In the last 40 years of the twentieth century, as a result of the growth in the exploitation and industrial processing of sulphur, the northern part of the Sandomierz Basin was one of the most polluted areas of Poland. Forests growing in this region, predominantly the Scots pine, offered an opportunity to analyse the degradation of the environment during that period using the dendrochronological method. The study was based on 814 samples, taken from 53 research surfaces belonging to nine linear transects. The investigations demonstrated that the highest reduction in growth occurred during the years 1970–1990. After that period, a considerable improvement in the condition of the pine trees was observed in most of the research plots. The spatial schedule of the trees with reductions reveals a clear relationship with the distance from the emitter i.e. the reductions were significantly lower in more distant sites. A distinct weakening of the trees is also indicated by missing rings, recorded in the years: 1964, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 2002. A definite impact on the condition of the tree stands was also due to the cone of depression around the Jeziórko mine, the post-flotation landfills, as well as pollution on a regional scale.

The population increase has led to the rise of megacities that generate high levels of pollutants. To examine the temporal and spatial trends, the concentration data of total suspended particles (TSP) and coarse particles (particulate matter (PM)10) from the Rio de Janeiro State Environmental Institute (INEA) collected between 1968 and 2013 were used. To our knowledge, this is the study with the longest time series carried out in South America. The results showed that the TSP concentrations for urban and industrial regions exceeded the suggested limit (80 μg m⁻³) for nearly all years examined. PM10 concentrations remained above or very close to the limit (50 μg m⁻³). In several sites, there was a decrease, along the years, in atmospheric particulate matter concentrations, which may be coupled to improvements of fossil fuels and replacement by less-polluting fuels, such as hydrated alcohol and natural gas. However, in other places, high particulate matter concentrations were observed, which are associated with the infrastructure development in the city and for sporting events. The results show a seasonal trend during the study period, which is characterized by high levels of particulates during the austral wintertime. This trend is related to low rainfall and air mass stagnation. Regarding the daily concentrations observed, a tendency for high concentrations in the early morning and late afternoon was observed in urban regions, due mainly to traffic. In the industrial area, the variation was lower and more dependent on industrial activities than on traffic.

The Cumberland Marsh Region (CMR), located on the coast of the Bay of Fundy, is a major feeding ground for waterfowl and contains significant coastal wetland systems. In this study, concentrations of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) were assessed in the bottom sediments of various open water wetlands across the CMR, and gastropods were sampled from the same wetlands to assess bioaccumulation of these non-essential trace elements and the potential for transfer to higher trophic level species. It was predicted that gastropods would have higher concentrations of Pb and As from wetlands with higher concentrations of these elements in sediments. Although wetland sediments and gastropods had elevated Pb and As concentrations, in some cases above the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines for the protection of aquatic life, there were no significant correlations between sediment and gastropod trace element concentrations. Gastropod to sediment ratios of Pb and As concentrations were highest in the brackish wetlands, but overall, levels were not of toxicological concern. Wetland chemistries and gastropod physiologies are hypothesized to be driving factors in determining the level to which Pb and As will bioaccumulate and merit careful consideration when developing wetland management strategies.

Thallium is a non-essential, toxic element that concerns mining areas and their acid drainage effluents. Minerals containing thallium can be eroded, and Tl can be leached into soil, thus being spread into the environment and adsorbed by plants and living organisms, entering the food chain, and inducing serious toxicity problems. In this study, the Tl cycle was observed and analyzed on basil, mint, and strawberry cultivated in a greenhouse and irrigated with Tl-contaminated water. The Tl content in both bulk and rhizosphere soils as well as thallium present in different plant organs were analyzed during the experiment, with the aim of revealing both physiological symptoms and metabolic disorders linked to the Tl toxicity. The mechanism of plants to exclude, uptake, translocate, and tolerate Tl varied among the different species, and both the bioconcentration factor (BCF) and the translocation index (TI) were calculated to highlight a different response to Tl toxicity of strawberry, mint, and basil. Basil is the less tolerant species, while mint and strawberry showed different self-defense mechanism against Tl adsorption and translocation.

To protect forest cultures against browsing, chemical repellents can be used. With their applications, however, a problem arises with disruption of biological and chemical equilibria in the environment (e.g., soil-plant system). The aim of this study were to assess possible interactions of repellents, denatonium benzoate (DB), and capsaicin (Cps), with the soil matrix, especially the impact of their addition on the mobility of individual micronutrients and macronutrients, such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, and zinc, and to verify the hypothesis that the presence of repellent compounds does not affect the plant-available nutrient concentrations in soil. Batch laboratory soil sorption experiment and the “diffusive gradient in thin films” (DGT) technique were applied to evaluate the elements’ mobility in the soils. Sorption experiment using Chernozem and Fluvisol showed decreased mobile forms of Cu and S with the additions of both repellents and conversely increased mobile forms of Ca and Mn for DB, in both soil types. With increasing Cps rates, the mobile forms of Fe in Chernozem decreased and Mn in Fluvisol increased. The DGT experiment confirmed increased mobile/available Mn in both soils for both repellents and Fe in Fluvisol in the case of capsaicin. Soil application of both, DB and Cps, suggested to be able to influence the elements’ mobility, particularly, Mn mobility in soil significantly increased after repellent application. Their possible behavior in rhizosphere soil/soil solution should be investigated in further research.

