Changing the Course of Rivers in an Asian City: Linking Landscapes to Human Benefits through Iterative Modeling and Design

Concerns over water scarcity, climate change, and environmental health risks have prompted some Asian cities to invest in river rehabilitation, but deciding on the end goals of rehabilitation is a complex undertaking. We propose a multidisciplinary framework linking riparian landscape change to human well‐being, providing information relevant to decision makers, in a format that facilitates stakeholder involvement. We illustrate this through a case study of the densely settled, environmentally degraded, and flood prone Ciliwung River flowing through metropolitan Jakarta, Indonesia. Our methodology attempts to respond to this complexity through an iterative approach, strongly based on conceptualization and mathematical modeling. Nested hydrologic, hydrodynamic, and water quality models provide outputs at catchment‐, corridor‐, and localized site‐scales. Advanced 3‐D landscape modeling is used for procedural design and precise visualization of proposed changes and their impacts, as predicted by the mathematical models. Finally, participatory planning and design methods allow us to obtain critical stakeholder feedback in shaping a socially acceptable approach. Our framework aims at demonstrating that a change in paradigm in river rehabilitation is possible, and providing future scenarios that balance concerns over flooding, water quality, and ecology, with the realities of a rapidly growing megacity.     

Using data mining to predict soil quality after application of biosolids in agriculture

The amount of biosolids recycled in agriculture has steadily increased during the last decades. However, few models are available to predict the accompanying risks, mainly due to the presence of trace element and organic contaminants, and benefits for soil fertility of their application. This paper deals with using data mining to assess the benefits and risks of biosolids application in agriculture. The analyzed data come from a 10-yr field experiment in northeast France focusing on the effects of biosolid application and mineral fertilization on soil fertility and contamination. Biosolids were applied at agriculturally recommended rates. Biosolids had a significant effect on soil fertility, causing in particular a persistent increase in plant-available phosphorus (P) relative to plots receiving mineral fertilizer. However, soil fertility at seeding and crop management method had greater effects than biosolid application on soil fertility at harvest, especially soil nitrogen (N) content. Levels of trace elements and organic contaminants in soils remained below legal threshold values. Levels of extractable metals correlated more strongly than total metal levels with other factors. Levels of organic contaminants, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were linked to total metal levels in biosolids and treated soil. This study confirmed that biosolid application at rates recommended for agriculture is a safe option for increasing soil fertility. However, the quality of the biosolids selected has to be taken into account. The results also indicate the power of data mining in examining links between parameters in complex data sets.     

Atmospheric deposition of metallic pollutants over the Ligurian Sea: labile and residual inputs

Atmospheric fluxes of six trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) with Al as a crustal reference were measured at Cap Ferrat (French Riviera) between February 1997 and July 1998. An original sampling protocol enabled the separation of labile (seawater at pH 2) and residual fractions in the total atmospheric input. Median acid-labile fractions were 91%, 69%, 83%, 84%, 97% and 98% of the total for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively. Under the conditions used, lability of individual metals is related to the anthropogenic component of the samples. Enrichment factors and anthropogenic fraction are estimated for each metal. Some interannual changes are investigated (Pb, Zn). The observed increase of Zn inputs may be linked to local input from the Nice district waste plant (commissioned in 1988), 6.5 km away.     

Evidence of endocrine alteration in the red mullet, Mullus barbatus from the NW Mediterranean

Red mullet (Mullus barbatus) were collected from different sampling sites (NW Mediterranean) in spring and autumn, with the aim of assessing potential alterations of the endocrine system. Alkylphenols were measured in fish bile as an indicator of estrogenic exposure. Key enzymatic activities involved in both synthesis (ovarian 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and P450 aromatase) and metabolism of steroids were assessed together with histological alterations of the gonads. During the spring sampling, delayed gamete maturation, intersexuality, fibrosis, and depressed ovarian P450 aromatase activity were observed in organisms from the most polluted sites. During the autumn sampling, those effects were less evident, indicating that fish might be more susceptible to endocrine disrupting chemicals during the reproductive period. Nonetheless, enhanced glucuronidation of testosterone and estradiol was observed. Overall, this work provides first evidences of significant alterations in the endocrine system of red mullet from highly impacted areas in the NW Mediterranean.     

