Growing edible vegetables on Technosols, Firts results of the Agrotechnosol Project. 8th Sino-French Workshop on Soil Pollution and Remediation

New approach to identify and categorize pesticide metabolites in soil combining suspect screening metabolomics with in silico molecular typology. 5th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR). 5th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR)

INRA-Onema "Phylogeny and Polluosensitivity" program This work was supported by the INRA-Onema 2013-2014 "Phylogeny and Polluosensitivity" program. The authors thank Marc Collinet and Antoine Gallard for technical assistance. Elsevier sci ltd | International audience | The use of standardized monospecific testing to assess the ecological risk of chemicals implicitly relies on the strong assumption that intraspecific variation in sensitivity is negligible or irrelevant in this context. In this study, we investigated genetic variation in copper sensitivity of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis, using lineages stemming from eight natural populations or strains found to be genetically differentiated at neutral markers. Copper-induced mortality varied widely among populations, as did the estimated daily death rate and time to 50% mortality (LT50). Population genetic divergence in copper sensitivity was compared to neutral differentiation using the Qs-r-FsT approach. No evidence for homogenizing selection could be detected. This result demonstrates that species-level extrapolations from single population studies are highly unreliable. The study provides a simple example of how evolutionary principles could be incorporated into ecotoxicity testing in order to refine ecological risk assessment. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience | Sulfidation is a major transformation product for manufactured silver nanoparticles (Ag-MNPs) in the wastewater treatment process. We studied the dissolution, uptake, and toxicity of Ag-MNP and sulfidized Ag-MNPs (sAg-MNPs) to a model soil organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results show that reproduction was the most sensitive endpoint tested for both Ag-MNPs and sAg-MNPs. We also demonstrate that sulfidation not only decreases solubility of Ag-MNP, but also reduces the bioavailability of intact sAg-MNP. The relative contribution of released Ag+ compared to intact particles to toxicity was concentration dependent. At lower total Ag concentration, a greater proportion of the toxicity could be explained by dissolved Ag, whereas at higher total Ag concentration, the toxicity appeared to be dominated by particle specific effects. 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience | Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are a key pathway by which nanoparticles (NPs) enter the environment following release from NP-enabled products. This work considers the fate and exposure of CeO2 NPs in WWTPs in a two-step process of heteroaggregation with bacteria followed by the subsequent reduction of Ce(IV) to Ce(III). Measurements of NP association with solids in sludge were combined with experimental estimates of reduction rate constants for CeO2 NPs in Monte Carlo simulations to predict the concentrations and speciation of Ce in WWTP effluents and biosolids. Experiments indicated preferential accumulation of CeO2 NPs in biosolids where reductive transformation would occur. Surface functionalization was observed to impact both the distribution coefficient and the rates of transformation. The relative affinity of CeO2 NPs for bacterial suspensions in sludge appears to explain differences in the observed rates of Ce reduction for the two types of CeO2 NPs studied. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Territoires [TR1_IRSTEA]DTAM [Axe_IRSTEA]DTAM2-ACPUB | International audience | Diffuse pollution is a major cause for the degradation of water quality also in the French context. Nitrates and pesticides, mostly from agricultural sources, are the main pollutants. To a lesser extent, diffuse pollution has domestic and collective sources. Nitrate rates remain high in surface waters, despite an improvement of water quality in areas where livestock farming is responsible for nitrate pollution. The contamination of groundwater by nitrates and pesticides has been worsening in the last years. The EU Nitrate Directive is the main regulatory tool for the control of nitrate diffuse pollution. Farmers in designated vulnerable zones have to comply with measures included in action programs. The implementation of the ND in France was evaluated as incomplete relating to insufficient designation of vulnerable zones and non-conformity of action programs. Two other constraints are a low awareness of requirements by farmers and difficulties in controlling and enforcing compliance. As a consequence, the implementation process of the ND was redefined in France, with an extension of vulnerable zones, now covering 55% of agricultural area. While action programs were mainly defined at the district level, now a core program defined at the national level is completed by regional programs established by State regional authorities on the basis of the work of regional technical groups. The development of action plans to protect drinking water catchments relies on cooperation between water suppliers and agricultural stakeholders. A first step is the definition of protection zone(s) in the water catchment. Then, agricultural and non-agricultural pressures are identified. Finally, an action plan is defined to be implemented voluntary by farmers. In the French context, the involvement of water suppliers is fostered by financial incentives provided by Water Agencies. Also the “Grenelle” regulation imposes the definition and implementation of action plans in priority water catchments. The participation of farmers is targeted by a number of tools: (1) mostly agri-environmental schemes funded by EU rural development policy, (2) environmental land leases, (3) the development of market outlets such as local organic supply chains. Research shows that the success of this approach depends on a number of factors. The main success factors identified are: The scale of collective action. With regard with the governance of collective action, the definition of the role of stakeholders involved the involvement of farm leaders and farm organizations and the involvement of agricultural cooperatives and agro-industries. Finally, technical support to local stakeholders (water suppliers, farmers) was identified as a crucial success factor.

