Comparison of real-time instruments and gravimetric method when measuring particulate matter in a residential building

This study used several real-time and filter-based aerosol instruments to measure PM_2.5 levels in a high-rise residential green building in the Northeastern US and compared performance of those instruments. PM_2.5 24-hr average concentrations were determined using a Personal Modular Impactor (PMI) with 2.5 µm cut (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA) and a direct reading pDR-1500 (Thermo Scientific, Franklin, MA) as well as its filter. 1-hr average PM_2.5 concentrations were measured in the same apartments with an Aerotrak Optical Particle Counter (OPC) (model 8220, TSI, Inc., Shoreview, MN) and a DustTrak DRX mass monitor (model 8534, TSI, Inc., Shoreview, MN). OPC and DRX measurements were compared with concurrent 1-hr mass concentration from the pDR-1500. The pDR-1500 direct reading showed approximately 40% higher particle mass concentration compared to its own filter (n = 41), and 25% higher PM_2.5 mass concentration compared to the PMI_2.5 filter. The pDR-1500 direct reading and PMI_2.5 in non-smoking homes (self-reported) were not significantly different (n = 10, R² = 0.937), while the difference between measurements for smoking homes was 44% (n = 31, R² = 0.773). Both OPC and DRX data had substantial and significant systematic and proportional biases compared with pDR-1500 readings. However, these methods were highly correlated: R² = 0.936 for OPC versus pDR-1500 reading and R² = 0.863 for DRX versus pDR-1500 reading. The data suggest that accuracy of aerosol mass concentrations from direct-reading instruments in indoor environments depends on the instrument, and that correction factors can be used to reduce biases of these real-time monitors in residential green buildings with similar aerosol properties.

Implications: This study used several real-time and filter-based aerosol instruments to measure PM_2.5 levels in a high-rise residential green building in the northeastern United States and compared performance of those instruments. The data show that while the use of real-time monitors is convenient for measurement of airborne PM at short time scales, the accuracy of those monitors depends on a particular instrument. Bias correction factors identified in this paper could provide guidance for other studies using direct-reading instruments to measure PM concentrations.     

Cognitive and institutional influences on farmers’ adaptive capacity: insights into barriers and opportunities for transformative change in central Arizona

The prospect of unprecedented environmental change, combined with increasing demand on limited resources, demands adaptive responses at multiple levels. In this article, we analyze different attributes of farm-level capacity in central Arizona, USA, in relation to farmers’ responses to recent dynamism in commodity and land markets, and the institutional and social contexts of farmers’ water and production portfolios. Irrigated agriculture is at the heart of the history and identity of the American Southwest, although the future of agriculture is now threatened by the prospect of “mega-droughts,” urbanization and associated inter-sector and inter-state competition over water in an era of climatic change. We use farm-level survey data, supplemented by in-depth interviews, to explore the cross-level dimensions of capacity in the agriculture–urban nexus of central Arizona. The surveyed farmers demonstrate an interest in learning, capacity for adaptive management and risk-taking attitudes consistent with emerging theory of capacity for land use and livelihood transformation. However, many respondents perceive their self-efficacy in the face of future climatic and hydrological change as uncertain. Our study suggests that the components of transformational capacity will necessarily need to go beyond the objective resources and cognitive capacities of individuals to incorporate “linking” capacities: the political and social attributes necessary for collective strategy formation to shape choice and opportunity in the future.     

Energy policy evaluation in practice: the case of production subsidies and DEN-B in the Netherlands

This paper describes how energy policy can be evaluated in practice. The goal is to make policy makers aware of how an evaluation can be based on scientific principles and to help economists appreciate how an evaluation can be performed if strong empirical evidence is lacking. We have built a basic evaluation framework and have applied this to a selection of Dutch energy policy instruments, namely production subsidies and their complementary non-financial instrument, DEN-B. Our evaluation criterion was effectiveness, defined as the extent to which policy instruments contribute to achieving policy goals. The evaluation was based on existing ex post evaluations complemented by interviews and other available data. We conclude that production subsidies and DEN-B were (partly) effective. Furthermore, the Dutch government increased effectiveness by reconsidering the design of production subsidies. We also formulate lessons for future policy evaluations and energy markets policies.     

Utilizing international networks for accelerating research and learning in transformational sustainability science

A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions of a particular place, such as problem features and solution capabilities, and adopt and adapt solutions developed at other places around the world. Therefore, research and teaching in international networks becomes critical, as it allows for accelerating learning by sharing problem understandings, successful solutions, and important contextual considerations. This article identifies eight distinct types of research and teaching collaborations in international networks that can support such accelerated learning. The four research types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) solution adoption; (2) solution consultation; (3) joint research on different problems; and (4) joint research on similar problems. The four teaching types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) adopted course; (2) course with visiting faculty; (3) joint course with traveling faculty; and (4) joint course with traveling students. The typology is illustrated by extending existing research and teaching projects on urban sustainability in the International Network of Programs in Sustainability, with partner universities from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The article concludes with challenges and strategies for extending individual projects into collaborations in international networks.     

Conservation of animals traded for medicinal purposes in Brazil: Can products derived from plants or domestic animals replace products of wild animals?

Regional Environmental Change - The use and trade of animals in traditional medicine involves many different species, some of which are threatened with extinction. Thus, evaluating biological and...     

Geogenic Distribution of Arsenic (As) and Antimony (Sb) in Soils of the Murcia Region in Spain

The objective of this study was to determine the As and Sb contents in soils from the Murcia Region of Spain and the possible relationship between the mineralogical composition, soil properties, and As and Sb concentrations. In this study, 490 samples were selected from areas with different characteristics in order to study As and Sb variability. Results show that As and Sb concentrations are positively correlated with the phyllosilicate and quartz content but negatively correlated with the calcite content. The generic reference level (GRL) for these elements was determined according to the Spanish legislation. Established GRL values vary according to the established mineralogical groups, suggesting that GRL has to be determined considering the lithological characteristics of the study area.     

