Influence of suspended particles on the emission of organophosphate flame retardant from insulation boards

The influence of the presence of the so-called seed particles on the emission rate of Tris (1-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) from polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation boards was investigated in this study. Two Field and Laboratory Emission Test cells (FLEC) were placed on the surface of the same PIR board and respectively supplied with clean air (reference FLEC) and air containing laboratory-generated soot particles (test FLEC). The behavior of the area-specific emission rates (SER _A ) over a time period of 10 days was studied by measuring the total (gas?+?particles) concentrations of TCIPP at the exhaust of each FLEC. The estimated SER _A of TCIPP from the PIR board at the quasi-static equilibrium were found to be 0.82 μg m^?2 h^?1 in the absence of seed particles, while the addition of soot particles led to SER _A of 2.16 μg m^?2 h^?1. This indicates an increase of the SER _A of TCIPP from the PIR board with a factor of 3 in the presence of soot particles. The TCIPP partition coefficient to soot particles at the quasi-static equilibrium was 0.022?±?0.012 m³ μg^?1. In the next step, the influence of real-life particles on TCIPP emission rates was investigated by supplying the test FLEC with air from a professional kitchen where mainly frying and baking activities took place. Similar to the reference FLEC outcomes, SER _A was also found to increase in this real-life experiment over a time period of 20 days by a factor 3 in the presence of particles generated during cooking activities. The median value of estimated particle–gas coefficient for this test was 0.062?±?0.037 m³ μg^?1.

     

Emissions from oil and gas operations in the United States and their air quality implications

The energy supply infrastructure in the United States has been changing dramatically over the past decade. Increased production of oil and natural gas, particularly from shale resources using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, made the United States the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas in 2014. This review examines air quality impacts, specifically, changes in greenhouse gas, criteria air pollutant, and air toxics emissions from oil and gas production activities that are a result of these changes in energy supplies and use. National emission inventories indicate that volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions from oil and gas supply chains in the United States have been increasing significantly, whereas emission inventories for greenhouse gases have seen slight declines over the past decade. These emission inventories are based on counts of equipment and operational activities (activity factors), multiplied by average emission factors, and therefore are subject to uncertainties in these factors. Although uncertainties associated with activity data and missing emission source types can be significant, multiple recent measurement studies indicate that the greatest uncertainties are associated with emission factors. In many source categories, small groups of devices or sites, referred to as super-emitters, contribute a large fraction of emissions. When super-emitters are accounted for, multiple measurement approaches, at multiple scales, produce similar results for estimated emissions. Challenges moving forward include identifying super-emitters and reducing their emission magnitudes. Work done to date suggests that both equipment malfunction and operational practices can be important. Finally, although most of this review focuses on emissions from energy supply infrastructures, the regional air quality implications of some coupled energy production and use scenarios are examined. These case studies suggest that both energy production and use should be considered in assessing air quality implications of changes in energy infrastructures, and that impacts are likely to vary among regions.

Implications: The energy supply infrastructure in the United States has been changing dramatically over the past decade, leading to changes in emissions from oil and natural gas supply chain sources. In many source categories along these supply chains, small groups of devices or sites, referred to as super-emitters, contribute a large fraction of emissions. Effective emission reductions will require technologies for both identifying super-emitters and reducing their emission magnitudes.     

Assessing the vulnerability of rare plants using climate change velocity,habitat connectivity,and dispersal ability: a case study in Alberta,Canada

Climate change generally requires species to migrate northward or to higher elevation to maintain constant climate conditions, but migration requirement and migration capacity of individual species can vary greatly. Individual populations of species occupy different positions in the landscape that determine their required range shift to maintain similar climate, and likewise the migration capacity depends on habitat connectivity. Here, we demonstrate an approach to quantifying species vulnerabilities to climate change for 419 rare vascular plants in Alberta, Canada, based on a multivariate velocity of climate change metric, local habitat fragmentation, and migration capacity. Climate change velocities indicated that future migration requirements ranged from 1 to 5 km/year in topographically complex landscapes, such as the Alberta Foothills and Rocky Mountains. In contrast, migration requirements to maintain constant climate in relatively flat Boreal Plains, Parkland, and Grassland ranged from 4 to 8 km/year. Habitat fragmentation was also highest in these flat regions, particularly the Parkland Natural Region. Of the 419 rare vascular plants assessed, 36 were globally threatened (G1–G3 ranking). Three globally threatened species were ranked as extremely vulnerable and five species as highly vulnerable to the interactions among climate change velocity, habitat fragmentation, and migration capacity. Incorporating dispersal characteristics and habitat fragmentation with local patterns in climate change velocity improves the assessment of climate change threats to species and may be applied to guide monitoring efforts or conservation actions.     

