International Journal of Environmental Research最新文献

Pesticides are being discharged into the environment at an increasing rate, particularly into water resources, as agricultural productivity increases. These contaminants need to break down and mineralize as soon as possible since they are extremely dangerous to aquatic life and human health. The advanced oxidation method based on sulfate radicals (SR-AOP) has gained popularity recently for treating organic pollutants like pesticides because of its great efficacy and low environmental impact. This article goes into detail about the many ways for activating persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for pesticides degradation, such as UV light, carbon-based materials, TMs, ultrasonic, electrochemical, heat, microwave, photoelectrons, alkali, and hybrid activation. The mechanisms of pesticide the degradation by SR-AOP, as well as the detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS), are also addressed. The effect of operational parameters such as PS/PMS concentration, catalyst dose, pH, pesticide starting concentration, and organic and inorganic matter on pesticide degradation by SR-AOP is also discussed. The toxicity of the degraded intermediates, as well as enhancing pesticide total mineralization under SR-AOP, was also investigated. Finally, prospects for future research and application of SR-AOP in pesticides removal from water are highlighted.

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This study investigates the effect of climate change on crop production in Turkey using time series data from 1980 to 2019. Our model covers both climatic and non-climatic factors, including average precipitation, average temperature, cultivation area, fertilizer use, and gas-diesel consumption. After checking the results of our preliminary tests, we used the Toda–Yamamoto causality test and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration approach to analyze causality and long-run relationships among variables. The outcomes of the ARDL bounds test confirm the cointegration between crop production with climatic and non-climatic factors. The long-run estimation results demonstrate that a 1% increase in precipitation, cropland, fertilizer consumption per cropland, and agricultural gas-diesel oil use per cropland increases production by 0.59%, 0.43%, 0.33%, and 0.07%, respectively. Furthermore, a 1% temperature increase reduces production by 0.19% in the long run. Through causality analysis, we found multiple unidirectional causal relationships between variables. While average temperature is the Granger cause of cropland and gas-diesel use, cropland is the Granger cause of crop production. Given these concerning results regarding the detrimental impact of climate change on crop production, it is evident that governments should prioritize their efforts to tackle the causes of climate change. Furthermore, implementing adaptation strategies such as promoting drought-resistant cultivars and adopting efficient irrigation techniques is crucial.

Despite growing concern about microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems, there have been few researches on the possible consequences of various microplastics on terrestrial plants. In this study, the toxicity of Polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) with different concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%) to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) were studied. Results showed a concentration-dependent negative impacts on the physiological, biochemical, growth, yield attributes and fruit quality of tomatoes. Amongst various concentrations, the maximum effect was observed with 0.75 and 1.00% PE-MPs and among the various growth stages studied (vegetative, flowering, fruiting and harvest), the highest impact was observed during the fruiting stage. Besides exhibiting a deleterious effect on physiological traits, it was also confirmed that PE-MPs could exert oxidative stress in plants thereby delaying the days to first flowering. Moreover, exposure to PE-MPs at 1.00% recorded the maximum reduction in the number of flowers per cluster (17.67%), number of flower clusters per plant (18.27%), number of fruits per cluster (32.76%), number of fruits per plant (56.33%) and single fruit weight (47.57%). Furthermore, 1.00% PE-MPs exposure was also observed to significantly reduce the fruit quality like titrable acidity, ascorbic acid and lycopene content by 22.32, 21.09 and 23.96% respectively. Additionally, the application of 1.00% PE –MPs decreased the soil bulk density, available phosphorus and potassium; whereas, the EC, organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon (8%), NO₃–N (22%), NH₄–N (23%) significantly increased. Moreover, the presence of PE-MPs in soil also had a significant influence on the soil enzyme activities. Metagenomic analysis (16 s) reveals that control had higher diversity, richness and evenness, compared to rhizosphere soil with 1.00% PE-MPs. These results can provide a theoretical basis and data support for further investigation on the toxicity of microplastics to tomatoes, and contribute to understanding the type specificity of microplastics’ toxic effects on plants.

