Ecotoxicological evaluation of the short term effects of fresh and stabilized textile sludges before application in forest soil restoration

The short term (eco)toxicity potential of fresh and stabilized textile sludges, as well as the short term (eco)toxicity of leachates obtained from both fresh and stabilized textile sludges, was evaluated by a battery of toxicity tests carried out with bacteria, algae, daphnids, fish, earthworms, and higher plants. The (eco)toxicological results showed that, after 120 d of stabilization, the experimental loading ratio of 25% sludge:75% soil (v/v) (equivalent to 64.4 ton/ha) did not significantly increase toxicity effects and increased significantly the biomass yield for earthworms and higher plants. The rank of biological sensitivity endpoints was: Algae approximately Plant biomass > Plant germination approximately Daphnids > Bacteria approximately Fish > Annelids. The lack of short term toxicity effects and the stimulant effect observed with higher plants and earthworms are good indications of the fertilizer/conditioner potential of this industrial waste, which after stabilization can be used in the restoration of a non-productive forest soil.     

Halophyte vegetation influences in salt marsh retention capacity for heavy metals

We analysed concentrations of Cu, Cd and Pb in above and belowground tissues of the halophyte species Halimione portulacoides and Spartina maritima, as well as in sediments and pore water between the roots in a Tagus estuary salt marsh (Portugal). From these results we calculated the pools of metals in the compartments mentioned above. Relative percentages of accumulation in each pool were also determined. Our aim was to determine how the type of vegetation in the salt marsh affects overall metal retention capacity of the system. It was concluded that areas colonised by H. portulacoides are potential sources of Cu, Cd and Pb to the marsh ecosystem, whereas areas colonised by S. maritima are more effective sinks at least for Cu and Cd. Consequently, S. maritima seems to contribute more effectively to the stabilisation of metals in salt marsh sediments, reducing their availability to the estuarine system.     

Remote sensing water observation for supporting Lake Victoria weed management

This paper aims to assess the suitability of remote sensing for enhancing the management of water body resources and for providing an inexpensive way to gather, on a wide area, weed infestation extent and optical parameter linked to the water body status. Remotely sensed satellite images and ancillary ground true data were used to produce land cover maps, trough classification techniques, and water compounds maps, applying radiative transfer models. The study proposed within the framework of the cooperation between Italian Foreign Affair Ministry (through the University of Rome) and Kenyan Authorities has been carried out on the Kenyan part of the Lake Victoria. This lake is one of the largest freshwater bodies of the world where, over the last few years environmental challenges and human impact have perturbed the ecological balance affecting the biodiversity. The objective of this research study is to define the thematic products, retrievable from satellite images, like weed abundance maps and water compound concentrations. These products, if provided with an appropriate time frequency, are useful to identify the preconditions for the occurrence of hazard events like abnormal macrophyte proliferation and to develop an up-to-date decision support system devoted to an apprised territory, environment and resource management.     

Assessing species reintroduction sites based on future climate suitability for food resources

The reintroduction of a species that is extinct in the wild demands caution because reintroduction locations may be associated with threats, such as hunting, poor-quality habitat, and climate change. This is the case for Cyanopsitta spixii (Spix's Macaw), which has been extinct in the wild since 2000. The few living individuals were created in captivity and will be used in a reintroduction project within the species’ original distribution area, the Caatinga domain (Brazil). Because the occurrence records for this bird are old and inaccurate, we investigated the current and future environmental suitability of the 14 plant species used by C. spixii as resource. These plants are key elements for the long-term reestablishment of the species in the wild, so the use of models helps in the assessment of the effects of climate change on the availability of these resources for the species and informs selection of the best places for reintroduction. We based our models of environmental suitability on 19 bioclimatic variables and nine physical soil and topography variables. Climate projections were created for the present and for the year 2070 with an optimistic (SSP2-4.5) and a pessimistic (SSP5-8.5) climate scenario. Both future climate scenarios lead to a reduction in area of environmental suitability that overlapped for all the plant species: 33% reduction for SSP2-4.5 and 63% reduction for SSP5-8.5. If our projections materialize, climate change could thus affect the distribution of key resources, and the maintenance of C. spixii would depend on restoration of degraded areas, especially riparian forests, and the preservation of already existing natural areas. The Caatinga domain is very threatened by habitat loss and, for the success of this reintroduction project, the parties involved must act to protect the species and the resources it uses.     

