Agricultural Land Use Effects on Sediment Loading and Fish Assemblages in Two Minnesota (USA) Watersheds

We examined the relationship between water quality and fish communities within two agricultural areas using a computer simulation model. Our analyses focused on a coolwater stream, Wells Creek in southeastern Minnesota, and a warmwater stream, the Chippewa River in western Minnesota. We used the Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport (ADAPT) model in relation to land use to calculate instream suspended sediment concentrations using estimates of sediment delivery, runoff, baseflow and streambank erosion, and quantified the effects of suspended sediment exposure on fish communities. We predicted the effects of agricultural practices on stream fish communities under several possible land use scenarios, with reference to current conditions. Land use changes led to reductions in sediment loading of up to 84% in Wells Creek and 49% in the Chippewa River. The reduction in sediment loading across scenarios may be directly related to a reduction in runoff by about 35% in both study areas. We found a 98% decrease in lethal concentrations of suspended sediment on fish in Wells Creek with an increase in conservation tillage, riparian buffers, and permanent vegetative cover. However, the effects of suspended sediment did not significantly decrease in the Chippewa River. This difference between study areas was likely due to differences in tolerance to suspended sediment between coolwater and warmwater fish communities and differences in topography, runoff and bank erosion between the two streams. The Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is jointly sponsored by the US Geological Survey, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Wildlife Management Institute.     

Comparative Influence of Forest Management and Habitat Structural Factors on the Abundances of Hollow-Nesting Bird Species in Subtropical Australian Eucalypt Forest

We examined the impact of single-tree selective logging and fuel reduction burns on the abundance of hollow-nesting bird species at a regional scale in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Data were collected on species abundance and habitat structure of dry sclerophyll production forest at 36 sites with known logging and fire histories. Sixteen bird species were recorded with most being resident, territorial, obligate hollow nesters that used hollows that were either small (<10 cm diameter) or very large (>18 cm diameter). Species densities were typically low, but combinations of two forest management and three habitat structural variables influenced the abundances of eight bird species in different and sometimes conflicting ways. The results suggest that habitat tree management for biodiversity in production forests cannot depend upon habitat structural characteristics alone. Management histories appear to have independent influence (on some bird species) that are distinguishable from their impacts on habitat structure per se. Rather than managing to maximize species abundances to maintain biodiversity, we may be better off managing to avoid extinctions of populations by identifying thresholds of acceptable fluctuations in populations of not only hollow-nesting birds but other forest dependent wildlife relative to scientifically valid forest management and habitat structural surrogates.     

Chemical Treatments of Natural Fiber for Use in Natural Fiber-Reinforced Composites: A Review

Studies on the use of natural fibers as replacement to man-made fiber in fiber-reinforced composites have increased and opened up further industrial possibilities. Natural fibers have the advantages of low density, low cost, and biodegradability. However, the main disadvantages of natural fibers in composites are the poor compatibility between fiber and matrix and the relative high moisture sorption. Therefore, chemical treatments are considered in modifying the fiber surface properties. In this paper, the different chemical modifications on natural fibers for use in natural fiber-reinforced composites are reviewed. Chemical treatments including alkali, silane, acetylation, benzoylation, acrylation, maleated coupling agents, isocyanates, permanganate and others are discussed. The chemical treatment of fiber aimed at improving the adhesion between the fiber surface and the polymer matrix may not only modify the fiber surface but also increase fiber strength. Water absorption of composites is reduced and their mechanical properties are improved.     

