Trinkwasserschutzgebiete

Conflict are frequently observed when drinking water protection areas are to be defined and when many variants of how to protect these area are to be found. Using ten potential scenarios, a method is presented here which shows how such conflicts concerning these variants may be handled in a systematic manner. The technique is derived from the use of partially ordered sets and their visualization by Hasse diagrams. The first step is to define rankings of different variants according to each aim of protection. A further step is to define an appropriate relationship of order. It is then possible to visualize the extent of consensus and of dissension through the use of a Hasse diagram. The final step is to quantify the importance of each protection aim and the initialization of an iteration. Should a complete consensus be found, this would result in a chain of (connected) variants. Should a complete dissension be found on the other hand, an antichain would then result (i.e. where all variants are isolated).     

Nachhaltige Entwicklung von Managementstrategien: Multikriterielle Bewertungs- und Entscheidungshilfe-Instrumente im Umweltbereich

Zur Unterstützung von Bewertungs- und Entscheidungsprozessen über die Nachhaltigkeit von Managementstrategien, deren Auswirkungen durch unterschiedlich dimensionierte Indikatoren gemessen werden, gibt es verschiedene mathematische Methoden. In diesem Beitrag werden die Prinzipien dieser sog. multikriteriellen Bewertungs- und Entscheidungshilfeinstrumente beispielhaft anhand einer Auswahl von Strategien für ein Nachhaltiges Wassermanagement vorgestellt, sowie Vor- und Nachteile herausgearbeitet. Es wird gezeigt, dass sich die Verfahren insbesondere in Transparenz, Objektivit?t und durch den Grad an Partizipation durch Akteure z.T. erheblich unterscheiden. W?hrend die Hassediagrammtechnik sich an den naturwissenschaftlich begründbaren Datenmatrix orientiert und somit eine objektive und transparente Bewertung und Datenanalyse liefert, haben Konkordanzanalyse, Nutzwertanalyse, PROMETHEE und AHP ihre St?rken in der M?glichkeit, Akteure bzw. Stakeholder am Entscheidungsprozess partizipieren zu lassen. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A00OI029 00003     

Macro-scale effective constitutive relationships for two-phase flow processes in heterogeneous porous media with emphasis on the relative permeability-saturation relationship

Macro-scale simulations often play an important role in the assessment and remediation of contamination by dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface. Effective parameters for the macro scale are required for these simulations in order to avoid a detailed discretisation of the geological structures. Starting from the observed influence of heterogeneities on multiphase flow processes at the macro scale, we present an upscaling procedure from the local to the macro scale for the derivation of constitutive relationships for multiphase flow processes. The approach is based on the assumption of an equilibrium of (capillary) forces, which allows the application of a percolation model. This results in saturation distributions for different capillary pressures. Averaging these distributions gives rise to a macroscopic capillary pressure-saturation relationship. For the saturation distribution, relative permeabilities and effective conductivities are computed depending on the structure and the flow direction. These are averaged with the help of the renormalisation method. The evolving relative permeability-saturation relationship for the macro scale shows a saturation-dependent anisotropy and pronounced residual saturations of the nonwetting phase (which were not assumed for the local scale). The anisotropy reflects the underlying structure of the considered system that needs not to be known in detail.     

The influence of EDDS on the uptake of heavy metals in hydroponically grown sunflowers

Phytoextraction is an environmentally friendly in situ technique for cleaning up metal contaminated land. Unfortunately, efficient metal uptake by remediation plants is often limited by low phytoavailability of the targeted metals. Chelant assisted phytoextraction has been proposed to improve the efficiency of phytoextraction. Phytoremediation involves several subsequent steps: transfer of metals from the bulk soil to the root surfaces, uptake into the roots and translocation to the shoots. Nutrient solution experiments address the latter two steps. In this context we investigated the influence of the biodegradable chelating agent SS-EDDS on uptake of essential (Cu and Zn) and non-essential (Pb) metals by sunflowers from nutrient solution. EDDS was detected in shoots and xylem sap for the first time, proving that it is taken up into the above ground biomass of plants. The essential metals Cu and Zn were decreased in shoots in the presence of EDDS whereas uptake of the non-essential Pb was enhanced. We suggest that in the presence of EDDS all three metals were taken up by the non-selective apoplastic pathway as the EDDS complexes, whereas in the absence of EDDS essential metal uptake was primarily selective along the symplastic pathway. This shows that synthetic chelating agents do not necessarily increase uptake of heavy metals, when soluble concentrations are equal in the presence and absence of chelates.     