Aspergillus sclerotiorum lipolytic activity and its application in bioremediation of high-fat dairy wastewater environments

Oils and grease (O&G) have low affinity for water and represent a class of pollutants present in the dairy industry. Enzyme-mediated bioremediation using biocatalysts, such as lipases, has shown promising potential in biotechnology, as they are versatile catalysts with high enantioselectivity and regioselectivity and easy availability, being considered a clean technology (white biotechnology). Specially in the treatment of effluents from dairy industries, these enzymes are of particular importance as they specifically hydrolyze O&G. In this context, the objective of this work is to prospect filamentous fungi with the ability to synthesize lipases for application in a high-fat dairy wastewater environment. We identified and characterized the fungal species Aspergillus sclerotiorum as a good lipase producer. Specifically, we observed highest lipolytic activity (20.72 U g⁻¹) after 96 h of fermentation using sunflower seed as substrate. The fungal solid fermented was used in the bioremediation in dairy effluent to reduce O&G. The experiment was done in kinetic from 24 to 168 h and reduced over 90% of the O&G present in the sample after 168 h. Collectively, our work demonstrated the efficiency and applicability of fungal fermented solids in bioremediation and how this process can contribute to a more sustainable wastewater pretreatment, reducing the generation of effluents produced by dairy industries.

     

Emission factors of atmospheric and climatic pollutants from crop residues burning

Biomass burning is a common agricultural practice, because it allows elimination of postharvesting residues; nevertheless, it involves an inefficient combustion process that generates atmospheric pollutants emission, which has implications on health and climate change. This work focuses on the estimation of emission factors (EFs) of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and methane (CH₄) of residues from burning alfalfa, barley, beans, cotton, maize, rice, sorghum, and wheat in Mexico. Chemical characteristics of the residues were determined to establish their relationship with EFs, as well as with the modified combustion efficiency (MCE). Essays were carried out in an open combustion chamber with isokinetic sampling, following modified EPA 201-A method. EFs did not present statistical differences among different varieties of the same crop, but were statistically different among different crops, showing that generic values of EFs for all the agricultural residues can introduce significant uncertainties when used for climatic and atmospheric pollutant inventories. EFs of PM_2.5 ranged from 1.19 to 11.30 g kg^?1, and of PM₁₀ from 1.77 to 21.56 g kg^?1. EFs of EC correlated with lignin content, whereas EFs of OC correlated inversely with carbon content. EFs of EC and OC in PM_2.5 ranged from 0.15 to 0.41 g kg^?1 and from 0.33 to 5.29 g kg^?1, respectively, and in PM₁₀, from 0.17 to 0.43 g kg^?1 and from 0.54 to 11.06 g kg^?1. CO₂ represented the largest gaseous emissions volume with 1053.35–1850.82 g kg^?1, whereas the lowest was CH₄ with 1.61–5.59 g kg^?1. CO ranged from 28.85 to 155.71 g kg^?1, correlating inversely with carbon content and MCE. EFs were used to calculate emissions from eight agricultural residues burning in the country during 2016, to know the potential mitigation of climatic and atmospheric pollutants, provided this practice was banned.

Implications: The emission factors of particles, short-lived climatic pollutants, and atmospheric pollutants from the crop residues burning of eight agricultural wastes crops, determined in this study using a standardized method, provides better knowledge of the emissions of those species in Latin America and other developing countries, and can be used as inputs in air quality models and climatic studies. The EFs will allow the development of more accurate inventories of aerosols and gaseous pollutants, which will lead to the design of effective mitigation strategies and planning processes for sustainable agriculture.     

Assessment of the applicability of a “toolbox” designed for microbially assisted phytoremediation: the case study at Ingurtosu mining site (Italy)

The paper describes the fieldwork at the Italian test site of the abandoned mine of sphalerite and galena in Ingurtosu (Sardinia), with the aim to assess the applicability of a “toolbox” to establish the optimized techniques for remediation of soils contaminated by mining activities. A preliminary characterization—including (hydro)geochemistry, heavy metal concentration and their mobility in soil, bioprospecting for microbiology and botany—provided a data set for the development of a toolbox to deliver a microbially assisted phytoremediation process. Euphorbia pithyusa was selected as an endemic pioneer plant to be associated with a bacterial consortium, established with ten selected native strains, including metal-tolerant bacteria and producers of plant growth factors. The toolbox was firstly assessed in a greenhouse pot experiment. A positive effect of bacterial inoculum on E. pithyusa germination and total plant survival was observed. E. pithyusa showed to be a well-performing metallophyte species, and only inoculated soil retained a microbial activity with a high functional diversity, expanding metabolic affinity also towards root exudates. These results supported the decision to proceed with a field trial, investigating different treatments used singly or in combination: bioaugmentation with bacterial consortia, mycorrhizal fungi and a commercial mineral amendment. Microbial activity in soil, plant physiological parameters and heavy metal content in plants and in soil were monitored. Five months after the beginning, an early assessment of the toolbox under field conditions was carried out. Despite the cold season (October–March), results suggested the following: (1) the field setup as well as the experimental design proved to be effective; (2) plant survival was satisfactory; (3) soil quality was increased and bioaugmentation improved microbial activity, expanding the metabolic competences towards plant interaction (root exudates); and (4) multivariate analysis supported the data provided that the proposed toolbox can be established and the field trial can be carried forward.     

