Environmental Management最新文献

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms (HABs) in aquatic environments is commonly aided by light microscopy, though molecular-based approaches can expedite species detection, cell quantification, and therefore early warnings for management responses. Two methods, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and sandwich hybridization assay (SHA), are increasingly used for HAB monitoring, but they differ in terms of protocols, genetic targets, equipment/supplies, and other considerations. This presents a challenge to end-users when selecting tool(s) to integrate within HAB surveillance programs. In response, we conducted a multi-year, side-by-side comparison study between qPCR and SHA relative to microscopy for monitoring the raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo, a species responsible for fish kills and impaired water quality worldwide. This paper summarizes key findings from a broad suite of side-by-side, laboratory and field tests of H. akashiwo cell quantification by qPCR and SHA. Assay ranges, detection limits, applicability to preserved samples, and physiological conditions (time of day, growth phase, nutrient levels) of cultured H. akashiwo revealed generally strong qPCR-SHA agreement, though qPCR had a wider dynamic range (without homogenate dilution) while SHA displayed a lower detection limit. Both assays yielded excellent agreement with microscopy during cell growth in the laboratory as well as during bloom development in the field. However, qPCR and SHA cell abundance data were less than microscopy during stationary-decline growth and under low nitrate, indicating reduced cellular nucleic acid during senescence and nutrient stress. Pragmatically, both qPCR and SHA are affordable, but qPCR solutions are typically more available commercially than SHA. Study results will be valuable to managers considering methodological options that suit their HAB monitoring needs.

Surface water bodies have been significantly altered by various human activities in the watersheds. Assessing these ecosystems is crucial for maintaining an ecological balance and protecting public health. This study aimed to analyse the water quality of a tropical public supply reservoir by evaluating the dynamics of planktonic communities. A total of 69 water quality parameters, in addition to phytoplankton and zooplankton biomonitoring data, were analyzed between 1989 and 2020. Preliminary and descriptive statistical analysis, trophic state index, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, statistical tests, and multivariate statistics analysis were applied. The results showed a change in the composition of the planktonic communities over time, with a greater abundance of cyanobacteria and an increase in the density of the Crustacea class in the final years of monitoring, indicating a more degraded environment. There was a reduction in the diversity of phytoplankton species. However, the concentrations of physical and chemical parameters remained low over the years, and oligotrophic conditions were prevalent in the reservoir. Therefore, the analysis of bioindicators provided information that was not observed when the physical and chemical parameters of water quality were analyzed. Possibly due to environmental variables not considered in this study, or due to the cumulative or synergistic effects caused by changes in the environment. It is evident that integrating bioassessment into the monitoring of water bodies is essential for a comprehensive ecological classification and for maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.

Responsible consumption decisions are key to achieving environmental sustainability, particularly concerning pro-environmental practices. However, adopting pro-environmental practices varies and is closely linked to the diversity of individual behaviors. Therefore, this research aims to identify the factors determining pro-environmental practices such as electricity-saving, potable water-saving, and recycling in Ecuadorian households from 2010 to 2014. Secondary data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses were utilized. The information was processed to evaluate the marginal propensity of pro-environmental practices using a logit model and a conditional multinomial logit model. Additionally, tests incorporating unobserved heterogeneity were conducted to assess the robustness of the model. The main findings confirm that the Theory of Planned Behavior explains the performance of environmental practices in Ecuadorian households. Specifically, environmental awareness accounts for the largest increase in pro-environmental practices, approximately 8% and 10%. Moreover, examining the marginal propensity of each pro-environmental practice reveals heterogeneous results. Additionally, labor income and education increase pro-environmental practices by 2.14% to 1.5%, while female-headed households show an increase of 5.68%. Conversely, evidence suggests that Indigenous ethnicity is associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental practices. Policy implications derived from the study suggest focusing public efforts on increasing household environmental awareness.