Decomposition of heavy metal contaminated nettles (Urtica dioica L.) in soils subjected to heavy metal pollution by river sediments

Two incubation experiments were conducted to evaluate differences in the microbial use of non-contaminated and heavy metal contaminated nettle (Urtica dioica L.) shoot residues in three soils subjected to heavy metal pollution (Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd) by river sediments. The microbial use of shoot residues was monitored by changes in microbial biomass C, biomass N, biomass P, ergosterol, N mineralisation, CO(2) production and O(2) consumption rates. Microbial biomass C, N, and P were estimated by fumigation extraction. In the non-amended soils, the mean microbial biomass C to soil organic C ratio decreased from 2.3% in the low metal soil to 1.1% in the high metal soils. In the 42-d incubation experiment, the addition of 2% nettle residues resulted in markedly increased contents of microbial biomass P (+240%), biomass C (+270%), biomass N (+310%), and ergosterol (+360%). The relative increase in the four microbial properties was similar for the three soils and did not show any clear heavy metal effect. The contents of microbial biomass C, N and P and ergosterol contents declined approximately by 30% during the incubation as in the non-amended soils. The ratios microbial biomass C to N, microbial biomass C to P, and ergosterol to microbial biomass C remained constant at 5.2, 26, and 0.5%, respectively. In the 6-d incubation experiment, the respiratory quotient CO(2)/O(2) increased from 0.74 in the low metal soil to 1.58 in the high metal soil in the non-amended soils. In the treatments amended with 4% nettle residues, the respiratory quotient was constant at 1.13, without any effects of the three soils or the two nettle treatments. Contaminated nettle residues led generally to significantly lower N mineralisation, CO(2) production and O(2) consumption rates than non-contaminated nettle residues. However, the absolute differences were small.     

Biotransformation of metamitron by human p450 expressed in transgenic tobacco cell cultures

In the present investigation, the oxidative metabolism of 14C-labeled metamitron was examined in plant cell cultures of tobacco overexpressing human P450 enzymes CYP1A1 or CYP1A2; special interest was in the aromatic hydroxylation of the herbicide. The oxidative metabolites deaminometamitron (DAM) and 4-hydroxydeaminometamitron (4-HDAM) were found in the untransformed control culture as well as in the transgenic culture. The transgenic cultures, however, exhibited higher turnover rates after 48 h of incubation with 20 microg 14C-metamitron per assay (untransformed: 40%, CYP1A1: 80%, CYP1A2: 100%). Primary metabolite 4-HDAM was partially found in glucosylated form in the transgenic cultures. As minor oxidative metabolites, 6-hydroxyphenyl-3-methoxymethyl-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one and 3-hydroxymethyl-6-phenyl-1,2,4-triazine-5(4H)-one were identified in the transgenic cultures by GC-MS, LC-MS. Additionally, it could be demonstrated that both foreign enzymes (CYP1A1, CYP1A2) also catalyzed the deamination of metamitron. In a large-scale study (up to 400 microg per assay) with the transgenic culture expressing CYP1A2, the high efficiency of this P450 system toward metamitron was demonstrated: turnover of the xenobiotic was almost complete with 400 microg. Since large portions of unglucosylated 4-H-DAM were found, the activity of foreign CYP1A2 apparently exceeded that of endogenous O-glucosyltransferases of the tobacco cell culture. We concluded that in comparison to the nontransformed cell culture, the extent of metabolism was considerably higher in the transgenic cultures. The transgenic cell cultures expressing human CYP1A1 or CYP1A2 are thus suitable tools for the production of large quantities of primary oxidized metabolites of metamitron.     

Ecotoxicology of alpine streams in the West Carpathians—Alpine Bullhead (Cottus poecilopus) and high mountain flash flood effects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Flash floods represent a serious threat to wildlife, water biota, and human life in pre-alpine regions, particularly in recent historical memory. The...