Assessment of ozone effects on local rice cultivar by portable ozone fumigation system in Hanoi, Vietnam

This study examined the effects of troposphere ozone (O3) on rice by developing a portable ozone fumigation system and applied to the field in Hanoi, Vietnam. The system was nearly identical to the open top chamber but designed to easily and cheaply assess the O3 sensitivity of local agricultural crops in the actual field. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) was exposed to ozone during the flowering stage at peri-urban experimental site of Hanoi. The fumigation protocols covered five different levels, namely; non-filtered air (ambient) as the control treatment, 32, 62, 85 and 113 ppb in 7-h mean. It was found that observed impacts corresponded well to similar open-top chamber studies in other Asian countries. The methodology and the system left a large room for improvement and called for very careful interpretation and pre-conditions (e.g. low ambient O3 concentration). However, the portable O3 exposure in the field might open a door to the less developed countries to implement the phytotoxic risk assessment of the local agricultural species.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in starfish body and bottom sediments in Mohang Harbor (Taean), South Korea

The concentrations of 27 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in bottom sediments and starfish from Mohang Harbor (MH) in Taean peninsula, South Korea. In December 2007, crude oil washed ashore from the M/V Hebei Spirit and was subsequently cleaned up within a few months of the incident. The ecological risk, bioaccumulation factor (BAF), and composition of the 27 PAHs were examined. The PAH concentrations in the bottom sediment ranged from 24 to 366 μg/kg dried weight, and the ecological risk was determined as minimal (mERL-Q?<?1). Total PAH concentrations in Asterina pectinifera (inside seawall) and Asterias amurensis (outside seawall) were 1,226 and 1,477 μg/kg dry weight (d.w.), respectively. The total BAFs (∑BAF) for A. amurensis was 3.8 times higher than that of A. pectinifera, and the PAH concentrations of 5–6 log K _OW were highest in the two starfish species. Further, PAH fingerprint analysis (nine alkyl-substituted PAHs fraction, low molecular weight (LMW)/high molecular weight (HMW), Phe/Ant, and Flu/Pyr), and principal component analysis (PCA) based on three crude oil samples from the M/V Hebei Spirit showed no remaining influence of crude oil.     

动态贴近度法在徒骇河干流水质监测点优化中的应用

根据2010—2012年的COD、BOD5、NH3-N、TP和Cr6+的例行监测数据,采用动态贴近度法,对徒骇河干流13个监测点进行优化。分别计算丰水期、平水期和枯水期的最优点和最劣点的距离,从而计算出最优贴近度值。利用t检验和F检验对优化结果进行准确度和精确度检验,结果表明,优化后的8个监测点的监测数据可以代表整个干流的水质状况。     

水污染事故中半挥发性有机物预处理方法研究

通过配制标准水样,对比液液小体积萃取法、分散液液微萃取法和固相微萃取法结合便携式气质联用仪三种预处理方法的萃取效率。结果表明,在最佳的萃取条件下,三种预处理方法对标准水样的富集效率均较高。在5~50μg/L范围内,14种SVOC线性良好,检出限为0.1~3.5μg/L,其中固相微萃取法萃取效率最高,但对酞酸酯类化合物选择性较差。分散液液微萃取法对有机磷类物质选择性较高,而液液小体积萃取法对大部分的半挥发性有机物没有特别的选择性。在进行实际水样测定时,三种方法在灵敏度、精密性和抗干扰能力等方面均满足水环境污染事故的应急监测要求。     

Spatial Variations in Fish Abundance in the Mekong Delta

Russian Journal of Ecology - For the first time, the density of fish population has been quantitatively assessed in the Mekong River delta in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The...     

Human ecological effects of tropical storms in the coastal area of Ky Anh (Ha Tinh,Vietnam)

Vietnam is prone to tropical storms. Climate change effects contribute to sea level rise, floods, progression of the low water line and coastal erosion. This paper inventories the perception of local people, assesses and values main aspects of the livelihood damage caused by the tropical storms of the period 2008–2013 in three coastal communes of the Ky Anh District of the Ha Tinh Province in Central Vietnam. The communes were selected because the location of their coastal line is perpendicular to the storm itself, which made them prone to damage. The effects of increasingly extreme weather conditions on three communities in an area most affected by storms and floods on the local residents and their responses to these changing environmental conditions are analyzed and assessed. The results of questionnaires completed by randomly selected local inhabitants of these communes show that storms and related hazards such as flood, sea level rise and heavy rain are perceived as the most impacting climate change intensified phenomena on agriculture and aquaculture, livestock, household property and income. Opinions and measured data provided by the commune and district authorities allow estimating the total direct cost of the tropical storm at 1.56 million $US (The used conversion rate VND/$US is 21,730 when the research was conducted in 2014) during the period 2008–2013. The long-term costs of adaptation and social impact measures will be significantly higher. Details of the monetary figures allow identifying the physical and natural capital of the area as being most affected by the storm. Trend and cost analysis show that the total financial support for hazard prevention and management during 2014–2019 is estimated at 1.19 up to 1.32 million $US. Local stakeholders indicate that climate change adaptation should not be limited to technical measures such as strengthening dikes, but also should target planting protection forests and mangroves and land use planning. Financial support for the relocation policy, stakeholder involvement and integrating climate change adaptation in both the socioeconomic development master plan and local land use planning are also of importance.     

Comparisons of polybrominated diphenyl ethers levels in paired South Korean cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk samples

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), commonly used flame retardants, have been reported as potential endocrine disruptor and neurodevelopmental toxicants, thus giving rise to the public health concern. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk concentrations of PBDEs in South Korean. We assessed PBDE levels in paired samples of umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk. The levels of seven PBDE congeners were measured in 21 paired samples collected from the Cheil Woman’s Hospital (Seoul, Korea) in 2008. We also measured thyroid hormones levels in maternal and cord blood to assess the association between PBDEs exposure and thyroid hormone levels. However, there was no correlation between serum thyroxin (T4) and total PBDEs concentrations. The total PBDEs concentrations in the umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk were 10.7 ± 5.1 ng g⁻¹ lipid, 7.7 ± 4.2 ng g⁻¹ lipid, and 3.0 ± 1.8 ng g⁻¹ lipid, respectively. The ranges of total PBDE concentrations observed were 2.28-30.94 ng g⁻¹ lipid in umbilical cord blood, 1.8-17.66 ng g⁻¹ lipid in maternal blood, and 1.08-8.66 ng g⁻¹ lipid in breast milk. BDE-47 (45-73% of total PBDEs) was observed to be present dominantly in all samples, followed by BDE-153. A strong correlation was found for major BDE-congeners between breast milk and cord blood or maternal blood and cord blood samples. The measurement of PBDEs concentrations in maternal blood or breast milk may help to determine the concentration of PBDEs in infant.     

Sustainable reuse of rice residues as feedstocks in vermicomposting for organic fertilizer production

Over the past decade, rice (Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima) cultivation has increased in many rice-growing countries due to the increasing export demand and population growth and led to a copious amount of rice residues, consisting mainly of rice straw (RS) and rice husk (RH), being generated during and after harvesting. In this study, Eudrilus eugeniae was used to decompose rice residues alone and rice residues amended with cow dung (CD) for bio-transformation of wastes into organic fertilizer. Generally, the final vermicomposts showed increases in macronutrients, namely, calcium (11.4–34.2 %), magnesium (1.3–40.8 %), phosphorus (1.2–57.3 %), and potassium (1.1–345.6 %) and a decrease in C/N ratio (26.8–80.0 %) as well as increases in heavy metal content for iron (17–108 %), copper (14–120 %), and manganese (6–60 %) after 60 days of vermicomposting. RS as a feedstock was observed to support healthier growth and reproduction of earthworms as compared to RH, with maximum adult worm biomass of 0.66 g/worm (RS) at 60 days, 31 cocoons (1RS:2CD), and 23 hatchlings (1RS:1CD). Vermicomposting of RS yielded better results than RH among all of the treatments investigated. RS that was mixed with two parts of CD (1RS:2CD) showed the best combination of nutrient results as well as the growth of E. eugeniae. In conclusion, vermicomposting could be used as a green technology to bio-convert rice residues into nutrient-rich organic fertilizers if the residues are mixed with CD in the appropriate ratio.     

Decolorization of palm oil mill effluent using growing cultures of Curvularia clavata

Agricultural wastewater that produces color are of environmental and health concern as colored effluent can produce toxic and carcinogenic by-products. From this study, batch culture optimization using response surface methods indicated that the fungus isolated from the pineapple solid waste, Curvularia clavata was able to decolorize sterile palm oil mill effluent (POME) which is mainly associated with polyphenol and lignin. Results showed successful decolorization of POME up to 80 % (initial ADMI [American Dye Manufacturing Index] of 3,793) with 54 % contributed by biosorption and 46 % by biodegradation after 5 days of treatment. Analysis using HPLC and GC-MS showed the degradation of color causing compound such as 3-methoxyphenyl isothiocynate and the production of new metabolites. Ecotoxicity test indicated that the decolorized effluent is safe for discharge. To determine the longevity of the fungus for a prolonged decolorization period, sequential batch decolorization studies were carried out. The results showed that lignin peroxidase and laccase were the main ligninolytic enzymes involved in the degradation of color. Carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) and xylanase activities were also detected suggesting possible roles of the enzymes in promoting growth of the fungus which consequently contributed to improved decolorization of POME. In conclusion, the ability of C. clavata in treating color of POME indicated that C. clavata is of potential use for decolorization and degradation of agricultural wastewater containing polyphenolic compounds.