Bivalves, being extractive species, support sustainable aquaculture and the principles of a circular bioeconomy. Biotechnological interventions can improve bivalve aquaculture productivity. For example, transgene expression facilitates gene function analysis which enables the identification of desirable traits in bivalves for aquaculture. Transgene expression also finds applications in the development of bivalve cell lines that, in turn, support pathology research, eco-toxicology and aquaculture environment quality assessment, and advancing cultivated seafood technology (aligned with sustainability goals). In this study, the efficacy of a synthesized OsHV-1 (ostreid herpesvirus 1) promoter in driving transgene expression across diverse cell culture systems was tested, including primary cell cultures from the bivalve Magallana bilineata. The expression of the oncogenic H-RasV12, tagged with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), under the control of the OsHV-1 promoter was also analyzed. The results showed that the OsHV-1 promoter exhibited better activity than the widely used CMV (cytomegalovirus) promoter, highlighting the potential of synthesized promoters for transgene expression in molluscan cells. Furthermore, the study suggests that optimizing gene delivery methods and incorporating multiple oncogenes could enhance molluscan cell transformation, paving the way for developing bivalve cell lines as valuable tools in aquatic biotechnology.

Ghana initiated community resource management areas (CREMAs) as a community-based natural management approach to give local communities the right and power to manage natural resources within their territorial boundaries. The expectation is that communities and their environment would prosper through more equitable landscape governance and sustainable use of natural resources. However, the challenges to achieving full functionality of CREMA and expected results, particularly in the Western Wildlife Corridor in northern Ghana, raise questions about the governance actors' capacity. Therefore, this study aims to assess the capacity of actors to take ownership of and lead the governance processes implied by the CREMA approach. Based on focus group discussions and individual interviews, we found that the capacities of the CREMA governance bodies are weak to implement the CREMA approach effectively. The lack of knowledge and technical skills to support multi-actor processes, the weak collaboration between actors, and the lack of sustainable financial inflows and livelihood support are key challenges to be addressed for better CREMA performance. Despite these constraints, local actors' enthusiasm and willingness to engage more actively in the governance of their landscape constitute an opportunity for an improved implementation of the CREMA approach. We suggest that initiatives to strengthen the technical and financial capacities of governance bodies and raise awareness among the local population are necessary to improve the functioning and performance of CREMAs. In addition, actions to improve the livelihoods of local communities will enhance the mobilization and engagement of social groups in the implementation of the CREMA concept.

Benthic fauna can directly or indirectly remove pollutants in wetlands, and the effect of introducing benthic fauna on effluent nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) concentrations in constructed wetlands (CWs) has been extensively researched. However, systematic understanding of the variability in pollutant removal efficiency across studies remains limited, particularly regarding key influencing factors. We conducted a meta-analysis of 799 pairwise comparisons from 14 publications to assess the effects of benthic fauna introduction on effluent N and P concentrations in CWs. Results showed that (1) the impact of benthic fauna on effluent quality was species-dependent, adding T. tubifex or C. riparius significantly reduced effluent total phosphate (TP) concentration, adding B. aeruginosa also reduced effluent N concentrations; (2) high density benthic fauna addition reduced effluent TP and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃^--N) concentrations, whereas low-density additions did not; (3) the introduction of benthic fauna reduced effluent TP concentration in free water surface constructed wetlands (FWSCWs) and TN concentration in subsurface flow constructed wetlands (SSFCWs); (4) the introduction of benthic fauna negatively affected effluent N concentration in CWs with a single plant species, while the effect diminished in CWs with mixed plant species; (5) introducing benthic fauna significantly reduced effluent TN and NO₃^--N concentrations in the long experiment durations (>60 days) and reduced effluent TP concentrations in the short experimental durations (<60 days). These results indicate that the effects of benthic fauna introduction on nutrient removal are influenced by species identity, density, CW type, plant species richness, and experiment durations. Specifically, introducing high-density benthic fauna, particularly T. tubifex or C. riparius into CWs with single plant species can enhance nutrient removal capacity.

Wetlands are acknowledged for their significant role in mitigating contaminant fluxes to aquatic environments. However, the contribution of intrinsic vegetation to the efficacy of wetlands in dispersing pesticides remains a subject of debate. This study seeks to quantify: (1) the ability of native wetland plants to bioaccumulate pesticides in distinct compartments (roots, stems, leaves), and (2) the transfer of pesticides from sediments and water to plants, as well as within plants. Two field campaigns were conducted in a pond located in an agricultural area during two contrasting seasons: autumn and the subsequent summer. Six pesticides (metolachlor, boscalid, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole, aclonifen and pendimethalin) typical of arable farming practices and with different chemical properties were analysed in samples taken from five native plant species: Salix alba L., Carex pendula Huds, Mentha aquatica L., Typha latifolia L. and Juncus inflexus L. A new method was developed to analyse pesticides by using thermo desorption GC-MS which allowed a sensitive quantification in all plant compartments. Pesticides were found in all the plants, but Salix alba and Carex pendula proved to be the most effective accumulators of pesticides compared to other species, and showed perennial accumulation over time. The most hydrophobic molecules were mainly found in leaves, partly due to translocation. The impact of flood events, which introduced a significant amount of pesticides from the upper drainage catchment into the pond between the two sampling campaigns, was evident in terms of storage by plants. This study highlights the importance of revegetating ponds with native species as part of a wetlands remediation plan.

