Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Our previous studies showed that the change in the plankton response to light could be an indicator of environmental pollution. This study experimentally reveals that the response of Daphnia magna Straus and Daphnia pulex plankton ensembles to photostimulation depends on the intensity of the attracting light. This makes it difficult to identify the occurrence and change of pollutant concentration. The large variability in the magnitude of the behavioral response is caused by the nonlinear response of plankton ensembles to the intensity of the attractor stimulus...

The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the soils of three groups of grassland ecosystems with varying degrees of heavy metal (Cu, Pb, and Zn) pollution as well as estimating of mobility on the basis of calculated mobility indexes (MI) expressed as a percentage of the EDTA-extracted forms of metals in their total content. A total of 55 surface soil samples were collected from various areas of Poland: urban soils, rural soils, and soils along communication routes. Heavy metal concentrations were determined in solutions after wet mineralization (using a mixture of acids) by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) with flame atomization...

Global climate change scenarios such as frequent and extreme floods disturb the river basins by destructing the vegetation resulting in rehabilitation procedures being more costly. Thus, understanding the recovery and regeneration of vegetation followed by extreme flood events is critical for a successful rehabilitation process. Spatial and temporal variation of biochemical and biophysical features derived from remote sensing technology in vegetation can be incorporated to understand the recovery and regeneration of vegetation...

The present study aimed to evaluate the floristic characteristics of the wild plants in Wadi Degla Protectorate, including taxonomic diversity, life and sex forms, dispersal types, economic potential, threats, and national and global floristic distributions. Field visits were conducted during January and April (2021), and the study area was divided to 185 locations to comprise all the Wadi. From each location, plant and seed specimens were collected. In the present study, 161 plants belonged to 128 genera, and 43 families were recorded...

India is home to some of the most polluted cities on the planet. The worsening air quality in most of the cities has gone to an extent of causing severe impact on human health and life expectancy. An early warning system where people are alerted well before an adverse air quality episode can go a long way in preventing exposure to harmful air conditions. Having such system can also help the government to take better mitigation and preventive measures. Forecasting systems based on machine learning are gaining importance due to their cost-effectiveness and applicability to small towns and villages, where most complex models are not feasible due to resource constraints and limited data availability...

The use of diatoms as indicators of water quality has been studied worldwide; however, the use of diatoms as indicators of thermic anomalies has received less attention. The objective of this study is not only to provide a record on algal communities, but also to investigate the relationship between the diversity in diatom species and the physicochemical conditions of water. Evaluating its temporal variability in a caldera with low permeability and cold acid hydrothermal anomalies. Diatom assemblages were identified at 11 sites...

High levels of manganese (Mn) and other heavy metals from electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) stockpiled would be released into the environment under natural conditions. A batch-leaching test was carried out to investigate the release characteristics of heavy metals from EMR with different storage times under simulated environmental conditions such as acid rain with different pH (3.0, 4.5, 5.6, and 7.0) at contact times of 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h; liquid to solid ratio (L/S) (5:1, 10:1, 20:1, and 30:1); and temperature (15, 25, 35, and 45 °C)...

Cryptosporidium is an obligate intracellular parasite reported from all over the world. This protozoan infects a wide range of animals as well as humans. Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis are the most prevalent infecting species with mild and self-limiting infection in healthy people. The protozoan oocyst is resistant to common water purifiers. Based on emerging evidence, Cryptosporidium is one of waterborne parasites considered a major public health problem in developing and developed countries...

The vulnerability of groundwater as the primary source of water for human survival should be assessed for the purpose of pollution management. The Ajabshir plain, one of the major agricultural areas in the northwest of Iran, is always prone to pollution. Therefore, to prevent the increase in pollution, it is necessary to determine the polluting factors and areas prone to groundwater pollution. In this study, by modifying the DRASTIC method using the land-use layer, called DRASTICL, vulnerable areas and pollution index were mapped...

Understanding the actual distribution of different Legionella species in water networks would help prevent outbreaks. Culture investigations followed by serological agglutination tests, with poly/monovalent antisera, still represent the gold standard for isolation and identification of Legionella strains. However, also MALDI-TOF and mip-gene sequencing are currently used. This study was conducted to genetically correlate strains of Legionella non pneumophila (L-np) isolated during environmental surveillance comparing different molecular techniques...

Fluoride (F) in agricultural soil is increasing continuously due to injudicious application of F-laden fertilizers, causing global concern about fluorosis disease. The objective of the study was to assess F risk in humans due to soil ingestion, dermal contact, and particulate inhalation during various agricultural activities. The study also emphasized chemical fractionation, distribution, and geochemical understanding of high F incidence. Agricultural surface soil was sampled randomly from 5 km × 5 km square grids besides soil profile samples for studying the vertical distribution of F...

This work reports a combined coagulation-electrocoagulation process using a biocoagulant from the Opuntia ficus-indica for treatment of cheese whey wastewater. The process parameters as pH, biocoagulant dosage, and current density were evaluated from the chemometric tools. A Box-Behnken design was used, having as responses the removal percentages of turbidity and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results showed that for the studied variable ranges, linear models were obtained and the pH was parameter more significant for treatment proposed...

Land use configuration in any given landscape is the result of a multi-objective optimization process, which takes into account different ecological, economic, and social factors. In this process, coordinating stakeholders is a key factor to successful spatial land use optimization. Stakeholders need to be modeled as players who have the ability to interact with each other towards their best solution, while considering multiple goals and constraints at the same time. Game theory provides a tool for land use planners to model and analyze such interactions...

Deforestation accounts for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. In Brazil, deforestation represents ~ 70% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Among the main deforested vegetation, Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) occupies a prominent position as it is the second biggest biome in Brazil. Despite its importance, there are still few estimates of above and belowground biomass of Cerrado vegetation encompassing its structural and spatial complexity. Also, Cerrado holds a specific biodiversity that is normally undervalued and which is being lost in the fires of agricultural fronts...

Small towns are becoming hotspots of pollution due to industrial, urbanisation, and domestic activities. Air pollution affects human health and it is also responsible for physiological changes in plants. Green belt development programmes are cost-effective for the minimisation of air pollution. In the present study, to calculate air pollution tolerance index (APTI) and anticipated performance index (API), samples of 25 plant species were collected from each area i.e. the industrial (I), urban (U), and rural (R) areas and analysed for different parameters...

Underground water resources are one of the most valuable vital resources for mankind. Groundwater is used as drinking water and for agricultural irrigation. However, in recent years, it has been exposed to dangerous pollution, mainly due to man-made reasons. The study area is located in the Upper Mesopotamian region, where dry agriculture has been practiced since ancient times, which has semi-arid characteristics and where important civilizations lived. In this direction, the changes in groundwater quality were investigated with seasonal, annual samples taken from selected wells in Mardin Kiziltepe Plain in Upper Mesopotamia region and representing the plain in general and were subjected to water quality classifications...

Stubble burning is an emerging environmental issue in Northern India, which has severe implications for the air quality of the region. Although stubble burning occurs twice during a year, first during April-May and again in October-November due to paddy burning, the effects are severe during October-November months. This is exacerbated by the role of meteorological parameters and presence of inversion conditions in the atmosphere. The deterioration in the atmospheric quality can be attributed to the emissions from stubble burning which can be perceived from the changes observed in land use land cover (LULC) pattern, fire events, and sources of aerosol and gaseous pollutants...

Accurate estimation of surface runoff and determination of susceptible lands to runoff generation in ungauged watersheds were the problems for hydrologic engineering which could be predicted through a simple model such as Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN). Due to the slope effects on this method, slope adjustment for curve number was developed to improve its precision. So, the main objectives of this study were to apply GIS-based slope SCS-CN approaches for surface runoff estimation and compare the accuracy of three slope-adjusted models including: (a) model with three empirical parameters, (b) model with two parameters slope function, and (c) model with one parameter in the region located in the central part of Iran...

Using appropriate models in the land use planning process will help increase the accuracy and precision of decisions made by designers. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare fuzzy-based models (fuzzy set theory, fuzzy-AHP, and fuzzy-ANP) to evaluate the suitability of cotton cultivation in Sarayan region (located in eastern Iran). Twenty-eight land units were selected. Weighted arithmetic means of characteristics were performed in representative soil profiles of each unit. Landform-related characteristics were directly entered into the land suitability evaluation modeling...

Scenarios for monitoring land cover on a large scale, involving large volumes of data, are becoming more prevalent in remote sensing applications. The accuracy of algorithms is important for environmental monitoring and assessments. Because they performed equally well throughout the various research regions and required little human involvement during the categorization process, they appear to be resilient and accurate for automated, big area change monitoring. Malekshahi City is one of the important and at the same time critical areas in terms of land use change and forest area reduction in Ilam Province...