Special flood hazard areas (SFHAs), defined as having an annual probability of occurrence of 1 percent or above, are used by U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to demarcate areas within which flood insurance purchase is required to secure a mortgage. However, quantifying flood risk within SFHAs can be challenging due to the lack of modeled flood depth data for all return periods. To address this issue, this research quantifies flood risk indicated by average annual loss (AAL) within the A Zone-the subset of the SFHA where wave heights can potentially range from 0 to 3 feet. The methodology resolves the Gumbel quantile function for four distinct flooding cases (i.e., locations flooded at return periods exceeding 1.58-, 10-, 25-, and 50-year return period events) and generates synthetic flood hazard parameters for these cases within the 100-year floodplain, as well as with additional elevation above the base flood elevation (BFE), known as freeboard, for single-family homes with different attributes. The results indicate that for single-family homes in the A Zone, with the lowest floor elevated to the BFE, the AAL ranges from 0.3 to 1 percent of the building replacement cost value. Adding one foot of freeboard reduces flood risk by over 90% if the annual flood risk is between the minimum and 25th percentiles and the 100-year flood depth is less than two feet. The demonstrated approach helps enhance flood resilience in the A Zone, demonstrating the feasibility of proactive measures to protect communities.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41742-024-00577-7.

We describe the green synthesis of Au/TiO₂ nanocomposites and its photocatalytic application towards the methylene blue (MB) dye degradation. Au/TiO₂ nanocomposites were green synthesis using Pilea melastomoides leaf (PML) and Tamarindus indica L. fruit (TIF) extract. The UV–visible spectroscopy exhibits an absorption peak of Au colloids at 531 nm wavelength. The reflectance properties of Au/TiO₂ nanocomposites to confirm a bandgap at 400–600 nm with the value of 2.9 eV. The morphological images show the spherical-like structure of Au/TiO₂ nanocomposite with an average particle size distribution of 5–10 nm. The Au/TiO₂ nanocomposite exhibits excellent degradation efficiency for methylene blue (MB) dye under sodium light irradiation of 92.5% for 60 min reaction time. The electron transfer mechanism might explain the still debatable MB dye degradation mechanism in the present case. The photogenerated electrons transfer to the conduction band (CB) of TiO₂ from the CB of Au under UV light exposure. This results in the creation of defect levels of Au in TiO₂, lowering the CB of TiO₂. These results suggest the Au/TiO₂ nanocomposites were the superior photocatalyst for MB wastewater treatment.

Urbanization and industrialization have caused the production of pollutants in the soil, water, and air systems, negatively influencing plants, animals, humans, and the ecosystem. Heavy metals, such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), and nickel (Ni), affect the development of organisms. In this study, as a novel alternative, the performance of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in sunflower plant growth (Helianthus annuus L.) and the decontamination of soils with As and Pb was investigated. For this purpose, in natural soil contaminated with As (0.02 mg kg of dry soil) and Pb (0.2 mg/kg of dry soil), sunflower plants were allowed to grow in pots for 25, 35, and 45 days after emergence. Morphological parameters were measured for the plants. The stems, leaves, and roots were dried (80 °C), ground, and finally, mineral analysis was performed by plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP). ZnO NPs were applied to the soil at two concentrations (0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg) and the control. ZnO NPs application resulted in plant growth and root length 25 days after emergence (DAE). The interaction between ZnO NPs and metals significantly negatively affected the variable root length. The roots, stems, and leaves accumulated metals at 25 and 45 DAE. Bioconcentration (BCF) and translocation (TF) factors were higher in Zn at 45 DAE. The phytoextraction by H. annuus assisted with ZnO NPs helps remediate polluted soils, potentiating the plant's hyperaccumulation characteristics. The results of this experiment offer basic information on the interaction of ZnO NPs in the phytoremediation process of soil contaminated with heavy metals. However, it is crucial to know the potential of NPs in soils with higher concentrations of contaminants in the soil, which we consider one of the limitations of this work, using low concentrations of heavy metals. Therefore, more research is required to corroborate the effectiveness of ZnO NPs in soils contaminated with Pb and Zn during the phytoremediation process with sunflower plants.