Status of recycling end-of-life vehicles and efforts to reduce automobile shredder residues in Korea

The present end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycle rate and management status during the dismantling stage were investigated to aid the establishment of policies for the management of ELVs by surveying information and using the results gained from questionnaires given to dismantlers. The average recycle rate at the dismantling stage was 44% of the mass of a new vehicle and the rest of the ELV was then compressed and transported to shredding companies to recover mainly the iron content, which averaged 38.7% of the mass of a new vehicle. Nonferrous metals such as copper, antimony, zinc, and aluminum accounted for only 1.5%. The automobile shredder residues (ASRs) were composed of light and heavy fluffs and soil/dust and amounted to 15.8% based on the mass of a new vehicle. The dumping of fluff and inorganic residues in landfill sites, however, will be restricted when new regulations are implemented to reduce the disposal amount to less than 5% of a new car, as has been done in European countries and in Japan. The detailed characteristics of ASR were investigated to suggest appropriate means of treatment such as volume reduction or the utilization of thermal technologies to meet future expected enforcement. Also, some concerns on hazardous pollutant release such as that of dioxins while utilizing such thermal treatment methods were considered. The present on-going research and development projects to meet such future management targets are also introduced.     

Material flow indicators to measure progress toward a sound material-cycle society

This article reviews recent progress in material flow analysis and its use in providing resource productivity indicators and is based on developments in Japanese policy toward a sound material-cycle society and in international forums such as within the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, covering both institutional and methodological issues. Indicators derived from economy-wide material flow accounts such as direct material inputs are useful to demonstrate the absolute size of a physical economy and to reinforce the need to both reduce consumption of natural resources and limit waste generation. Interpretation of material flows as resources and potential environmental impacts is discussed, and linkages between the size of material flows and specific environmental impacts and damage must be further elaborated for use in environmental policy. Lessons learned from the practical use of resource productivity indicators are also discussed. Additional indicators are needed that can be used to evaluate the performance of microeconomic contributors. The need for an integrated approach that links upstream resource issues and downstream waste issues through the 3Rs concept or the circular economy/society concept is attracting increasing attention. Consequently, the accumulation of reliable scientific knowledge and data in this field in a fully international context is essential.     

Biodegradation of Polycaprolactone Powders Proposed as Reference Test Materials for International Standard of Biodegradation Evaluation Method

Polycaprolactone (PCL) powders were prepared from PCL pellets using a rotation mechanical mixer. PCL powders were separated by sieves with 60 and 120 meshes into four classes; 0–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 0–250 μm and 250–500 μm. Biodegradation tests of PCL powders and cellulose powders in an aqueous solution at 25°C were performed using the coulometer according to ISO 14851. Biodegradation tests of PCL powders and cellulose powders in controlled compost at 58°C were performed by the Mitsui Chemical Analysis and Consulting Service, Inc. according to ISO 14855-1 and by using the Microbial Oxidative Degradation Analyzer (MODA) instrument according to ISO/DIS 14855-2. PCL powders were faster biodegraded than cellulose powders. The reproducibility of biodegradation of PCL powders is excellent. Differences in the biodegradation of PCL powders with different class were not observed by the ISO 14851 and ISO/DIS 14855-2. An enzymatic degradation test of PCL powders with different class was studied using an enzyme of Amano Lipase PS. PCL with smaller particle size was faster degraded by the enzyme. PCL powders with regulated sizes from 125 μm to 250 μm are proposed as a reference material for the biodegradation test.     

Democracy at its Best? The Consensus Conference in a Cross-national Perspective

Over recent decades, public participation in technology assessment has spread internationally as an attempt to overcome or prevent societal conflicts over controversial technologies. One outcome of this new surge in public consultation initiatives has been the increased use of participatory consensus conferences in a number of countries. Existing evaluations of consensus conferences tend to focus on the modes of organization, as well as the outcomes, both procedural and substantial, of the conferences they examine. Such evaluations seem to rest on the assumption that this type of procedure has universally agreed goals and meanings, and that therefore consensus conferences can readily be interpreted and applied across national boundaries. This article challenges this approach to consensus conferences. The core of the article is a study of national differences in ideas about what constitutes legitimate goals for participatory arrangements. The study looks at three consensus conferences on GMOs, which took place in France, Norway, and Denmark. Drawing on this study, the article discusses the ways in which interpretations of the concept of participation; the value attributed to lay knowledge vs. technical expertise; as well as ideas about the role of the layperson, are all questions that prompt entirely different answers from country to country. Further, the article analyses these national differences within a theoretical framework of notions of democratic legitimacy.