SoilTrEC: a global initiative on critical zone research and integration

Soil is a complex natural resource that is considered non-renewable in policy frameworks, and it plays a key role in maintaining a variety of ecosystem services (ES) and life-sustaining material cycles within the Earth's Critical Zone (CZ). However, currently, the ability of soil to deliver these services is being drastically reduced in many locations, and global loss of soil ecosystem services is estimated to increase each year as a result of many different threats, such as erosion and soil carbon loss. The European Union Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection alerts policy makers of the need to protect soil and proposes measures to mitigate soil degradation. In this context, the European Commission-funded research project on Soil Transformations in European Catchments (SoilTrEC) aims to quantify the processes that deliver soil ecosystem services in the Earth's Critical Zone and to quantify the impacts of environmental change on key soil functions. This is achieved by integrating the research results into decision-support tools and applying methods of economic valuation to soil ecosystem services. In this paper, we provide an overview of the SoilTrEC project, its organization, partnerships and implementation.     

Impact of uranium mines closure and abandonment on groundwater quality

The aim of the study is to assess the evolving mine water quality of closed uranium mines (abandoned between 1958 and 1992) in the Czech Republic. This paper focuses on the changes in mine water quality over time and spatial variability. In 2010, systematic monitoring of mine water quality was performed at all available locations of previous uranium exploitation. Gravity flow discharges (mine adits, uncontrolled discharges) or shafts (in dynamic state or stagnating) were sampled. Since the quality of mine water results from multiple conditions—geology, type of sample, sampling depth, time since mine flooding, an assessment of mine water quality evolution was done taking into account all these conditions. Multivariate analyses were applied in order to identify the groups of samples based on their similarity. Evaluation of hydrogeochemical equilibrium and evolution of mine waters was done using the Geochemist’s Workbench and PHREEQC software. The sampling proved that uranium concentrations in mine waters did not predominantly exceed 0.45 mg/L. In case of discharges from old adits abandoned more than 40 years ago, uranium concentrations were below the MCL of US Environmental Protection Agency for uranium in drinking water (0.03 mg/L). Higher concentrations, up to 1.23 mg/L of U, were found only at active dewatered mines. Activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra varied from 0.03 up to 1.85 Bq/L except for two sites with increased background values due to rock formation (granites). Radium has a typically increasing trend after mine abandonment with a large variability. Concerning metals in mine water, Al, Co and Ni exceeded legislative limits on two sites with low pH waters. The mine water quality changes with a focus on uranium mobility were described from recently dewatered mines to shafts with water level maintained in order to prevent outflows to surface water and finally to stagnating shafts and discharges of mine water from old adits. The results were in good agreement with published experience on mine water stratification, its disturbance by pumping or natural water decant and the “first flush” phenomenon after mine flooding.     

Thyroid ultrasound volume, structure and function after long-term high exposure of large population to polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides and dioxin

We examined 2,046 adults (834 males and 1,212 females aged 20-75 years) from polluted district in East Slovakia (POLL) and two neighboring upstream and upwind located districts of background pollution (BCGR). By ultrasound we estimated the thyroid volume (ThV), hypoechogenicity (HYE), nodules and cysts. Serum levels of thyrotropin (TSH), thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOab) and thyroglobulin were estimated by electrochemiluminiscent assay and these of 15 PCB congeners, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane by high-resolution gas chromatography. In 320 subjects also selected hydroxylated and methylsulfonated PCB metabolites, polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins (PCDDs), -furans (PCDFs), five dioxin-like coplanar and eight mono-ortho PCB congeners were estimated. Urinary iodine was measured by automatic microplate method. Reciprocal positive association was found between three major POPs (PCBs, DDE and HCB), the levels of these and also PCDDs plus PCDFs in polluted area being considerably higher than in background pollution area. ThV in groups of males and females from POLL with high PCBs level was significantly higher (p<0.001 by t-test) then in age and sex matched groups from BCGR with low PCBs level. In 1,048 males and females aged <60 years with serum PCBs level >1,000 ng g(-1) lipid (median=1,756 ng g(-1)) a significant effect of age on ThV was found (p<0.01 by ANOVA), while in 921 respective subjects with PCBs level <1,000 ng g(-1) (median=661 ng g(-1)) it was not. These findings supported the view on the additional effect of PCBs on ThV other than that of age. Since the urinary iodine in both districts showed optimal range, any interfering effect of unsatisfactory iodine intake on ThV may be excluded. The frequency of autoimmune thyroiditis signs such as HYE, increased serum level of TPOab and TSH resulting in subclinical or overt thyroid hypofunction was positively associated with sex, age and organochlorine levels. The increase of such frequency in males with POPs levels was much more abrupt than that in females. No considerable differences in the frequency of thyroid nodules as related to PCBs level were found.     