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Recreational water quality of rivers is typically assessed by microbial analysis of indicator organisms, such as Escherichia coli and enterococci in samples collected directly from the water column, implying that risk to public health comes from free-floating microorganisms. In New Zealand, the Recreational Water Quality Guidelines apply certain E. coli concentration thresholds to categorize results into ‘meet guidelines’ (≤ 260 cfu E. coli 100 mL⁻¹), ‘alert level’, and ‘action level’ (≥ 550 cfu E. coli 100 mL⁻¹). The impairment of water quality due to re-suspended riverbed sediment under flood conditions has been widely recognized. However, the potential risks posed by sediment-linked microorganisms associated with river recreational activities under base flow are less appreciated. We evaluated the water quality of 30 rivers in Canterbury, New Zealand, during base flow conditions prior to and after artificially stirring the sediment. Bacterial and protozoan indicators, pathogens, water quality, and land use in surrounding areas were examined. While 71% of water samples (n = 64) met New Zealand Recreational Water guidelines prior to stirring, only 39% of samples (n = 35) met the guidelines after stirring. E. coli levels increased by 110%, or more, following sediment stirring. Campylobacter were detected in every river, at least once, and increases were observed following stirring. We conclude that sediment-associated microbes become suspended by recreational activities and may pose a higher risk than previously thought to river users. To ensure public health is protected, authorities should assess microorganisms in both sediment and water samples to rate the microbiological risk of recreational water use.

In the past decades, the environmental impact categories have been applied to life cycle assessment of consumer product, but the challenge of applying the impact categories is still posed. Although former studies have screened impact categories/indicators to represent sustainability for environmental performance of products from the existing ones, the practitioners have rarely discussed the challenge within food products. This present study aims to conduct a correlation analysis between life cycle impacts of food products on eight impact categories/indicators with a question of whether Carbon Footprint (CF) expressed as Global Warming Potential (GWP100a) could serve as indicator for environmental performance of food products. 1548 food products from the French database AGRIBALYSE v3.0.1 is employed in the analysis, while eight impact categories/indicators in the CML-IA baseline method are calculated by the openLCA 1.10.3 software. The results show that correlation coefficients between the impact categories/indicators vary in a range of 0.42–0.87. Strong correlations between the CF and the others are found in the whole product category except toxicity-related impact categories, and the correlations could be stronger or weaker depending on the product subcategories. It reveals that, on one hand, the CF could act as proxy for some of the impact indicators in the product categories; on the other hand, the indicator could not serve as a stand-alone indicator to represent the environmental sustainability. The research findings might be used in selecting impact categories/indicators for environmental performance of food products, while screening impact categories/indicators from the existing ones and making a contribution to sustainability assessment.

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This study analyzes the impact of climate change on economic growth for the top 20 countries in the world that cause the most carbon emissions. Following the Cobb–Douglas production function, we investigate the long-run relationships between temperature/precipitation and economic growth, capital stock, labor force, and productivity using static and dynamic panel data analyses for the period 1990–2019. The results from three different models are examined. Linear model test results reveal that temperature and precipitation do not have statistically any significant impact on economic growth in these countries. Nonlinear model test results indicate that the primary impact of temperature on economic growth is positive and statistically significant, whereas the secondary impact is negative and statistically significant. However, precipitation does not have any statistically significant impact on economic growth. Finally, the results of nonlinear model without control variables are similar to those of nonlinear model. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel causality test is also performed to check the consistency of static and dynamic panel estimations, and the results indicate bidirectional causality between temperature and economic growth but no causal relationship between precipitation and economic growth in these countries.

Air pollution, owing to gaseous pollutants, especially NOx, VOCs (toluene), acidic gas (H₂S), and elemental mercury (Hg⁰), and the resulting climate issues have become major concerns. Carbon-based catalysts play a key role in removing toxic gases through selective catalytic reduction (SCR), oxidation, and adsorption processes. Catalyst selection has a crucial effect on the final toxic gas removal performance of catalyst. Herein, strategies for modifying carbon-based catalysts through physical or chemical treatment/activation, metal oxide doping, and heteroatom doping are systematically reviewed. In addition, the effects of the carbonization temperature, pore structure, heteroatom dopants, and oxidizing agents on the surface area, pore structure, and catalytic effects of carbon-based catalysts are analyzed and discussed. Finally, the further direction and need for developing carbon-based catalysts for environmental remediation is prospected.