Young children are particularly sensitive to environmental pollutants. They can directly ingest soil by putting dirty hands and objects in their mouths. The reliance on animal derived models for human health risk and exposure assessment has several limitations. In this investigation, a tool-kit was developed and optimised to facilitate more accurate, reliable and representative predictions of soil contaminants that might pose a significant hazard to young children. The tool-kit was developed and optimised using an in vitro human digestion bioassay. This procedure was followed by the optimisation of several mutagenicity bioassays to link to the bioaccessible fraction which quantified by the in vitro bioassay. The application of novel and sensitive environmental-based biosensors requires them to work in parallel with effective and proven extraction techniques. In this study, chemical analysis was used to quantify the bioaccessible (human assimilated portion) of pollutants in soils. Acute toxicity was measured using constitutively marked bioluminescent bacterial biosensors and these were indicative of the total contaminant burden. A range of mutagenic assays were applied and optimised. In the Ames assay, any compound exhibiting a greater than two-fold increase in the number of revertants colonies over the number of spontaneous revertants was considered as a mutagen. Mutagenic-responsive SOS-lux based microbial biosensors were compared to the Ames assay. Mutagenicity assessment of a broad range of environmental pollutants (i.e. B[a]P, DiB(a,h)A, B[a]A, Ni and Cu), was performed using four SOS-lux microbial biosensors; E. coli DPD1718, E. coli K12C600, S. aureus pAmiUmuC and S. aureus pAmiRecA. The results substantiated that the four biosensors were unable to be induced by these pollutants. Nevertheless, E. coli DPD1718 and E. coli K12C600 were successfully induced by Mitomycin C (MMC) in a dose response manner. The Ames assay was performed for the above pollutants in the absence and the presence of the metabolic activation S9 mix. The standard plate incorporation assay and a modification protocol for the Ames assay were applied. Results reported from the Ames assay confirmed mutagenicity responses of the tested pollutants except Cu and Ni. MMC was selected and introduced into soil samples as a case study to assess the performance of the developed tool-kit. Soils amended with MMC were extracted by the in vitro human digestion bioassay, and the mutagenicity of the bioaccessible fraction was measured using the Ames assay and the biosensors. A comparison was made between the permissible concentrations of MMC obtained from the developed tool-kit and RISC4 derived concentrations. The four microbial biosensors applied in this study were incapable to detect the mutagenicity of the tested pollutants. On the other hand, the Ames assay was more robust and sensitive to a broad range of environmental pollutants. The in vitro human digestion bioassay enabled the quantification of the human bioaccessible fraction of the tested pollutants. This fraction posed a concern due to its estimation of the doses that would reach the blood circulation and cause harm to human. While the permissible concentration of MMC measured by the developed tool-kit was less than 10 μg MMC/g, the RISC4 model calculated that it should be 40 μg MMC/g. This revealed that, in this situation, risk assessment model was less conservative than empirical study for human health risk assessment. This study enabled the assessment of the permissible concentrations of environmental pollutants that could remain in a soil and pose permissible harm to humans. This approach also enabled a comparison of modelled and empirical data to allow a measure of sensitivity to be judged. There is a need to develop bioassay techniques more able to assess the potency of hydrophobic compounds both in isolation and combination.

No description available.

