Long-distance transport of Hg, Sb, and As from a mined area, conversion of Hg to methyl-Hg, and uptake of Hg by fish on the Tiber River basin, west-central Italy

Stream sediment, stream water, and fish were collected from a broad region to evaluate downstream transport and dispersion of mercury (Hg) from inactive mines in the Monte Amiata Hg District (MAMD), Tuscany, Italy. Stream sediment samples ranged in Hg concentration from 20 to 1,900 ng/g, and only 5 of the 17 collected samples exceeded the probable effect concentration for Hg of 1,060 ng/g, above which harmful effects are likely to be observed in sediment-dwelling organisms. Concentrations of methyl-Hg in Tiber River sediment varied from 0.12 to 0.52 ng/g, and although there is no established guideline for sediment methyl-Hg, these concentrations exceeded methyl-Hg in a regional baseline site (<0.02 ng/g). Concentrations of Hg in stream water varied from 1.2 to 320 ng/L, all of which were below the 1,000 ng/L Italian drinking water Hg guideline and the 770 ng/L U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guideline recommended to protect against chronic effects to aquatic wildlife. Methyl-Hg concentrations in stream water varied from <0.02 to 0.53 ng/L and were generally elevated compared to the baseline site (<0.02 ng/L). All stream water samples contained concentrations of As (<1.0–6.2 μg/L) and Sb (<0.20–0.37 μg/L) below international drinking water guidelines to protect human health (10 μg/L for As and 20 μg/L for Sb) and for protection against chronic effects to aquatic wildlife (150 μg/L for As and 5.6 μg/L for Sb). Concentrations of Hg in freshwater fish muscle ranged from 0.052–0.56 μg/g (wet weight), mean of 0.17 μg/g, but only 17 % (9 of 54) exceeded the 0.30 μg/g (wet weight) USEPA fish muscle guideline recommended to protect human health. Concentrations of Hg in freshwater fish in this region generally decreased with increasing distance from the MAMD, where fish with the highest Hg concentrations were collected more proximal to the MAMD, whereas all fish collected most distal from Hg mines contained Hg below the 0.30 μg/g fish muscle guideline. Data in this study indicate some conversion of inorganic Hg to methyl-Hg and uptake of Hg in fish on the Paglia River, but less methylation of Hg and Hg uptake by freshwater fish in the larger Tiber River.     

Recovery or decline of the northwestern Black Sea: A societal choice revealed by socio-ecological modelling

During recent decades anthropogenic activities have dramatically impacted the Black Sea ecosystem. High levels of riverine nutrient input during the 1970s and 1980s caused eutrophic conditions including intense algal blooms resulting in hypoxia and the subsequent collapse of benthic habitats on the northwestern shelf. Intense fishing pressure also depleted stocks of many apex predators, contributing to an increase in planktivorous fish that are now the focus of fishing efforts. Additionally, the Black Sea's ecosystem changed even further with the introduction of exotic species. Economic collapse of the surrounding socialist republics in the early 1990s resulted in decreased nutrient loading which has allowed the Black Sea ecosystem to start to recover, but under rapidly changing economic and political conditions, future recovery is uncertain.     

Impact of climate change on soil moisture dynamics in Brandenburg with a focus on nature conservation areas

Global warming impacts the water cycle not only by changing regional precipitation levels and temporal variability, but also by affecting water flows and soil moisture dynamics. In Brandenburg, increasing average annual temperature and decreasing precipitation in summer have already been observed. For this study, past trends and future effects of climate change on soil moisture dynamics in Brandenburg were investigated, considering regional and specific spatial impacts. Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) were focused on in particular. A decreasing trend in soil water content was shown for the past by analyzing simulation results from 1951 to 2003 using the integrated ecohydrological model SWIM [Krysanova, V., Müller-Wohlfeil, D.-I., Becker, A., 1998. Development and test of a spatially distributed hydrological/water quality model for mesoscale watersheds. Ecol. Model. 106, 261–289]. The trend was statistically significant for some areas, but not for the entire region. Simulated soil water content was particularly low in the extremely dry year 2003. Comparisons of simulated trends in soil moisture dynamics with trends in the average annual Palmer Drought Severity Index for the region showed largely congruent patterns, though the modeled soil moisture trends are characterized by a much higher spatial resolution. Regionally downscaled climate change projections representing the range between wetter and drier realizations were used to evaluate future trends of available soil water. A further decrease of average available soil water ranging from −4% to −15% was projected for all climate realizations up to the middle of the 21st century. An average decrease of more than 25 mm was simulated for 34% of the total area in the dry realization. Available soil water contents in SACs were generally higher and trends in soil moisture dynamics were lower mainly due to their favorable edaphic conditions. Stronger absolute and relative changes in the simulated trends for the past and future were shown for SACs within Brandenburg than for the state as a whole, indicating a high level of risk for many wetland areas. Nonetheless, soil water content in SACs is expected to remain higher than average under climate change conditions as well, and SACs therefore have an important buffer function under the projected climate change. They are thus essential for local climate and water regulation and their status as protected areas in Brandenburg should be preserved.     

