Large-scale spatial pollution patterns around the North Sea indicated by coastal bird eggs within an EcoQO programme

To categorize the marine environmental health status, the Oslo and Paris commissions have recently formulated Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) for many ecological features including the contamination of coastal bird eggs with mercury and organochlorines. In this study, we describe spatial and temporal patterns of egg contamination around the North Sea and compared them to the EcoQOs. Concentrations of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl (??PCB) congeners, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (??DDT) and derivatives, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane (??HCH) isomers were analysed in two tern species (Sterna hirundo and Sterna paradisaea) and Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) eggs collected between 2008 and 2010 in a total of 21 sites in seven countries surrounding the North Sea. Hg, ??PCB and HCB were highest in the southern sites, while ??DDT and ??HCH concentrations were greatest in eggs from the western North Sea and the Elbe estuary. There were rarely any consistent decreases over time for any compounds. In the terns, Hg, HCB and ??HCH increased at most sites, ??PCB and ??DDT in Sweden and Norway. In the Oystercatcher, HCB and ??HCH increased at more than the half of the sites, ??PCB, ??DDT and Hg at several German sites. In the terns, Hg, ??PCB and ??DDT exceeded the EcoQO in all, HCB in most years and sites. At most sites, ??HCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some study years. In the Oystercatcher, Hg, ??PCB and ??DDT exceeded the EcoQO in all or most years and sites. HCB and ??HCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some or all years at most sites. The EcoQO was exceeded most frequently in estuaries. We conclude that EcoQOs are suitable for drawing contamination patterns of the coastal North Sea in an easily understandable manner, offering the opportunity to harmonize the EcoQOs with coordinated environmental monitoring programmes.     

Urban sediment contamination in a former Hg mining district,Idrija, Slovenia

Road sediments from gully pots of the drainage system and stream sediments from local streams were investigated for the first time in the urban area of Idrija town, the central part of the second largest and strongly contaminated Hg mining district in the world. Hg concentrations in road sediments were lower than in stream sediments. They ranged from 16 to 110 mg/kg (Md = 29 mg/kg) for <0.125 mm particles and from 7 to 125 mg/kg (Md = 35 mg/kg) for <0.04 mm particles, while Hg concentrations in stream sediments ranged from 10 to 610 mg/kg (Md = 95 mg/kg) for <0.125 particles and from 10 to 440 mg/kg (Md = 105 mg/kg) for <0.04 mm particles. High Hg loadings in stream sediments were successfully linked with identified mercury sources (rocks containing mercury ore, areas of former ore roasting sites, ore residue dumps), because they are located in the drainage areas of streams, from which the sediments were collected. Links between Hg loadings in road sediments and identified mercury sources were not recognized. Solid phases of Hg were determined by thermo-desorption technique and are similar for both types of sediments. Results show the occurrence of three different forms: elemental mercury, mercury bound to matrix components and cinnabar. Approximately 50 % of Hg in samples consist of non-cinnabar fractions. This is important, since they are potentially bioavailable. An interesting new discovery according to previous research of environmental media from Idrija area by solid-phase Hg thermo-desorption technique is that elemental mercury was determined in almost all investigated sediments in minor amounts (Md = 3 %).     

Seed predation by Neotropical rain forest mammals increases diversity in seedling recruitment