Arid lands cover approximately 30% of the earth’s surface. Due to the broadness, remoteness, and harsh condition of these lands, land condition assessment and monitoring using ground-based techniques appear to be limited. Remote sensing imagery with its broad areal coverage, repeatability, cost and time-effectiveness has been suggested and used as an alternative approach for more than three decades. This thesis evaluated the potential of different remote sensing techniques for assessing and monitoring land condition of southern arid lands of South Australia. There were four specific objectives: 1) to evaluate vegetation indices derived from multispectral satellite imagery for prediction of vegetation cover; 2) to compare vegetation indices and field measurements for detecting vegetation changes and assessing land condition; 3) to examine the potential of hyperspectral imagery for discriminating vegetation components that are important in land management using unmixing techniques; and 4) to test whether spatial heterogeneity in land surface reflectance can provide additional information about land condition and effects of management on land condition. The study focused on Kingoonya and Gawler Soil Conservation Districts that were dominated by chenopod shrublands and low open woodlands over sand plains and dunes. The area has been grazed predominately by sheep for more than 100 years and land degradation or desertification due to overgrazing is evident in some parts of the region, especially around stock watering points. Grazing is the most important factor that influences land condition. Four full scenes of Landsat TM and ETM+ multispectral and Hyperion hyperspectral data were acquired over the study area. The imagery was acquired in dry seasons to highlight perennial vegetation cover that has an important role in land condition assessment and monitoring. Slope-based, distance-based, orthogonal transformation and plant-water sensitive vegetation indices were compared with vegetation cover estimates at monitoring points made by state government agency staff during the first Pastoral Lease assessments in 1991. To examine the performance of vegetation indices, they were tested at two scales: within two contrasting land systems and across broader regional landscapes. Of the vegetation indices evaluated, selected Stress Related Vegetation Indices using red, nearinfrared and mid-infrared bands consistently showed significant relationships with vegetation cover at both land system and landscape scales. Estimation of vegetation cover was more accurate within land systems than across broader regions. Total perennial and ephemeral plant cover was predicted best within land systems (R2=0.88), while combined vegetation, plant litter and soil cryptogam crust cover was predicted best at landscape scale (R2=0.39). The results of applying one of the stress related vegetation indices (STVI-4) to 1991 TM and 2002 ETM+ Landsat imagery to detect vegetation changes and to 2005 Landsat TM imagery to discriminate Land Condition Index (LCI) classes showed that it is an appropriate vegetation index for both identifying trends in vegetation cover and assessing land condition. STVI-4 highlighted increases and decreases in vegetation in different parts of the study area. The vegetation change image provided useful information about changes in vegetation cover resulting from variations in climate and alterations in land management. STVI-4 was able to differentiate all three LCI classes (poor, fair and good condition) in low open woodlands with 95% confidence level. In chenopod shrubland and Mount Eba country only poor and good conditions were separable spectrally. The application of spectral mixture analysis to Hyperion hyperspectral imagery yielded five distinct end-members: two associated with vegetation cover and the remaining three associated with different soils, surface gravel and stone. The specific identity of the image end-members was determined by comparing their mean spectra with field reflectance spectra collected with an Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) Field Spec Pro spectrometer. One vegetation end-member correlated significantly with cottonbush vegetation cover (R2=0.89), distributed as patches throughout the study area. The second vegetation end-member appeared to map green and grey-green perennial shrubs (e.g. Mulga) and correlated significantly with total vegetation cover (R2=0.68). The soil and surface gravel and stone end-members that mapped sand plains, sand dunes, and surface gravel and stone did not show significant correlations with the field estimates of these soil surface components. I examined the potential of a spatial heterogeneity index, the Moving Standard Deviation Index (MSDI), around stock watering points and nearby ungrazed reference sites. One of the major indirect effects of watering points in a grazed landscape is the development around them of a zone of extreme degradation called a piosphere. MSDI was applied to Landsat red band for detection and assessment of these zones. Results showed watering points had significantly higher MSDI values than non-degraded reference areas. Comparison of two vegetation indices, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Perpendicular Distance vegetation index (PD54), which were used as reference indices, showed that the PD54 was more sensitive than NDVI for assessing land condition in this perennial-dominated arid environment. Piospheres were found to be more spatially heterogeneous in land surface reflectance. They had higher MSDI values compared to non-degraded areas, and spatial heterogeneity decreased with increasing distance from water points. The study has demonstrated overall that image-based indices derived from Landsat multispectral and Hyperion hyperspectral imagery can be used with field methods to assess and monitor vegetation cover (and consequently land condition) of southern arid lands of South Australia in a quick and efficient way. Relationships between vegetation indices, end-members and field measurements can be used to estimate vegetation cover and monitor its variation with time in broad areas where field-based methods are not effective. Multispectral vegetation indices can be used to assess and discriminate ground-based land condition classes. The sandy-loam end-member extracted from Hyperion imagery has high potential for monitoring sand dunes and their movement over time. The MSDI showed that spatial heterogeneity in land surface reflectance can be used as a good indicator of land degradation. It differentiated degraded from nondegraded areas successfully and detected grazing gradients slightly better than widely used vegetation indices. Results suggest further research using these remote sensing techniques is warranted for arid land condition assessment and monitoring in South Australia. / http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1295218 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- School of Earth and Environmental Science, 2007