We utilized a multi-biomarker approach (Integrated Biomarker Response version 2, IBRv2) to investigate the scope and dispersion of groundwater contamination surrounding a rare earth mine tailings impoundment. Parameters of SD rat included in our IBRv2 analyses were glutathione levels, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities, total anti-oxidative capacity, chromosome aberration, and micronucleus formation. The concentration of 20 pollutants including Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, TH, CODMₙ, As, Se, TDS, Be, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd, and Pb in the groundwater were also analyzed. The results of this study indicated that groundwater polluted by tailings impoundment leakage exhibited significant ecotoxicological effects. The selected biomarkers responded sensitively to groundwater pollution. Analyses showed a significant relationship between IBRv2 values and the Nemerow composite index. IBRv2 could serve as a sensitive ecotoxicological diagnosis method for assessing groundwater contamination in the vicinity of rare earth mine tailings. According to the trend of IBRv2 value and Nemerow composite index, the maximum diffusion distance of groundwater pollutants from rare earth mine tailings was approximately 5.7 km.

In this work, different analytical techniques (thermal analysis, ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy) have been used to study the organic matter changes during the co-composting of pig slurry with cotton gin waste. To ensure the validity of the findings, the composting process was developed in different scenarios: under experimental pilot plant conditions, using the static pile system, and under real conditions on a pig farm, using the turning pile system. Also, the thermal stability index (R1) was determined before and after an extraction with water, to evaluate the effect of eliminating water-soluble inorganic salts on the thermal analysis. The results of the thermal methods showed the degradation of the most labile organic matter during composting; R1 increased during composting in all piles, without any influence of the presence of water-soluble inorganic ions in the sample. The NMR showed a decrease in the abundance of the carbohydrate molecules and an increase in the aliphatic materials during composting, due to a concentration effect. Also, FT-IR spectroscopy was a useful technique to study the trends of polysaccharides and nitrate, as indicators of organic matter transformations during composting.

Particle deposition in the human lungs is mainly influenced by the fluid dynamics and the particle properties, such as the size and the deposition mechanisms. A three-dimensional gas particle flow model to predict particle deposition and flow patterns in four generations of the human lung, located in the bronchial region, is presented in this paper. Four breathing conditions (sleep, resting, moderate activity, and intense activity) were simulated, using the commercial code ANSYS Fluent® version 14.5. The particle diameter was varied from 1 to 10 μm. The results showed that deposition in each of the three bifurcations was not uniform and should be analyzed separately based on particle diameter. The influence of gravitational settling and Brownian diffusion on particle deposition was also investigated and quantified. The greater difference in the deposition between cases considering these physical mechanisms and not considering it occurred in situations involving lower velocity, showing a value of 172 % for gravitational settling mechanism and a difference of 11 % for Brownian diffusion. Furthermore, it was observed that the total deposition increased with the Reynolds and Stokes numbers, suggesting that exercise practices should be avoided in situations with high levels of suspended particulate matter.

The elimination of herbicides in aquatic environment is influenced by various biotic or abiotic factors. Thus, efficient, more applicable, and flexible methods are in demand. Photodegradation has been applied to remove three main types of herbicides, phenylurea, triazine, and chloroacetanilide, from water, based on a series of TiO₂–reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites. Experimental results showed that the three types of herbicides could be mostly removed under simulated sunlight irradiation for 5 h with the as-prepared photocatalyst. Compared with pure TiO₂ or P25, the photodegradation efficiency has been markedly increased. Thus, the present work could promote a new strategy dealing with the pollution of herbicides in aquatic ecosystems.

Spatially variable areas, or hotspots, of elevated mercury (Hg) concentrations in soil, water, and wildlife occur throughout the Everglades wetland ecosystem. This study investigates the stoichiometric controls of Hg relative to soil, water, and biotic components. Surface water, porewater, soil, periphyton, and Gambusia spp. (mosquitofish) were collected from hotspots and non-spot stations and analyzed for various parameters, including total mercury (THg), organic carbon (OC), total carbon (TC), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) between late 2010 and early 2013. Soil nutrient ratios were significantly different between hotspot and non-hotspot stations, indicating a difference in trophic status and position along the decay continuum or differences in limiting nutrients. Overall, soil total Hg concentrations were negatively correlated with soil TC/TN, while soil TC/TP and soil TN/TP molar ratios and soil THg were negatively correlated at hotspot stations. Meanwhile, mosquitofish THg was negatively correlated with soil TC/TN molar ratio and positively correlated with soil TC/TP and TN/TP molar ratios, suggesting trophic truncation. Soil, surface water, and porewater THg, TC, and OC interactions resulted in significant differences between hotspot and non-hotspot stations and between molar ratios of C, N, and P. Periphyton-surface water THg/OC homeostasis and soil nutrient ratios significantly explained mosquitofish THg concentrations, further indicating a trophic influence on mosquitofish THg and potential hotspot dynamics. Several factors and processes including bottom-up trophic interaction and vegetation influence on Hg accumulation dynamics and food-chain length explain the development and persistence of Hg hotspot formation within the Everglades system.