Predictions of the diffuse dispersion of metals from outdoor constructions such as roofs and facades are necessary for environmental risk assessment and management. An existing predictive model has been compared with measured data of copper runoff from copper sheets exposed at four different inclinations facing four orientations at two different urban sites (Stockholm, Sweden, and Milan, Italy) during a 4-year period. Its applicability has also been investigated for copper sheet exposed at two marine sites (Cadiz, Spain, for 5 years, and Brest, France, for 9 years). Generally the model can be used for all given conditions. However, vertical surfaces should be considered as surfaces inclined 60–80° due to wind-driven effects. The most important parameters that influence copper runoff, and not already included in the model, are the wind and rain characteristics that influence the actual rainfall volume impinging the surface of interest.

A modeling framework was used to assess the risk of four metals to UK bat species. Eight species of bats were predicted to be “at risk” from one or more of the metals in over 5% of their ranges. Species differed significantly in their predicted risk. Contamination by Pb was found to pose the greatest risk, followed by Cu, Cd and Zn. A sensitivity analysis identified the proportion of invertebrates ingested as most important in determining the risk. We then compared the model predictions with a large dataset of metals concentrations in the tissues (liver, kidney) of Pipistrellus sp. from across England and Wales. Bats found in areas predicted to be the most “at risk” contained higher metal concentrations in their tissues than those found in areas predicted “not at risk” by the model. Our spatially explicit modeling framework provides a useful tool for further environmental risk assessment studies for wildlife species.

We evaluated spatial patterns of mercury (Hg) deposition through analysis of foliage and forest floor samples from 45 sites across Adirondack Park, NY. Species-specific differences in foliar Hg were evident with the lowest concentrations found in first-year conifer needles and highest concentrations found in black cherry (Prunus serotina). For foliage and forest floor samples, latitude and longitude were negatively correlated with Hg concentrations, likely because of proximity to emission sources, while elevation was positively correlated with Hg concentrations. Elemental analysis showed moderately strong, positive correlations between Hg and nitrogen concentrations. The spatial pattern of Hg deposition across the Adirondacks is similar to patterns of other contaminants that originate largely from combustion sources such as nitrogen and sulfur. The results of this study suggest foliage can be used to assess spatial patterns of Hg deposition in small regions or areas of varied topography where current Hg deposition models are too coarse to predict deposition accurately.

In this study, we used publicly available GIS layers and statistical tree-based modeling (CART and Random Forest) to predict pathogen indicator counts at a regional scale using 88 spatially explicit landscape predictors and 6657 samples from non-estuarine streams in the Oregon Coast Range. A total of 532 frequently sampled sites were parsed down to 93 pathogen sampling sites to control for spatial and temporal biases. This model's 56.5% explanation of variance, was comparable to other regional models, while still including a large number of variables. Analysis showed the most important predictors on bacteria counts to be: forest and natural riparian zones, cattle related activities, and urban land uses. This research confirmed linkages to anthropogenic activities, with the research prediction mapping showing increased bacteria counts in agricultural and urban land use areas and lower counts with more natural riparian conditions.

Field crops represent one of the highest contributions to dietary metal exposure. The aim of this study was to develop specific regression models for the uptake of metals into various field crops and to compare the usability of other available models. We analysed samples of potato, hop, maize, barley, wheat, rape seed, and grass from 66 agricultural sites. The influence of measured soil concentrations and soil factors (pH, organic carbon, content of silt and clay) on the plant concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn was evaluated. Bioconcentration factors (BCF) and plant-specific metal models (PSMM) developed from multivariate regressions were calculated. The explained variability of the models was from 19 to 64% and correlations between measured and predicted concentrations were between 0.43 and 0.90. The developed hop and rapeseed models are new in this field. Available models from literature showed inaccurate results, except for Cd; the modelling efficiency was mostly around zero. The use of interaction terms between parameters can significantly improve plant-specific models.

