Assessing and managing freshwater ecosystems vulnerable to environmental change

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially how long-term monitoring efforts combined with ecological theory can provide a novel nexus between ecological impact assessment and management, and the quantification of systemic vulnerability and thus the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change.     

Anthropogenic oligotrophication via liming: Long-term phosphorus trends in acidified,limed, and neutral reference lakes in Sweden

Restoration of acidified lakes by liming does not, in many cases, improve productivity to a pre-acidified state. We hypothesize that the poor recovery detected in many of these lakes is due to constrained in-lake phosphorous (P) cycling caused by enhanced precipitation of metals in higher pH, limed waters. Long-term (1990–2012) data for 65 limed, circum-neutral (pH 6–8), and acidified lakes in Sweden were analyzed to determine trends for P and potential drivers of these trends. Limed lakes not only had lower mean values and stronger decreasing trends for total P than non-limed lakes, but they also had the highest percentage of decreasing trends (85 %). A P release factor (Hypolimnetic P/Epilimnetic P) was developed to elucidate differences in internal P cycling between lake groups. Consistently, lower P release factors in limed lakes show limitation of internal P cycling during summer months that may be a factor limiting P bioavailability and thus productivity of these systems.     

Matrine and oxymatrine in corroborant plant extracts and fertilizers: HPLC/MS-MS method development and single-laboratory validation

A reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC/MS-MS) has been developed and validated for detection of alkaloids matrine and oxymatrine in fertilizer with labeled enhancer plant defense activities. The analytical method was validated statistically. The results show a strong matrix effect, requiring quantification by standard addition method. The regression lines showed r² > 0.994. Recoveries ranging from 97 to 104% were obtained for the fortification level of 0.01% wt wt^?1 and the relative standard deviations ranged from 3 to 4% (n = 10). The limits of detection were below 0.0001% wt wt^?1, while the limits of quantification did not exceed 0.0004% wt wt^?1. The method is currently applied in ICQRF Laboratory of Catania on fertilized and corroborant plant extract collected in the Italian market in the frame of MIPAAF institutional quality control activity, with the aim to dectect these unpermitted active substances.     

Precision and Accuracy in the Determination of Sulfur Oxides,Fluoride, and Spherical Aluminosilicate Fly Ash Particles in Project MOHAVE

The precision and accuracy of the determination of particu-late sulfate and fluoride, and gas phase SO₂ and HF are estimated from the results obtained from collocated replicate samples and from collocated comparison samples for high-and low-volume filter pack and annular diffusion denuder samplers. The results of replicate analysis of collocated samples and replicate analyses of a given sample for the determination of spherical aluminosilicate fly ash particles have also been compared. Each of these species is being used in the chemical mass balance source apportionment of sulfur oxides in the Grand Canyon region as part of Project MOHAVE, and the precision and accuracy analyses given in this paper provide input to that analysis. The precision of the various measurements reported here is ±1.8 nmol/m³ and ±2.5 nmol/m³ for the determination of SO₂ and sulfate, respectively, with an annular denuder. The precision is ±0.5 nmol/m³ and ±2.0 nmol/m³ for the determination of the same species with a high-volume or low-volume filter pack. The precision for the determination of the sum of HF(g) and fine particulate fluoride is ±0.3 nmol/m³. The precision for the determination of aluminosilicate fly ash particles is ±100 particles/m³. At high concentrations of the various species, reproducibility of the various measurements is ±10% to ±14% of the measured concentration. The concentrations of sulfate determined using filter pack samplers are frequently higher than those determined using diffusion denuder sampling systems. The magnitude of the difference (e.g., 2-10 nmol sulfate/m³) is small, but important relative to the precision of the data and the concentrations of particulate sul-fate present (typically 5-20 nmol sulfate/m³). The concentrations of SO₂(g) determined using a high-volume cascade impactor filter pack sampler are correspondingly lower than those obtained with diffusion denuder samplers. The concentrations of SO_x (SO₂(g) plus particulate sulfate) determined using the two samplers during Project MOHAVE at the Spirit Mountain, NV, and Hopi Point, AZ, sampling sites were in agreement. However, for samples collected at Painted Desert, AZ, and Meadview, AZ, the concentrations of SO_x and SO₂(g) determined with a high-volume cascade impactor filter pack sampler were frequently lower than those determined using a diffusion denuder sampling system. These two sites had very low ambient relative humidity, an average of 25%. Possible causes of observed differences in the SO₂(g) and sulfate results obtained from different types of samplers are given.     

