Protected area characteristics that help waterbirds respond to climate warming

Protected area networks help species respond to climate warming. However, the contribution of a site's environmental and conservation-relevant characteristics to these responses is not well understood. We investigated how composition of nonbreeding waterbird communities (97 species) in the European Union Natura 2000 (N2K) network (3018 sites) changed in response to increases in temperature over 25 years in 26 European countries. We measured community reshuffling based on abundance time series collected under the International Waterbird Census relative to N2K sites’ conservation targets, funding, designation period, and management plan status. Waterbird community composition in sites explicitly designated to protect them and with management plans changed more quickly in response to climate warming than in other N2K sites. Temporal community changes were not affected by the designation period despite greater exposure to temperature increase inside late-designated N2K sites. Sites funded under the LIFE program had lower climate-driven community changes than sites that did not received LIFE funding. Our findings imply that efficient conservation policy that helps waterbird communities respond to climate warming is associated with sites specifically managed for waterbirds.     

Effect of Casting Process Conditions on Mechanical Properties and Water Solubility of Films Made from Wolf Fruit and Its Optimization

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Biodegradable films based on wolf fruit flour were prepared by the casting process using glycerol as a plasticizing agent. The influence that the process...     

Modeling inorganic aerosols and their response to changes in precursor concentration in Mexico City

Based on data from the 1997 Investigación sobre Materia Particulada y Deterioro Atmosférico-Aerosol and Visibility Evaluation Research (IMADA-EVER) campaign and the inorganic aerosol model ISORROPIA, the response of inorganic aerosols to changes in precursor concentrations was calculated. The aerosol behavior is dominated by the abundance of ammonia and thus, changes in ammonia concentration are expected to have a small effect on particle concentrations. Changes in sulfate and nitrate are expected to lead to proportional reductions in inorganic fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Comparing the predictions of ISORROPIA with the observations, the lowest bias and error are achieved when the aerosols are assumed to be in the efflorescence branch. Including crustal species reduces the bias and error for nitrate but does not improve overall model performance. The estimated response of inorganic PM2.5 to changes in precursor concentrations is affected by the inclusion of crustal species in some cases, although average responses are comparable with and without crustal species. Observed concentrations of particle chloride suggest that gas phase concentrations of hydrogen chloride may not be negligible, and future measurement campaigns should include observations to test this hypothesis. Our ability to model aerosol behavior in Mexico City and, thus, design control strategies, is constrained primarily by a lack of observations of gas phase precursors. Future campaigns should focus in particular on better understanding the temporal and spatial distribution of ammonia concentrations. In addition, gas phase observations of nitric acid are needed, and a measure of particle water content will allow stable versus metastable aerosol behavior to be distinguished.     

Study of evolution of PCDD/F in sewage sludge-amended soils for land restoration purposes

The evolution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) in sewage sludge-amended soils used in the restoration of degraded lands, like quarries, has been studied. Two experiments were performed: one in the lab, under controlled conditions, and another in a quarry. Two different doses of sewage sludge were applied in both experiments (with two types of application in the quarry experiment) and the evolution of the amended soils were compared with that of the respective control soils (without addition of sewage sludge). The samples were analyzed with a previously validated method by HRGC HRMS after the extraction and the necessary clean-up steps. The results reveal that polluted sewage sludge increases PCDD/F concentration in soils and that these compounds are persistent in the matrix after long periods of time.     

Megacities and atmospheric pollution

About half of the world's population now lives in urban areas because of the opportunity for a better quality of life. Many of these urban centers are expanding rapidly, leading to the growth of megacities, which are defined as metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 10 million inhabitants. These concentrations of people and activity are exerting increasing stress on the natural environment, with impacts at urban, regional and global levels. In recent decades, air pollution has become one of the most important problems of megacities. Initially, the main air pollutants of concern were sulfur compounds, which were generated mostly by burning coal. Today, photochemical smog--induced primarily from traffic, but also from industrial activities, power generation, and solvents--has become the main source of concern for air quality, while sulfur is still a major problem in many cities of the developing world. Air pollution has serious impacts on public health, causes urban and regional haze, and has the potential to contribute significantly to climate change. Yet, with appropriate planning, megacities can efficiently address their air quality problems through measures such as application of new emission control technologies and development of mass transit systems. This review is focused on nine urban centers, chosen as case studies to assess air quality from distinct perspectives: from cities in the industrialized nations to cities in the developing world. While each city--its problems, resources, and outlook--is unique, the need for a holistic approach to the complex environmental problems is the same. There is no single strategy in reducing air pollution in megacities; a mix of policy measures will be needed to improve air quality. Experience shows that strong political will coupled with public dialog is essential to effectively implement the regulations required to address air quality problems.     

Separation of non-ortho polychlorinated biphenyl congeners on pre-packed carbon tubes. Application to analysis in sewage sludge and soil samples

The analysis of planar (non-ortho) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) by HRGC-ECD or HRGC-HRMS requires a fractionation step to avoid the interferences of the bulk of PCB, usually in much higher concentration than the planar ones. In this paper, a new method, based on the fractionation of PCB on SPE commercial tubes pre-packed with Carbopack B, has been developed. After the extract has been applied on the stationary phase, the bulk of PCD are eluted with 15 ml of hexane (fraction I), mono-ortho PCB with 20 ml of hexane/toluene 99:1 (fraction II) and planar PCB with 20 ml of toluene (fraction III) in a station under vacuum. The method has been validated: accuracy (expressed as recovery in %) is >70% and precision (expressed as % RSD) is <20% considering changes of day, analyst and batch of tubes. The method is linear in the range studied. Other advantages are that the method is simple, rapid and it can be easily automated. The application of this separation to the determination of planar PCB in fly-ash extracts from an intercalibration exercise and to sewage sludge, sediment and soil samples has been successful. In addition, this method removes hydrocarbons from the planar PCB fraction and allows its concentration to very small volumes.