Pakistan is facing problem of deforestation. Pakistan lost 14.7% of its forest habitat between 1990 and 2005 interval. This paper assesses the present forest wood consumption rate by 6000 brick kilns established in the country and its implications in terms of deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases. Information regarding consumption of forest wood by the brick kilns was collected during a manual survey of 180 brick kiln units conducted in eighteen provincial divisions of country. Considering annual emission contributions of three primary GHGs i.e., CO2, CH4 and N2O, due to burning of forest wood in brick kiln units in Pakistan and using IPCC recommended GWP indices, the combined CO2-equivalent has been estimated to be 533019 t y-1.

This study investigated if atmospheric ammonia (NH3) pollution around a sheep farm influences the photosynthetic performance of the lichens Evernia prunastri and Pseudevernia furfuracea. Thalli of both species were transplanted for up to 30 days in a semi-arid region (Crete, Greece), at sites with concentrations of atmospheric ammonia of ca. 60 μg/m3 (at a sheep farm), ca. 15 μg/m3 (60 m from the sheep farm) and ca. 2 μg/m3 (a remote area 5 km away). Lichen photosynthesis was analysed by the chlorophyll a fluorescence emission to identify targets of ammonia pollution. The results indicated that the photosystem II of the two lichens exposed to NH3 is susceptible to this pollutant in the gas-phase. The parameter PIABS, a global index of photosynthetic performance that combines in a single expression the three functional steps of the photosynthetic activity (light absorption, excitation energy trapping, and conversion of excitation energy to electron transport) was much more sensitive to NH3 than the FV/FM ratio, one of the most commonly used stress indicators.

This study has evaluated urban habitat quality by studying specific leaf area (SLA) and stomatal characteristics of the common herb Plantago lanceolata L. SLA and stomatal density, pore surface and resistance were measured at 169 locations in the city of Gent (Belgium), distributed over four land use classes, i.e., sub-urban green, urban green, urban and industry. SLA and stomatal density significantly increased from sub-urban green towards more urbanised land use classes, while the reverse was observed for stomatal pore surface. Stomatal resistance increased in the urban and industrial land use class in comparison with the (sub-) urban green, but differences between land use classes were less pronounced. Spatial distribution maps for these leaf characteristics showed a high spatial variation, related to differences in habitat quality within the city. Hence, stomatal density and stomatal pore surface are assumed to be potentially good bio-indicators for urban habitat quality. Stomatal characteristics of Plantago lanceolata can be used for biomonitoring of urban habitat quality.

The development of new sampling devices or strategies to assess the concentration of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment has increased in the last two decades. In this study, a selective sampling device was used to evaluate the impact of potential local sources of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (dl-PCBs) emissions on the ambient air levels of such compounds in a town near an important industrial estate. Average concentrations of target compounds of up to 2.5 times for PCDD/Fs and 2 times for dl-PCBs were found to come from the industrial state confirming this area as the main responsible for the majority of such compounds reaching the town. This finding was supported by a PCDD/F and dl-PCB sample profile analysis and a principal component analysis (PCA), which established a direct link between the dioxin-like compounds found in the samples collected in the town and their source. Selective ambient air samplers provide a valuable information on POP emission sources.

Sewage samples from 4 hospitals, 1 nursery, 1 slaughter house, 1 wastewater treatment plant and 5 source water samples of Chongqing region of Three Gorge Reservoir were analyzed for macrolide, lincosamide, trimethoprim, fluorouinolone, sulfonamide and tetracycline antibiotics by online solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of ofloxacin (OFX) in hospital was the highest among all water environments ranged from 1.660 μg/L to 4.240 μg/L and norfloxacin (NOR, 0.136-1.620 μg/L), ciproflaxacin (CIP, ranged from 0.011 μg/L to 0.136 μg/L), trimethoprim (TMP, 0.061-0.174 μg/L) were commonly detected. Removal range of antibiotics in the wastewater treatment plant was 18–100% and the removal ratio of tylosin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline were 100%. Relatively higher removal efficiencies were observed for tylosin (TYL), oxytetracycline (OXY) and tetracycline (TET)(100%), while lower removal efficiencies were observed for Trimethoprim (TMP, 1%), Epi-iso-chlorotetracycline (EICIC, 18%) and Erythromycin-H2O (ERY-H2O, 24%). Antibiotics were removed more efficiently in primary treatment compared with those in secondary treatment.