The Effects of Hypoxia on Sediment Nitrogen Cycling in the Baltic Sea

Primary production in the eutrophic Baltic Sea is limited by nitrogen availability; hence denitrification (natural transformation of nitrate to gaseous N₂) in the sediments is crucial in mitigating the effects of eutrophication. This study shows that dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) process, where nitrogen is not removed but instead recycled in the system, dominates nitrate reduction in low oxygen conditions (O₂ <110 μM), which have been persistent in the central Gulf of Finland during the past decade. The nitrogen removal rates measured in this study show that nitrogen removal has decreased in the Gulf of Finland compared to rates measured in mid-1990s and the decrease is most likely caused by the increased bottom water hypoxia.     

Arctic Tipping Points: Governance in Turbulent Times

Interacting forces of climate change and globalization are transforming the Arctic. Triggered by a non-linear shift in sea ice, this transformation has unleashed mounting interest in opportunities to exploit the region’s natural resources as well as growing concern about environmental, economic, and political issues associated with such efforts. This article addresses the implications of this transformation for governance, identifies limitations of existing arrangements, and explores changes needed to meet new demands. It advocates the development of an Arctic regime complex featuring flexibility across issues and adaptability over time along with an enhanced role for the Arctic Council both in conducting policy-relevant assessments and in promoting synergy in interactions among the elements of the emerging Arctic regime complex. The emphasis throughout is on maximizing the fit between the socioecological features of the Arctic and the character of the governance arrangements needed to steer the Arctic toward a sustainable future.     

Bio-Ethanol Production from Non-Food Parts of Cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz)

Global climate issues and a looming energy crisis put agriculture under pressure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate adaptation measures must entail sustainable development benefits, and growing crops for food as well as energy may be a solution, removing people from hunger and poverty without compromising the environment. The present study investigated the feasibility of using non-food parts of cassava for energy production and the promising results revealed that at least 28% of peels and stems comprise dry matter, and 10 g feedstock yields >8.5 g sugar, which in turn produced >60% ethanol, with pH ≈ 2.85, 74-84% light transmittance and a conductivity of 368 mV, indicating a potential use of cassava feedstock for ethanol production. Thus, harnessing cassava for food as well as ethanol production is deemed feasible. Such a system would, however, require supportive policies to acquire a balance between food security and fuel.     

Conversion of Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy into Chemical Energy

When a concentrated solar beam is irradiated to the ceramics such as Ni-ferrite, the high-energy flux in the range of 1500–2500 kW/m² is absorbed by an excess Frenkel defect formation. This non-equilibrium state defect is generated not by heating at a low heating-rate (30 K/min), but by irradiating high flux energy of concentrated solar beam rapidly at a high heating rate (200 K/min). The defect can be spontaneously converted to chemical energy of a cation-excess spinel structure (reduced-oxide form) at the temperature around 1773 K. Thus, the O₂ releasing reaction (α-O₂ releasing reaction) proceeds in two-steps; (1) high flux energy of concentrated solar beam absorption by formation of the non-equilibrium Frenkel defect and (2) the O₂ gas formation from the O^2? in the Frenkel defect even in air atmosphere. The 2nd step proceeds without the solar radiation. We may say that the 1st step is light reaction, and 2nd step, dark reaction, just like in photosynthesis process.