Revisiting the plant hyperaccumulation criteria to rare plants and earth abundant elements

The several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied to a rare and endangered species, Plantago almogravensis, and to the 3rd most abundant element in the earth crust, Al. Using the most common criteria, P. almogravensis undoubtedly is an Al hyperaccumulator plant. If the recent proposed requirements were considered, most of them matching those for a plant to be used in phytoextraction, it can only be considered an unusual accumulator of Al. A discussion is made concerning the several criteria of a hyperaccumulator plant in order to include rare and endemic ones and abundant elements. In ecological terms, the enrichment in Al and Fe observed may account for the differences in the vegetation pattern. Due to the rarity and endangered nature of this plant, the contribution of this work is also relevant for the ecological understanding and the development of conservation options of this endemic species.     

Development of a local carbon dioxide emissions inventory based on energy demand and waste production

This paper describes the study that led to the development of a carbon dioxide emissions matrix for the Oeiras municipality, one of the largest Portuguese municipalities, located in the metropolitan area of Lisbon. This matrix takes into account the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to an increase of electricity demand in buildings as well as solid and liquid wastes treatment from the domestic and services sectors. Using emission factors that were calculated from the relationship between the electricity produced and amount of treated wastes, the GHC emissions in the Oeiras municipality were estimated for a time series of 6 yr (1998-2003). The obtained results showed that the electricity sector accounts for approximately 75% of the municipal emissions in 2003. This study was developed to obtain tools to base options and actions to be undertaken by local authorities such as energy planning and also public information.     

The interaction between reproductive cost and individual quality is mediated by oceanic conditions in a long-lived bird

Environmental variability, costs of reproduction, and heterogeneity in individual quality are three important sources of the temporal and interindividual variations in vital rates of wild populations. Based on an 18-year monitoring of an endangered, recently described, long-lived seabird, Monteiro's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma monteiroi), we designed multistate survival models to separate the effects of the reproductive cost (breeders vs. nonbreeders) and individual quality (successful vs. unsuccessful breeders) in relation to temporally variable demographic and oceanographic properties. The analysis revealed a gradient of individual quality from nonbreeders, to unsuccessful breeders, to successful breeders. The survival rates of unsuccessful breeders (0.90 +/- 0.023, mean +/- SE) tended to decrease in years of high average breeding success and were more sensitive to oceanographic variation than those of both (high-quality) successful breeders (0.97 +/- 0.015) and (low-quality) nonbreeders (0.83 +/- 0.028). Overall, our results indicate that reproductive costs act on individuals of intermediate quality and are mediated by environmental harshness.     

Towards the development of an operational tool for oil spills management in the Algarve coast

Portugal is strongly vulnerable to sea hazards due to intense vessel traffic and sea conditions. The southwest region off the Iberian Peninsula lies in the main route from the Mediterranean and Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Europe, causing a ship concentration in a narrow band off Cape S?o Vicente. Tankers represent a significant part of the vessel traffic and the occurrence of oil spills cannot be disregarded. Cape S?o Vicente region is part of a Natural Park with 110 Km of coastline, integrated in the European Natura 2000 network and its socio-economic context is closely related with sea resources exploitation, particularly fishing and tourism. Recognizing the importance of accurate information systems for the decision making process in an oil spill situation, this work presents the development of an integrated tool to support the process in the Algarve coast. The system relies in a regional operational mathematical model based on the MOHID modelling system. The system core is composed by three models (3D hydrodynamics, wave and Lagrangian transport) all linked in the same system and exchanging information in real time. Oil advection and weathering processes are coupled to the Lagragian transport model. The overall operational system includes external operational data products as inputs, to ensure a successful validation of the results. The system is linked to stakeholders and response authorities using a geographic referenced database based on Mapserver technology that will include relevant information for oil spill management.     

Degradability and Sediment Sorption of an Alcohol Polyglycol Ether Surfactant Putatively Useful for the Control of Red Swamp Crayfish in Rice Fields

This work reports studies of the degradation rates of a fattyalcohol polyglycol ether non-ionic surfactant, Genapol OXD-080, putatively useful for the control of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii Girard) in rice fields under laboratory and field conditions. The influence of temperature,sediment site specificity and sorption were taken into account.The degradation kinetics of the surfactant depends on the experimental conditions: type of inocula and temperature. Thedistribution of this chemical in aquatic systems was also examined. Genapol OXD-080 was removed into the sedimentsreadily after application, and sorption was considered the majorpath of removal from the water phase. Data suggest that furtherstudies are required regarding the effects of Genapol OXD-080 in aquatic organisms resident in rice fields, in parallelwith the development of technologies related with the use ofsurfactants to control P. clarkii populations.     

Variation in biogenic volatile organic compound emission pattern of Fagus sylvatica L. due to aphid infection

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been the focus of interest to understand atmospheric processes and their consequences in formation of ozone or aerosol particles; therefore, VOCs contribute to climate change. In this study, biogenic VOCs (BVOCs) emitted from Fagus sylvatica L. trees were measured in a dynamic enclosure system. In total 18 compounds were identified: 11 monoterpenes (MT), an oxygenated MT, a homoterpene (C₁₄H₁₈), 3 sesquiterpenes (SQT), isoprene and methyl salicylate. The frequency distribution of the compounds was tested to determine a relation with the presence of the aphid Phyllaphis fagi L. It was found that linalool, (E)-β-ocimene, α-farnesene and a homoterpene identified as (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), were present in significantly more samples when infection was present on the trees. The observed emission spectrum from F. sylvatica L. shifted from MT to linalool, α-farnesene, (E)-β-ocimene and DMNT due to the aphid infection. Sabinene was quantitatively the most prevalent compound in both, non-infected and infected samples. In the presence of aphids α-farnesene and linalool became the second and third most important BVOC emitted. According to our investigation, the emission fingerprint is expected to be more complex than commonly presumed.     

Biomonitoring of heavy metals (Cd,Hg, and Pb) and metalloid (As) with the Portuguese common buzzard (Buteo buteo)

The accumulation of heavy metals in the environment may have a wide range of health effects on animals and humans. Thus, in this study, the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in the blood and tissues (liver and kidney) of Portuguese common buzzards (Buteo buteo) were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) in order to monitor environmental pollution to these elements. In general, Hg and As were the elements which appeared in the highest and lowest concentrations, respectively. A highest percentage of non-detected concentration was found for blood Cd (94.6 %) but, in turn, it was the only metal that was detected in all kidney samples. The kidney was the analyzed sample which showed the highest concentrations of each element evaluated. Statistically, significant differences among blood, liver, and kidney samples were observed for As and Cd (P?相似文献