Seed dispersal and seedling recruitment (the transition of seeds to seedlings) set the spatiotemporal distribution of new individuals in plant communities. Many terrestrial rain forest mammals consume post-dispersal seeds and seedlings, often inflicting density-dependent mortality. In part because of density-dependent mortality, diversity often increases during seedling recruitment, making it a critical stage for species coexistence. We determined how mammalian predators, adult tree abundance, and seed mass interact to affect seedling recruitment in a western Amazonian rain forest. We used exclosures that were selectively permeable to three size classes of mammals: mice and spiny rats (weighing <1 kg), medium-sized rodents (1-12 kg), and large mammals (20-200 kg). Into each exclosure, we placed seeds of 13 tree species and one canopy liana, which varied by an order of magnitude in adult abundance and seed mass. We followed the fates of the seeds and resulting seedlings for at least 17 months. We assessed the effect of each mammalian size class on seed survival, seedling survival and growth, and the density and diversity of the seedlings that survived to the end of the experiment. Surprisingly, large mammals had no detectable effect at any stage of seedling recruitment. In contrast, small- and medium-sized mammals significantly reduced seed survival, seedling survival, and seedling density. Furthermore, predation by small mammals increased species richness on a per-stem basis. This increase in diversity resulted from their disproportionately intense predation on common species and large-seeded species. Small mammals thereby generated a rare-species advantage in seedling recruitment, the critical ingredient for frequency dependence. Predation by small (and to a lesser extent, medium-sized) mammals on seeds and seedlings significantly increases tree species diversity in tropical forests. This is the first long-term study to dissect the effects of various mammalian predators on the recruitment of a diverse set of tree species.     

A Comparison of Biomonitoring Methods for the Estimation of Atmospheric Pollutants in an Industrial Town in Austria

In the period between 1999 and 2000 epiphytic bryophytes were taken as bioindicators for air pollution by use of the IAP method (Index of Atmospheric Purity) and the VDI method within the Association of Engineers standards list (adapted from guideline 3799, 1995) in the heavy industrialized town of Linz, Austria. 52 study sites (265 trees) were analysed regarding species richness, coverage, and vitality. Q-values (sensitivity factors), calculated for each species showed significant differences for the various host tree species. The results gained by the IAP and the VDI methods were diverse, regarding the various sites where only 25% were classified identical. These differences can mainly be attributed to the differing host tree species and the size of the recording area on the various trees. Clusters of similar pollution levels were calculated and drawn as maps for both methods tested. Comparing the results of the IAP and the VDI methods with data derived from technical measurements (SO₂, NO, NO₂, and dust) a correlation between IAP-indices and SO₂ concentrations could be observed. No correlation was detected between the results derived from VDI recording and for NO, NO₂, and dust.     

Spatial Targeting of Agri-Environmental Measures: Cost-Effectiveness and Distributional Consequences

Agri-environmental measures are payments to farmers to reduce environmental risks or to preserve cultivated landscapes. These measures are codified in European Union regulations. Poor spatial targeting is one of the major causes of low cost-effectiveness in agri-environmental measures. Existing studies on spatial targeting focus primarily on selected individual measures; hence, they do not allow for conclusions at the program level, where the planning and implementing of decisions on a number of different measures has to be made. In this study, we analyzed the impacts of two spatial targeting options (targeting of erosion-reducing measures on erosion vulnerable areas; targeting of grassland extensification on N-pollution vulnerable areas) on the cost-effectiveness of the single measures and the entire agri-environmental program of the federal state of Brandenburg in Germany. The methodological steps included an analysis of empirical data on land use and program participation, an expert-based environmental impact assessment and a spatial allocation procedure based on linear programming. The environmental impact assessment delivered goal-specific index values for each measures-land parcel combination expressing the suitability of the measures for contributing to four regionally relevant program objectives. The cost-effectiveness of the measures and the program were calculated by putting budgetary costs in relation to the achieved environmental index sum. The calculated cost-effectiveness of the program in 2006 was 89.6% of the simulated optimal cost-effectiveness. The spatial targeting of erosion-reducing measures on erosion vulnerable areas caused an increase in the cost-effectiveness at the measures level and almost no changes at the program level. The spatial targeting of grassland extensification on N-pollution vulnerable areas, despite also improving the cost-effectiveness of this measure, had negative effects on the cost-effectiveness of the program.     

Linkages between the energy and agricultural sectors: insights from European Union greenhouse gas mitigation scenarios

Over the past decade, the relationship between agricultural and energy markets has strengthened. Traditional energy sources have been increasingly replaced by energy from biomass, and this trend is expected to continue into the future. Consequently, an assessment of the efficiency of bioenergy policies requires a comprehensive analysis of both agricultural and energy markets. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impacts of two detailed European Union (EU) greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation policies on the utilization of biomass for energy production and the implications for agricultural prices and trade. The consequences of a policy-induced shift from consumption of fossil to renewable energy are assessed under full consideration of interrelations between the energy and agricultural sectors. To this end, we combine an energy system model and an agricultural sector model by establishing a consistent interface between them. Depending on the ambition of the GHG emission reduction scenarios, the results indicate significant price increases. Furthermore, the increase in European demand for energy crops is to a substantial degree covered by additional imports. These results highlight that GHG emission mitigation policies enacted in a large economy like the EU cannot be considered without accounting for indirect effects in the rest of the world. They put the efficiency and also the effectiveness of such policies in general into question.     

Structural change and environmental impact: Empirical evidence on thirty-one countries in east and west

Although structural change in many industralized countries has increased since the early 1970s, the environmental policy aspects of this change have hardly been investigated. The more pronounced the positive environmental effects of structural change become, the more positive will be the structure-oriented options of environmental policy.Using a set of four indicators, in this study thirty-one Eastern and Western industrialized countries are being tested with regard to economic structure and environmentally significant structural change. The authors come to the conclusion that the strong correlation between economic performance and environmental pollution, unequivocal in 1970, had become much weaker by 1985. The de-linking of economic growth from material-intensive industrial production processes is particularly evident. In some cases automatic environmental benefits (environmental gratis effects) were generated in this way.However, the development profiles of the countries investigated differ greatly. There are countries, in particular Sweden, with absolute structural improvement in the ecological sense; countries like Japan and Norway with structural improvement relative to economic growth; and countries, including most Eastern and Southern European states, featuring no structural improvement or even environmentally negative structural change.The question is being left open to what extent the modernized economic structures are accompanied by modernized forms of environmental pollution.     

Annual Growth of Four Pleurocarpous Moss Species and Their Applicability for Biomonitoring Heavy Metals

Data on the annual production per area of mosses used as biomonitors is of major importance in the calculation of heavy metal deposition rates derived from concentration values. Therefore, annual biomass production per area was determined for Hylocomium splendens (127 ± 61 gm^-2 yr^-1), Pleurozium schreberi (161 ± 56 gm^-2 yr^-1), Hypnum cupressiforme (188 ± 62 gm^-2 yr^-1) and Abientinella abietina (144 ± 45 gm^-2 yr^-1) at 54 sites in Austria. Annual increments were detected by morphological criteria. Central European populations of mosses produce on average 10% (H. splendens) and 39% (P. schreberi) more biomass per area than populations from Northern Europe or Canada.Due to great differences in biomass production at various sites it is suggested calculating heavy metal deposition rates by using mean values only for larger areas and to take only data from accurate measurements of annual growth rates for the calculations of the depositions at single sites.A comparison between heavy metal concentrations (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) in H. cupressiforme and A. abietina showed comparable uptake efficiences for both mosses with somewhat higher values (quotient > 1) in H. cupressiforme. These results correspond with those obtained from other monitoring species (e.g. H. splendens).     

Effect of Gasoline Formulation on the Formation of Photosmog: A Box Model Study

Abstract

Based on exhaust gas analyses from the combustion of five different types of gasoline in a passenger car operated on a chassis dynamometer, box model simulations of the irradiation of exhaust/NO_x /air mixtures using an established chemical mechanism for a standardized photo-smog scenario were performed. The fuel matrix used covered wide fractional ranges for paraffinic, olefinic, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Two fuels also contained methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). The different O₃ profiles calculated for each run were compared and interpreted. The O₃ levels obtained were strongly influenced by the exhaust gas concentrations of aromatic and olefinic hydro-carbons. The higher exhaust content of these compounds caused higher O₃ production in the smog system investigated. The conclusion of the present study is that the composition of gasoline cannot be taken directly for the estimation of the emissions’ O₃ creation potential from its combustion. Variation of the dilution in the different calculations showed evidence for an additional influence of transport effects. Accordingly, further detailed exhaust gas analyses followed by more complex modeling studies are necessary for a proper characterization of the relationship between fuel blend and gasoline combustion products.