Participatory and deliberative assessment of the landscape and natural resource social values of marine and coastal ecosystem services: the case of Kyrenia (Girne) Region from Northern Cyprus

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper aims to identify and evaluate the landscape and natural resource (traditional ecological knowledge) social values of marine and coastal...     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy based modelling for prediction of air pollution daily levels in city of Zonguldak

Air pollution is a growing problem arising from domestic heating, high density of vehicle traffic, electricity production, and expanding commercial and industrial activities, all increasing in parallel with urban population. Monitoring and forecasting of air quality parameters in the urban area are important due to health impact. Artificial intelligent techniques are successfully used in modelling of highly complex and non-linear phenomena. In this study, adaptive neuro-fuzzy logic method has been proposed to estimate the impact of meteorological factors on SO2 and total suspended particular matter (TSP) pollution levels over an urban area. The model forecasts satisfactorily the trends in SO2 and TSP concentration levels, with performance between 75-90% and 69-80 %, respectively.     

Stability of some quality traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes

This study was carried out in order to determine some quality traits such as thousand grain weight (TGW), hectoliter weight (HW), grain protein content (GPC), Zeleny sedimentation volume (ZSV) and stability of quality traits of 25 bread wheat genotypes. The experiment was conducted at seven environmental conditions during 2 growing periods (2003-2004 and 2004-2005) using randomized complete block design with four replicates. The ANOVA showed that out of the total sum of squares, 48.4, 28.0 and 23.6% for TGW, 71.4, 14.9 and 13.7% for HW, 54.4, 23.0 and 22.6% for GPC, 44.7, 41.7 and 13.6% for ZSV was attributable to E, G and G x E interaction effects, respectively. Thousand grain weight, hectoliter weight, grain protein content and Zeleny sedimentasyon volume of genotypes changed from 34.5 to 41.4 g, from 76.5 to 80.4 Kg, from 11.49 to 13.37% and from 22.1 to 46.0 ml, respectively. Seven stability parameters, covering a wide range of statistical approaches, were used so as to predict the genotypes. The study of genotypic stability showed that Bezostaya and advanced lines numbered 11 and 24 had high stability for quality traits and proved to be the best within the pool of the studied genotypes. Also, 8 and 17 numbered genotypes demonstrated high stability for TGW, HW, GPC and HW, GPC and ZSV, respectively.     

Treatment of the textile wastewater by combined electrocoagulation

Electrocoagulation (EC) due to some advantages over chemical coagulation is becoming a popular process to be used for wastewater treatment. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of initial addition of a chemical coagulant such as polyaluminum chloride (PAC) or alum on the COD removal efficiency of EC treatment of textile wastewaters. The two salts exhibited the same performance in chemical coagulation, but in the combined electrocoagulation (CEC), PAC was found to significantly enhance the COD removal rate and efficiency, depending on the amount of the total aluminum supplied, by initial addition and electrochemical generation. A comparative operating cost analysis was also given and it was found that with the same operating cost per mass of COD removed, CEC performance was 80%, in contrast to 23% with EC, in 5 min of operation.     

Revealing major terrestrial- and marine species-based provisioning ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes of Lefke Region in North Cyprus

The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate major terrestrial- and marine species-based provisioning ecosystem services (PESs) provided by the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) of Lefke Region located in North Cyprus. The objectives of the study include: (1) identifying major terrestrial-based PESs collected from the SEPLS (e.g. wild plants) and (2) recording major marine-based PESs caught (e.g. fish species), and (3) proposing several policy responses based on the results of (1) and (2) and on a review of the literature and current policies. The method of the study consists of two parts. Primarily, a conceptual framework for understanding the linkages among the SEPLS, PESs and landscape planning in Lefke Region was developed. Secondly, a participatory research approach was implemented to identify major PESs gathered from the SEPLS in the region. A range of data collection tools (e.g. a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews) were used to collect data on the research questions in 12 villages from December 2015 to March 2016. The precise data on the PESs were obtained from 106 participants that responded to the questionnaire. Assessment of the questionnaire showed that the local people collect various terrestrial (49 plant and 5 mushroom species)- and marine (30 fish species)-based PESs from the SEPLS for a variety of purposes (e.g. private own use, income generation and nature experience). Finally, potential policy responses for better conservation and sustainable management of the PESs and the SEPLS (e.g. development of a national landscape planning strategy for North Cyprus and integration of the concept of ecosystem services) of the region were examined. It is expected that the results of this study can draw attention of policy-makers, planners and natural resource managers to better understand the feedbacks between SEPLS and associated ecosystem services in terms of biodiversity conservation, food production and sustainable livelihood development in Lefke Region and elsewhere.     

Urban ecosystem services delivered by green open spaces: an example from Nicosia City in North Cyprus

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the major urban ecosystem services (UESs) delivered by a number of green open spaces (GOSs) and their contributions to the human wellbeing (HWB) in four selected sites located in the city of Nicosia of North Cyprus. The objectives of the study were to map the dominant GOSs in the selected sites, to identify the plant species cultivated in the GOSs, and to evaluate the major UESs delivered by the GOSs and their contributions to the components of HWB. The conceptual framework of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was adopted to evaluate the linkages between the different types/components of GOSs, UESs, and HWB. The relevant data were collected by combining quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews and field surveys) research tools. The collected data were evaluated on a 1–5 Likert scale. Overall, 31 UESs and 14 components of HWB were evaluated. The results of the evaluation revealed that 229 plant species are cultivated in the GOSs. The total average relative value of the UESs delivered by the dominant GOSs was estimated to be very low with 2.43 points. The total average relative contribution of the UESs to the HWB seems to be low with 3.56 points. Plant diversity was identified as the main criterion that influences the degree of UESs. We hope that the results of this study can help policy-makers and planners to design more effective policies in terms of building resilient cities and societies in the city of Nicosia and elsewhere.     

Biosorption of Cr(VI) by free and immobilized Pediastrum boryanum biomass: equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies

Background and purpose

The biosorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution has been studied using free and immobilized Pediastrum boryanum cells in a batch system. The algal cells were immobilized in alginate and alginate?Cgelatin beads via entrapment, and their algal cell free counterparts were used as control systems during biosorption studies of Cr(VI).

Methods

The changes in the functional groups of the biosorbents formulations were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The effect of pH, equilibrium time, initial concentration of metal ions, and temperature on the biosorption of Cr(VI) ion was investigated.

Results

The maximum Cr(VI) biosorption capacities were found to be 17.3, 6.73, 14.0, 23.8, and 29.6?mg/g for the free algal cells, and alginate, alginate?Cgelatin, alginate?Ccells, and alginate?Cgelatin?Ccells at pH?2.0, which are corresponding to an initial Cr(VI) concentration of 400?mg/L. The biosorption of Cr(VI) on all the tested biosorbents (P. boryanum cells, alginate, alginate?Cgelatin, and alginate?Ccells, alginate?Cgelatin?Ccells) followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm model.

Conclusion

The thermodynamic studies indicated that the biosorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature under studied conditions. For all the tested biosorbents, biosorption kinetic was best described by the pseudo-second-order model.     

Removal of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions using native and acid treated Ni-hyperaccumulator plant Alyssum discolor from Turkish serpentine soil

Alyssum discolor biomass was collected from serpentine soil and was used for removal of metal ions. The plant species grown on serpentine soils are known to be rich with metals ions and thus have more capability for accumulating heavy metals. Native and acid-treated biomass of A. discolor (A. discolor) were utilized for the removal of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The effects of contact time, initial concentration, and pH on the biosorption of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions were investigated. Biosorption equilibrium was established in about 60 min. The surface properties of the biomass preparations were varied with pH, and the maximum amounts of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions on both A. discolor biomass preparations were adsorbed at pH 5.0. The maximum biosorption capacities of the native, and acid-treated biomass preparations for Ni(II) were 13.1 and 34.7 mg g⁻¹ and for Cu(II) 6.15 and 17.8 mg g⁻¹ dry biomass, respectively. The biosorption of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions from single and binary component systems can be successfully described by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. When the heavy metal ions were in competition, the amounts of biosorbed metal ions on the acid treated plant biomass were found to be 0.542 mmol g⁻¹ for Ni(II) and 0.162 mmol g⁻¹ for Cu(II), the A. discolor biomass was significantly selective for Ni(II) ions. The information gained from these studies was expected to indicate whether the native, and acid-treated forms can have the potential to be used for the removal and recovery of Ni(II) ions from wastewaters.     

A mathematical modeling of sulphur dioxide pollution in Erzurum City

A non-linear simple air-quality model was developed by applying the continuity equation for the air control volume over Erzurum city center and tested using daily average values of SO2 and meteorological data obtained during the winter seasons in Erzurum, Turkey from 1994 to 1998. Model parameters are estimated by non-linear regression analysis. Agreement between model predictions and measured data was found very satisfactory with standard deviations less than 20 microg/m3.