Civic capacity to care for the urban environment is a key factor in urban sustainability efforts. Civic environmental stewardship groups play critical roles in solving governance challenges associated with sustainability, serving as brokers, acting as stewards, advocating for policies, and being repositories of social-ecological memory. Understanding the existing capacity of such groups to create social-ecological outcomes across the urban landscape enables better planning and implementation of equitable nature-based solutions. In this paper, we draw upon existing frameworks of community capacity and environmental stewardship to operationalize an empirical, organizational stewardship capacity index at a neighborhood scale. We applied survey-based civic environmental stewardship mapping data from the New York City 2017 Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) to create this index. We evaluated stewardship capacity variables against perceived social and environmental outcome measures collected by groups in the STEW-MAP survey to develop the stewardship capacity index. We find that neighborhoods where more groups exist, where more time is spent on stewardship, and where more types of stewardship actions are supported have better perceived Cumulative outcomes. Our results highlight the known role of networks in community capacity and reveal the roles of diversity of stewardship actions (Stewardship types) and level of effort (Time spent on stewardship) in achieving outcomes. The result of our analyses is a mapped index of stewardship capacity, which visualizes the in current capacities at a neighborhood level and identifies future opportunities for capacity building. With a focus on transparency, this index can be applied by managers, public and civic alike, as they seek to support and increase civic capacity to care for the environment.

South Korea faces severe water stress, as classified by the OECD, with changing dietary patterns significantly impacting water resources. To ensure water conservation and food security, it is crucial to understand the driving factors of the water footprint of food consumption (WFC). This study examined the WFC in South Korea from 2007 to 2023, focusing on how dietary choices impact water use and sustainability, and identified the key driving factors of changes in WFC. Using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI), this study decomposed these drivers into water footprint intensity, dietary structure, average dietary intake per person, and population effect. Additionally, global and local spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to measure the degree of spatial aggregation and distribution of WFC across administrative units. Results revealed a significant increase in WFC, from 27.6 km³ in 2007 to 34.7 km³ in 2023, with an average annual growth of 2%. Among the drivers, water footprint intensity contributed most to the increase in WFC, while average dietary intake per person led to a decrease. Cereals, meats and fish collectively account for more than 76% of the total WFC during the study period. The findings suggest that the drivers influencing the changes in WFC vary across administrative units, underscoring the need for tailored policies and strategies to promote sustainable food consumption practices that could conserve water resources in each administrative unit.

Water poverty poses significant challenges to regional environmental conservation and socioeconomic development, with water footprints providing valuable insights into assessing the severity of this poverty. A carbon tax, an environmental charge imposed on the carbon emissions from energy sources, is known for quickly reducing emissions at minimal public expense, and can indirectly influence water footprints. While past research has detailed the previous characteristics of water footprints, it has not yet predicted how these characteristics might evolve under the influence of a carbon tax. In this paper, variations in the water footprint are examined using an input-output model, and the impacts of carbon taxes on water footprints are forecasted through a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. CGE models are essential for low-carbon policy design, enabling policymakers to simulate the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of interventions, thereby offering insights to refine integrated strategies for emissions reduction and water footprint efficiency. The simulation results indicated in the case of imposing carbon tax simulation, the coal industry experienced the largest reduction in virtual water content at 34.81%, followed by heavy industry and transport. Additionally, the carbon tax has a more pronounced effect on virtual water content in secondary industries compared to primary and tertiary industries. With carbon taxes set at 100 and 200, the total water footprint decreased by 3.15% and 4.72%, respectively, which corresponds to a reduction in water usage per person in China by 3.2% and 4.8%. Furthermore, the simulation also suggested that social welfare reached its maximum value of 181.36 when the carbon tax was 196 RMB/t-CO₂. Our research also provides a new point of view on assessing the effectiveness and fairness of carbon taxes and can further be used to develop compensation strategies that tackle emission and water limitations in the energy sector, thereby optimizing the benefits for water conservation that arise from emission reduction measures.