Climate Warming and the Recent Treeline Shift in the European Alps: The Role of Geomorphological Factors in High-Altitude Sites

Global warming and the stronger regional temperature trends recently recorded over the European Alps have triggered several biological and physical dynamics in high-altitude environments. We defined the present treeline altitude in three valleys of a region in the western Italian Alps and reconstructed the past treeline position for the last three centuries in a nearly undisturbed site by means of a dendrochronological approach. We found that the treeline altitude in this region is mainly controlled by human impacts and geomorphological factors. The reconstruction of the altitudinal dynamics at the study site reveals that the treeline shifted upwards of 115 m over the period 1901–2000, reaching the altitude of 2505 m in 2000 and 2515 m in 2008. The recent treeline shift and the acceleration of tree colonization rates in the alpine belt can be mainly ascribed to the climatic input. However, we point out the increasing role of geomorphological factors in controlling the future treeline position and colonization patterns in high mountains.     

Evaluating Tourist Perception of Environmental Changes as a Contribution to Managing Natural Resources in Glacierized Areas: A Case Study of the Forni Glacier (Stelvio National Park, Italian Alps)

Climate change effects are noticeably evident above the timberline where glacier and permafrost processes and mass movements drive the surface evolution. In particular, the cryosphere shrinkage is deeply changing the features and characteristics of several glacierized mountain areas of the world, and these modifications can also affect the landscape perception of tourists and mountaineers. On the one hand glacier retreat is increasing the interest of tourists and visitors in areas witnessing clear climate change impacts; on the other hand cryosphere shrinkage can impact the touristic appeal of mountain territories which, diminishing their ice and snow coverage, are also losing part of their aesthetic value. Then, to promote glacierized areas in a changing climate and to prepare exhaustive and actual proposals for sustainable tourism, it is important to deepen our knowledge about landscape perception of tourists and mountaineers and their awareness of the ongoing environmental modifications. Here we present the results from a pilot study we performed in summer 2009 on a representative glacierized area of the Alps, the Forni Valley (Stelvio National Park, Lombardy, Italy), a valley shaped by Forni, the largest Italian valley glacier. During the 2009 summer season we asked tourists visiting the Forni Valley to complete a questionnaire. This study was aimed at both describing the features and characteristics of tourists and mountaineers visiting this Alpine zone in summer and evaluating their landscape perception and their ability to recognize climate change impacts and evidence. Our results suggest that the dissemination strategies in a natural protected area have to take into account not only the main landscape features but also the sites where the information will be given. In particular considering the peculiarities of the huts located in the area, such as their different accessibility and the fact that they are included or not in a mountaineering network like that of the Italian Alpine Club. Both these factors can influence the kind of visitors to the area, thus requiring different dissemination strategies. Moreover, differences in the viewpoints from where visitors could watch and understand landscape also have to be considered. Next, in a protected area where climate change effects are evident, the dissemination strategies should be developed in close cooperation with scientists who are analyzing the area and with the support of periodic interviews which could be very useful to evaluate the effectiveness of the applied dissemination methods. Last but not least, the questionnaire should be standardized and distributed in several protected areas, thus permitting useful comparisons and the identification of common solutions for sharing in a friendly way scientific knowledge about climate change and its effects on the environment and the landscape.     

Regional Risk Assessment addressing the impacts of climate change in the coastal area of the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia)

Sound, cost efficient management strategies in developed coastal zones can be reinforced by a thorough understanding of risks associated with the combination of anthropogenic and natural drivers of change. A Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) methodology was developed for the assessment of the potential impacts of climate change in the Tunisian coastal zone of the Gulf of Gabes. It is based on the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis techniques and Geographic Information Systems and is designed to support the development and prioritization of adaptation strategies. The RRA focuses on sea-level rise and storm surge flooding impacts for human and natural systems, i.e., beaches, wetlands, urban areas, agricultural areas, and terrestrial ecosystems. Results suggest that for both of the studied climate change impacts, i.e., sea-level rise and storm surge flooding, the area potentially exposed is limited to a narrow, low elevation region adjacent to the shoreline. However, the exposed areas showed a high relative risk score, obtained by the integration of exposure and susceptibility factors. Beaches have the lowest relative risk scores, while wetlands and terrestrial ecosystems have the higher relative risk scores. The final outputs of the analysis (i.e., exposure, susceptibility, and risk maps) can support end-users in the establishment of relative priorities for intervention and in the identification of suitable areas for human settlements, infrastructure, and economic activities, thus providing a basis for coastal zoning and land-use planning.     

