At Degermyran landfill, situated in the municipal Skellefteå, a leachate treatment system was installed in 2005. One of the aims of this study was to investigate how well the treatment system works by using data from chemical measurements made on the leachate before and after treatment. Further this study had the purpose of investigating how the predicted climate changes of the 21st century will affect the amount of leachate generated at Degermyran by using a modified version of Thornthwaites water balance model. The treatment system has the ability of reducing manganese by 90 %, nitrogen by 73 % och TOC by 79 %. By the turn of this century the amount of precipitation that percolates the waste at Degermyran will be between 254 and 298 mm, depending on the amount of greenhouse gases that will be released in the future to come. The conclusions from this study are that the leachate treatment system reduces the levels of the investigated substances and that the amount of leachate produced at Degermyran will increase. To further investigate the efficiency of the leachate treatment system, flow proportionate measurements of the leachate chemistry could be adopted. If accurate flow measurements of the amount of generated leachate were performed the reliability of the used water balance model could be assessed.

Many populations of migrating waterbirds in Africa and Western Eurasia are in a long-term decline, largely because of the loss of wetlands along their migration routes. Between 1950 and 1985, 63 % of the wetlands in Greece were lost due to human activities. However, humans are also a source of more direct disturbance to birds that may have a negative influence on their fitness. The purpose of this study has been to assess how human disturbance in the form of agriculture, tourism and hunting might affect the birdlife in a coastal lagoon in southwestern Greece, and, if needed, propose measures on how to improve the status of the birdlife. To evaluate this, interviews and studies of monitoring reports and literature have been conducted. The studied area, Gialova lagoon, is the southernmost wetland in the Balkan Peninsula, which makes it especially important for migratory birds. The study shows that the major threats to the lagoon have already been dealt with. However, there are still improvements that can be made. Currently, agriculture seems to have the most negative effect on the concerned area, but since there appears to be an ambition to increase tourism in the area this may change in the future. Disturbance from hunting only plays a minor role in the area around the lagoon. The establishment of an official management body as well as an official management plan would probably be an effective way to continue the conservation work and reduce the disturbance of human activities in Gialova lagoon.

The local livelihood systems of Tam Giang Lagoon, Central Vietnam have shifted since the policy changes of 1986. Aquaculture has replaced capture fishing as the most important livelihood activity in the lagoon. Aquaculture is governed by both customary and legal access rights. The move from a centrally-planned (collectivization) economy to a market-oriented economy in conjunction with the development of the aquaculture sector has had significant impacts. This change has reduced the available lagoon areas for mobile-gear fishers, polarized different user-groups, and raised the issue of resource access inequity. The overarching objective of this thesis is to understand the complexity and influence of property rights on local livelihood systems; specifically: (1) to examine changes in resource access and various types of resource use in the lagoon; (2) to analyse the effects of aquaculture and changes in resource access on local livelihood systems; and (3) to assess the resilience of livelihood systems and identify the essential elements that contribute to resilience in livelihood systems. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for data collection. Sixty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted and fourteen households were selected for an additional in-depth livelihood analysis. Focus group discussions were one of the most important methods used for data collection. Fifteen formal focus groups and several informal discussions were organized. Both types of focus groups were used in conjunction with a number of participatory methods, such as seasonal calendar, participatory mapping, and well-being ranking. The field work was conducted over twenty-nine months between December, 2005 and April, 2008. The research examined the evolution of property rights and the complexity of resource access in Thuy Dien village. The research investigated seven types of resource use which are associated with “bundles of rights” and discussed the dynamics of property rights governed by both laws and customs. De jure and de facto rights were classified in different time periods by using Schlager and Ostrom’s framework. By applying a sustainable livelihood framework, the research presented overview of livelihood systems and discussed the influence of property rights on household livelihoods. Households in the village were classified into four groups: (1) earth pond, (2) net-enclosure; (3) mobile fishing; and (4) non-fishing households. Attention was paid to the disparity between these household types in term of livelihood strategies and opportunities for livelihood development. The research applied a resilience approach to the analysis of the local livelihood systems. Resilience is an inherent attribute of sustainable livelihood systems because it implies the flexibility and availability of options. If resilience is lost, livelihood systems may cross a threshold and shift to a different regime or alternative equilibrium. In Tam Giang Lagoon, a shift to a different regime seemed to have occurred over the last two decades.