Predictive model for areas with illegal landfills using logistic regression

The existence of illegal landfills is an environmental problem in most countries. However, research on this issue is scarce and limited by the availability and quality of data on the subject. Thus, most illegal landfill studies have only been conducted in a partial manner, focusing on geographical aspects or the causes of these landfills (lack of environmental awareness, inadequate waste management systems, and the role of local government). This research analyses a sample of 120 possible areas with illegal landfills in Andalusia using logistic regression in order to obtain a predictive model for the occurrence of these landfills, including both types of variables (geographical and behavioural) jointly. The results confirm that the variables that most influence the occurrence of illegal landfills are spatial (“Industrial Land”, “Plains” and “Rural Land”); whilst the variables that most reduce the likelihood of illegal landfills are those related to certain characteristics of the municipal waste management system and environmental awareness, such as “Availability of Recycling Facilities”, “Punitive Policies”, “Supervision” and “Awareness-raising Campaigns”. The model obtained shows that variables of very different nature and magnitude interact in the occurrence of illegal landfills, each of which contributes a series of features characteristic of its scale. It is advisable, therefore, to perform an analysis using a multi-scale approach in order to gain an overall understanding of the phenomenon.     

Detection of Norovirus GII.17 Kawasaki 2014 in Shellfish,Marine Water and Underwater Sewage Discharges in Italy

Norovirus (NoV) is a major cause of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis worldwide, and the variants of genotype GII.4 are currently the predominant human strains. Recently, a novel variant of NoV GII.17 (GII.P17_GII.17 NoV), termed Kawasaki 2014, has been reported as the cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in Asia, replacing the pandemic strain GII.4 Sydney 2012. The GII.17 Kawasaki 2014 variant has also been reported sporadically in patients with gastroenteritis outside of Asia, including Italy. In this study, 384 shellfish samples were subjected to screening for human NoVs using real-time PCR and 259 (67.4%) tested positive for Genogroup II (GII) NoV. Of these, 52 samples, selected as representative of different areas and sampling dates, were further amplified by conventional PCR targeting the capsid gene, using broad-range primers. Forty shellfish samples were characterized by amplicon sequencing as GII.4 (n = 29), GII.2 (n = 4), GII.6 (n = 2), GII.12 (n = 2), and GII.17 (n = 3). Sixty-eight water samples (39 seawater samples from the corresponding shellfish production areas and 29 water samples from nearby underwater sewage discharge points) were also tested using the above broad-range assay: eight NoV-positive samples were characterized as GII.1 (n = 3), GII.2 (n = 1), GII.4 (n = 2), and GII.6 (n = 2). Based on full genome sequences available in public databases, a novel RT-PCR nested assay specific for GII.17 NoVs was designed and used to re-test the characterized shellfish (40) and water (8) samples. In this second screening, the RNA of GII.17 NoV was identified in 17 additional shellfish samples and in one water sample. Upon phylogenetic analysis, these GII.17 NoV isolates were closely related to the novel GII.17 Kawasaki 2014. Interestingly, our findings chronologically matched the emergence of the Kawasaki 2014 variant in the Italian population (early 2015), as reported by hospital-based NoV surveillance. These results, showing GII.17 NoV strains to be widespread in shellfish samples collected in 2015 in Italy, provide indirect evidence that this strain has started circulating in the Italian population. Notably, using a specific assay, we were able to detect many more samples positive for GII.17 NoV, indicating that, in food and water matrices, broad-range assays for NoV may grossly underestimate the prevalence of some, less common, NoVs. The detection of the GII.17 strain Kawasaki 2014 in clinical, water and food samples in Italy highlights the need for more systematic surveillance for future disease control and prevention.