Modeling mammal response to fire based on species’ traits

Fire has shaped ecological communities worldwide for millennia, but impacts of fire on individual species are often poorly understood. We performed a meta-analysis to predict which traits, habitat, or study variables and fire characteristics affect how mammal species respond to fire. We modeled effect sizes of measures of population abundance or occupancy as a function of various combinations of these traits and variables with phylogenetic least squares regression. Nine of 115 modeled species (7.83%) returned statistically significant effect sizes, suggesting most mammals are resilient to fire. The top-ranked model predicted a negative impact of fire on species with lower reproductive rates, regardless of fire type (estimate = –0.68), a positive impact of burrowing in prescribed fires (estimate = 1.46) but not wildfires, and a positive impact of average fire return interval for wildfires (estimate = 0.93) but not prescribed fires. If a species’ International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List assessment includes fire as a known or possible threat, the species was predicted to respond negatively to wildfire relative to prescribed fire (estimate = –2.84). These findings provide evidence of experts’ abilities to predict whether fire is a threat to a mammal species and the ability of managers to meet the needs of fire-threatened species through prescribed fire. Where empirical data are lacking, our methods provide a basis for predicting mammal responses to fire and thus can guide conservation actions or interventions in species or communities.     

Integrated spatiotemporal trends using TRMM 3B42 data for the Upper São Francisco River basin,Brazil

Trend analysis is an important issue for the decision-making processes. Thus, trends of rainfall, consecutive dry days (CDD), and consecutive wet days (CWD) in the Upper São Francisco River basin, Brazil, using daily rainfall data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) for recent 18 years, were analyzed. Instead of analyzing the trend of one average time series for one specific confidence level, a spatiotemporal analysis over the entire area with 169 continuous time series is done by applying the nonparametric Mann-Kendall and Sen tests for simultaneously 13 confidence levels and a new integrated confidence classification is proposed. The results show that the rainfall has increased during the less rainy periods (from June to October) and has decreased in the rainy periods (from November to May), with the highest and lowest confidence levels, respectively. An analysis of CDD and CWD shows that the number of CDD has decreased, while the number of CWD has increased, which revealed that the dry periods are more frequently interrupted for the period studied.     

Utilization of UV‐A and UV‐C radiation in advanced oxidation processes with the intention of removing color and organic matter from the gross leachate of a stabilized sanitary landfill

The present work investigated color and biochemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from treated landfill leachate via advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) artificially emitted. The AOP H₂O₂/UV, TiO₂/UV, and photolysis were tested in two bench‐scale photoreactors: The first one with UV‐C lamp and the other with UV‐A lamp associated or not with coagulation / flocculation pretreatment. Crude leachate samples with pH ranging from 8 to 3 were used, and time varied in 30, 45, and 60 minutes. Experiments were performed in two stages: step 1 with a 20 mL volume from each sample and step 2 with repetition of the best results from the previous step, adopting the 150 mL volume. In step 1, the AOP applied in the crude leachate sample showed the best results, standing out H₂O₂/UV‐C with 30 minutes and TiO₂/UV‐A with 60 minutes. In step 2, H₂O₂/UV‐C had a 60% color removal and 25% COD reduction, while TiO₂/UV‐A had a 10% color removal and 20% COD reduction. Therefore, the H₂O₂/UV‐C process was the most efficient, because the complex characteristics of the effluent interfered in the TiO₂/UV‐A efficiency, but it is necessary to eliminate the process interferences. The use of artificial radiation is a viable alternative; however, it can be costly, being relevant in the associations between processes with artificial UV and solar UV, as the natural radiation becomes more attractive and allows the process operating costs reduction.     

Association between PM2.5 and mortality of stomach and colorectal cancer in Xi’an: a time-series study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, fine particulate matter has been associated with several health problems including cancer. However, most studies focused mainly on lung...     

Assessment comparison of commercial TiO2 and TiO2 sol-gel on the degradation of caffeine using artificial radiation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The presence of endocrine disrupting compounds in water receptor bodies, such as drugs, currently has in scientific field a great focus of studies...     

Strategies for applying gray water effluent on ornamental sunflower crops

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In a context of scarcity of good quality water, reuse is a mandatory practice to increase water availability, thus allowing the exploitation of more...     

