Search results for "environmental protection."
showing 10 items of 276 documents
Orthotrichum consobrinumCardot in Western Europe and South-Western Asia
2009
Abstract Orthotrichum consobrinum Cardot, a moss that was earlier considered an endemic to the Sino-Japanese Region, has been found in the north of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and in north-eastern Anatolia (Turkey). Comparison of Spanish and Turkish material with eastern Asiatic specimens revealed no relevant morphological differences, and the specimens from both disjunct populations showed the same range of variation of the species attributes. However, the morphological analysis has revealed some distinctive features of the species that had been overlooked in the past. An updated description of this Euro-Asiatic moss is provided here.
Fen peat in environmentally friendly technologies
2018
Abstract Using peat as an energy source is currently incompatible with Environmental Policy Strategy of Latvia and 2030 Climate and Energy Package of European Union. The European Commission is looking at cost-efficient ways to make European economy more climate-friendly and less energy consuming. Although, fen peat alongside raised bog peat is categorized as fossil fuel, it is not traditionally used as fuel or growth substrate or for any other significant purposes in reasonable amounts. Large areas of fens are neglected where fen peat is slowly mineralizing and emitting greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, that are ones of the main triggers for the Climate Change. Thus, to …
The use of constructed wetlands for the treatment of agro-industrial wastewater – A case study in a dairy-cattle farm in Sicily (Italy)
2017
Wastewaters generated by agro-industrial operations often represent an unsustainable cost for farms due to high wastewater-treatment management costs. The wastewater produced by dairies, wineries or oil mills may vary in quantity and in quality depending on the time of the year, making the use of a conventional treatment system less efficient and more costly. Constructed wetland systems (CWs) provide low-cost technology and an efficient solution in the treatment of a number of wastewaters from agriculture. They are simple to build, have low maintenance costs and are sustainable compared to conventional treatment methods. This paper shows a case study that was carried out on a dairy-cattle f…
Alternative energy scenarios for small islands: A case study from Salina Island (Aeolian Islands, Southern Italy)
2012
Abstract The Aeolian archipelago is made up of seven main islands situated in the Tyrrhenian sea (Sicily Italy). They represent a suitable scenario for the development of a sustainable energy production system, that could easily be reproduced on other Mediterranean Islands. The fact that these islands depend on the mainland for energy supplies and the high cost of bringing fuel in tanker boats are factors that should strongly encourage the use of renewable energy source technologies. Taking into account the European Commission guidelines, this paper sets out to evaluate potential energy production using photovoltaic and small scale wind power, in order to verify their contribution to overal…
Towards resilient cities: Advancements allowed by a multi-criteria optimization tool to face the new challenges of European Union’s climate and energ…
2019
Abstract The United Nations as well as the European Union are strongly committed in promoting a transition towards more sustainable and resilient cities. Indeed, they are increasingly affected by different types of threats, among which the natural ones such as earthquakes, fires, and floods (shocks) and climate variability (stresses). Cities are quite often unable to cope with the adverse effects of such natural hazards. This circumstance leads to the need of introducing resilience-related criteria (besides commonly used sustainability indicators) in decision-making processes. This paper investigates at which extent the inclusion of such new indicators, within multi-criteria assessment tool…
Analysis of the Role of the Latvian Natural Gas Network for the use of Future Energy Systems: Hydrogen from Res
2021
The research has been funded by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, project “Trends, Challenges and Solutions of Latvian Gas Infrastructure Development (LAGAS)”, project No. VPP EM-INFRA-2018/1-0003.
Hillslope degradation in representative Italian areas. Just soil erosion risk or opportunity for development?
2018
In recent years, much research have dealt with the impact of human and climate change on the morpho-evolution of Mediterranean catchments characterized by high ecological and cultural value. In this paper, we speculated how humans can influence hillslope degradation by reviewing the relationships between denudation processes and land use changes in some representative areas located in different Italian regions (i.e., Liguria, Tuscany, Basilicata, and Sicily). The selected study cases are characterized by different climatic and geological features, land use, and land management and can be considered indicative of the hillslope degradation issues that affected the Apennines during the last ce…
Improving soil and water conservation and ecosystem services by sustainable soil management practices: From a global to an Italian soil partnership
2020
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify the need to restore degraded soils in order to improve productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. The aim is to support food production, store and supply clean water, conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve soil resilience in a context of climate change. Within this framework, in order to achieve the SDGs and to correct land management in the long-term, soil management is considered mandatory. The reduction of land degradation should be based on various sustainable soil management practices that improve and maintain soil organic matter levels, increase water infiltration, and improve soil water management. This tec…
Inorganic nanomaterials in the aquatic environment: behavior, toxicity, and interaction with environmental elements
2016
AbstractThe aim of this paper is to present characteristics, toxicity and environmental behavior of nanoparticles (NPs) (silver, copper, gold, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxide) that most frequently occur in consumer products. In addition, NPs are addressed as the new aquatic environmental pollutant of the 21stcentury. NPs are adsorbed onto particles in the aquatic systems (clay minerals, fulvic and humic acids), or they can adsorb environmental pollutants (heavy metal ions, organic compounds). Nanosilver (nAg) is released from consumer products into the aquatic environment. It can threaten aquatic organisms with high toxicity. Interestingly, copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) demonstrate…
Nitrous oxide emissions in a membrane bioreactor treating saline wastewater contaminated by hydrocarbons
2016
The joint effect of wastewater salinity and hydrocarbons on nitrous oxide emission was investigated. The membrane bioreactor pilot plant was operated with two phases: i. biomass acclimation by increasing salinity from 10 gNaCl L−1 to 20 gNaCl L−1 (Phase I); ii. hydrocarbons dosing at 20 mg L−1 with a constant salt concentration of 20 gNaCl L−1 (Phase II). The Phase I revealed a relationship between nitrous oxide emissions and salinity. During the end of the Phase I, the activity of nitrifiers started to recover, indicating a partial acclimatization. During the Phase II, the hydrocarbon shock induced a temporary inhibition of the biomass with the suppression of nitrous oxide emissions. The r…