Climatic changes and their impact on socio-economic sectors in the Bhutan Himalayas: an implementation strategy

This paper contributes to an enhanced understanding of present climatic conditions, observed climate trends and regional climate vulnerability of the Bhutan Himalayas. Bhutan’s complex, often high-altitude terrain and the severe impact of the Indian summer monsoon leads to a strong exposure of the countries’ key economic sectors (agriculture, forestry, hydropower generation and tourism) to climatic changes. Climate change also threatens Bhutan’s vast biodiversity and increases the likelihood of natural hazards (e.g. glacier lake outburst floods, flash floods, droughts and forest fires). A better understanding of Bhutan’s climate and its variability, as well as observed and possible climate impacts, will help in improving the handling of regional social, economic and ecologic challenges not limited to the Himalayas. Only a few climatological studies exist for the eastern Himalayas. They mainly focus on adaptation to immediate threats by glacier lake outbursts. In contrast, this paper (1) investigates the average spatial and inner-annual diversity of the air temperature regime of Bhutan, based on local meteorological observations, (2) discusses past temperature variability, based on global datasets, and (3) relates effects of observed warming to water availability, hydropower development, natural hazards, forests, biodiversity, agriculture, human health and tourism in the Bhutan Himalayas. Results indicate a large spatial and temporal temperature variability within Bhutan and considerably increasing temperatures especially over recent decades. Implications of regional climatic changes on various socio-economic sectors and possible adaptation efforts are discussed.     

Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal

Climate change vulnerability depends upon various factors and differs between places, sectors and communities. People in developing countries whose subsistence livelihood depends mainly upon agriculture and livestock production are identified as particularly vulnerable. Nepal, where the majority of people are in a mixed agro-livestock system, is identified as the world’s fourth most vulnerable country to climate change. However, there is limited knowledge on how vulnerable mixed agro-livestock smallholders are and how their vulnerability differs across different ecological regions in Nepal. This study aims to test two vulnerability assessment indices, livelihood vulnerability index and IPCC vulnerability index, around the Gandaki River Basin of central Nepal. A total of 543 households practicing mixed agro-livestock were surveyed from three districts, namely Dhading, Syangja and Kapilvastu representing three major ecological zones: mountain, mid-hill and Terai (lowland). Data on socio-demographics, livelihood determinants, social networks, health, food and water security, natural disasters and climate variability were collected and combined into the indices. Both indices differed for mixed agro-livestock smallholders across the three districts, with Dhading scoring as the most vulnerable and Syangja the least. Substantial variation across the districts was observed in components, sub-components and three dimensions (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) of vulnerability. The findings help in designing site-specific intervention strategies to reduce vulnerability of mixed agro-livestock smallholders to climate change.     

A framework for understanding climate change impacts on coral reef social–ecological systems

Corals and coral-associated species are highly vulnerable to the emerging effects of global climate change. The widespread degradation of coral reefs, which will be accelerated by climate change, jeopardizes the goods and services that tropical nations derive from reef ecosystems. However, climate change impacts to reef social–ecological systems can also be bi-directional. For example, some climate impacts, such as storms and sea level rise, can directly impact societies, with repercussions for how they interact with the environment. This study identifies the multiple impact pathways within coral reef social–ecological systems arising from four key climatic drivers: increased sea surface temperature, severe tropical storms, sea level rise and ocean acidification. We develop a novel framework for investigating climate change impacts in social–ecological systems, which helps to highlight the diverse impacts that must be considered in order to develop a more complete understanding of the impacts of climate change, as well as developing appropriate management actions to mitigate climate change impacts on coral reef and people.     

Species richness,structure, and conservation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nitraria retusa</Emphasis> communities in the coastal salt marshes of Kuwait

Although the coastal salt marshes of Arabian Gulf have been altered extensively by human development activities, there is a paucity of data describing changes in the distribution and abundance of native coastal plant communities. The main objectives of this study are to determine vegetation condition, size structure, and conservation status of Nitraria retusa, a medicinal and salt-tolerant shrub, in disturbed and non-disturbed coastal salt marshes of Kuwait. Size measurements of Nitraria shrubs and nabkas, which are mounds of sediment developed around shrubs, were carried out in 50 quadrats (20 × 20 m²), randomly selected inside and outside Sabah Al-Ahmad Natural Reserve. Species richness and soil properties of nabkas and interspaces, the open areas between the nabkas, were also measured. The results revealed that nabkas of Nitraria in non-disturbed sites are more stable and rich in plant diversity than those in disturbed sites. Mean height and mean canopy diameter of Nitraria shrubs, total plant cover, and species richness are significantly higher in non-disturbed sites than disturbed sites, which indicate the positive influences of conservation for long term on vegetation structure and species richness. The results of soil analyses indicate the important role of nabkas in providing refuges for plant life and species diversity. The present study indicates that more than 50 % of the N. retusa community has been lost during the last few decades. Therefore, N. retusa should be considered an endangered species in Kuwait. The reduction in vegetation cover, a decline in species richness, and the overall degradation of salt marshes are attributed to human development activities along the coast of Kuwait. Effective conservation actions for threatened species in degraded coastal salt marshes of this region include establishment of protective enclosures, prohibitions on development that adversely affects native plant communities, and the planting native salt-tolerant shrubs to facilitate regeneration.     

