Effects on the function of Arctic ecosystems in the short- and long-term perspectives

Historically, the function of Arctic ecosystems in terms of cycles of nutrients and carbon has led to low levels of primary production and exchanges of energy, water and greenhouse gases have led to low local and regional cooling. Sequestration of carbon from atmospheric CO2, in extensive, cold organic soils and the high albedo from low, snow-covered vegetation have had impacts on regional climate. However, many aspects of the functioning of Arctic ecosystems are sensitive to changes in climate and its impacts on biodiversity. The current Arctic climate results in slow rates of organic matter decomposition. Arctic ecosystems therefore tend to accumulate organic matter and elements despite low inputs. As a result, soil-available elements like nitrogen and phosphorus are key limitations to increases in carbon fixation and further biomass and organic matter accumulation. Climate warming is expected to increase carbon and element turnover, particularly in soils, which may lead to initial losses of elements but eventual, slow recovery. Individual species and species diversity have clear impacts on element inputs and retention in Arctic ecosystems. Effects of increased CO2 and UV-B on whole ecosystems, on the other hand, are likely to be small although effects on plant tissue chemisty, decomposition and nitrogen fixation may become important in the long-term. Cycling of carbon in trace gas form is mainly as CO2 and CH4. Most carbon loss is in the form of CO2, produced by both plants and soil biota. Carbon emissions as methane from wet and moist tundra ecosystems are about 5% of emissions as CO2 and are responsive to warming in the absence of any other changes. Winter processes and vegetation type also affect CH4 emissions as well as exchanges of energy between biosphere and atmosphere. Arctic ecosystems exhibit the largest seasonal changes in energy exchange of any terrestrial ecosystem because of the large changes in albedo from late winter, when snow reflects most incoming radiation, to summer when the ecosystem absorbs most incoming radiation. Vegetation profoundly influences the water and energy exchange of Arctic ecosystems. Albedo during the period of snow cover declines from tundra to forest tundra to deciduous forest to evergreen forest. Shrubs and trees increase snow depth which in turn increases winter soil temperatures. Future changes in vegetation driven by climate change are therefore, very likely to profoundly alter regional climate.     

A rule-based screening environmental risk assessment tool derived from EUSES

Within the context and scope of the forthcoming European Union chemical regulations (REACH), there is a need to be able to prioritise the chemicals for evaluation. Therefore, a simple, pragmatic and adequately conservative approach for the identification of substances of very low or no immediate concern at an early stage is presented. The fundamental principles and basic concepts are derived from the EU Technical Guidance Document and EUSES, and are translated into an easy-to-use rule-based system. For this development, the effect on risk characterisation ratios (RCRs) of the key environmental parameters in EUSES was quantified (taking into account several standardised chemical release scenarios). Using statistical analysis, ranges were identified for each key parameter, within which the end result of the assessment was not significantly affected. This information was then translated into a lookup table from which environmental risk characterisation ratios can be directly read as a function of a few parameters.     

A reevaluation of carbon monoxide: past trends,future concentrations,and implications for conformity "hot-spot" policies

Control of CO is one of the great air-quality management success stories of the past 20 years. This paper evaluates whether past progress will continue into the future and whether changes in microscale CO concentrations are comparable to reductions observed at the regional scale. Neighborhood and microscale CO concentrations were evaluated at six northern and southern California monitoring sites. The study also included a review of CO emission, concentration, and exposure trends and on-road motor vehicle-based CO emission control programs for California and the United States. Consistent with California and national trends, CO concentrations declined at each of the six study locations from 1988 through 1998. Microscale concentrations declined at the same rate as did neighborhood-scale concentrations. Rollback analyses demonstrated that microscale concentrations will continue to decline through at least 2010-2020. Within a few years, microscale violations of the CO National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) will be unlikely in California except under extraordinary circumstances.     

Determination of PAH sources in dated sediments from Green Bay, Wisconsin, by a chemical mass balance model

