Double genetically modified symbiotic system for improved Cu phytostabilization in legume roots

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Excess copper (Cu) in soils has deleterious effects on plant growth and can pose a risk to human health. In the last decade, legume-rhizobium...     

Assessing the socio-economic impacts of green/blue space,urban residential and road infrastructure projects in the Confluence (Lyon): a hedonic pricing simulation approach

Urban green/blue spaces are put under pressure as urban areas grow, develop and evolve. It is increasingly recognized, however, that green/blue spaces provide important ecosystem services, stimulate higher real estate prices and prevent flooding problems. This paper aims to assess and compare the socio-economic impacts of potential green/blue space, urban residential and road infrastructure development scenarios in the Lyon Confluence project area (France), using the Sustainable Urbanizing Landscape Development (SULD) hedonic pricing simulation model. Results show four major tendencies regarding the value-added of green/blue spaces in urban landscapes: (1) cities become more compact; (2) population densities increase; (3) real estate values rise; and (4) demographic distribution patterns change. The magnitude of these impacts depends, however, on the quality and size of the intervention, the social classes attracted to the intervention area and on the location of the intervention relative to existing residential areas, urban centres, road infrastructure and environmental amenities.     

Metal Pollution in the Environment of Minas Gerais State – Brazil

Intense mining activities in Minas Gerais State – Brazil brings out tons of waste to the environment. Considerable concentrations of toxic elements penetrate the soil, ground waters and rivers. This endangers the environment quality not only in the surrounding areas but also in ichthyofauna and in more distant areas of cattle raising and agricultural activities. After seasonal floods, veterinary clinic studies have shown that most animals raised in this region are affected by symptomatologic nervous diseases, still not clearly diagnosed, which suggests intoxication. These pathologies are mostly noted after floods. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was applied to determine Al, As, Au, Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Th and Zn in environmental samples. The obtained results show that the water and sediment contaminated with heavy metals and toxic elements from the Das Velhas River upstream basin, the mining region, carry contamination to the ichthyofauna and farming region within a distance of approximately 400 km.     

Effect of a global warming-induced increase in typhoon intensity on urban productivity in Taiwan

A number of scientists have recently conducted research that shows that tropical cyclone intensity is likely to increase in the future due to the warming effect of greenhouse gases on surface sea temperatures. The aim of this paper is to establish what would be the likely decrease in the productivity of urban workers due to an increase in tropical cyclone-related downtime. The methodology used simulates future tropical cyclones by magnifying the intensity of historical tropical cyclones between the years 1978 and 2008. It then uses a Monte Carlo simulation to obtain the expected number of hours that a certain area can expect to be affected by winds of a given strength. It shows how annual downtime from tropical cyclones could increase from 1.5% nowadays to up to 2.2% by 2085, an increase of almost 50%. This decrease in productivity could result in a loss of up to 0.7% of the annual Taiwanese GDP by 2085.     

Bat Diversity and Abundance as Indicators of Disturbance in Neotropical Rainforests

Abstract: Evaluating the degree of disturbance of any region to determine its relative importance for conservation purposes requires procedures that are relatively inexpensive and that yield accurate results fast. Because bats are abundant, diverse, and easy to sample, especially in the Neotropical rainforest, they fulfill several of the requirements of indicator species as identified in the literature. For 10 months we sampled bat communities in the Selva Lacandona in Chiapas, Mexico, at 15 sites representing five habitats. We also measured 10 variables representing vegetation structure and diversity at each site. With fuzzy-set techniques we produced a gradient classification of disturbance for the 15 sites based on the vegetation data. We explored the relationship between vegetation conditions, described as the membership degrees in the construct "fuzzy forest set" (the complementary fuzzy set of "disturbance"), and four bat community variables. Bat species richness, number of rare bat species, and the bat diversity index were positively correlated with the vegetation scores, and relative abundance of the most abundant bat species was negatively correlated with vegetation scores. A high number of phyllostomine species in a community is a good indicator of low levels of disturbance. Although a single indicator group will probably not be sufficient for decision-making processes in conservation, evaluating bat populations may be a good first step in assessing an area's conservation value, especially in rainforest regions.     

Distribution of endocrine disruptors in the Mondego River estuary, Portugal

Recent studies in the Mondego River estuary demonstrated signs of pollution in the area, but the nature of the contamination remains unexplored. Because there seems to be any studies in that zone checking for the simultaneous presence of xenoestrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds, either of animal (estradiol and estrone), vegetal (daidzein, genistein and biochanin A), pharmaceutical (17alpha-ethynylestradiol) or industrial (bisphenol A, 4-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol) origins, the main objective of this study was to investigate their presence, in every year season and at eight points along the estuarine gradient. For this propose, water samples (2 L) were collected in high and low tides, preconcentrated in the Oasis HLB cartridges and cleaned in silica cartridges before their analysis by HPLC-DAD and GC-MS. The current data showed the absence of contamination by animal or pharmaceutical estrogens and by alkylphenols, but demonstrated the presence of high levels of phytoestrogens (up to 1.1 mug/L) and of bisphenol A (up to 880.0 ng/L). Because these two chemicals existed in high environmental concentrations in the most upstream sampling station, and taking in account that these pollutants may additively contribute to endocrine disruption, namely on fish, it was concluded that at least this particularly area of the Mondego estuary deserves continuous monitoring programmes.     

Spatial configuration of land-use/land-cover in the Pujal-Coy project area, Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico

This article analyzes the relationship between the configuration and spatial reorganization of land-use and land-cover in the Pujal-Coy project area, Huasteca Potosina region, eastern San Luis Potosí, Mexico, as well as the relationship between these changes and the environmental conditions prevailing in the area. Land-use and land-cover changes were determined through the analysis and interpretation of satellite images from different dates. The changes identified in the different study periods were correlated with the prevailing physical factors. The results show that the spatial configuration of farming activities, initially induced by the implementation of a regional development project, is highly correlated to the presence of limiting factors such as soil type, slope, and climate. Particularly, the former represents the element that has led to the establishment of the current distribution pattern of farming activities.     

High-impact conservation: invasive mammal eradications from the islands of western México

Islands harbor a disproportionate amount of the earth's biodiversity, but a significant portion has been lost due in large part to the impacts of invasive mammals. Fortunately, invasive mammals can be routinely removed from islands, providing a powerful tool to prevent extinctions and restore ecosystems. Given that invasive mammals are still present on more than 80% of the world's major islands groups and remain a premier threat to the earth's biodiversity, it is important to disseminate replicable, scaleable models to eradicate invasive mammals from islands. We report on a successful model from western México during the past decade. A collaborative effort between nongovernmental organizations, academic biologists, Mexican government agencies, and local individuals has resulted in major restoration efforts in three island archipelagos. Forty-two populations of invasive mammals have been eradicated from 26 islands. For a cost of USD 21,615 per colony and USD 49,370 per taxon, 201 seabird colonies and 88 endemic terrestrial taxa have been protected, respectively. These conservation successes are a result of an operational model with three main components: i) a tri-national collaboration that integrates research, prioritization, financing, public education, policy work, capacity building, conservation action, monitoring, and evaluation; ii) proactive and dedicated natural resource management agencies; and iii) effective partnerships with academic researchers in Mexico and the United States. What is now needed is a detailed plan to eradicate invasive mammals from the remaining islands in the region that integrates the needed additional financing, capacity, technical advances, and policy issues. Island conservation in western Mexico provides an effective approach that can be readily applied to other archipelagos where conservation efforts have been limited.