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

<p>Sensor technology is evolving rapidly, offering new opportunities for environmental data collection. Yet, despite the large number of sensors now available, there is a lack of logging platforms that can be used to operate these sensors in situ. To address this shortfall, River Restoration Intelligence and Verification (RRIV) has developed an environmental data logger that meets the needs of the environmental sensing community. This platform has several advantages that reduce the time, effort, and technical know-how required to deploy environmental sensors. An extensive low-power mode is available, and hardware such as a real-time clock with an independent power source is incorporated. A driver system has been developed that allows users to incorporate sensors into the platform with minimal effort. RRIV loggers also include a command line interface that allows user to add or remove sensors, calibrate sensors, or configure deployments without the need for C/C++ programming, something that is not possible with out-of-the-box microcontrollers such as Arduino and ST Nucleo products. The technology incorporated into RRIV and how it is applied and deployed in the field is described. This includes a description of power consumption. Protocols and descriptions of case construction are also included. RRIV loggers configured to monitor carbon dioxide and methane are used to demonstrate how this platform is used in the field.</p>

Circular economy (CE) is widely seen as a potential solution to negative impacts caused by thelinear economy; however, companies must integrate CE principles into the business modeldeeper to achieve sustainable development. The Product-Service System (PSS) businessmodel is a potential solution to the superficial implementation of CE due to shifting the focusto delivering functionality rather than ownership. However, several researchers point out thatPSS systems, whilst promoted as sustainability alternatives, rarely have enough quantitativedata supporting these outcomes and where the research field widely highlight the need tofurther develop assessment methods for PSS, with the use phase being a specifically criticalarea to monitor due to companies increased responsibility. This master’s thesis, therefore,aims to evaluate how companies monitor and assess their use-oriented PSS during the usephase to safeguard the intended increase in sustainability performance. To achieve theseobjectives, a qualitative, multiple case study was employed, where four companies wereinterviewed following a semi-structured approach, creating in-depth knowledge in each case. The case studies reveal that the different companies' primary methods to safeguard theirsustainability ambitions were through data collection, which, however, lacked the structuralsupport of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The different case studies could be seen tomainly collect performance data for proactive maintenance and consumer behaviour data toadjust their services and, by that, reduce environmental impact. However, only Volvo CarMobility did try to reduce the risk of unforeseen rebound effects by investigating customers'changed mobility behaviour. All of the companies did during the interviews refer to KPIs thatthey used to ensure that their sustainability goals were met; however, only one of the casestudies had an indicator that could meet the requirements of KPIs, whereas others lackedspecified targets, were vaguely defined or were irregularly collected. Additionally, the casestudies confirmed different strategic reasons for implementing their PSS other thansustainability and whether all sustainability goals could be connected to economic incentives.These different drivers confirm the PSS attraction and suitability for companies; however, italso emphasises the importance of implementing a system perspective to mitigate risks ofburden shifting and loss of the potential to contribute to sustainable development. Future research could further evaluate the importance of information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) when collecting data on PSS consumers, how AI-supported technologycould facilitate the recognition of consumer behaviour, and how this data collection shouldbe efficiently managed in the organisation. Additionally, another interesting avenue for futureinvestigation would be the overall consumer behaviour of society and its impact on businessmodels such as PSS. In conclusion, this master's thesis confirms and extends previous assertions on theimportance and complexity of use-oriented PSS and adds to the emerging literature on the subject through the information from the case studies. The findings also point to the holisticinsights and performance assessments required to optimise the potential and ensure thesustainability of the services. / Cirkulär ekonomi (CE) betraktas allmänt som en potentiell lösning på den negativa påverkansom den linjära ekonomin orsakar. För att uppnå en hållbar utveckling är det nödvändigt förföretag att djupare integrera CE-principer i affärsmodellen. Affärsmodellen förprodukttjänstsystem (product service system - PSS) anses vara en potentiell lösning när CEytligt implementerats i företag, detta genom att fokusera på att leverera funktionalitetsnarare än äganderätt. Dock pekar flera forskare på att PSS-system, trots att de främjas somhållbarhetsalternativ, sällan har tillräckligt med kvantitativ data som stödjer dessa resultat.Inom PSS forskningsfältet betonas behovet av att vidareutveckla bedömningsmetoder(Nakada et al., 2020), där användningsfasen anses vara ett specifikt kritiskt område attkontrollera på grund av företagens ökade ansvar. Denna masteravhandling syftar därför tillatt utvärdera hur företag kontrollerar och bedömer sina användningsorienterade