Shipboard Measurements of Nitrogen Dioxide,Nitrous Acid,Nitric Acid and Ozone in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Measurements of nitrogen dioxide, nitrous and nitric acids as well as ozone were made using newly developed instrumentation onboard the research vessel Aegeon in the Aegean Sea between 25th–29th July 2000. Typical nitrogen dioxide concentrations observed aboard the boat were 4–6 ppb (v/v) with a broad maximum of 20–30 ppb (v/v). Ozone concentrations typically ranged between 40 and 80 ppb (v/v). Mixing ratios of both nitric and nitrous acids in the ambient air of the Aegean Sea were mainly below 50 ppt (v/v). The data also showed a number of short pollution episodes with rapid changes in the concentration of reactive nitrogen compounds [nitrogen dioxide maximum up to 164 ppb (v/v), nitric acid maximum up to 12 ppb (v/v), nitrous acid maximum up to 2.7 ppb (v/v)] and ozone [maximum up to 88 ppb (v/v)]. These episodes were correlated with pollution plumes originating from boats upwind, at short distance, from the R/V Aegeon. The measurements revealed the importance of nitrous and nitric acids for the transport of nitrogen to marine biota in busy ship lanes.     

Evaluation of drought tolerance of new grapevine rootstock hybrids

The drought tolerance is a very important property of grapevine rootstocks. For that reason the breeding and selection of new rootstock varieties is focused also on the evaluation of their drought tolerance. In this experiment, altogether 20 new hybrids and 4 existing rootstock varieties were compared and evaluated. The experimental scheme involved 3 variants of water supply. Evaluated were the following properties: growth intensity of annual shoots, CCI (chlorophyll content index) and visual characteristics of plants. The most resistant were hybrids from the pedigree groups C (Binova x B?rner), D /Binova x/(Binova x Teleki 5C/) x B?rner/, and F (Teleki5 Cx B?rner). The following hybrids were classified as drought-tolerant: 17-1-6 (C); 17-1-9 (C); 17-6-2 (C); 17-6-9 (C); 17-8-2 (D) and 9-20-1 (F). Based on obtained experimental results and also on correlations existing between individual traits it can be concluded that practically all traits under study may be used when evaluating the resistance of plants to drought. The obtained results indicated that the B?rner rootstock (and thus also the species Vitis cinerea) can be used as a suitable genetic resource for the purpose of the breeding grapevine rootstocks for tolerance to drought.     

Hydrothermal deposition as a novel method for the preparation of Co–Mn mixed oxide catalysts supported on stainless steel meshes: application to VOC oxidation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this work was to develop a novel method for the preparation of structured Co–Mn mixed oxide catalysts: deposition on stainless steel...     

Spontaneous expression of magnetic compass orientation in an epigeic rodent: the bank vole,Clethrionomys glareolus

Magnetoreception has been convincingly demonstrated in only a few mammalian species. Among rodents, magnetic compass orientation has been documented in four species of subterranean mole rats and two epigeic (i.e. active above ground) species—the Siberian hamster and the C57BL/6J mouse. The mole rats use the magnetic field azimuth to determine compass heading; their directional preference is spontaneous and unimodal, and their magnetic compass is magnetite-mediated. By contrast, the primary component of orientation response is learned in the hamster and the mouse, but both species also exhibit a weak spontaneous bimodal preference in the natural magnetic field. To determine whether the magnetic compass of wild epigeic rodents features the same functional properties as that of laboratory rodents, we investigated magnetic compass orientation in the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus (Cricetidae, Rodentia). The voles exhibited a robust spontaneous bimodal directional preference, i.e. built nests and slept preferentially along the north-south axis, and deflected their directional preference according to a shift in the direction of magnetic north, clearly indicating that they were deriving directional information from the magnetic field. Thus, bimodal, axially symmetrical directional choice seems to be a common feature shared by epigeic rodents. However, spontaneous directional preference in the bank vole appeared to be more pronounced than that reported in the hamster and the mouse. These findings suggest that bank voles are well suited for future studies investigating the adaptive significance and mechanisms of magnetic orientation in epigeic rodents.     

Adaptive host choice and avoidance of superparasitism in the spawning decisions of bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus)

Choice of a site for oviposition can have fitness consequences. We investigated the consequences of female oviposition decisions for offspring survival using the bitterling, Rhodeus sericeus, a freshwater fish that spawns inside living unionid mussels. A field survey of nine bitterling populations in the Czech Republic revealed a significantly lower rate of release of juvenile bitterling from Anodonta cygnea compared to three other mussel species. A field experiment demonstrated that female bitterling show highly significant preferences for spawning in A. anatina, Unio pictorum, and U. tumidus. Within a species, female bitterling avoided mussels containing high numbers of bitterling embryos. Mortality rates of bitterling embryos in mussels were strongly density dependent and the strength of density dependence varied significantly among mussel species. Female preferences for mussels matched survival rates of embryos within mussels and females distributed their eggs among mussels such that embryo mortalities conformed to the predictions of an ideal free distribution model. Thus, female oviposition choice is adaptive and minimizes individual embryo mortality. Received: 6 October 1999 / Received in revised form: 7 January 2000 / Accepted: 13 March 2000