Reactivity of the plant growth regulator paclobutrazol (cultar) with two tropical soils of the northeast semiarid region of Brazil

The reactivity of paclobutrazol (PBZ, a plant growth retardant) with a Yellow Ultisol and a Vertisol from the semiarid northeast region of Brazil was evaluated through batch sorption experiments and modeling. Although not instantaneous, the sorption kinetic of PBZ (pure and formulated) was fast (a few hours) in both soils. The sorption kinetics were well described by a second-order (dS(t)/dt=k(2)(S(e2)-S(t))(2)) but not by a first-order model. The sorption isotherms were found to be linear and the calculated K(D) values were 8.8 +/- 0.11 and 7.4 +/- 0.2 L kg(-1) for pure PBZ in the Ultisol and the Vertisol, respectively. The corresponding K(OC) values were 1275 +/- 34 (logK(OC) = 3.11) and 1156 +/- 49 (logK(OC) = 3.06) L kg(-1), respectively. Considering the very different texture of the two soils and the similar K(OC) values determined, these results showed that in both soils, the sorption of PBZ is dominantly controlled by organic matter, although some interactions of PBZ with iron oxides (goethite) were observed in the Ultisol. Based on these sorption parameters a low leachability potential of PBZ in soils is anticipated, as they correspond to a groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) ranging from 2.0 to 2.7, i.e., moderately to not mobile, in contradiction with the actual groundwater situation in Brazil. This work stresses the need to evaluate and predict the risk associated with aquifer contamination by this widely used plant growth regulator.     

Phytoextraction by arsenic hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata L. from six arsenic-contaminated soils: Repeated harvests and arsenic redistribution

This greenhouse experiment evaluated arsenic removal by Pteris vittata and its effects on arsenic redistribution in soils. P. vittata grew in six arsenic-contaminated soils and its fronds were harvested and analyzed for arsenic in October, 2003, April, 2004, and October, 2004. The soil arsenic was separated into five fractions via sequential extraction. The ferns grew well and took up arsenic from all soils. Fern biomass ranged from 24.8 to 33.5 g plant(-1) after 4 months of growth but was reduced in the subsequent harvests. The frond arsenic concentrations ranged from 66 to 6,151 mg kg(-1), 110 to 3,056 mg kg(-1), and 162 to 2,139 mg kg(-1) from the first, second and third harvest, respectively. P. vittata reduced soil arsenic by 6.4-13% after three harvests. Arsenic in the soils was primarily associated with amorphous hydrous oxides (40-59%), which contributed the most to arsenic taken up by P. vittata (45-72%). It is possible to use P. vittata to remediate arsenic-contaminated soils by repeatedly harvesting its fronds.     

Radiation Crosslinking of Poly(Butylene Succinate) in the Presence of Inorganic Material and Its Biodegradability

Three kinds of poly(butylene succinate)s (PBS) with different molecular weight were irradiated with electron beams in the presence of inorganic material. Fourteen kinds of inorganic materials were used in this work. The presence of inorganic material inside cross-linked PBS samples enhances the yield of gel formation. The heat stabilities of PBS samples were checked; it was found that silicon dioxide and carbon black significantly improve these properties. Enzymatic and soil burial tests were performed; the presence of these inorganic materials in cross-linked PBS accelerates the rate of biodegradation.     

The Role of Mineral Weathering Rate Determinations in Generating Uncertainties in the Calculation of Critical Loads of Acidity and their Exceedance

Current legislation within Europe aimed at limitingecosystem damage resulting from inputs of atmosphericpollution is based on the critical load concept. Mineralweathering rates are central to the calculation ofcritical loads (acceptable levels) of acid deposition.The authors have undertaken a number of studies whichillustrate the complications and limitations inherent inpredicting mineral weathering rates and the implicationswhich these have for critical loads calculations andmapping. Calculated weathering rates and critical loadsfor two acid-sensitive parent materials (greywackes andgranites) are presented and are used to illustrate theimpact that uncertainty can have on critical loadexceedances. The results have obvious implications forportraying the uncertainties of critical loads to policy makers.