PSS underanvändningsfasen för att säkerställa den avsedda ökningen i hållbarhetsprestanda. För attuppnå dessa mål användes en kvalitativ, flerfallstudie där fyra företag intervjuades med ettsemistrukturerat förhållningssätt, vilket skapade mer djupgående kunskap om vardera fall. Fallstudierna visar att de olika företagens huvudsakliga metod för att säkerställa sinahållbarhetsambitioner var genom datainsamling, men detta saknade dock det strukturellastödet av nyckeltal (Key Performance Indicators - KPI:er). De olika fallstudierna kunde sessamla prestandadata främst för proaktivt underhåll och konsumentbeteendedata för attjustera sina tjänster och därigenom minska miljöpåverkan. Endast Volvo Car Mobility försökteminska risken för oförutsedda rekyleffekter genom att undersöka kunders ändraderörelsebeteende. Samtliga företag hänvisade under intervjuerna till KPI:er som de användeför att säkerställa att deras hållbarhetsmål uppnåddes, men endast företaget som hyrde utbilbarnstolar hade en indikator som kunde uppfylla KPI-kraven, medan de andra fallensaknade specificerade objektiv, var vagt definierade eller insamlades oregelbundet.Dessutom bekräftade fallstudierna olika strategiska skäl för att implementera sina PSS utöverhållbarhet, och alla hållbarhetsmål kunde kopplas till ekonomiska incitament. Dessa olikadrivkrafter bekräftar PSS attraktion och lämplighet för företag, men betonar också vikten avatt implementera ett systemperspektiv för att minska riskerna för tunnelseende ochförskjutning av belastningen (s.k. burden shifting) och förlora potentialen att bidra till enhållbar utveckling. Framtida forskning kan rikta sig mot att ytterligare utvärdera betydelsen av informations- ochkommunikationsteknologier (Information and Communication Technology - ICT) vid insamlingav data om PSS-konsumenter, hur AI-stödd teknik kan underlätta igenkänning avkonsumentbeteende och särskilt hur denna datainsamling bör hanteras effektivt iorganisationen. Dessutom skulle en annan intressant väg för framtida undersökningar kunnavara samhällets övergripande konsumentbeteende och dess påverkan på affärsmodeller somPSS.   Sammanfattningsvis bekräftar denna masteravhandling tidigare påståenden omanvändningsorienterade PSS betydelse och komplexitet och bidrar till den växandelitteraturen om ämnet genom information från fallstudierna. Resultaten pekar också på deholistiska insikter och prestandabedömningar som krävs för att optimera potentialen ochsäkerställa tjänsternas hållbarhet.

<p>  </p> <p>The rise of technology as a data source for ecological research and biodiversity conservation has led to a host of new opportunities, and new challenges, for researchers, conservationists, policymakers, and land managers. As these technologies have become more common and more capable, researchers need improved methods and improved theoretical frameworks to integrate these technologies with each other; with social science and policy; and with land-use planning. This thesis proposes several of these conceptual and theoretical frameworks—one for integration of heterogeneous data and another for the integration of ecological data with economic decision-making and policy analysis. It then suggests new methodologies for data quality assurance. Lastly, it demonstrates the applicability of acoustic monitoring in a key land-use context: agriculture in a premium crop that is grown in global biodiversity hotspots. </p>

<p>  </p> <p>The pandemic prompted buildings globally to transition to low or no occupancy as social distancing to reduce the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This consequence prompted concerns about the chemical and microbiological safety of building drinking water due to stagnation. At the same time, microplastic (MP) pollution received increasing global attention due to their presence in the environment and recent discoveries within water distribution systems and at building faucets. MP sources have primarily been targeted as originating within the drinking water sources, but plastic plumbing components are less discussed and known to deteriorate into fragments and smaller pieces that reach faucets. Literature at the time of this work as sparse on stagnation impacts to drinking water quality and the fate of MPs in plumbing. In particular, health officials and building owners issued and received many differed guidance documents telling building owners do different things and no standard guideline was available to reduce the health risks caused by stagnant building drinking water. This dissertation  examined three different types of buildings during closed to low water use conditions and conducted bench-scale testing to explore the phenomena observed in the field. Chapter 1 describes water quality impacts during a 7 year old ‘green’ middle school as it transitioned from Summer (low water use) to Fall (normal use). Field experiments revealed that more than half of first draw water samples exceeded the copper (acute) health-based action limit during low water use. Copper concentration within the school increased as distance from building entry point increased. Chapter 2 and 3 describe report on chemical and microbiological water quality in buildings at a university buildings (Chapter 2), and elementary school (Chapter 3). Chapters 2 and 3 revealed that stagnation negatively impacted chemical and microbiological building water quality (cold and hot) but flushing was effective at remediating high concentration of heavy metals and <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> at most locations. But in large buildings, where building plumbing system was more complicated, flushing did not always result in improved water quality. Also discovered was that water quality again deteriorated even after whole building water system was flushed. It is important to understand own building systems to maintain water quality as each building complexity requires specific knowledge and solutions. Chapter 4 describes current knowledge associated with MPs in drinking water and results of bench scale experiments on MP fate and transport in building plumbing. This work identified that while MPs have been reported at building faucets, sampling details lacking from available studies often resulted in study results not being comparable across others. Based on the review of the issue, it was found that MPs have likely reached building faucets for decades but have received no characterization until recently. Bench-scale testing using two MPs, of different density, in copper and crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipes revealed size influenced the amount of MPs retained in a pipe. Research needs were identified to determine the fundamental factors that control MP fate in plumbing and their presence at building faucets. </p>

