Search results for "ecosystem"

28. Ecosystem service for farm: a methodological evaluation proposal of the pollination ecosystem service

2020

Analytical challenges to determine emerging persistent organic pollutants in aquatic ecosystems

2018

Emerging persistent organic pollutants (ePOPs) include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride/perfluorooctane sulfonate (POSF/PFOS), which are newly listed in the Stockholm Convention. Other ePOPs, which have not been regulated, include organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) and other perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Often ePOPs data related to occurrence, toxicity, impact or environmental behavior are insufficient or inadequate because of the lack of proper analytical methods to obtain them. Thus, a critical review of the analytical procedures proposed in the last six years (2011–2017) for determining ePOPs…

Potential Off-Flavour Compounds from Chloro-Bleaching of Pulp and Chlorodisinfection of Water

1983

Chlorobleaching of pulp is the most important source of organochlorine pollutants in the Finnish aquatic ecosystems. Similar types of pollutants are formed during chlorodisinfection of water. The model compound approach employed in our laboratory has revealed the structures and amounts of pollutants formed and has made the interpretation and assay of individual organochlorine compounds in the environment possible. Tainting of fish near chlorination plants is frequently observed. Especially chlorinated phenols and anisoles (microbial metabolites of the former) are chlorination products which are known to have a strong odour and taste at very low concentrations. Other chlorinated products, wh…

A review of ecological risk assessment and associated health risks with heavy metals in sediment from India

2020

Abstract Heavy metal (HM) pollution in sediment is a serious concern particularly in developing nations, warranting an extensive survey to understand the current situation and propose possible remedial measures. This paper compiles the data of HMs cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) in aquatic sediment from India from 1979 to 2017. It was found that mean values of Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, As, and Cr in Indian sediment were high in comparison to the Australian Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines, World Surface Rock Average, and the Threshold Effect Level for freshwater ecosystems. Anthropogenic activities…

Salt accumulation and effects within foliage of Tilia × vulgaris trees from the street greenery of Riga, Latvia

2020

International audience; Green infrastructures within sprawling cities provide essential ecosystem services, increasingly undermined by environmental stress. The main objective in this study was to relate the allocation patterns of NaCl contaminants to injury within foliage of lime trees mechanistically and distinguish between the effects of salt and other environmental stressors. Using field material representative of salt contamination levels in the street greenery of Riga, Latvia, the contribution of salt contaminants to structural and ultrastructural injury was analyzed, combining different microscopy techniques. On severely salt-polluted and dystrophic soils, the foliage of street lime …

Coupling geochemical, mineralogical and microbiological approaches to assess the health of contaminated soil around the Almalyk mining and smelter co…

2013

This study describes the impact of airborne pollution resulting from mining and smelting activities on the soils of the Almalyk mining and industrial area (NE Uzbekistan). Samples were collected along a transect downwind of the industrial area. Enriched contents of some metals were found in the upper soil layers near the metallurgical complex (Zn≤3010 mg kg(-1), Pb≤630 mg kg(-1), Cd≤30 mg kg(-1)) which suggests that these metals were derived from local stack emissions. The morphology and internal microstructure of metal-bearing spherical particles found in the heavy mineral fraction suggest that these particles were probably a result of inefficient flue gas cleaning technique of the smelter…

Organochlorine Compounds in the Environment

1988

Recent pollution by organochlorine compounds (OCs) has been found to cause ecological damage, initially by causing declining populations. Poisoning of animals having high OC levels was often found to be similar to poisoning of man and animals in dioxin accidents. Dioxin toxicity has been shown to occur from structural binding of the toxin to a cytosolic receptor, and this action has been extended to many planar and coplanar aromatic OCs which are released into the environment from pesticide uses, dumping of chlorophenol wastes, chlorobleaching of pulp, chlorodisinfection of water, and combustion of OCs or chloride-containing materials. More efficient combustion has been developed to restric…

Blackfly Larvae (Simulium spp.) Can Intensify Methylmercury Biomagnification in Boreal Food Webs

2020

AbstractGlobal pollution of mercury (Hg) threatens ecosystem and human health. We measured total Hg (THg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations in filter-feeding blackfly (Simulium spp.) larvae in the inflows and the outflows of six boreal lakes with no Hg point source pollution. THg in the larvae ranged from 0.03 to 0.31 mg kg−1 dw and MMHg between 0.02 and 0.25 mg kg−1 dw. The proportion of MMHg in the larvae was 74 ± 0.16% and ranged from 43 to 98% of THg, the highest proportions being comparable to those typically found in aquatic predatory insects and fish. We compared the larvae MMHg concentrations to river water quality, catchment land-use, and to size-adjusted lake pike THg da…

Environmental factors affecting monogeneans parasitic on freshwater fishes

1992

The environmental factors that act on fish parasites have received increasing attention in recent years. The effects of changing environmental conditions on parasite communities can provide valuable information on the effects of pollution on the ecosystem as a whole. This, of course, demands that we have a detailed knowledge o f parasite communities and the mechanisms acting upon them in a variety of natural conditions. Here, Mari Koskivaaro looks at those environmental factors that affect monogeneans parasitic on freshwater fishes.

Trace elements in native and transplanted Fontinalis antipyretica and Platyhypnidium riparioides from rivers polluted by uranium mining.

2017

The past uranium/polymetallic mining activities in the Sudety (SW Poland) left abandoned mines, pits, and dumps of waste rocks with trace elements and radionuclides which may erode or leach out and create a potential risk for the aquatic ecosystem, among others. In the present work four rivers affected by effluents from such mines were selected to evaluate the application of aquatic mosses for the bioindication of 56 elements. Naturally growing F. antipyretica and P. riparioides were compared with transplanted samples of the same species. The results demonstrate serious pollution of the examined rivers, especially with As, Ba, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ti, U and Zn, reaching extremely high concentrations…