that net ES gains occur only in 7 out of the 41 countries and regions considered. We estimate global annual net losses of over 1.7 x 10¹² international dollars (I$) (I$1.1 x 10¹² if carbon-related services are not considered). After deducting the benefits from agricultural, forest and livestock rents in land replacing tropical forests, the net annual losses are I$1.3 and I$0.7 x 10¹², respectively. The results highlight the large magnitude of tropical ES losses through international trade that are not compensated by the rents of land uses in absorbed land.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-016-0768-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Soil acidity determines the effectiveness of an organic amendment and a native bacterium for increasing soil stabilisation in semiarid mine tailings

Unstable mine tailings are vulnerable to water and air erosion, so it is important to promote their surface stabilisation in order to avoid the spread of heavy metals. In a greenhouse experiment, we assessed the effect of the addition of Aspergillus niger-treated sugar beet waste and inoculation with a native bacterium, Bacillus cereus, on the stabilisation of soil aggregates of two acidic, semiarid mine tailings, with different acidity degree, during watering and drying periods. Organic amendment raised the pH of both the moderately and highly acidic tailings, whereas the bacterial inoculation increased this parameter in the former. Only the amendment addition increased soil water-soluble carbon in both tailings compared with their controls, under either watering or drying conditions. Both the amendment and B. cereus enhanced water-soluble carbohydrates. Both treatments increased dehydrogenase activity and aggregate stability, particularly in the moderately acidic tailing under drying conditions. After soil drying, aggregate stability was increased by the amendment (about 66% higher than the control soil) and by the bacterium (about 45% higher than the control soil) in the moderately acidic tailing. The effectiveness of these treatments as structure-stabilisation methods for degraded, semiarid mine ecosystems appears to be restricted to tailings of moderate acidity.     

Evaluating pollution-related damage and restoration success in urban forests with participatory monitoring and digital tools

Peri-urban forest monitoring requires indicators of vegetation damage. An example is the sacred fir (Abies religiosa) forests surrounding Mexico City, which have been heavily exposed to tropospheric ozone, a harmful pollutant, for over 4 decades. We developed a participatory monitoring system with which local community members and scientists generated data on ozone tree damage. Santa Rosa Xochiac rangers (13) used the digital tool KoboToolBox to record ozone damage to trees, tree height, tree ages, tree condition, tree position, and whether the tree had been planted. Thirty-five percent of the trees (n = 1765) had ozone damage. Younger trees had a lower percentage of foliage damaged by ozone than older trees (p < 0.0001), and asymptomatic trees tended to be younger (p < 0.0001). Symptomatic trees were taller than asymptomatic trees of the same age (R²_c = 0.43, R²_m = 0.27). Involving local communities facilitated forest monitoring and using digital technology improved data quality. This participatory system can be used to monitor forest condition change over time and thus aids restoration efforts driven by government or local communities’ interests, facilitating local decision-making.     

Five challenges to reconcile agricultural land use and forest ecosystem services in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia possesses the highest rates of tropical deforestation globally and exceptional levels of species richness and endemism. Many countries in the region are also recognized for their food insecurity and poverty, making the reconciliation of agricultural production and forest conservation a particular priority. This reconciliation requires recognition of the trade‐offs between competing land‐use values and the subsequent incorporation of this information into policy making. To date, such reconciliation has been relatively unsuccessful across much of Southeast Asia. We propose an ecosystem services (ES) value‐internalization framework that identifies the key challenges to such reconciliation. These challenges include lack of accessible ES valuation techniques; limited knowledge of the links between forests, food security, and human well‐being; weak demand and political will for the integration of ES in economic activities and environmental regulation; a disconnect between decision makers and ES valuation; and lack of transparent discussion platforms where stakeholders can work toward consensus on negotiated land‐use management decisions. Key research priorities to overcome these challenges are developing easy‐to‐use ES valuation techniques; quantifying links between forests and well‐being that go beyond economic values; understanding factors that prevent the incorporation of ES into markets, regulations, and environmental certification schemes; understanding how to integrate ES valuation into policy making processes, and determining how to reduce corruption and power plays in land‐use planning processes.     

Elemental composition of surface waters in the Antarctic Peninsula and interactions with the environment

The fast changes in chemical and biological properties of many coastal and inland waters in the last decades reflect the pressure of man on the environment. The surface waters of the Antarctic Peninsula, located far from industrial or populated areas, could eventually be used as background lines. Surface water samples were taken from five lagoons of King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula, and from the Kitiesh Lake. Sample pH and electrical conductivity were analysed in situ and in the laboratory, respectively. The dissolved fractions were analysed in 1997 and 1998. Total concentrations only for 1998 were determined in another fraction adjusted to pH 2. Aluminium, Ca, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Bi, and Pb were quantified in all samples by means of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Total and dissolved elemental concentrations were discussed considering the composition of particulate material suspended in the waters removed by streams or by water runoff, or from atmospheric aerosols. Concentrations of dissolved elements change from one lagoon to another. Total and dissolved elemental concentrations could be related to water movement by windstorms, to chemical mechanisms in water and/or to natural and anthropogenic atmospheric factors.     

Active protection of unrelated offspring against parasitoids. A byproduct of self defense?

Natural enemies exert selection pressure on their prey. Predators and parasitoids drive their prey into the evolution of novel traits to cope with this stress. When eggs and juveniles are the target of enemies, defense strategies may rely on adults. However, it is not easy to predict whether adults should actively protect unrelated offspring. Females of the golden egg bug (Phyllomorpha laciniata) mainly oviposit on conspecifics of either sex. Females can also lay eggs on their food plant. Eggs placed on plants suffer from a higher mortality caused by natural enemies than eggs carried by bugs. Females never carry their own eggs and males are seldom related to the eggs they carry. We experimentally explored if conspecifics protect the eggs by studying the behavioral interaction between P. laciniata individuals and the specialist egg parasitoid Gryon bolivari. All bugs exhibited active responses against parasitoids regardless of the sex of the bug, the egg load, and their mating status. Most of the responses prevented parasitoids from reaching the eggs, and thus they reduced the risk of egg parasitization. Although responses of bugs were effective to overcome parasitoid attacks, we suggest that egg protection against parasitoids has evolved as a co-opted trait from a general defense of adult bugs against enemies. In this system, egg defense is not an individual's strategy to protect the offspring, but rather a consequence of the eggs being attached to one's body. It may also explain the low parasitization carried eggs suffer in the wild. The results further highlight the idea of conspecifics as an enemy-free space in P. laciniata.