This paper develops a tool for estimating energy-related CO2 emissions from the world's cities based on regression models. The models are developed considering climatic (heating-degree-days) and urban design (land area per person) independent variables. The tool is applied on 3646 urban areas for estimating impacts on urban emissions of a) global transitioning to Electric Vehicles, b) urban density change and c) IPCC climate change scenarios. Results show that urban density decline can lead to significant increase in energy emissions (upto 346% in electricity & 428% in transportation at 2% density decline by 2050). Among the IPCC climate scenarios tested, A1B is the most effective in reducing growth of emissions (upto 12% in electricity & 35% in heating). The tool can further be improved by including more data in the regression models along with inclusion of other relevant emissions and climatic variables.

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy that burns moxa floss which produces a substantial amount of PM10 into the environment, thus spawning safety concerns about health impacts of the smoke. We compared the oxidative capacity and elemental composition of moxibustion-derived and ambient PM10 in summer and winter to provide a source-, spatial- and temporal-comparison of PM10 biological responses. The PM10 oxidative capacity was 2.04 and 1.45 fold lower, and dose-dependent slope gradient was 2.36 and 1.76 fold lower in moxibustion environment than indoor or outdoor. Oxidative damage was highly correlated with iron, cesium, aluminum and cobalt in indoor, but moxibustion environment displayed low associations. The total elemental concentration was also lower in moxibustion environment than indoor (2.28 fold) or outdoor (2.79 fold). The source-to-dose modeling and slope gradient analysis in this study can be used as a model for future source-, spatial- and temporal-related moxibustion safety evaluation studies.

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and dechlorane plus (DPs) were investigated in the Indus River Basin from Pakistan. Concentrations of ∑PBDEs and ∑DPs were ranged between 0.05 and 2.38 and 0.002–0.53 ng g−1 in the surface soils while 1.43–22.1 and 0.19–7.59 pg m−3 in the passive air samples, respectively. Black carbon (fBC) and total organic carbon (fTOC) fractions were also measured and ranged between 0.73 and 1.75 and 0.04–0.2%, respectively. The statistical analysis revealed strong influence of fBC than fTOC on the distribution of PBDEs and DPs in the Indus River Basin soils. BDE's congener profile suggested the input of penta–bromodiphenylether (DE-71) commercial formulation in the study area. Soil–air partitioning of PBDEs were investigated by employing octanol-air partition coefficients (KOA) and black carbon-air partition coefficients (KBC−A). The results of both models suggested the combined influence of total organic carbon (absorption) and black carbon (adsorption) in the studied area.

Nitrogen (N) deposition in China has increased greatly, but the general impact of elevated N deposition on carbon (C) dynamics in Chinese terrestrial ecosystems is not well documented. In this study we used a meta-analysis method to compile 88 studies on the effects of N deposition C cycling on Chinese terrestrial ecosystems. Our results showed that N addition did not change soil C pools but increased above-ground plant C pool. A large decrease in below-ground plant C pool was observed. Our result also showed that the impacts of N addition on ecosystem C dynamics depend on ecosystem type and rate of N addition. Overall, our findings suggest that 1) decreased below-ground plant C pool may limit long-term soil C sequestration; and 2) it is better to treat N-rich and N-limited ecosystems differently in modeling effects of N deposition on ecosystem C cycle.

Allocation of recent photoassimilates of juvenile beech and spruce in response to twice-ambient ozone (2 × O3) and plant competition (i.e. intra vs. inter-specific) was examined in a phytotron study. To this end, we employed continuous 13CO2/12CO2 labeling during late summer and pursued tracer kinetics in CO2 released from stems. In beech, allocation of recent photoassimilates to stems was significantly lowered under 2 × O3 and increased in spruce when grown in mixed culture. As total tree biomass was not yet affected by the treatments, C allocation reflected incipient tree responses providing the mechanistic basis for biomass partitioning as observed in longer experiments. Compartmental modeling characterized functional properties of substrate pools supplying respiratory C demand. Respiration of spruce appeared to be exclusively supplied by recent photoassimilates. In beech, older C, putatively located in stem parenchyma cells, was a major source of respiratory substrate, reflecting the fundamental anatomical disparity between angiosperm beech and gymnosperm spruce.