International audience | Chronic exposure to pollutants may represent a threat for wildlife. We tested whether adult survival rate, breeding probability and breeding success the year of sampling and the following year were affected by blood levels of mercury or persistent organic pollutants in Svalbard black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, by using capture–mark–recapture models over a five-year period. Survival rate was negatively linked to HCB levels in females, to chlordane mixture and oxychlordane, tended to decrease with increasing PCBs or DDE levels, but was unrelated to mercury. Breeding probability decreased with increasing mercury levels during the sampling year and with increasing CHL or HCB levels during the following year, especially in males observed as breeders. Surprisingly, the probability of raising two chicks increased with increasing HCB levels. Although levels of these legacy pollutants are expected to decline, they represent a potential threat for adult survival rate and breeding probability, possibly affecting kittiwake population dynamics.

Environmental Pollution, in press | International audience | Organisms are regularly subjected to abiotic stressors related to increasing anthropogenic activities, including chemicals and climatic changes that induce major stresses. Based on various key taxa involved in ecosystem functioning (photosynthetic microorganisms, plants, invertebrates), we review how organisms respond and adapt to chemical- and temperature-induced stresses from molecular to population level. Using field-realistic studies, our integrative analysis aims to compare i) how molecular and physiological mechanisms related to protection, repair and energy allocation can impact life history traits of stressed organisms, and ii) to what extent trait responses influence individual and population responses. Common response mechanisms are evident at molecular and cellular scales but become rather difficult to define at higher levels due to evolutionary distance and environmental complexity. We provide new insights into the understanding of the impact of molecular and cellular responses on individual and population dynamics and assess the potential related effects on communities and ecosystem functioning.

Environmental Pollution, in press | International audience | Organisms are regularly subjected to abiotic stressors related to increasing anthropogenic activities, including chemicals and climatic changes that induce major stresses. Based on various key taxa involved in ecosystem functioning (photosynthetic microorganisms, plants, invertebrates), we review how organisms respond and adapt to chemical- and temperature-induced stresses from molecular to population level. Using field-realistic studies, our integrative analysis aims to compare i) how molecular and physiological mechanisms related to protection, repair and energy allocation can impact life history traits of stressed organisms, and ii) to what extent trait responses influence individual and population responses. Common response mechanisms are evident at molecular and cellular scales but become rather difficult to define at higher levels due to evolutionary distance and environmental complexity. We provide new insights into the understanding of the impact of molecular and cellular responses on individual and population dynamics and assess the potential related effects on communities and ecosystem functioning.

Posidonia oceanica is a marine angiosperm endemic from the Mediterranean. Despite their protection, its meadows are regressing. The economic valuation of ecosystem services (ES) assesses the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being and may provide local policy makers help in territorial development. To estimate the economic value of P. oceanica seagrass and the meadows that it forms to better account its presence in coastal development, identification and assessment of ES provided are first performed. Then goods and benefits (GB) and their economical values are estimated. In total, 25ES are identified and 7 GB are economically evaluated. The economic value of GB provided by P. oceanica ranges between 25.3 mil- lion and 45.9 million €/year which means 283–513 €/ha/year. Because of the lack of existing available data, only 7 GB linked to 11/25ES have been estimated. Despite this overall undervaluation, this study offers a value for coastal development policies to take into account.