Too small to count? Making Land Use Transformations in Chiquitano communities of San Ignacio de Velasco,East Bolivia,visible

ABSTRACT

The Santa Cruz lowlands, east Bolivia, are one of South America’s most dynamic agricultural frontiers. In the Chiquitania, bordering Brazil, San Ignacio de Velasco was in 2017 ranked first nationally in terms of deforestation. There, two deforestation fronts meet with mechanized agriculture expanding from the West and South and cattle ranching from the East. Chiquitano communities are demographically dominant locally but often face land scarcity. Because of their comparatively low impact on forest vegetation, they are not well represented in broad-scale quantitative Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) studies. Based on an empirical, human geographical approach, this paper investigates the transformation of the local indigenous productive matrix, the associated land-use patterns and potential socio-ecological implications. The overall aim is to bear witness to the rapid and profound reconfiguration of traditional livelihoods with their integration in the market economy and to highlight the significance of micro-scale LULC-processes at global scale.     

Spatial variability in reproductive cycle of the gorgonians <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paramuricea clavata</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eunicella singularis</Emphasis> (Anthozoa,Octocorallia) in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794) are the most representative gorgonian species in hard bottoms sublittoral communities in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Reproductive cycles of two populations of both species were studied in two distinct locations approximately 600 km apart (Medes Islands and Cape of Palos), in order to assess interpopulation variability on a relevant geographic scale. Seasonal variation of lipid concentration levels in the gorgonian tissue was used as a tool to quantify energy storage by each studied population in order to explain possible interpopulation differences in gonadal output. Sex ratio in Medes Islands populations of both species was 1:1, while in Cape of Palos sex ratio was significantly male biased (1:7) in P. clavata, and female biased (1.7:1) in E. singularis populations. Spawning timing occurred in all cases coinciding with a marked increase in sea-water temperature in spring, and after the most successful feeding season, but comparing localities there was a clear temporal shift in the time of gametes release, appearing well linked to the shift in sea-water temperature rising in spring in both sites at the depth where populations are placed. Therefore, in this study the temperature appears as the main synchronizing factor of gonadal development within these populations. Significant differences in gonadal volume per polyp were found in both species owing mainly to differences in the number of gonads per polyp between populations, with Cape of Palos populations displaying higher values in both studied species, suggesting that the exposition to different local conditions may be reverted in a different gonadal output. But the observed patterns in lipid concentrations levels in gorgonians disable us to conclude that lipid concentration levels explain the observed differences in gonadal output found in this study.     

Speciation of lipids and humus-like colloidal compounds in a forest soil reclaimed with municipal solid waste compost.

The progressive transformations of lipid and humus-like fractions in soil after massive input (400 Mg ha(-1)) of urban waste have been studied during an 87-week experiment in field plots of a degraded Calcic Regosol in Central Spain. Structural changes in the macromolecular fractions were small when compared with the qualitative and quantitative changes in lipid composition. The intense depletion of the lipid fraction with time and the decrease of the humic acid to fulvic acid ratio were the most significant quantitative indices of the compost transformation in soil. Changes in soil lipid fractions were especially noted in relation to their speciation status and distribution patterns (carbon preference index and relative chain length). Three subfractions were considered: (I) direct extraction with petroleum ether, (II) liquid-liquid extraction after soil treatment with 2 M H3PO4 and (III) after soil treatment with 0.1 M NaOH. Although lipid concentration tends to decrease with time, lipids in the fraction tightly bonded to soil (III) remained qualitatively and quantitatively constant in the course of the field experiment. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses showed that the more stable the association of lipid to the soil matrix, the fewer the changes observed in the distribution pattern of the fatty acids during the progressive transformation stages.     

Tales of science and defiance: the case for co-learning and collaboration in bridging the science/emotion divide in water recycling debates

Although science is generally assumed to be well integrated into rational decision-making models, it can be used to destabilise consultative processes, particularly when emotions are involved. Water policies are often seen as debates over technical and engineering issues, but can be highly controversial. Recycled water proposals, in particular, can create highly emotive conflicts. Through a case study regarding the rejection of recycled water proposals in the south-east Queensland, Australia, we explore the influence of science and emotions in contemporary water planning. We highlight the dangers inherent in promoting technical water planning issues at the expense of appropriate consideration of citizen concerns. Combining the science–policy interface and stakeholder engagement literatures, we advocate for collaborative decision-making processes that accommodate emotions and value judgements. A more collaborative stakeholder engagement model, founded on the principles of co-learning, has the potential to broaden the decision-making base and to promote better and more inclusive decision-making.     

Alkali activation processes for incinerator residues management

Incinerator bottom ash (BA) is produced in large amount worldwide and in Italy, where 5.1 millions tons of municipal solid residues have been incinerated in 2010, corresponding to 1.2–1.5 millions tons of produced bottom ash. This residue has been used in the present study for producing dense geopolymers containing high percentage (50–70 wt%) of ash. The amount of potentially reactive aluminosilicate fraction in the ash has been determined by means of test in NaOH. The final properties of geopolymers prepared with or without taking into account this reactive fraction have been compared. The results showed that due to the presence of both amorphous and crystalline fractions with a different degree of reactivity, the incinerator BA geopolymers exhibit significant differences in terms of Si/Al ratio and microstructure when reactive fraction is considered.     

