The effect of landscape type and landscape elements on public visual preferences: ways to use knowledge in the context of landscape planning

This study deals with an assessment of the visual quality of landscapes, and specifically with the perception of selected elements in the landscape. The aim of the study was to find out how particular elements are perceived in various landscape types, whether this perception is affected by the landscape type in which the elements are placed, and to what extent the respondents’ characteristics affect the assessment. The study was carried out with a sample of respondents of various ages, educational levels and types of employment. The respondents came from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The preferences of the respondents were determined using an online questionnaire, in which they rated landscape photographs on a 21 point rating scale with a range from ?10 to +10 points. Using generalised linear mixed effect models, it was found that the perception of an element is most affected by the landscape type, since the same element was assessed differently according to the landscape in which it was situated. The results confirmed that selected elements which do not disturb the harmony of the landscape are generally positively perceived, and the selected elements of a technical character are generally negatively perceived. Among the characteristics of the respondents, only gender and the respondent's current place of residence have an effect on their visual preferences.     

Indigenous knowledge about climate change and sustainability of nomadic livelihoods: understanding adaptability coping strategies

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Indigenous knowledge about climate change that makes adaptability necessary by coping strategies leads to the sustainability of nomadic livelihoods....     

Spatial-temporal variability of aerosol sources based on chemical composition and particle number size distributions in an urban settlement influenced by metallurgical industry

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic with its capital city Ostrava is a European air pollution hot spot for airborne particulate matter...     

Photocatalytic decomposition of N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O over g-C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript>/WO<Subscript>3</Subscript> photocatalysts

Although the nitrous oxide belongs among three of the most contributing greenhouse gases to global warming, it is quite neglected by photocatalytic society. The g-C₃N₄ and WO₃ composites were therefore tested for the photocatalytic decomposition of N₂O for the first time. The pure photocatalysts were prepared by simple calcination of precursors, and the composites were prepared by mixing of suspension of pure components in water followed by calcination. The structural (X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy), textural (N₂ physisorption), and optical properties (diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical measurements) of all composites were correlated with photocatalytic activity. The experimental results and results from characterization techniques confirmed creation of Z-scheme in the WO₃/g-C₃N₄ composites, which was confirmed by hydroxyl radicals’ trapping measurements. The photocatalytic decomposition of N₂O was carried out in the presence of UVA light (peak intensity at 365 nm) and the 1:2 WO₃/g-C₃N₄ composite was the most active one, but the photocatalytic activity was just negligibly higher than that of pure WO₃. This is caused by relatively weak interaction between WO₃ and g-C₃N₄ which was revealed from XPS.     

Reluctant pioneers in the European periphery? Environmental activism,food consumption and “growing your own”

East European food self-provisioning (FSP) has fascinated scholars of post-socialism ever since the early 1990s. In keeping with its predominantly economic and cultural conceptualisations, much of this research has been concerned with FSP’s role in household economy and with the social profile of its practitioners. In contrast to western conceptualisations of FSP as an opportunity to expand food activism and foster social justice and environmental sustainability, post-socialist FSP has rarely been considered as such. In Czechia, FSP is practised by 43% of citizens and many of them do so in a relatively environmentally friendly way. Yet, most food-related campaigns run by environmental NGOs (ENGOs) pay little attention to FSP and focus on market-based ethical consumerism and alternative food networks instead. Using insights from actor-network theory, this paper discusses how Czech ENGO activists engage with FSP through discourse and in practice. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with leading activists, we show that FSP does figure in non-food-related campaigns and that the FSP practised by activists themselves or the FSP carried out by relatives and relatives’ friends are not the same as the FSP on which they are reluctant to campaign. These differences, which include controllability and the time-consuming nature of practising FSP according to some of the activists’ ideals, help this paper to come to an initial understanding of why Czech ENGOs do not run campaigns explicitly focused on FSP at the moment and shed some light on how this could change in the future.     