Six sediment cores were collected from Green Bay, Wisconsin, in order to identify possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by a chemical mass balance (CMB) model. The cores which were obtained in 1995 had total PAH concentrations between 8.04 and 0.460 ppm. 210Pb and 137Cs dating was used to determine historical trends of PAH inputs, and elemental carbon particle analysis was done to characterize particles from combustion of coal, wood and petroleum. The results show that coke burning, highway dust, and wood burning are likely sources of PAHs to Green Bay. The contribution of coke oven emissions (CB) for the Green Bay cores is in the range of 5 to 90%. The overall highway dust (HWY) contribution is between 5 and 70%. There is a maximum (approximately 67%) contribution of HWY around 1988 which is in agreement with the historical US petroleum consumption. The wood burning (WB) contribution is between 1 to 30%, except in core GB-A where a maximum (approximately 50%) is found around 1994. The average relative errors of measurement for x2 equal to the number of degrees of freedom, are 52.5, 56.2, 36.2, 52.3, and 42.8 (df = 3) for the Green Bay cores A, B, C, E, and F, respectively. The sums of the contribution factors are less than one, indicating gain of inert biological or other bulk material between source and receptor. The results of carbon particles for Green Bay core D show that coal, oil, and wood burning are consistent with the CMB modeling results.     

Quecksilbergasfeinreinigung mittels metall- und salzpartikelbelegter Tr?germaterialien (G/S-Reaktor) ?kotoxizit?t von Quecksilber und seiner Verbindungen

Zusammenfassung  Bei einer genauen Kenntnis der vorliegenden Quecksilberverbindungen und ihrem Verhalten im Rauchgaspfad thermischer Anlagen k?nnen durch entsprechende technische Ma?nahmen die Abscheideeffizienzen in trockenen, quasitrockenen und nassen Rauchgasreinigungsanlagen erheblich gesteigert werden, so da? der derzeit gesetzlich vorgeschriebene Emissionsgrenzwert von 50 μg/m³ [i.N.tr.] eingehalten und unterschritten wird. Die in den letzten Jahren unternommenen Aktivit?ten und Fortschritte bei der Reduzierung des Quecksilberaussto?es von thermischen Anlagen werden zusammenfassend dargestellt. Am Beispiel von tr?gerimmobilisierten metall- und/oder metallsalzpartikelbelegten Tr?germaterialien (G/S-Reaktoren) wird die selektive Entfernung des Quecksilbers bzw. dessen Verbindungen experimentell und theoretisch im Rauchgaspfad verdeutlicht. Aus der selektiven Abtrennung von Quecksilber und seinen Verbindungen in der Gasphase resultieren auch entsprechende ?kologische und ?konomische Vorteile, die den allgemein erkennbaren Trend der artspezifischen Abtrennung von Schadstoffen mit einer m?glichen Rückführung des Wertstoffes Quecksilber in den Wirtschaftskreislauf unterstützen.      

Use of genetic algorithms to select input variables in decision tree models for the prediction of benthic macroinvertebrates

Predicting freshwater organisms based on machine learning is becoming more and more reliable due to the availability of appropriate datasets, advanced modelling techniques and the continuously increasing capacity of computers. A database consisting of measurements collected at 360 sampling sites in non-navigable watercourses in Flanders was applied to predict the absence/presence of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa by means of decision trees. The measured variables were a combination of physical–chemical (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, conductivity, total organic carbon, Kjeldahl nitrogen and total phosphorus), structural (granulometric analysis of the sediment, width, depth and flow velocity of the river) and two ecotoxicological variables. The predictive power of decision trees was assessed on the basis of the number of Correctly Classified Instances (CCI). A genetic algorithm was introduced to compare the predictive power of different sets of input variables for the decision trees. The number of input variables was reduced from 15 to 2–8 variables without affecting the predictive power of the decision trees significantly. Furthermore, reducing the number of input variables allowed to ease the identification of general data trends.     

Knowing your enemies: seasonal dynamics of host–social parasite recognition

Despite its evolutionary significance, behavioural flexibility of social response has rarely been investigated in insects. We studied a host–social parasite system: the slave-making ant Polyergus rufescens and its host Formica rufibarbis. Free-living host workers from parasitized and from unparasitized areas were compared in their level of aggression against the parasite and alien conspecifics. We expected that a seasonal change would occur in the acceptance threshold of F. rufibarbis workers from a parasitized area towards the parasite, whereas F. rufibarbis workers from an unparasitized area would not show substantial changes connected with the parasites peak in activity (raiding and colony-founding season). The results showed a significant adaptive behavioural flexibility of host species workers and are consistent with the acceptance threshold models (Reeve 1989) prediction that recognition systems are not fixed but context-dependent. In particular, host workers from the unparasitized area were highly aggressive towards the parasite regardless of the season, whereas host workers from the parasitized area significantly increased their aggression towards the parasite during its raiding and colony-founding season. Being able to detect and possibly kill a Polyergus scout searching for host nests can be an effective strategy for a Formica colony to avoid being raided or usurped by a parasite queen.