Cross‐level effects of demography and diversity climate on organizational attachment and firm effectiveness

We studied the impact of demographic diversity on individual attachment and firm unit performance in a relatively diverse organization. We implemented cross‐level regression to study gender and race/ethnic categorical, relational, and organizational demography in a sample of 26 units part of a regional restaurant chain. At the individual level, we found that diversity climate (DC) moderates the impact of relational and categorical demography on affective organizational commitment, organizational identification, and intention to quit. At the organizational level, we found that DC moderates the impact of organizational diversity on firm productivity and return on profit. We discuss the importance of organizational DC as organizational context on individual attachment, and implications for firm effectiveness in diverse organizations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biodegradability of Banana and Plantain Cellulose Microfibrils Films in Anaerobic Conditions

Currently, cellulose microfibrils are being investigated as nanofillers for polymers to increase their biodegradability. However, until now there has been no report on their degradability by microorganisms. In this work the anaerobic degradation of cellulose microfibril films extracted from banana and plantain plant rachis residues has been studied. Samples were exposed to burial tests in nature compost during 14?days. Changes due to the degradation process were investigated by techniques as optical microscopy, tensile tests, viscosity measurements, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Biodegradability was higher for cellulose microfibril films extracted from banana (BCMF) than plantain films (PCMF). Growth of microorganism colonies on BCMF films and just yellowing on PCMF films was observed by microscopic analysis. New bands characteristic of aldehyde functional groups due to the breaking of ??-(1,4)-glycosidic bonds were observed in infrared spectra. This breakage was also responsible for the fall-down of mechanical properties and polymerization degree. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis showed that BCMF films were at the first stage of degradation for the used burial test times because the microorganisms only attacked the amorphous cellulose leading to a slight increase in crystallinity. In the case of PCMF films this variation remained practically invariant.     

Greenhouse gases accounting and reporting for waste management – A South African perspective

This paper investigates how greenhouse gases are accounted and reported in the waste sector in South Africa. Developing countries (including South Africa) do not have binding emission reduction targets, but many of them publish different greenhouse gas emissions data which have been accounted and reported in different ways. Results show that for South Africa, inventories at national and municipal level are the most important tools in the process of accounting and reporting greenhouse gases from waste. For the development of these inventories international initiatives were important catalysts at national and municipal levels, and assisted in developing local expertise, resulting in increased output quality. However, discrepancies in the methodology used to account greenhouse gases from waste between inventories still remain a concern. This is a challenging issue for developing countries, especially African ones, since higher accuracy methods are more data intensive. Analysis of the South African inventories shows that results from the recent inventories can not be compared with older ones due to the use of different accounting methodologies. More recently the use of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) procedures in Africa, geared towards direct measurements of greenhouse gases from landfill sites, has increased and resulted in an improvement of the quality of greenhouse gas inventories at municipal level.     

Influence of support material on the immobilization of biomass for the degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate in anaerobic reactors

Two horizontal-flow anaerobic immobilized biomass reactors (HAIB) were used to study the degradation of the LAS surfactant: one filled with charcoal (HAIB1) and the other with a mixed bed of expanded clay and polyurethane foam (HAIB2). The reactors were fed with synthetic substrate supplemented with 14 mg l(-1)of LAS, kept at 30+/-2 degrees C and operated with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12h. The surfactant was quantified by HPLC. Spatial variation analyses were done to quantify organic matter and LAS consumption along the reactor length. The presence of the surfactant in the load did not affect the removal of organic matter (COD), which was close to 90% in both reactors for an influent COD of 550 mg l(-1). The results of a mass balance indicated that 28% of all LAS added to HAIB1 was removed by degradation. HAIB2 presented 27% degradation. Molecular biology techniques revealed microorganisms belonging the uncultured Holophaga sp., uncultured delta Proteobacterium, uncultured Verrucomicrobium sp., Bacteroides sp. and uncultured gamma Proteobacterium sp. The reactor with biomass immobilized on charcoal presented lower adsorption and a higher kinetic degradation coefficient. So, it was the most suitable support for LAS anaerobic treatment.     

Costs of the electrochemical oxidation of wastewaters: a comparison with ozonation and Fenton oxidation processes

In the work described here the technical and economic feasibilities of three Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have been studied: Conductive-Diamond Electrochemical Oxidation (CDEO), Ozonation and Fenton oxidation. The comparison was made by assessing the three technologies with synthetic wastewaters polluted with different types of organic compounds and also with actual wastes (from olive oil mills and from a fine-chemical manufacturing plant). All three technologies were able to treat the wastes, but very different results were obtained in terms of efficiency and mineralization. Only CDEO could achieve complete mineralization of the pollutants for all the wastes. However, the efficiencies were found to depend on the concentration of pollutant (mass transfer control of the oxidation rate). Results obtained in the oxidation with ozone (at pH 12) or by Fenton's reagent were found to depend on the nature of the pollutants, and significant concentrations of oxidation-refractory compounds were usually accumulated during the treatment. Within the discharge limits that all of the technologies can reach, the economic analysis shows that the operating cost of Fenton oxidation is lower than either CDEO or ozonation, although CD\EO can compete satisfactorily with the Fenton process in the treatment of several kinds of wastes. Likewise, the investment cost for the ozonation process seems to be higher than either CDEO or Fenton oxidation, regardless of the pollutant treated.