Increased bioavailability of metals in two contrasting agricultural soils treated with waste wood-derived biochar and ash

Recycled waste wood is being increasingly used for energy production; however, organic and metal contaminants in by-products produced from the combustion/pyrolysis residue may pose a significant environmental risk if they are disposed of to land. Here we conducted a study to evaluate if highly polluted biochar (from pyrolysis) and ash (from incineration) derived from Cu-based preservative-treated wood led to different metal (e.g., Cu, As, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Zn) bioavailability and accumulation in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). In a pot experiment, biochar at a common rate of 2 % w/w, corresponding to ～50 t ha^?1, and an equivalent pre-combustion dose of wood ash (0.2 % w/w) were added to a Eutric Cambisol (pH 6.02) and a Haplic Podzol (pH 4.95), respectively. Both amendments initially raised soil pH, although this effect was relatively short-term, with pH returning close to the unamended control within about 7 weeks. The addition of both amendments resulted in an exceedance of soil Cu statutory limit, together with a significant increase of Cu and plant nutrient (e.g., K) bioavailability. The metal-sorbing capacity of the biochar, and the temporary increase in soil pH caused by adding the ash and biochar were insufficient to offset the amount of free metal released into solution. Sunflower plants were negatively affected by the addition of metal-treated wood-derived biochar and led to elevated concentration of metals in plant tissue, and reduced above- and below-ground biomass, while sunflower did not grow at all in the Haplic Podzol. Biochar and ash derived from wood treated with Cu-based preservatives can lead to extremely high Cu concentrations in soil and negatively affect plant growth. Identifying sources of contaminated wood in waste stream feedstocks is crucial before large-scale application of biochar or wood ash to soil is considered.     

Effect of Si-rich substances on phosphorous adsorption by sandy soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The poor adsorption capacity of sandy soils is one of the primary reasons of a high level of phosphorus (P) leaching. Silicon (Si)-rich soil...     

Trait space of rare plants in a fire‐dependent ecosystem

The causes of species rarity are of critical concern because of the high extinction risk associated with rarity. Studies examining individual rare species have limited generality, whereas trait‐based approaches offer a means to identify functional causes of rarity that can be applied to communities with disparate species pools. Differences in functional traits between rare and common species may be indicative of the functional causes of species rarity and may therefore be useful in crafting species conservation strategies. However, there is a conspicuous lack of studies comparing the functional traits of rare species and co‐occurring common species. We measured 18 important functional traits for 19 rare and 134 common understory plant species from North Carolina's Sandhills region and compared their trait distributions to determine whether there are significant functional differences that may explain species rarity. Flowering, fire, and tissue‐chemistry traits differed significantly between rare and common, co‐occurring species. Differences in specific traits suggest that fire suppression has driven rarity in this system and that changes to the timing and severity of prescribed fire may improve conservation success. Our method provides a useful tool to prioritize conservation efforts in other systems based on the likelihood that rare species are functionally capable of persisting.     

Review of Italian experience on automotive shredder residue characterization and management

Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) is a special waste that can be classified as either hazardous or non hazardous depending on the amount of hazardous substances and on the features of leachate gathered from EN12457/2 test. However both the strict regulation concerning landfills and the EU targets related to End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) recovery and recycling rate to achieve by 2015 (Directive 2000/53/EC), will limit current landfilling practice and will impose an increased efficiency of ELVs valorization. The present paper considers ELVs context in Italy, taking into account ASRs physical–chemical features and current processing practice, focusing on the enhancement of secondary materials recovery. The application in waste-to-energy plants, cement kilns or metallurgical processes is also analyzed, with a particular attention to the possible connected environmental impacts. Pyrolysis and gasification are considered as emerging technologies although the only use of ASR is debatable; its mixing with other waste streams is gradually being applied in commercial processes. The environmental impacts of the processes are acceptable, but more supporting data are needed and the advantage over (co-)incineration remains to be proven.     

Using long-term data for a reintroduced population to empirically estimate future consequences of inbreeding

Inbreeding depression is an important long-term threat to reintroduced populations. However, the strength of inbreeding depression is difficult to estimate in wild populations because pedigree data are inevitably incomplete and because good data are needed on survival and reproduction. Predicting future population consequences is especially difficult because this also requires projecting future inbreeding levels and their impacts on long-term population dynamics, which are subject to many uncertainties. We illustrate how such projections can be derived through Bayesian state-space modeling methods based on a 26-year data set for North Island Robins (Petroica longipes) reintroduced to Tiritiri Matangi Island in 1992. We used pedigree data to model increases in the average inbreeding level (F ) over time based on kinship of possible breeding pairs and to estimate empirically N_e/N (effective/census population size). We used multiple imputation to model the unknown components of inbreeding coefficients, which allowed us to estimate effects of inbreeding on survival for all 1458 birds in the data set while modeling density dependence and environmental stochasticity. This modeling indicated that inbreeding reduced juvenile survival (1.83 lethal equivalents [SE 0.81]) and may have reduced subsequent adult survival (0.44 lethal equivalents [0.81]) but had no apparent effect on numbers of fledglings produced. Average inbreeding level increased to 0.10 (SE 0.001) as the population grew from 33 (0.3) to 160 (6) individuals over the 25 years, giving a ratio of 0.56 (0.01). Based on a model that also incorporated habitat regeneration, the population was projected to reach a maximum of 331–1144 birds (median 726) in 2130, then to begin a slow decline. Without inbreeding, the population would be expected stabilize at 887–1465 birds (median 1131). Such analysis, therefore, makes it possible to empirically derive the information needed for rational decisions about inbreeding management while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty.     

Ambrosia artemisiifolia in an Anthropogenic Landscape of Gomel Polesye

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Desert pastoralists’ negative and positive effects on rare wildlife in the Gobi

In arid regions of the developing world, pastoralists and livestock commonly inhabit protected areas, resulting in human–wildlife conflict. Conflict is inextricably linked to the ecological processes shaping relationships between pastoralists and native herbivores and carnivores. To elucidate relationships underpinning human–wildlife conflict, we synthesized 15 years of ecological and ethnographic data from Ikh Nart Nature Reserve in Mongolia's Gobi steppe. The density of argali (Ovis ammon), the world's largest wild sheep, at Ikh Nart was among the highest in Mongolia, yet livestock were >90% of ungulate biomass and dogs >90% of large‐carnivore biomass. For argali, pastoral activities decreased food availability, increased mortality from dog predation, and potentially increased disease risk. Isotope analyses indicated that livestock accounted for >50% of the diet of the majority of gray wolves (Canis lupus) and up to 90% of diet in 25% of sampled wolves (n = 8). Livestock composed at least 96% of ungulate prey in the single wolf pack for which we collected species‐specific prey data. Interviews with pastoralists indicated that wolves annually killed 1–4% of Ikh Nart's livestock, and pastoralists killed wolves in retribution. Pastoralists reduced wolf survival by killing them, but their livestock were an abundant food source for wolves. Consequently, wolf density appeared to be largely decoupled from argali density, and pastoralists had indirect effects on argali that could be negative if pastoralists increased wolf density (apparent competition) or positive if pastoralists decreased wolf predation (apparent facilitation). Ikh Nart's argali population was stable despite these threats, but livestock are increasingly dominant numerically and functionally relative to argali. To support both native wildlife and pastoral livelihoods, we suggest training dogs to not kill argali, community insurance against livestock losses to wolves, reintroducing key native prey species to hotspots of human–wolf conflict, and developing incentives for pastoralists to reduce livestock density.