Graduation date: 1986

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-141).

Thesis (M.S.)--San Diego State University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-103).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 21, 2010) Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-141). Also issued in print.

Τα περιβαλλοντικά ζητήματα όπως η κλιματική αλλαγή και οι επιπτώσεις της στα οικοσυστήματα αποκτούν ιδιαίτερη σημασία κατά τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες και απασχολούν σε διεθνές, εθνικό και τοπικό επίπεδο τα κράτη. Οι συνέπειες της κλιματικής αλλαγής σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις δεν είναι εύκολα αντιληπτές και για τον λόγο αυτό μπορούν να καταστούν ακόμα πιο επικίνδυνες για ορισμένα οικοσυστήματα, καθώς εξαιτίας αυτών των δυσχερειών δεν λαμβάνονται έγκαιρα μέτρα αντιμετώπισης και διαχείρισης των επιπτώσεων αυτών. Επιστήμονες από όλον τον κόσμο συλλέγουν δεδομένα προκειμένου να εκτιμήσουν ενδεχόμενες συνέπειες από την κλιματική αλλαγή ή να στοιχειοθετήσουν μια στατιστικά σημαντική μεταβολή. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική διατριβή γίνεται μια προσπάθεια συγκέντρωσης και επεξεργασίας δεδομένων που αφορούν στην περιοχή της λιμνοθάλασσας Πάππα, αλλά και στην ευρύτερη προστατευόμενη περιοχή από το Κοτύχι έως τα Μαύρα Βουνά, με στόχο την διερεύνηση του βαθμού τρωτότητας που παρουσιάζει η συγκεκριμένη περιοχή στην κλιματική αλλαγή. Για τον σκοπό αυτό καταγράψαμε τις πιέσεις που δέχεται συνεπεία του ανθρωπογενούς περιβάλλοντος (χρήσεις γης) καθώς και τις ιδιαιτερότητες που αφορούν στο φυσικό περιβάλλον. Ακολούθως επεξεργαστήκαμε κλιματικά στοιχεία της περιοχής ώστε να διακρίνουμε πιθανές αλλαγές σε βασικούς κλιματικούς δείκτες που θα στοιχειοθετούσαν ενδεχόμενη κλιματική αλλαγή. Στις επιτόπιες επισκέψεις μας, προσπαθήσαμε να εξάγουμε συμπεράσματα για την ποιότητα των υδάτων. Επιπλέον καταγράφηκαν οι καλλιέργειες στην λεκάνη απορροή της λιμνοθάλασσας και αποτυπώθηκαν σε συνεργασία με καλλιεργητές της περιοχής μελέτης. Συμπληρώθηκαν ερωτηματολόγια που αφορούσαν τις καλλιεργητικές συνήθειες των παραγωγών της περιοχής (καλλιέργειες, φυτοπροστατευτικά χημικά, λιπάσματα) και έγινε μια προσπάθεια να καταγραφούν και να ποσοτικοποιηθούν οι εισροές στην λεκάνη απορροής και ιδιαίτερα των λιπαντικών στοιχείων. / Environmental issues such as climate change and its impacts on ecosystems are particularly important issues in recent decades in local, national and international level. The effects of climate change in some cases are not easily understood and therefore they may become even more dangerous for some ecosystems. Scientists all over the world are gathering data to assess the potential effects of climate change or to constitute a statistically significant change. The objective of this study was to collect and process the data from Pappas lagoon basin and also in the wider conservation area, in order to investigate the degree of vulnerability presented in the region due to climate change. Therefore, we recorded the environmental impacts due to human influence as well as the peculiarities related to natural factors. We also gathered and processed climatic data of the area in order to identify factors that indicate a potential climate change. During our visits, we tried to evaluate both land- and aquatic-ecosystem, referring to biotic and abiotic factors. Local agriculture practice was recorded and prioritized, based on potential dangerous practices for the ecosystem. Thus questionnaires are made in order to distinguish the severity of the agriculture practices in the environment and they are given to local producers (crops, agrochemicals and fertilizers) and an attempt was made to quantify the fertilizer input to this valuable ecosystem.