Estimates of residual dairy manure nitrogen availability using various techniques

It is common practice to repeatedly apply dairy manure to the same fields. To accurately assess the total plant availability of manure nutrients, it is necessary to account for the nutrients remaining in soil from previous manure applications. A field experiment studying manure nitrogen (N) uptake by corn (Zea mays L.) was conducted from 1998 to 2003 on a Plano silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic, Typic Argiudolls). Plots received two rates of semisolid manure either every year, every 2 yr, or every 3 yr to estimate first-, second-, and third-year dairy manure N residuals. Residual manure N availability was estimated from single and multiple manure applications using (i) the fertilizer N equivalence method, (ii) the apparent recovery (difference) method, (iii) relative effectiveness method, and (iv) recovery of (15)N-labeled manure. Second-year availabilities after a single manure application using the fertilizer equivalence, difference, and relative effectiveness methods were estimated to be 12, 8, and 4% of total manure N applications, respectively. Estimates of third-year availability by these methods were 3, 1, and 5%, respectively. Measurement of (15)N recovered from labeled manure was 6 and 2% in the second and third year, respectively. Fertilizer equivalence, difference, and relative effectiveness methods showed great year to year variability, reducing the confidence in the residual manure N availability estimates by these methods, but using (15)N-labeled manures reduced variability substantially. Based on this and other studies, we suggest that second- and third-year residual N availability from a single application of semisolid dairy manure would be 9 to 12%, and 3 to 5% of the original manure N application, respectively.     

Spatiotemporal evolution of soil pH and zinc after the Aznalcollar mine spill

The residual pollution after the Aznalcóllar (southwestern Spain) pyrite mine spill is still a threat due to the continuing oxidation of sulfuric minerals. The objective of this paper was to analyze the combined effect of pyrite oxidation, sugar beet foam applications, and meteorological conditions on the spatiotemporal evolution of the pH and EDTA-extractable Zn concentration, using non co-located data from 11 sampling dates between June 1999 and March 2002. Median pH values ranged from 4.4 at the beginning of the monitoring period to 7.6 at the end, although values near 2.5 were observed throughout the entire period, despite of two sugar beet foam (SBF) applications. Zinc distributions were positively skewed and median concentrations ranged from 17 to 94 mg kg(-1). The inverse relationship between pH and Zn became weaker toward the end of the monitoring period as a consequence of the precipitation and posterior dissolution of newly formed minerals from the reaction products of the pyrite oxidation. Normal score maps showed that after the SBF applications only 0.5% of the monitored area was below the pH = 4 threshold, while on other dates up to one-third of the area remained below this value. The better performance of the second SBF application could be explained in terms of pyrite oxidation pathways and environmental conditions. From this analysis, with data obtained under uncontrolled field conditions, it is concluded that SBF should be applied before or during the wet and cold season to alleviate acidification, caused by the oxidation of pyrite or other sulfuric minerals.     

The Influence of Linear Elements on Plant Species Diversity of Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: Assessment of Different Indices and Statistical Approaches

This paper mainly aims to study the linear element influence on the estimation of vascular plant species diversity in five Mediterranean landscapes modeled as land cover patch mosaics. These landscapes have several core habitats and a different set of linear elements -habitat edges or ecotones, roads or railways, rivers, streams and hedgerows on farm land- whose plant composition were examined. Secondly, it aims to check plant diversity estimation in Mediterranean landscapes using parametric and non-parametric procedures, with two indices: Species richness and Shannon index.Land cover types and landscape linear elements were identified from aerial photographs. Their spatial information was processed using GIS techniques. Field plots were selected using a stratified sampling design according to relieve and tree density of each habitat type. A 50×20 m² multi-scale sampling plot was designed for the core habitats and across the main landscape linear elements. Richness and diversity of plant species were estimated by comparing the observed field data to ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator) and ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator) non-parametric estimators.The species density, percentage of unique species, and alpha diversity per plot were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in linear elements than in core habitats. ICE estimate of number of species was 32% higher than of ACE estimate, which did not differ significantly from the observed values. Accumulated species richness in core habitats together with linear elements, were significantly higher than those recorded only in the core habitats in all the landscapes. Conversely, Shannon diversity index did not show significant differences.     

Simple Model of Dissolved Oxygen Consumption in a Bay within High Organic Loading: An Applied Remediation Tool

San Vicente Bay is a coastal shallow embayment in Central Chile with multiple uses, one of which is receiving wastewater from industrial fisheries, steel mill effluents, and domestic sewage. A simulation model was developed and applied to dissolved oxygen consumption by organic residues released into this embayment. Three compartments were established as function of: depth, circulation and outfall location. The model compartments had different volumes, and their oxygen saturation value was used as baseline. The parameters: (a) BOD₅ of the industrial and urban effluents, (b) oxygen demand by organic sediments, (c) respiration, (d) photosynthesis and (e) re-aeration were included in the model. Iteration results of the model showed severe alterations in Compartment 1, with a decrease of 65% in the oxygen below saturation. Compartment 2 showed a small decline (10%) and compartment 3 did not show apparent changes in oxygen values. Measures recommended for remediation were to decrease the BOD₅ loading by 30% in the affected sector. Iteration of the model for 200 h following recommendations derived from the preceding results produced an increase in saturation of 60% (5 ml O₂ L⁻¹), which suggested an improvement of the environmental conditions.