Investigation on the influence of methanol on adsorption and leaching of pesticides with soil column liquid chromatography

The effect of methanol of low concentration on adsorption and leaching of atrazine and tebuconazole was studied in this paper. The adsorption coefficients and the retardation factors (R^m) of pesticides on EUROSOIL 3# log-linearly decreased as volumetric fraction of methanol (f^c) was increased in the binary solvent mixtures of methanol and water. These data are consistent with solvophobic theory formerly outlined for describing the adsorption and transport of hydrophobic organic chemicals from mixed solvents. Nevertheless, the adsorption of these pesticides in soil–water system slightly increased when the soil was pre-washed with methanol in comparison with that pre-washed with water (pure water system). Furthermore, their adsorption coefficients were still higher in binary solvent systems with methanol of very low concentrations, i.e. f^c<0.03 for atrazine and f^c<0.01 for tebuconazole, than those in pure water system. The adsorption coefficients (logK^w) of atrazine and tebuconazole predicted by solvophobic theory were 0.5792 and 1.6525, respectively, and their experimental logK^w were 0.3701 and 1.6275 in pure water system. Obviously, the predicted logK^w of the two pesticides was higher than the experimental log K^w in pure water system. The predicted K^w and the retardation factor (R^w) in pure water system by solvophobic theory are thus possibly inaccurate.     

Richt-, Prüf- und Sanierungswerte für den Bodenschutz

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Die rolle der umweltprobenbank in der Umweltüberwachung am beispiel von chlorierten kohlenwasserstoffen in ausgewählten matrizes

For precautinary environmental protection the Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) has been successfully established as a permanent environmental surveillance tool in Germany. The presented monitoring results on chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) show very clearly the effects of political decisions and can be used for the identification of pollutant sources. The CHC burden of breams (Abramis brama) from five German rivers (Elbe, Rhein, Saar, Mulde, Saale) gives an current overview of the pollution situation of different limnic ecosystems in Germany. A calculation model about the distribution of organic pollutants between different tissues offers the possibility to predict concentrations in liver and muscle of breams. Legislative emission restrictions have led to a significant decrease of dioxin levels in herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs between 1988–1996.     

Benefits of protected areas for nonbreeding waterbirds adjusting their distributions under climate warming

Climate warming is driving changes in species distributions and community composition. Many species have a so-called climatic debt, that is, shifts in range lag behind shifts in temperature isoclines. Inside protected areas (PAs), community changes in response to climate warming can be facilitated by greater colonization rates by warm-dwelling species, but also mitigated by lowering extirpation rates of cold-dwelling species. An evaluation of the relative importance of colonization-extirpation processes is important to inform conservation strategies that aim for both climate debt reduction and species conservation. We assessed the colonization-extirpation dynamics involved in community changes in response to climate inside and outside PAs. To do so, we used 25 years of occurrence data of nonbreeding waterbirds in the western Palearctic (97 species, 7071 sites, 39 countries, 1993–2017). We used a community temperature index (CTI) framework based on species thermal affinities to investigate species turnover induced by temperature increase. We determined whether thermal community adjustment was associated with colonization by warm-dwelling species or extirpation of cold-dwelling species by modeling change in standard deviation of the CTI (CTI_SD). Using linear mixed-effects models, we investigated whether communities in PAs had lower climatic debt and different patterns of community change than communities outside PAs. For CTI and CTI_SD combined, communities inside PAs had more species, higher colonization, lower extirpation, and lower climatic debt (16%) than communities outside PAs. Thus, our results suggest that PAs facilitate 2 independent processes that shape community dynamics and maintain biodiversity. The community adjustment was, however, not sufficiently fast to keep pace with the large temperature increases in the central and northeastern western Palearctic. Our results underline the potential of combining CTI and CTI_SD metrics to improve understanding of the colonization-extirpation patterns driven by climate warming.     

Freisetzung von Schwermetallen aus dem bodenbildenden Tonmineral Illit durch Aminosäuren

Kaolin W from Lohrheim (51% Illite, 31% Kaolinite, 18% Quarz, no Carbon) was loaded with various amounts of heavy metal ions (0.11–6.0 mmol/100g Cu, Ni, Cd) from their nitrate solutions. In the next step the release of the bound metals was tested with or without aminoacids (penicillamine and histidine) in solutions of weak acidity or alkalinity. It was found an evident influence of the aminoacids to the metal release in dependence of metalcoating, metal-aminoacid-ratio and experimental pH. Especially in alkali environment a multiplication of the copper release (to a factor of 39 (pen) or 27 (his)) was observed. An increased nickel (factor 53) and cadmium release (factor 4.5) was found with histidine. In this cases 80 to 100% of the heavy metals were removed from the clay-mineral-surface.     

Abschätzung der Quecksilberexposition

A site contaminated by mercury serves as an example for evaluating the environmental medicine aspects of mercury emissions on individuals living in the surroundings. Based on defined, conventional scenarios, estimations of internal exposure were made for seven different age groups and with regard to such contact media as soil, air and food. Using human monitoring methods, an attempt was made to compare the epidemiological results. The site-specific and pathway-specific estimation of exposure is based on a multitude of various samples as well as on measurements of concentrations in the compartments relevant for intake. As based upon rigid guideline values, both these calculations and the epidemiological investigations reveal a slight increase in the mercury exposure.