Stable isotopes document winter trophic ecology and maternal investment of adult female southern elephant seals (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mirounga leonina</Emphasis>) breeding at the Kerguelen Islands

Individual specialisation is widespread and can affect a population’s ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Whether intra-specific niche differences can influence reproductive investment was examined in a marine mammal, the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), whose females were known to forage in two different areas during the austral winter. The study was conducted at Kerguelen Islands (49°21′S, 70°18′E), southern Indian Ocean, in late winter–early spring 2006. Pups were used as proxies of their mothers’ biology and combined information on their weaning mass (a proxy of females’ foraging success and short-term fitness) together with their blood δ¹³C value (a proxy of female foraging zone). First, the use of isotopic signature of pups was validated to study the female foraging ecology during their pre-breeding trip by demonstrating that δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of pups and their mothers were positively and linearly correlated. Then, blood samples were taken from a large number of newly-weaned pups, which were also weighed, to provide information at the population level. Estimated δ¹³C values of female seals encompassed a large range of values (from −23.7 to −19.1‰) with an unimodal frequency distribution, suggesting no contrasted foraging areas within the population. No significant relationship was found between pup weaning mass and their carbon signature, indicating no link between female foraging areas and maternal foraging success and investment. Finally, blood δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values gave new insights into southern elephant seal ecology, suggesting that females mainly foraged north of the Polar Front where they preyed upon myctophid fish in late winter.     

Elicitors as alternative strategy to pesticides in grapevine? Current knowledge on their mode of action from controlled conditions to vineyard

Development and optimisation of alternative strategies to reduce the use of classic chemical inputs for protection against diseases in vineyard is becoming a necessity. Among these strategies, one of the most promising consists in the stimulation and/or potentiation of the grapevine defence responses by the means of elicitors. Elicitors are highly diverse molecules both in nature and origins. This review aims at providing an overview of the current knowledge on these molecules and will highlight their potential efficacy from the laboratory in controlled conditions to vineyards. Recent findings and concepts (especially on plant innate immunity) and the new terminology (microbe-associated molecular patterns, effectors, etc.) are also discussed in this context. Other objectives of this review are to highlight the difficulty of transferring elicitors use and results from the controlled conditions to the vineyard, to determine their practical and effective use in viticulture and to propose ideas for improving their efficacy in non-controlled conditions.     

Do DOM optical parameters improve the prediction of copper availability in vineyard soils?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Accumulation of copper (Cu) in soils due to the application of fungicides may be toxic for organisms and hence affect winegrowing sustainability. Soil...     

Shifts in coral community structures following cyclone and red tide disturbances within the Gulf of Oman (United Arab Emirates)

This study documents the effects of two consecutive disturbances on coral community structures in the Gulf of Oman (United Arab Emirates); Cyclone Gonu in June 2007 and the Cochlodinium polykrikoides harmful algal bloom (HAB) that persisted from August 2008 until May 2009. Coral cover, colony densities, size class frequency distributions, and geometric growth rates derived from size class transition probability matrices were used to assess the post-Gonu and post-HAB recovery trajectories at four sites. The net effects of these disturbances were fourfold: (i) storm damage caused >50% losses of live branching and tabular coral cover by fragmentation and dislodgment of pocilloporid and acroporid colonies; (ii) Pocillopora damicornis colonies that survived the cyclone experienced mass mortality during the first 3?months of the HAB, resulting in localized extirpation of this species; (iii) variable Acropora mortality during the HAB indicated individual colony, rather than taxa-wide, susceptibility; and (iv) massive colony coral taxa were resistant to both disturbances.     

Mapping wildland-urban interfaces at large scales integrating housing density and vegetation aggregation for fire prevention in the South of France

Every year, more than 50,000 wildland fires affect about 500,000 ha of vegetation in southern European countries, particularly in wildland-urban interfaces (WUI). This paper presents a method to characterize and map WUIs at large scales and over large areas for wildland fire prevention in the South of France. Based on the combination of four types of building configuration and three classes of vegetation structure, 12 interface types were classified. Through spatial analysis, fire ignition density and burned area ratio were linked with the different types of WUI. Among WUI types, isolated WUIs with the lowest housing density represent the highest level of fire risk.