The attenuation and fate of erythromycin-resistance-methylase (erm) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamse (bla) genes were quantified over time in aquatic systems by adding 20-L swine waste to 11,300-L outdoor mesocosms that simulated receiving water conditions below intensive agricultural operations. The units were prepared with two different light-exposure scenarios and included artificial substrates to assess gene movement into biofilms. Of eleven genes tested, only erm(B), erm(F), blaSHV and blaTEM were found in sufficient quantity for monitoring. The genes disappeared rapidly from the water column and first-order water-column disappearance coefficients were calculated. However, detected gene levels became elevated in the biofilms within 2 days, but then disappeared over time. Differences were observed between sunlight and dark treatments and among individual genes, suggesting that ecological and gene-specific factors play roles in the fate of these genes after release into the environment. Ultimately, this information will aid in generating better predictive models for gene fate.

Long term trend analysis of bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil solution elemental fluxes from 12 years monitoring at 10 ICP Level II forest sites in the UK reveal coherent national chemical trends indicating recovery from sulphur deposition and acidification. Soil solution pH increased and sulphate and aluminium decreased at most sites. Trends in nitrogen were variable and dependant on its form. Dissolved organic nitrogen increased in bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil solution at most sites. Nitrate in soil solution declined at sites receiving high nitrogen deposition. Increase in soil dissolved organic carbon was detected - a response to pollution recovery, changes in soil temperature and/or increased microbial activity. An increase of sodium and chloride was evident - a possible result of more frequent storm events at exposed sites. The intensive and integrated nature of monitoring enables the relationships between climate/pollutant exposure and chemical/biological response in forestry to be explored.

The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was determined in surface sediments collected at 36 stations along the Spanish Northern continental shelf in March and September 2003, and February 2005. Concentrations of PAHs (Σ13 parent components) were in the range of 22-47528 μg/kg dw, the highest values corresponding to coastal urban-industrial hotspots and decreasing offshore. Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) showed that concentrations of total PAHs were below the threshold effect level (TEC) in 27 stations (81%) and above in 7, two of which (Gijon and Bilbao) were above the probable effect concentration (PEC). The detailed study of diagnostic ratios suggested a rather uniform mixture of petrogenic and pyrolytic PAH sources along the continental shelf, with a slight decrease of the latter moving westwards and offshore. In order to assess the incidence of sediment sampling on the variability of the results, selected stations were also monitored in February and September 2004 and September 2005. The average field variance of the values obtained for each station was 31% that decreased to 23% when the values were normalized to TOC.

We evaluated the molecular diversity of narG gene from Suquía River sediments to assess the impact of the nitrate concentration and water quality on the composition and structure of the nitrate-reducing bacterial community. To this aim, a library of one of the six monitoring stations corresponding to the highest nitrate concentration was constructed and 118 narG clones were screened. Nucleotide sequences were associated to narG gene from alpha-, beta-, delta-, gammaproteobacteria and Thermus thermophilus. Remarkably, 18% of clones contained narG genes with less than 69% similarity to narG sequences available in databases. Thus, indicating the presence of nitrate-reducing bacteria with novel narG genes, which were quantified by real-time PCR. Results show a variable number of narG copies, ranging from less than 1.0 × 102 to 5.0 × 104 copies per ng of DNA, which were associated with a decreased water quality index monitored along the basin at different times.

The present study addresses the key issue of linking the chemical speciation to the uptake of priority pollutants Cd(II) and Pb(II) in the wastewater treatment plant effluents, with emphasis on the role of the colloidal organic matter (EfOM). Binding of Cd(II) and Pb(II) by EfOM was examined by an ion exchange technique and flow field-flow fractionation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in parallel to bioassays with green microalga Chlorella kesslerii in ultrafiltrate (<1 kDa) and colloidal isolates (1 kDa to 0.45 μm). The uptake of Cd by C. kesslerii was consistent with the speciation analysis and measured free metal ion concentrations, while Pb uptake was much greater than that expected from the speciation measurement. Better understanding of the differences in the effects of the EfOM on Cd(II) and Pb(II) uptake required to take into account the size dependence of metal binding by EfOM. Colloids isolated from WWTP effluents decrease Cd uptake, but increase Pb uptake by microalga Chlorella kesslerii.