Assessing supercritical fluid extraction for the analysis of fipronil, kresoxim-methyl, acrinathrin, and pyridaben residues in melon

An analytical method, using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), was assessed for residue analysis of the insecticides fipronil, acrinathrin and pyridaben and the fungicide kresoxim-methyl in melons. Extraction conditions were optimized on glass beads, as inert material, evaluating different pressures, temperatures, and CO(2) volumes. Also, the extractability of pesticides from hydromatrix and anhydrous magnesium sulfate was evaluated. Both adsorbents were evaluated for the preparation of SFE-spiked melon samples. Extractions of fortified samples were done using 20 mL of CO(2), 300 atm, and 50 degrees C. Different extraction conditions, including the addition of water and methanol as a static modifier, were used to assess the extractability of these pesticides, and the addition of methanol was demonstrated to improve the extraction of all the studied pesticides.     

The use of clays to sequestrate organic pollutants. Leaching experiments

Leaching experiments are performed from clay-pollutant systems in order to evaluate the capability of clays to sequestrate organic pollutants from wastewaters. Reference kaolinite KGa-1b, montmorrillonite SWy-2 and reference soil BCR^®-700 are the sorbent materials. 2,4,6-trichloroaniline (2,4,6-TCA) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) are the typical pollutants, sorbed at amounts of 10.0 mg g⁻¹ and 5.8 mg g⁻¹ on SWy-2 and 7.3 mg g⁻¹ and 2.2 mg g⁻¹ on KGa-1b, respectively.The leaching agents are ultrapure water and model solutions of acid rain and surface waters that simulate meteoric leaching. 1.0 mM HNO₃, 1.0 mM H₂SO₄ solutions and a methanol/water 50/50 (v/v) mixture simulate leaching agents of industrial source.The results are compared and the preferential capability of the clays to sequestrate the more lipophilic 2,4,6-TCA is evidenced.The bond interactions are discussed and explained through preferential adsorption reactions. For montmorrillonite also a simultaneous intercalation in the phyllosilicate interlayer is proposed.     

Adaptive environmental management of tourism in the Province of Siena, Italy using the ecological footprint

Adaptive management as applied to tourism policy treats management policies as experiments that probe the responses of the system as human behavior changes. We present a conceptual systems model that incorporates the gap between observed and desired levels of the ecological footprint with respect to biocapacity. Addressing this gap (or 'overshoot') can inform strategies to increase or decrease visitation or its associated consumption in the coming years. The feedback mechanism in this conceptual model incorporates a gap between observed and desired ecological footprint levels of tourists and residents. The work is based on longer-term and ongoing study of tourism impacts and ecological footprint assessments from the SPIN-Eco Project. We present historical tourism and environmental data from the province of Siena, Italy and discuss the use of discrete, static environmental indicators as part of an iterative feedback process to manage tourism within biophysical limits. We discuss a necessary shift of emphasis from certain and static numbers to a process-based management model that can reflect slow changes to biophysical resources. As underscored by ecological footprint analysis, the energy and material use associated with tourism and local activity can erode natural capital foundations if that use exceeds the area's biological capacity to support it. The dynamic, and iterative process of using such indicators as management feedback allows us to view sustainability more accurately as a transition and journey, rather than a static destination to which management must arrive.     

Design of indicators for measuring product performance in the circular economy

Abstract

This paper explores measurement of product performance with respect to circular economy (CE) principles. Potential indicators are assessed with special attention given to questions such as: the variables that should be measured; how these variables should be assessed; and in which format they should be presented. The resulting considerations are used to develop a prototype whose design is informed through feedback from CE experts. The prototype uses a points-based questionnaire which converges into a simple final result with minimum and maximum limits. The selected approach is critically appraised, and its utility for decision-making discussed. The prototype is tested against a product in the chemical processing industry. The strengths include: ease of use; simplicity; speed; and an effective metaphor for the diffusion of CE principles. The limitations include: the opaque and potentially misleading nature of a single metric; superficial engagement with decision-making; and the reliance on context-specific assumptions. Future developments could include refining the approach to encourage deeper reflection, and generalisation of the approach to different industry sectors or sustainability frameworks.