环境•农林最新文献

The frog leg industry relies on a global, largely underregulated market with potentially important ecological impact such as the uncontrolled harvest of declining wild populations and the introduction of invasive species. Here, we inferred the taxonomic nature and geographic origins of frog legs imported to Switzerland by DNA barcoding. Out of 34 samples, we retrieved eight distinct lineages attributed to five species from four genera, namely Hoplobatrachus rugulosus from Vietnam, Fejervarya cancrivora from Indonesia (invasive on several Pacific islands), two phylogeographic lineages of Limnonectes macrodon from Western and Central Java, L. kadarsani from eastern Indonesia, and three phylogeographic lineages of Pelophylax ridibundus from northern and central southern Turkey (invasive in Western Europe). Only the first two species were correctly declared, which is particularly problematic to track down harvests of the declining and geographically restricted Limnonectes taxa. In this respect, we show that the three Asian genera can be reliably distinguished by basic measurements of the frog legs, which could be used in future forensic controls. Our study calls for more stringent international regulations of the frog trade, including shipment monitoring to document the relative abundance of harvested species and ensure the sustainability of their wild populations.

A method for preparing a peat-shungite sorbent with the addition of a potassium-phosphate buffer solution for neutralizing hydrazine derivatives is proposed. The peat-shungite sorbent is characterized by ease of manufacture, relative cheapness, in addition, the main components are of natural origin. Sorbents with different shungite contents (25, 34, 42 and 50 wt.%) were prepared. With a peat/shungite ratio of 65/35 wt.%, the sorbent is the most resistant to mechanical destruction. According to the proposed method, the sorbent was prepared in different forms: powder, granules, cubes. The efficiency of the peat-shungite sorbent was tested in the process of neutralizing highly toxic 1,1-dimethylhydrazine and some products of its transformation. It was found that with an initial concentration of the ecotoxicant of 500 g/kg, the maximum permissible concentration is reached on the 60th day of interaction. The studies carried out and the calculated kinetic parameters of the neutralization process showed that shungite-containing sorbents are approximately 1.6 times more effective than peat.

Marine isopod fossils represent a small component of the crustacean fossil record, contrasting the exceptional modern diversity of marine representatives of Isopoda. Examination of previously documented isopod species therefore presents an opportunity to derive additional paleobiological and taphonomic insight of these rare fossils. Here we consider two clusters of Archaeoniscus brodiei from the Lower Cretaceous (middle to upper Berriasian) Intermarine Member of the Durlston Formation, England. The individuals within the clusters are mostly complete, of similar size ranges, and are preserved on two different bedding planes. After examining these individuals, we illustrate, for the first time, appendages and eyes of A. brodiei. The appendage morphology supports the interpretation of A. brodiei as an isopod adapted to a benthic lifestyle. We propose that isopods from the Durlston Formation follow similar taphonomic pathways to arthropods preserved within plattenkalk-like deposits, resulting in enrichment in calcium carbonate and phosphate. Finally, the clusters reflect gregarious activities that were preserved during hypoxic events brought on by concurrent decay of algal blooms.

The dyeing industry wastewater has greatly hampered the ecological environment. The carbon quantum dots (CQDs) is a promising catalyst for photocatalytic degradation. To control the specified structure of CQDs, a designable-green deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was targeted as the precursor. In this work, a copper-doped solid-state Cu-CQDs was successfully prepared by combustion method from glycerol/choline chloride/CuCl₂·2H₂O DESs, and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The analysis revealed that the metallic copper-doped Cu-CQDs have better morphological and structural properties and exhibit good optics characteristics. The prepared CQDs were applied to the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine-B (RhB). It was found that the ⋅O₂⁻ was the main active specie, and it can efficient degrade RhB up to 95%.

Graphical abstract

Air pollution is a substantial threat to both human health and plant life. While there has been plenty of study on the effects of air pollution on human health in Dhaka, the influence on plants in this urban environment has yet to be investigated. This study investigated the heavy metal content (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, and Mn) in various plant species to elucidate the effects of air pollution on vegetation. Samples of soil and corresponding plant leaves from Mangifera indica (Mango tree), Swietenia mahagoni (Mahogany tree), Polyalthia longifolia (Ashoka tree), Ficus religiosa (Fig tree), and Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit tree) were collected from industrial, traffic, and control location in Dhaka city. Concentrations of heavy metals in both soil and leaves were analyzed, and the geoaccumulation index, contamination factor, and transfer coefficient were calculated to assess the correlation between metal concentration and air pollution impact. At traffic locations, lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) concentrations ranged from 2605 to 4289 mg/kg and 35 to 1157 mg/kg, respectively. In industrial areas, chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) concentrations varied from 386 to 954 mg/kg and 27 to 458 mg/kg, surpassing World Health Organization recommended limits. Pb and Cr exhibited the highest geo-accumulation index. Traffic sites demonstrated the highest Pb transfer coefficients across plant species. This study is very significant as it provides important understandings for urban planning and environmental management, highlighting the adverse effects of pollution on plant species in Dhaka.

Graphical Abstract

In line with the objective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 6, 11, 12, and 15, a water footprint assessment (WFA) was conducted at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Campus in Malaysia. This study illustrates the concept of water footprint (WF) to map and quantify water consumption and water pollution incurred inside IIUM. Based on calculations conducted on blue water footprint (WFblue), approximately 279,810 m³/month was consumed in June 2022. Zone 5 was found to consume more clean water at 212,440 m³/month compared to other zones in the study area, due to its size and population. In terms of grey water footprint (WFgrey) for the water body calculated, it was found that sampling point P4 has 6,475,770 m³/month of WFgrey resulting from the accumulation WFgrey at three sampling points which are inlets to sampling point P4. This value is found to be higher than WFgrey produced by the community of IIUM at 1,947,495 m³/month. For WFgrey domestic, it showed that Zone 5 produced the highest WFgrey at 88,476,290 m³/month which also included the value of Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅), and Ammonia Nitrate (NH₃⁻N) at the Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs). Results from this study confirmed that the amount of discharged polluted water is higher than the consumption of clean water. The water scarcity of blue water (WSblue) calculation showed that the value at each zone did not exceed 1.0 and can be categorized as sustainable. Nevertheless, the findings from the water pollution level (WPL) analysis showed all zones did not exceed 1.0 except Zone 5, whose WPL value nearly reached 1.0. Therefore, it can be concluded that all the Zones located in IIUM are still considered sustainable. The management of IIUM is recommended to take mitigation actions to ensure continuous sustainability of the campus, especially at Zone 5.