Experimental photochemical release of organically bound aluminum and iron in three streams in Maine, USA

In the present study, the BCR (Community Bureau of Reference) sequential procedure has been applied to determine the zinc partition in sediments taken from a river situated in the Southwest of Romania, in a region subject of intense mining activities. The sampling was performed during three sampling expeditions, organized in the spring, summer, and autumn, 2007. The zinc concentration in different fractions was normalized, its concentration being related to the concentrations of some metals (such as Al or Fe) that are naturally present in sediments. The zinc-contaminated sediments from the investigated area have been evaluated by means of combining the analysis data from the BCR sequential extraction with the normalization to the Al content. The most important zinc collector in the samples taken during the three sampling expeditions is the easily soluble fraction, next being amorphous iron and manganese hydrated oxides fraction, followed by organic matter fraction.     

Long-term patterns in soil acidification due to pollution in forests of the Eastern Sudetes Mountains

Soil acidification was assessed in the Eastern Sudetes Mountains (Czech Republic) between 1941 and 2003, i.e. before and after the period of major industrial pollution (1950s-1990s). The twenty sites included in our study were distributed along a gradient of altitude ranging 1000 m. Values of pH have decreased in 80-90% of the pairs of samples after the six decades, on average by 0.7 for pH-H₂O and 0.6 for pH-KCl. Organic matter increased in the topsoil, probably reflecting a change in decomposition conditions. The most important finding is that the acidification varies along the joint gradient of altitude/tree layer composition, and displays a changing pattern in three soil horizons (A, B and C). Contrary to expectations, most acidified were soils in beech forests at lower elevations.     

The ethics of Google Earth: crossing thresholds from spatial data to landscape visualisation

‘Virtual globe’ software systems such as Google Earth are growing rapidly in popularity as a way to visualise and share 3D environmental data. Scientists and environmental professionals, many of whom are new to 3D modeling and visual communications, are beginning routinely to use such techniques in their work. While the appeal of these techniques is evident, with unprecedented opportunities for public access to data and collaborative engagement over the web, are there nonetheless risks in their widespread usage when applied in areas of the public interest such as planning and policy-making?     

Enantioselective effects of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers on androgen receptor activity in vitro

Alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH), a part of the HCH pesticide mixture, is one of the most widespread persistent organic pollutants. Interestingly, only limited number of studies addressed the toxicity of alpha-HCH and the effects of its individual optical isomers have not been investigated in detail. In the present study we separated two alpha-HCH enantiomers by preparative HPLC and studied their activities towards androgen receptor (AR) using the MDA-kb2 cell line stably transfected with the luciferase reporter gene under the control of AR. There was no direct effect of alpha-HCH on AR but both isomers significantly suppressed the activity of AR in co-exposure with the natural ligand dihydrotestosterone in a concentration-dependent manner. One of the enantiomers appeared to be more active at lower concentration, which was also supported by the molecular modeling calculations with AR that showed a slight difference in estimated free energy of binding and inhibition constant between two enantiomers. Although studies with other pesticides demonstrated strong enantioselective differences in toxicity, the present research shows rather minor differences in modulations of AR by both alpha-HCH enantiomers. For the first time, enantioselective effects of alpha-HCH were demonstrated and the results suggest interaction with multiple regulatory events controlling the AR activity. Full elucidation of the toxicity mechanism will require further research.     

Phytotoxicity of low-weight carboxylic acids

Presence of low-weight carboxylic acids (LWCAs) can be the reason for phytotoxicity of green manures, treated bio-waste or digestates from biogas production applied to soils. As the phytotoxic concentrations of LWCA are poorly known, this work presents data on six acids (C(1)C(6): formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, and caproic). Phytotoxicity was measured in acute (72 or 120 h) and subchronic (21 d) assays for seed germination, seedling elongation, and plant growth for garden cress Lepidium sativum and ryegrass Lolium multiflorum. The dose-response relationship was modeled using Weibull model. Results showed a trend that toxicity of LWCA increases with the length of the carbon chain, formic acid (C(1)) being the least and caproic acid (C(6)) the most toxic. EC50 values in the acute seed germination of cress ranged between 1.9 and 4.2mM and for ryegrass between 1.8 and 6.4mM. In subchronic assays EC50 values for germination were in a range from 11 to 46mMkg(-1)dm for cress, and from 18 to 127 mM kg(-1) dm for ryegrass. EC50 values for early seedling growth of cress based on acute assays ranged from 0.7 to 2.3mM and that of ryegrass from 1.2 to 1.8mM. Range of EC50 values for shoot biomass of cress was between 8 and 40 mM kg(-1) dm and of ryegrass between 12 and 93 mM kg(-1) dm.