<p dir="ltr">To examine how forest management affects terrestrial salamanders, this dissertation: (1) examines the effects of timber harvesting strategies on salamanders; (2) examines the effects of prescribed fire for oak regeneration on salamander populations; and (3) explores the influence of artificial cover object (ACO) wood type, size and shape, and placement on salamander monitoring results. These projects were conducted at the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) and Martell Experimental Forest in Indiana. Long-term salamander monitoring data from the HEE were used to examine the effects of clearcuts, shelterwoods, and patch cuts on salamander captures collected up to eleven years post-harvest and were analyzed with a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design. Clearcuts and patch cuts had negative effects on salamanders 4-6 years post-harvest, which coincided with a drought; however, preparatory and establishment shelterwood harvests showed no effects on salamander captures, suggesting that retaining canopy cover may protect salamanders from compound disturbances such as drought. Also at the HEE, capture-recapture techniques were used to examine salamander population estimates before and after fire. Only two of three fires affected salamander populations. In the short term, prescribed fire effects on salamanders may be weak and intermittent and microclimate may have a greater effect on populations, although the longer-term effects of fire remain unknown. At Martell Experimental Forest, salamander numbers were compared beneath ACOs of different wood types, sizes and shapes, and grid arrays of different spacings. Pine ACOs were preferred over ash, while several small ACOs yielded equal salamander numbers to one large ACO of equal total area. High ACO density may increase capture probability but reduce the area sampled by each ACO, while lower density ACO grids may cover a larger area with the same sampling effort and produce more comparable results, but with less precision; choice of ACO experimental design will therefore require careful consideration of management goals. This dissertation also suggests strategies to support salamander populations as guidelines for managers to consider in management planning.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Non-native biological invasions are one of the leading concerns for global biodiversity. The establishment of invasive species reduces local biodiversity, shifts species composition, changes successional trajectories, and alters ecosystem functions. This thesis examines two aspects of invasive plants: (1) the distribution and the most important climatic and anthropogenic drivers of invasive trees across the eastern United States, and (2) an evaluation of invasive plant removal and herbaceous recovery from a government cost-share program that provides financial support for invasive plant management by private landowners.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Our first study focused on identifying the distribution of invasive trees, and the factors associated with their distribution. This is essential to predicting spread and planning subsequent management. Using USDA Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data and random forest modeling, we examined the distribution, and variables associated with the distribution, of invasive tree species. Invasive trees were found in 10,511 out of 299,387 FIA plots. Invasive species basal area and density (trees per ha; TPH) were highest within the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, Michigan, the Northeast, and the southern Coastal Plain of the United States. A random forest model of invasive species basal area (R²= 0.47, RMSE = 0.47) and density (R²=0.46, RMSE=0.50) vs. environmental variables found that both invasive basal area and density were most strongly associated with human footprint, followed by various climatic variables. An equivalent model of native tree basal (R²=0.53, RMSE=9.25) and TPH (R²=0.47, RMSE=8.64) found that native tree basal area and density were most strongly associated with aridity followed by various climatic variables. As human footprint increased, invasive tree basal area and density increased. These results suggest that the distribution of invasive trees is reliant on human alterations to forests.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Our second study focused on Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a federal cost-share program that has provided $25 billion of financial assistance to farmers and non-industrial private forest owners. Few studies have examined whether this program facilitates the recovery of the herbaceous layer while decreasing the dominance of invasive plant species. We surveyed the herbaceous layer of EQIP-treated and untreated (reference) forests across three physiographic regions of Indiana. Using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination and linear mixed effects models, we evaluated the species composition, richness, diversity, evenness, floristic quality index, and herbaceous-layer cover of EQIP and reference sites. We also used linear mixed models to evaluate how EQIP site treatment affected the diversity of native plant species. Sites treated with EQIP contracts typically had significantly higher native species richness, Shannon’s diversity, and floristic quality than reference sites. There were significant separations in species composition between EQIP treated and reference forests state-wide and in the southern non-glaciated region of Indiana, although composition overlapped between EQIP and reference forests. Our study suggests that EQIP-funded treatments promote increased species richness and diversity. However, the persistent overlap in species composition we observed may signify biotic homogenization due to a long-shared history of anthropogenic disturbances between EQIP and reference sites. Therefore, active restoration of the herbaceous layer might be needed to allow a full recovery after invasive removal.</p>