The countryside information system: A strategic-level decision support system

The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) has monitored ecological change in Great Britain (GB) since 1978. The task has been undertaken using a stratified sampling scheme working with a 1 km square as the sample unit. In more recent years, scientific researchers at ITE have been working closely with the policy-makers of the United Kingdom Department of the Environment. The presentation of information to policy advisors and planners was a component within a large project investigating the ecological consequences of land-use change. A simple PC-based decision support system was developed during the project and subsequently has been expanded to produce a marketable product. The system, called the Countryside Information System (CIS), presents and links information at national, regional and thematic levels along with qualifying data describing accuracy and appropriateness of use (i.e., metadata). An integral part of the CIS is the ITE Land Classification, which divides GB into 32 environmental land classes; all 250 000 squares have been classified. The classification allows sampled data to be presented and, as the co-ordinate system is widely used in GB, it allows census datasets to be linked and compared. CIS has been described as a Geographical Information System, but the classification, data held within the system, and the use of metadata to assist in interpretation of results make the system much more decision-support oriented. Indeed, government departments have been involved in directing the development and are now starting to use the system to answer parliamentary questions and formulate, assess and monitor environmental policy. The CIS is an open system, running on a standard PC in Microsoft Windows. Tools for loading and editing new datasets (both sample and census) are incorporated in the suite of programs. The Windows environment and users comments during development have produced a system with an intuitive feel, removing some of the overhead of acquiring specialised technical skills before being able to operate a system. This paper describes the CIS and presents examples of its applications.     

Odor Control In Los Angeles County

Abstract

Concentrations of 38 gas-phase organic air toxics were measured over a 2-yr period at four different sites in and around Pittsburgh, PA, to investigate spatial variations in health risks from chronic exposure. The sites were chosen to represent different exposure regimes: a downtown site with substantial mobile source emissions; two residential sites adjacent to one of the most heavily industrialized zones in Pittsburgh; and a regional background site. Lifetime cancer risks and non-cancer hazard quotients were estimated using a traditional and interactive risk models. Although study average concentrations of specific air toxics varied by as a much as a factor of 26 between the sites, the additive cancer risks of the gas-phase organic air toxics varied by less than a factor of 2, ranging from 6.1 × 10^-5 to 9.5 × 10^-5. The modest variation in risks reflects the fact that two regionally distributed toxics, formalde-hyde and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), contributed more than half of the cancer risk at all four sites. Benzene contributed substantial cancer risks at all sites, whereas trichloroethene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene only contributed substantial cancer risks at the downtown site. Only acrolein posed a non-cancer risk. Diesel particulate matter is estimated to pose a much greater cancer risk in Pittsburgh than other classes of air toxics including gas-phase organic, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and coke oven emissions. Health risks of air toxics in Pittsburgh are comparable with those in other urban areas in the United States.     

Gendered medicinal plant knowledge contributions to adaptive capacity and health sovereignty in Amazonia

Local medical systems are key elements of social-ecological systems as they provide culturally appropriate and locally accessible health care options, especially for populations with scarce access to biomedicine. The adaptive capacity of local medical systems generally rests on two pillars: species diversity and a robust local knowledge system, both threatened by local and global environmental change. We first present a conceptual framework to guide the assessment of knowledge diversity and redundancy in local medicinal knowledge systems through a gender lens. Then, we apply this conceptual framework to our research on the local medicinal plant knowledge of the Tsimane’ Amerindians. Our results suggest that Tsimane’ medicinal plant knowledge is gendered and that the frequency of reported ailments and the redundancy of knowledge used to treat them are positively associated. We discuss the implications of knowledge diversity and redundancy for local knowledge systems’ adaptive capacity, resilience, and health sovereignty.     

Occurrence,fate, and transport of potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in an alkaline rhizosphere soil-plant (Maize,Zea mays L.) system: the role of Bacillus subtilis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Utilization of microbes is one of the most promising methods to remediate potentially toxic metals (PTMs) from soil. In this study, a systematic...     

Sub-canopy deposition of ozone in a stand of cutleaf coneflower

Although there has been a great deal of research on ozone, interest in exposure of native, herbaceous species is relatively recent and it is still not clear what role the pollutant has in their ecological fitness. The ozone exposure of a plant is usually expressed in terms of the concentration above the canopy or as a time-weighted index. However, to understand the physiological effects of ozone it is necessary to quantify the ozone flux to individual leaves as they develop, which requires knowing the deposition velocity and concentration of the pollutant as a function of height throughout the plant canopy. We used a high-order closure model of sub-canopy turbulence to estimate ozone profiles in stands of cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L.) located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. The model was run for periods coinciding with a short field study, during which we measured vertical concentration profiles of ozone along with measurements of atmospheric turbulence and other meteorological and plant variables. Predictions of ozone profiles by the model are compared with observations throughout the canopy.     

Seasonal development of ozone-induced foliar injury on tall milkweed (Asclepias exaltata) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The goals of this study were to document the development of ozone-induced foliar injury, on a leaf-by-leaf basis, and to develop ozone exposure relationships for leaf cohorts and individual tall milkweeds (Asclepias exaltata L.) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Plants were classified as either ozone-sensitive or insensitive based on the amount of foliar injury. Sensitive plants developed injury earlier in the season and to a greater extent than insensitive plants. Older leaf cohorts were more likely to belong to high injury classes by the end of each of the two growing seasons. In addition, leaf loss was more likely for older cohorts (2000) and lower leaf positions (2001) than younger cohorts and upper leaves, respectively. Most leaves abscised without prior ozone-like stippling or chlorosis. Failure to take this into account can result in underestimation of the effects of ozone on these plants.     

Environmental factors and the epidemics of COVID-19

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -