The solution for waste disposal being formed in the production of aluminium in Aluminium plant in Ziar nad Hronom is presented. It is namely recultivation of waste pile, it means biological reclamation. Averagely high vegetation is considered the most effective one for the reclamation of devastated areas and for creating natural connection of different components of this environment. Experimental plantations on the pile established in the years 1993-1996 by FRI Zvolen unanimously confirm this finding

Bark beetle populations were estimated periodically each year in 50 ha plots using a series of pheromone traps and through the dissection of 0.5 m sections of infested trees. Data were recorded on several parameters including the volume of infested trees, captures in pheromone traps, number of attacks, and the presence and relative abundance of related bark beetle species. In the period 2000-2001 3 transects were established in the High Tatra Mts., where captures in pheromone traps were recorded and compared with air pollution represented by ozone

Following the objective to provide an overview on the spatial and temporal variation in forest condition on a European scale, an extensive systematic survey on more than 6000 so called Level I plots throughout Europe is carried out. Results show a recuparation of crown condition in the mid nineties and a resuming deterioration with nearly a quarter of the sample trees classified as damaged in 2001. Results of statistical evaluations explain the observed variation mainly by weather extremes, insects, fungi and indirect effects of air pollutants via soil acidification or changes in the nutritional status of trees

In the North Tyrolean Limestone Alps a site was investigated over a four-year period (1998-2001) in order to assess the nitrogen saturation status, the nitrogen budget (quantification of the net uptake of nitrogen by the canopy and of the nitrogen mineralization, nitrogen uptake from roots and N2O emission rates, proof of the origin of nitrate in the soil water with stable isotope analyses, and the effects of the actual nitrogen input on ground water quality. The main goals were to quantify the nitrogen input rate, the nitrogen pools in above-ground and below-ground compartments, nitrogen turnover processes in the soil as well as the output into the groundwater and into the atmosphere. The findings are based on continuous and discontinuous field measurements as well as on model results

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) are increasing by 1-2% per year and are expected to double by the year 2100 compared to the end of the last millennium. Carbon dioxide at twice the current atmospheric concentrations has the potential to increase the productivity of forest trees while increasing ozone is expected to cause significant reductions in growth. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of CO2 and O3, singly or in combination, on growth and allocation of two European silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) clones under field conditions to verify the future predicitons in regard to silver birch. Our data show that growth of clone 80 was benefitted by ambient CO2 singly and in combination with ambient O3. Clone 4 was more responsive to ambient O3 than clone 80 which is opposite to results from previous pot experiments with these clones

International audience | “A Who’s Who of pesticides is therefore of concern to us all. If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals eating and drinking them, taking them into the very marrow of our bones - we had better know something about their nature and their power.”—Rachel Carson, Silent Spring. In her day, Rachel Carson was right: plant protection products (PPP), like all the other chemical substances that humans increasingly release into the environment without further precaution, are among our worst enemies today (Bruhl and Zaller, 2019; Naidu et al., 2021; Tang et al., 2021; Topping et al., 2020). All compartments of the biosphere, air, soil and water, are potential reservoirs within which all species that live there are impaired. Birds are particularly concerned: PPP are recognized as a factor in the decline of their abundance and diversity predominantly in agricultural landscapes. Due to the restrictions on vertebrates testing, in silico-based approaches are an ideal choice alternative given input data are available. This is where the problem lies as we will illustrate in this paper. We performed an extensive literature search covering a long period of time, a wide diversity of bird species, a large range of chemical substances, and as many model types as possible to encompass all our future need to improve environmental risk assessment of chemicals for birds. In the end, we show that poultry species exposed to pesticides are the most studied at the individual level with physiologically based toxicokinetic models. To go beyond, with more species, more chemical types, over several levels of biological organization, we show that observed data are crucially missing (Gilbert, 2011). As a consequence, improving existing models or developing new ones could be like climbing Everest if no additional data can be gathered, especially on chemical effects and toxicodynamic aspects.

International audience | In Côte d’Ivoire, despite an intense development of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities in thelast two decades, the environmental impacts of this activity are poorly documented. This study aimed to documentthe concentrations of geogenic and exogenous contaminants potentially released by ASGM (metals and cyanides) indifferent sources (ore, mining wastes) and environmental compartments (soils, surface and ground waters, sediments) inthe Kokumbo area, part of the Au-rich Birimian greenstone belt. Alluvial ore material is enriched in various metal(oid)s (As, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb, and V) compared to the average composition of the upper continental crust whileother metals (Cd, Pb, Ti, Zn) show no geochemical anomalies. High Hg concentrations were found in cyanidationresidues (up to 8.32 mg/kg) and sediments (up to 20.4 mg/kg) compared to unprocessed alluvial ores (0.06 ± 0.01 mg/kg) indicating that Hg used in amalgamation is the source of Hg contamination. Cyanidation residues contain up to100 mg/kg of total cyanides but generally less than 3% are in the form of free cyanides, the most mobile and toxicform. Arsenic concentrations in water are low (< 2.5 μg/L) despite its relatively high content in sediments and soils(76 ± 54 mg/kg), showing a low mobility of As, likely due to its adsorption on iron oxy(hydr)oxides. Apart from Mn,metals have low dissolved concentrations in water except in a stream draining a cyanidation site suggesting that thecyanidation effluent discharge may contribute to metal dispersion in rivers.

International audience | To evaluate the effects of salinity on the fate of pesticides in a Mediterranean irrigated system, experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions to determine the adsorption, desorption, and mineralization of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and metalaxyl-M (MET) in a soil sample from an irrigated field in northern Tunisia. Adsorption/desorption isotherms and mineralization kinetics data were obtained over a realistic range of salinities via batch equilibrium and incubation techniques. On the basis of the experimental results, MET has a lower sorption capacity than CPF does, and the adsorption data for both compounds were better fitted by the Freundlich equation, with Kf values of 0.477, 0.486, 0.426, 0.444 and 0.474 L kg -1 for MET and 38.994, 39.084, 40.644, 44.055 and 45.185 L kg -1 for CPF at salinities of 0, 1, 2, 5 and 10 g L -1 , respectively. According to the mineralization experiments, increasing salinity increased the half-lives of both pesticides. For MET, the DT50 values in unsterilized soil were 206.68, 220.74, 222.16, and 238.73 days, and those in sterilized soil were 2772.58, 4077.33, 6301.33, and 8664.33 days at salinities of 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 g L⁻¹, respectively. For CPF, the DT50 values were 115.52, 138.62, 157.53, and 177.73 days in unsterilized soil and 346.57, 533.19, 693.14, and 990.21 days in sterilized soil. In terms of leaching behavior, the calculated groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) values for the MET and CPF indicate that the MET is classified as a leacher and that the CPF is classified as a nonleacher.

International audience | Correction to: Environmental Science and Pollution Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32078-7The correct given name of the 2nd Author is Fiamma.The widespread use of copper-based pesticides, while effective in controlling plant diseases, has been identified as a major source of copper contamination in soils. This raises concerns about potential adverse effects on earthworms, key players in soil health and ecosystem function. To inform sustainable pesticide practices, this study aimed to establish copper toxicity thresholds for earthworm avoidance in agricultural soils impacted by copper-based pesticides. We collected 40 topsoil samples (0-5 cm) from orchards and vineyards in the O'Higgins Region of central Chile, and 10 additional soils under native vegetation as background references. A standardized avoidance bioassay using Eisenia fetida assessed the impact of copper-based pesticides on the soils. Total copper concentrations ranged between 23 and 566 mg kg-1, with observed toxic effects on earthworms in certain soils. The effective concentration at 50% (EC50) for total soil copper, determined by Eisenia fetida's avoidance response, was 240 mg kg-1, with a 95% confidence interval of 193-341 mg kg-1. We further compared our EC50 values with existing data from agricultural soils impacted by mining activities. Interestingly, the results revealed a remarkable similarity between the thresholds for earthworm avoidance, regardless of the source of copper contamination. This observation underscores the universality of copper toxicity in agricultural ecosystems and its potential impact on soil biota. This study provides novel insights into copper toxicity thresholds for earthworms in real-world, pesticide-contaminated soils.