Η λιμνοθάλασσα του Αιτωλικού (εικόνα 9,10) λιμνοθάλασσα βρίσκεται στο βόρειο τμήμα του Μεσολογγίου Αιτωλικού-σύμπλεγμα λιμνοθάλασσα η οποία είναι ο μεγαλύτερος υγρότοπος στην Ελλάδα, είναι μεγάλης οικολογικής σημασίας και προστατεύεται από τη σύμβαση Ramsar. Aποτελεί μια λεκάνη εγκλωβισμένη από αβαθή νερά και στεριά, η οποία επικοινωνεί νότια με τη λιμνοθάλασσα του Μεσολογγίου μέσα από δυο στενά ανοίγματα. Από αυτά τα στενά ανοίγματα εισέρχονται στη λιμνοθάλασσα τα καθαρά αλμυρά νερά του Πατραϊκού κόλπου, αφού πρώτα διατρέξουν την ρηχή μήκους 13 km και βάθους μικρότερου του 1m λιμνοθάλασσα του Μεσολογγίου (εικόνα 11). Εκτός όμως από τα θαλασσινά νερά η λιμνοθάλασσα δέχεται και άφθονα γλυκά νερά από τρεις μεγάλους χείμαρρους, από πολλούς μικρούς, από παροδικές και μόνιμες πηγές που βρίσκονται σε όλη την έκτασή της, καθώς επίσης και από αντλιοστάσια που στέλνουν τα ιδιαίτερα ρυπασμένα νερά τους στην ευαίσθητη λεκάνη. . Η λιμνοθάλασσα είναι μολυσμένο από τα απόβλητα αποχέτευσης από το Αιτωλικό μικρή πόλη και τη γεωργία στη γύρω περιοχή. Τα κύρια χαρακτηριστικά της λιμνοθάλασσας είναι τα μόνιμα ανοξικές συνθήκες στο βαθύτερο στρώμα νερού (7-35μ) και το σχηματισμό του υδρόθειου. Η ανοδική μετανάστευση του υδρόθειου στα επιφανειακά ύδατα προκάλεσε διάφορες εκδηλώσεις της θνησιμότητας των ψαριών κατά τα τελευταία 150 χρόνια. Για την έρευνα έγιναν μετρήσεις σε 13 σταθμούς στη λιμνοθάλλασα / -

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) FL, USA, is an Estuary of National Significance due to its economic and high biodiversity. Microbial populations are understudied in the IRL despite their numerous ecological services. A two-year, nineteen-site Lagoon-Wide Survey (LWS) was conducted to provide the first 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data on the microbiome of the sediment in the IRL and determine how the microbiome changed in response to environmental and anthropogenic factors. The most influential variables that explained the variability between microbiomes were porewater salinity, total organic matter (TOM), and copper (Cu). These results correlated with some of the anthropogenic pressures the IRL faces such as freshwater discharges from St. Lucie Estuary (SLE), trace metal contamination, and the accumulation of fine-grained, highly organic sediment known as “IRL muck” (muck). Research then focused on determining the microbial differences between three sets of sample types: sediment from the IRL versus the SLE; sediment that had three muck characteristics versus those with zero; and high TOM sediment that had high Cu versus high TOM sediment that had low Cu. Differentially abundant prokaryotes between sample types were determined with novel indicator analysis techniques. One technique tested the effectiveness of an indicator list to separate samples based upon the product of the sensitivity and specificity of partitioning around medoids clustering in comparison to metadata classifications. The other technique allowed for the tracking of changes in the entire indicator microbiome. These new indicator analysis techniques were created using the original LWS data and tested to determine how sediment microbiomes responded during two opportunistic surveys: dredging of muck from an IRL tributary (Eau Gallie River) and Hurricane Irma. These studies have filled the knowledge gap regarding the unknown microbiome of the IRL and how sediment microbiomes respond to extreme events such as dredging and a hurricane. They also led to the development of new indicator analysis techniques that can be used by to track changes in the entire indicator microbiome. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection