Organochlorine residues in blood of cinereous vultures and Eurasian griffon vultures in a northeastern Mediterranean area of nature conservation

In the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest (Dadia NP, Greece), seven "target" PCBs and 16 organochlorine pesticides (OCs) were analysed in blood samples of cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) and Eurasian griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus). PCB congeners 138, 153 and 180 predominated in both species' blood samples. In both species, no differences were detected in congener levels between successive age classes, but in cinereous vulture, there were significant differences between adult and nestling in levels of PCB 28, 52, 101, 118 and between nestling and immature in levels of PCB 101. Regarding pesticides, p,p'-DDE dominated in both vultures followed by β-HCH, lindane and endosulfan sulphate, but ∑OCs were higher in griffon vulture. Significant differences were detected only between nestling and sub-adult cinereous vultures in heptachlor levels and between nestling and adult in p,p'-DDT. The origin of pollutants differs between the two vulture species and pollution patterns may not reflect those at Dadia NP.     

Environmental impact assessment of total chlorine free pulp from Eucalyptus globulus in Spain

Pulp industry plays an important role in the structure of European economy and society. Paper pulp manufacture, the industrial utilization of plant biomass, is increasing every year. In Spain, Eucalyptus is the dominant raw material and the Kraft cooking and total chlorine free (TCF) bleaching processes lead the procedures of Eucalyptus paper pulp production. This paper aims to identify and quantify the environmental impacts associated to Eucalyptus TCF pulp manufacture by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an analytical tool. The system has been defined using a cradle-to-gate perspective, that is to say from forest activities to the exit gate of the pulp mill. The production of chemicals consumed in the cooking and bleaching stages as well as the on-site energy production system is the elements that contribute the most to all impact categories analyzed (more than 50% of total contributions), except for the eutrophication potential where forest activities and waste treatment play an important roles (about 52% of total). Specific actions associated to the recovery boiler, lime kiln and digestion stage could considerably reduce the environmental impact and improve the environmental performance of the Spanish paper pulp industry.     

An interdisciplinary assessment of private conservation areas in the Western United States

Conservation easements are the fastest growing private conservation strategy in the United States. However, mechanisms to assess private land conservation as well as their support by the general public are not well understood. This study uses the ecosystem services framework for assessing existing private lands in Idaho and identifies areas for future conservation easements. Using conservation targets of the land trust as a guide for selecting ecosystem services, we (a) mapped the spatial delivery of conservation targets across public and private lands, (b) explored public awareness in terms of social importance and vulnerability, and (c) mapped future priority areas by characterizing conservation bundles. We found that public lands provided the highest levels of conservation targets, and we found no difference in conservation target provision between private areas and conservation easements. The spatial characterization of conservation target bundles identified potential future priority areas for conservation easements, which can guide planning of land trust conservation efforts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01323-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Fume emissions during gas metal arc welding

The control of exposure to welding fumes is of increasing importance in promoting a healthy, safe and productive work environment. This article describes the effects of shielding gas composition on the amount and composition of welding fumes produced during gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The amount of fumes generated during welding was measured for steady current over a range of wire-feed speeds and arc voltages using the standard procedures contained in ANSI/AWS F1.2 [American Welding Society. ANSI/AWS F1.2. Laboratory method for measuring fume generation rates and total fume emission of welding and allied processes. Miami, Florida; 1992]. Results of these measurements show that the fume formation rates (FFRs) increase with CO₂ and O₂ in the shielding gas mixture. The lowest FFRs were obtained with the mixtures of Ar?+?2%CO₂ and Ar?+?3%CO₂?+?1%O₂. The highest FFRs were obtained with the mixtures of Ar?+?18%CO₂ and Ar?+?5%CO₂?+?4%O₂. The welding fumes contains mainly iron, manganese, silicon, titanium and sodium under oxide forms. The fume cluster particles have dimensions between 0.5 and 2?µm. The FFR was found to be governed by the transfer modes of molten metal, i.e. the current intensity and arc voltage, as well as by the shielding gas mixtures composition. Thus these parameters have to be taken into consideration before designing a welding process. Whenever possible, users of GMAW should use the lowest current intensity. However, when this is not possible, due to the constraints of process productivity, welders should use higher currents, but with Ar?+?2%CO₂ and Ar?+?3%CO₂?+?1%O₂ shielding mixtures, which will lead to smaller fume emissions.     

Perceived changes in environmental degradation and loss of ecosystem services,and their implications in human well-being

ABSTRACT

Rural communities worldwide face a decrease of critical ecosystem services caused by replacement of native forests by commercial plantations. Replacement of native forest by commercial plantations decreases water provisioning, with possible negative impacts over well-being. We tested this hypothesis in Central Chile. We assessed subjective well-being (SWB) and local perceptions of changes in forest cover and water provision among 78 rural families. We also assessed if the Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS) affects the perceptions of environmental changes and their implications in SWB. Individuals perceived less forest cover than 20 years ago, and this is seen as a factor of decreased livelihood, availability of forest products, and water provisioning for households. People also reported less water available than 20 years ago. The main drivers associated with decreased water provision were the establishment of pine plantations (44% of individuals) and drought (44%). A better-off SWB was associated with perception of lower rate of deforestation. The perceptions of forest degradation and its association to SWB are affected by SBS. Paradoxically, a better-off SWB was also associated with an improvement of water quality, although the quantity and quality of water have decreased according to biophysical data, which ought to decrease the SWB. Impacts of environmental degradation in SWB are masked by factors such as more infrastructure for drinking water, assisted by governments. This masking of environmental degradation reduces the opportunity to avoid negative impacts over well-being among rural communities that are dependent on assistance around the world.     

A study on toxic and essential elements in rice from the Republic of Kazakhstan: comparing the level of contamination in rice from the European Community

Selected toxic elements (total As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sr, U and V) and essential elements (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in unpolished and milled rice collected from Kazakhstan and milled rice from Spain and Portugal to evaluate the potential health risk to the population. Arsenic species (arsenite, arsenate, arsenobetaine, dimethylarsinate and monomethilarsonate) were analyzed using HPLC-IC-MS. From 146 samples analyzed, none of them exceeded the maximum limit set by the European Legislation for Cd or Pb or values recommended by the Codex Alimentarius. Concentrations of Sr, U and V were below LOD and those of Hg, Pb, Co and Cr between <LOD and 0.54 mg/kg (highest concentration of Cr) in milled rice. Portuguese rice samples contained the highest mean concentration of As, Hg, Pb, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn. The highest mean of arsenobetaine (0.001 mg/kg), dimethylarsinate (0.27 mg/kg) and monomethilarsonate (0.02 mg/kg) was found in Spanish rice and that of arsenite (0.30 mg/kg) in Kazakh rice. Inorganic As in samples from Kazakhstan was above the ML (0.2 mg/kg) proposed by FAO/WHO, but in seven samples from Spain and in four from Portugal were above the limit. The estimated weekly intake of total or inorganic As(III, V), Cd, Hg and Pb for rice consumption by Kazakh, Spanish and Portuguese adults and children was lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intake established by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the European Food Safety Authority.

     

A compilation of field surveys on gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from contrasting environmental settings in Europe,South America,South Africa and China: separating fads from facts

Mercury is transported globally in the atmosphere mostly in gaseous elemental form (GEM, \( {\text{Hg}}_{\text{gas}}^{0} \) ), but still few worldwide studies taking into account different and contrasted environmental settings are available in a single publication. This work presents and discusses data from Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Slovenia and Venezuela. We classified the information in four groups: (1) mining districts where this contaminant poses or has posed a risk for human populations and/or ecosystems; (2) cities, where the concentration of atmospheric mercury could be higher than normal due to the burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities; (3) areas with natural emissions from volcanoes; and (4) pristine areas where no anthropogenic influence was apparent. All the surveys were performed using portable LUMEX RA-915 series atomic absorption spectrometers. The results for cities fall within a low GEM concentration range that rarely exceeds 30 ng m^?3, that is, 6.6 times lower than the restrictive ATSDR threshold (200 ng m^?3) for chronic exposure to this pollutant. We also observed this behavior in the former mercury mining districts, where few data were above 200 ng m^?3. We noted that high concentrations of GEM are localized phenomena that fade away in short distances. However, this does not imply that they do not pose a risk for those working in close proximity to the source. This is the case of the artisanal gold miners that heat the Au–Hg amalgam to vaporize mercury. In this respect, while GEM can be truly regarded as a hazard, because of possible physical–chemical transformations into other species, it is only under these localized conditions, implying exposure to high GEM concentrations, which it becomes a direct risk for humans.     

Circuit-theory applications to connectivity science and conservation

Conservation practitioners have long recognized ecological connectivity as a global priority for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem function. In the early years of conservation science, ecologists extended principles of island biogeography to assess connectivity based on source patch proximity and other metrics derived from binary maps of habitat. From 2006 to 2008, the late Brad McRae introduced circuit theory as an alternative approach to model gene flow and the dispersal or movement routes of organisms. He posited concepts and metrics from electrical circuit theory as a robust way to quantify movement across multiple possible paths in a landscape, not just a single least-cost path or corridor. Circuit theory offers many theoretical, conceptual, and practical linkages to conservation science. We reviewed 459 recent studies citing circuit theory or the open-source software Circuitscape. We focused on applications of circuit theory to the science and practice of connectivity conservation, including topics in landscape and population genetics, movement and dispersal paths of organisms, anthropogenic barriers to connectivity, fire behavior, water flow, and ecosystem services. Circuit theory is likely to have an effect on conservation science and practitioners through improved insights into landscape dynamics, animal movement, and habitat-use studies and through the development of new software tools for data analysis and visualization. The influence of circuit theory on conservation comes from the theoretical basis and elegance of the approach and the powerful collaborations and active user community that have emerged. Circuit theory provides a springboard for ecological understanding and will remain an important conservation tool for researchers and practitioners around the globe.