Assessing and managing intensification in smallholder dairy systems for food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Smallholder farmers play an important part in the dairy value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three technological approaches have been used to improve productivity. These are through, applying agricultural ecological processes (ecological intensification), utilising modern livestock breeding (genetic intensification), and socio-economic intensification. Ecological intensification includes continuous housing of cows applying a cut-and-carry feeding system, introduction of purpose-bred forages and pastures, and the introduction of agro-forestry within the dairy systems. Genetic intensification strategies include: importation of dairy breeds such as Holstein–Friesian (HF) and cross-breeding of the indigenous breeds with HF. Training and capacity-building activities to create sustainable livelihoods have been initiated for farming and technological practices of animal husbandry, but also to enhance appropriate leadership and corporative-building skills that would create and support an enabling environment for sustainability. These improvements and initiatives in the service delivery have been championed by national governments, development partner institutions, or non-governmental organisations through different programmes. Challenges of intensification include matching management to genetic potential of imported and cross-bred improved dairy breeds, ensuring low post-harvest losses, proper utilisation, and reducing environmental impact. Using examples from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, this paper reviews the management and assessment approaches used in fostering smallholder dairy development strategies and dairy’s contribution to sustainable livelihoods in the face of intensification.     

Institutional challenges of adopting ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change

In view of past environmental degradation and anticipated climate change impacts, we assessed the potential for ecosystem-based adaptation in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. In a workshop with staff from three Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) who had jurisdiction over three sub-basins, as well as technical experts, nine adaptation options were identified that ranged from environmental flows, restoring river channel habitat, reoperating infrastructure and controlling invasive species. A Catchment Adaptation Framework was developed and used to assess and compare these adaptation options with each of the CMAs, drawing on interviews with their key stakeholders, to identify the risks, benefits and costs. We found that ecosystem-based adaptation can augment catchment management programs and requires investment in a suite of different but complementary measures to lower risk. Our research found institutional challenges in implementing this approach, including the complexities of multi-agency management, constricting legal requirements, narrow funding arrangements, under-developed institutional capacity, difficulties of implementing catchment-scale programs on private property and the need to adhere to community expectations. These institutional issues are ubiquitous internationally and point to the wider issues of providing sufficient management capacity to support adaptation. The Catchment Adaptation Framework presented here enables river basin managers to systematically assess the adaptation options to better inform their decision-making.     

Recent sediment accumulation rates in contrasting lakes in the Carpathians (Romania): impacts of shifts in socio-economic regime

Longer-term environmental studies are increasingly used to better understand contemporary ecosystems conditions and for forecasting their future trajectories. Here, we use radiometric measurements and the characterisation of sediment properties from six mountain and a lowland lake in Central Eastern Europe with the aim to assess temporal and spatial variability in sediment accumulation rates (SARs) in relation to three socio-economic regimes: traditional (1840–1948), socialist (1948–1989) and post-socialist (post-1990). We also set out to determine reference conditions for these lakes i.e. conditions before significant human impact. Our results show a trend of increasing SARs from basal sediments (pre 1840) towards the present at only two sites. This contrasts with findings from Western and Central European lakes where SARs have predominantly increased from 1850 towards the top of cores. We highlight the differential impacts of the traditional, socialist and post-socialist periods on the SARs at these lakes. Lowland and mid-elevations lakes (n = 2) were most markedly impacted by the socialist period of land use regime; lakes from the southern Carpathians (n = 2) were more impacted in the traditional period (transhumance pastoral activities), whereas those from the north (n = 3) in the socialist and post-socialist periods (summer pastoralism). Results from our study show a continuous anthropogenic impact during the entire period considered, even in remote mountain areas. This suggests that a temporal frame of 100–150 years is too short to meaningfully register the reference conditions of these lakes. Furthermore, a predominantly natural state may not have existed for centuries in this region.