The use of plants and natural processes for wastewater treatment is an issue that arouses interest among technologists and scientists around the world. The aim of the article was to analyze the influence of the air temperature and insolation on the removal of nitrate nitrogen from the wastewater treated in the hydroponic system, under greenhouse conditions. Samples of sewage for its quality tests were taken from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in the southwestern part of Poland. Data regarding daily sunshine duration and average daily air temperature values in selected periods of 2013–2016 come from a meteorological station located 30 km from WWTP. The conducted research and analyses of the results clearly indicate that under moderate climate conditions, the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface is insufficient to ensure the year-round, effective wastewater treatment process in the hydroponic system. In the case of air temperature, no correlation was found between the tested parameters, which indicates the lack of temperature influence on the efficiency of NO₃ removal from the wastewater by macrophytes growing in the lagoon.

Permafrost thaw is expected to alter biogeochemistry and hydrology, potentially increasing the mobility of soil constituents. Northern latitude boreal forests where permafrost thaw is occurring also experience extreme changes in day length during the growing season. As the effects of photoperiod on plant uptake of soil constituents or interactions with the rhizosphere are unknown, our objective was to determine these interactions with three plant species from different functional groups. A tree, forb, and grass common to military training ranges in this region were grown in soil spiked with or without lead, antimony, or 2,4-dinitrotoluene and grown under 16, 20, or 24 h of light. Plant biomass, soil constituent uptake, and rhizosphere bacterial communities were compared between treatments. Photoperiod had no effect on plant uptake of any soil constituent or on rhizosphere community, indicating that plants and their associated microbial communities adapted to this environment are resilient to extremes in photoperiod. Lead uptake was not significant in any plant species and had no effect on the rhizosphere. Antimony increased the percentage composition of Saprospirales in the rhizospheres of two of the three plants, indicating an interaction between this bacterial order and antimony. Antimony uptake by white spruce (Picea glauca) was considerable, with a mean concentration of 1731 mg kg⁻¹ in roots, while mean shoot concentration was only 155 mg kg⁻¹, indicating its potential to phytostabilize this heavy metal. Although antimony had the strongest impact on the rhizosphere bacterial community, it was also readily accumulated by the grass and tree.

With the development of the industrial era, environmental pollution by organic and inorganic pollutants increased and became a worldwide issue. Particularly, former industrial sites often present high concentrations of metal(loid)s. These pollutions have adverse effects not only on the environment but also to human health, as pollutants can enter the food chain. Therefore, contaminated sites need rehabilitation. Phytoremediation is a clean and low-cost solution to remediate such sites. However, vegetation establishment can be difficult on such extreme soils from both a physical and a chemical point of view. Consequently, amendments, like biochar and garden soil, must be applied. Biochar, product of biomass pyrolysis under low-oxygen conditions, showed beneficial effects on soil fertility and plant growth, as well as metal(loid) sorption properties. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of two organic amendments, biochar and garden soil, alone or combined, on the physico-chemical properties of a post-industrial soil and the growth of two Salix species (Salix alba and Salix viminalis) and evaluate the phytostabilizing capacities of the two Salix species. In this goal, a greenhouse experiment was performed, using garden soil at 50% (v/v) and/or biochar at 2 or 5% (w/w). The results showed that biochar did not improve soil physico-chemical properties, neither did it affect plant parameters (dry weight, organ metal(loid)s concentrations). Moreover, higher metal(loid) concentrations were found in the roots compared to the upper parts. Finally, S. alba presented lower metal(loid) concentrations in the aboveground parts compared to S. viminalis, associated with a good growth, which make it a better candidate for phytostabilization of the studied soil.

Poland is the second most important emission source after Germany in contributing atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Baltic Sea basin. The main sectors contributing to reactive nitrogen emissions from Polish sources, in the period 1995–2014, are combustion and transportation, responsible together for over 97% of nitrogen oxide emissions, and agriculture responsible for over 98% of ammonia emissions. The EMEP MSC-W model with 50-km resolution was used for estimating the contribution of nitrogen emission sources from Poland to nitrogen deposition into the Baltic Sea basin and its sub-basins, in the period 1995–2014. Polish contribution in this period is mainly visible in annual wet deposition of reduced nitrogen with the range 13–18% and in wet deposition of oxidized nitrogen: 9–15%. Concerning sub-basins, a major contribution for Polish sources to total nitrogen deposition can be noticed for Baltic Proper with the range 13–19%, followed by northern sub-basins (7–18%) and finally by three western sub-basins (5–7%). Polish contribution to the Baltic Sea Basin in the year 2013 was analyzed in more detail using two models, the EMEP MSC-W model with 50-km resolution and model developed at the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management in Warsaw with 14-km resolution (IMWM Model). Both models give similar results concerning the deposition of oxidized nitrogen from Polish sources, but results show that the deposition of reduced nitrogen calculated with IMWM model is lower. The most likely reasons for the differences are different parameterizations of the deposition processes and chemical reactions in both models.

This study is focused on investigating the impacts of organic carbon on the denitrification process of nitrogen transformation and transport. A numerical model, Nitrogen-2D, is modified by considering the impact of organic carbon in the denitrification equation. The modified model is used to simulate the soil nitrogen (including nitrate and ammonium) dynamics under the primary and secondary sewage water irrigation with different organic carbon concentrations. The simulated results of accumulated drainage water amount, soil nitrogen concentration, and nitrogen concentration in the drainage water show that the simulations and measurements are consistent. The comparison of results from the original and improved models shows the necessity to consider the impact of organic carbon. The nitrogen mass balance is calculated to analyze the nitrogen transformation processes quantitatively under different input organic carbon sources. Furthermore, the effect of different input organic carbon sources on the soil nitrogen dynamics is investigated by using the modified Nitrogen-2D model with the calibrated parameters. The input organic carbon source helps to speed up the mineralization and denitrification, which contributes to the slight increase of ammonium concentration and the decrease of nitrate concentration in the shallow soil. Since a large number of soil water and nitrogen transformation and transport parameters are needed when setting up the model, a local sensitivity method is conducted to evaluate the input parameters by the sewage water irrigation case. The results show that the drainage water amount is very sensitive to the exponent n and the coefficient α of the soil water retention function and that the ammonium concentration is very sensitive to the first-order nitrification rate constant, the decomposition rate coefficient in humus pool, and the soil ammonium adsorption coefficient. The nitrate concentration is sensitive to more parameters, especially to the exponent n and the coefficient α in the soil water retention function and to the denitrification rate constant.

Corncob is a kind of agricultural waste, mainly composed of cellulose and hemicellulose. In this study, anion adsorbent hyperbranched polyamide-modified corncob was synthesized by glutaraldehyde cross-linking, which has abundant terminal groups. Then, the effect of modification conditions for the adsorption of Cr (VI) onto modified material was studied. The structural characteristics and the functional properties of modified corncob (HPMC) were revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Experimental results show that the optimum modification conditions were as follows: oxidized corncob 1 g, glutaraldehyde 2.5 mL, hyperbranched polyamide 10 mL, and a reaction time of 4 h under 60 °C. The effect of reaction temperature (factor C) on the removal rate of HPMC for Cr (VI) was the largest and GA dosage was the least. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of modified corncob for Cr (VI) was 47.8 mg/g (pH = 2, initial Cr (VI) concentration 100 mg/L, dosage 2 g/L, 4.0 h). The content of functional groups (-NH₂) on the surface of modified materials was obviously increased, the surface became rougher, and the thermal stability was improved. The adsorption mechanism was mainly electrostatic gravitation and oxidation-reduction reaction between HPMC and Cr (VI).

Behavioral changes have been considered as appropriate to evaluate sublethal effects of pollutants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a mixture of pesticides, with glyphosate and 2,4-D (Gly + 2,4-D) as active ingredients, on the zooplankton evasion behavior from the fish Cnesterodon decemmaculatus. An increase in the evasion behavior was observed for copepods at two different concentrations of the Gly + 2,4-D mixture, for cladocerans at the lowest pesticide concentration, and for rotifers at the highest pesticide concentration. The response time to the fish signals also differed, being copepods faster than cladocerans and rotifers. All the exposed organisms showed higher variability in their distribution over time than those of controls (without pesticides). Our results suggest that the Gly + 2,4-D mixture formulations may have a mimetic effect with the fish alarm signals. The potential consequences of maladaptive responses triggered by pesticides, as well as the increased swimming activity, are discussed.

Soil near a Pb-Zn-Mn mine was polluted by mining, which may have an impact on human health via the food chain. To evaluate the pollution effects, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in vegetables were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry. Lead species were analyzed by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES). Phytoavailability of the elements was evaluated by bioaccumulation of the elements, the sequential extraction procedure, Pb species, and plant uptakes. The target health quotient (THQ) was calculated to evaluate the human health risks. It was found that (1) high concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, and Pb were detectable in vegetables, and bioaccumulation was in the order of Mn > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu > As > Cd; (2) phytoavailability of the elements was controlled mainly by the soluble fraction, and a linear relationship observed between the soluble fraction and bioaccumulation; (3) a new Pb-fulvic acid complex (Pb-FA) was identified by XANES in rhizosphere soil, and high content of Pb organic matter (60%) and soluble Pb (18%) were found; (4) both Cd and Zn accumulated in both of the Amaranthaceae and the Apiaceae families, indicating that the plants in the same family have the same bioaccumulation trend for the elements in the same group; (5) agricultural activities and plant growing increased phytoavailability of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn by decreasing the residual and raising the soluble and extractable fractions; (6) arsenic is top of the high health risks, followed by Pb, Cd, and Mn. Coriander, celery, and spinach were the top three highest health risks in the area.

Chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalateesters, parabens, siloxanes and squalene, all of them classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), have been reported to occur in all environmental compartments. The effects of EDCs on development, reproduction, growth, metabolism and obesity constitute a real public health issue. A list of EDCs (> 40 compounds) were characterised in total suspended particulates (outdoor soot: 92 samples) collected in July–September 2016 in an Algiers urban area; besides, settled indoor dusts (36 samples) were collected between November and December 2016 in schools, homes, manufacture and hospital of the same province. The analytical procedure consisted of ultrasonic bath extraction, column chromatography separation into fractions of different polarity and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric processing. The total loads of phthalates ranging from 6.0 to 347 ng/m² (median, 26 ng/m²) were determined in indoor dust and 4.6 to 11.6 ng/m³ (median, 7.9 ng/m³) in outdoor soot; meanwhile, PAHs ranged from 12.1 to 108 ng/m² (median, 36 ng/m²) in indoor dust and ranged from 5.6 to 7.7 ng/m³ (median 5.7 ng/m³) in outdoor soot. Finally, illicit substances such as cocaine, cannabinol and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol were found to range from 0.5 to 11 pg/m³, 4.6 to 9.2 pg/m³ and 11 to 81 pg/m³, respectively, in outdoor soot.

Recently, Sancti Petri channel on the southwestern (SW) part of Iberian Peninsula has been experiencing urban, industrial, and vehicular expansion. Until recently, there have been only few published reports documenting the pattern of metal accumulation in this estuarine sediment. In the present study, trace metals such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Pb, Co, Cd, As, and Hg concentrations were analyzed from 69 sediment samples collected from 23 sampling sites of the Santi Petri channel. The magnitude of trace metal accumulation found as the following trend: Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Co > As > Cd > Hg. Spatial distribution pattern demonstrated overall decreasing trend of trace metal from Cadiz Bay mouth to the open ocean mouth, clearly correlative to the presence of anthropogenic inputs. Results of the principle component analysis (PCA) revealed that sediment metal chemistry of Sancti Petri channel is mainly regulated by the concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ni; possible sources of those were from vehicular-related emissions. Pollution load index (PLI) and geo-accumulation index (I gₑₒ) indicated overall low values. The study will stimulate improvement of our understanding regarding the pattern of accumulation of metals in the coastal sediments, and the recorded values of metals in the present study can be used as suitable reference for future studies.