Ecological networks and greenways in Europe: reasoning and concepts

The paper gives an overview of approaches towards ecological networks throughout Europe.It does not intend to present a complete picture,but to highlight comon developments within countries and regions and show common principles and differences between countries and regions that have to be taken into account when developing a joint European intiative,Countries or regions that have not been included can be active in the same way ,but information was not accessible to be authors for different reasons.This overview shows the comparable trends in decline of landscapes and the diversity in approaches to biodiversity conservation and nature conservation planning.Understanding the differences and common issues are of utmost imprtance to generalise common principles and to understand the way neighbours and other European partners approach problems.     

The influence of sewage sludge properties on sludge-borne metal availability

With the advent of more stringent controls on wastewater treatment, sewage sludge production in Europe and many parts of the world is increasing. With this increase comes the problem of sludge disposal, and recycling to land arguably offers an economically and environmentally sustainable option. However, a major limitation of sewage sludge reuse is the potential release of heavy metals from the sludge and heavy metal accumulation to toxic levels in topsoils. The properties of the sludge play a crucial role in determining the initial release and subsequent availability of heavy metals in amended soils. Bioavailable forms of heavy metals in recently amended soils are most likely to be those that are bioavailable in the sewage sludge. In this paper, published research on the importance of sewage sludge characteristics on metal release and bioavailability will be reviewed and contrasted with original research. A selection of sludges from around Australia has been collected for this purpose. Through the use of incubation studies, isotope dilution techniques, ion-selective electrode measurements and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy, the importance of a range of sludge properties on heavy metal behaviour in sludges and sludge-amended soils is addressed.     

Gamergates in the myrmicine genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Metapone</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera:Formicidae)

Gamergates (i.e. mated reproductive workers) are mostly known from ant species within the Ponerinae. We report here the discovery of gamergates in two species of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Until now, mated reproductive females in colonies of myrmicine species have been considered morphologically distinct from the worker caste. However, in two species of the myrmicine Metapone (Metapone madagascarica and a newly discovered, not yet described Metapone species) all workers have six ovarioles and a spermatheca; and some of them are mated. There are no morphological differences between mated and non-mated workers. Field observations and laboratory studies indicate that colonies of the Metapone species can reproduce with gamergates only.     

Vocal acrobatics in a Chinese frog, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amolops tormotus</Emphasis>

Although amphibians are highly vocal, they generally emit only a limited number of acoustic communication signals. We report here the extraordinarily rich vocal repertoire of Amolops tormotus, a ranid species in China. These frogs produce countless vocalizations, some of which share features of birdsong or primate calls, e.g., ultrasonic frequency components, multiple upward and downward FM sweeps, and sudden onset and offset of selective harmonic components within a call note. Frame-by-frame video analysis of the frog's calling behavior suggests the presence of two pairs of vocal sacs that may contribute to the remarkable call-note complexity in this species. Electronic supplementary material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00114-002-0335-x.     

Inventory of emissions from major air pollutant categories in Turkey

In this study, an inventory of air pollutant emission estimates from major air polluting sources in Turkey for period between 1985 and 2005 with 5-year intervals were estimated. Inventory covers anthropogenic sources of five major air pollutants of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Their break-down with respect to main activity sectors were shown and their distribution by the largest industrial source categories were worked out as annual estimates. This inventory and its analysis point to serious environmental implications of air pollutants and a need to develop a policy plan for reducing these emissions.     

Results of a questionnaire investigation on the management of environmental issues during conceptual design. A case study of two large made-to-order companies

This paper investigates the current treatment of environmental issues by two companies within the large made-to-order sector. Fifty questionnaires were issued to the design team of each company to assess current practice in the integration of environmental issues with design activities, awareness of environmental issues, awareness of existing environmental design tools and the preferred format for a potential clean design tool.