Effects of N deficiency and salinity on root anatomy, permeability and metal (Pb, Zn and Cu) translocation and tolerance were investigated using mangrove seedlings of Rhizophora stylosa. The results showed that salt could directly reduce radial oxygen loss (ROL) by stimulation of lignification within exodermis. N deficiency, oppositely, would reduce lignification. Such an alteration in root permeability may also influence metal tolerance by plants. The data indicated that a moderate salinity could stimulate a lignified exodermis that delayed the entry of metals into the roots and thereby contributed to a higher metal tolerance, while N deficiency would aggravate metal toxicity. The results from sand pot trail further confirmed this issue. This study provides a barrier property of the exodermis in dealing with environments. The plasticity of root anatomy is likely an adaptive strategy to regulate the fluxes of gases, nutrients and toxins at root–soil interface.

Long-term fluxes of CO₂, and combined short-term fluxes of CH₄ and CO₂ were measured with the eddy covariance technique in the city centre of Florence. CO₂ long-term weekly fluxes exhibit a high seasonality, ranging from 39 to 172% of the mean annual value in summer and winter respectively, while CH₄ fluxes are relevant and don’t exhibit temporal variability. Contribution of road traffic and domestic heating has been estimated through multi-regression models combined with inventorial traffic and CH₄ consumption data, revealing that heating accounts for more than 80% of observed CO₂ fluxes. Those two components are instead responsible for only 14% of observed CH₄ fluxes, while the major residual part is likely dominated by gas network leakages. CH₄ fluxes expressed as CO₂ equivalent represent about 8% of CO₂ emissions, ranging from 16% in summer to 4% in winter, and cannot therefore be neglected when assessing greenhouse impact of cities.

Seasonal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations and food web structure was assessed for eastern Lake Ontario. Hg concentrations, measured in 6 species of invertebrates and 8 species of fishes, tended to be highest in the spring and lowest in the summer for most biota. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) exhibited significant ontogenetic shifts in diet and Hg, although such patterns were not evident for other species. Food web structure, as indicated by stable isotope values (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) was not static. Log-transformed Hg data were strongly and consistently correlated with δ¹⁵N values for the whole food web in each of the three seasons (slopes, 0.17–0.24) and across the entire year (slope, 0.2). While significantly different between seasons, the regression slope values are still consistent with published global Hg biomagnification rates. Our results indicate that the assessment of Hg trends in Great Lakes must take into account seasonal patterns and time of sampling.

Ofloxacin (OFL) was used as a model antibiotic and the quenching of OFL fluorescence by DOM was examined with an emphasis on temperature-dependent quenching kinetics. OFL fluorescence intensity was corrected for inner filter and temperature effects. The kinetics data were fitted well using a two-compartment pseudo first-order kinetics model. Three quenching compartments were identified using this model, namely, a very fast quenching compartment (q₀) and two pseudo first-order quenching compartments (q₁ + q₂). The q₀ values had a positive relationship with temperature, while (q₁ + q₂) were negatively related with temperature. In addition, OFL–DOM binding quantified by (q₁ + q₂) was consistent with binding result obtained from dialysis equilibrium system. We concluded that q₀ was resulted from dynamic quenching, while (q₁ + q₂) was attributed to static quenching. The dynamic quenching of OFL by DOM accounted for 30–90% to the overall quenching and thus was very significant.

Surveying toxicity of complex geochemical media as aquatic sediments often yields results that are either difficult to interpret or even contradictory to acknowledged theory. Multi-level biomarkers were investigated in a benthic fish exposed to estuarine sediments through laboratory and in situ bioassays, to evaluate their employment either in ecological risk assessment or in more mechanistic approaches to assess sediment-bound toxicity. Biomarkers reflecting lesions (such as genotoxicity or histopathology), regardless of their low or absent specificity to contaminants, are efficient in segregating exposure to contaminated from uncontaminated sediments even when classical biomarkers like CYP1A and metallothionein induction are inconclusive. Conversely, proteomics and gene transcription analyses provided information on the mechanics of toxicity and aided explaining response variation as a function of metabolic imbalance and impairment of defences against insult. In situ bioassays, although less expedite and more affected by confounding factors, produced data better correlated to overall sediment contamination.

Metal immobilization may contribute to the environmental management strategy of dredged sediment landfill sites contaminated by metals. In a field experiment, amendment effects and efficiency were investigated, focusing on plants, springtails and bacteria colonisation, metal extractability and sediment ecotoxicity. Conversely to hydroxylapatite (HA, 3% DW), the addition of Thomas Basic Slag (TBS, 5% DW) to a 5-yr deposited sediment contaminated with Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and As resulted in a decrease in the 0.01 M Ca(NO₃)₂-extractable concentrations of Cd and Zn. Shoot Cd and Zn concentration in Calamagrostis epigejos, the dominant plant species, also decreased in the presence of TBS. The addition of TBS and HA reduced sediment ecotoxicity and improved the growth of the total bacterial population. Hydroxylapatite improved plant species richness and diversity and decreased antioxidant enzymes in C. Epigejos and Urtica dïoica. Collembolan communities did not differ in abundance and diversity between the different treatments.

A novel non-dsrAB (without dissimilatory sulfite reductase genes) sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) Clostridium sp. BXM was isolated from a paddy soil. Incubation experiments were then performed to investigate the formation of reduced sulfur compounds (RSC) by Clostridium sp. BXM, and RSC-induced dechlorination of p,p′-DDT in culture medium and soil solution. The RSCs produced were 5.8mM and 4.5mM in 28mM sulfate amended medium and soil solution respectively after 28-day cultivation. The p,p′-DDT dechlorination ratios were 74% and 45.8% for 5.8mM and 4.5mM RSCs respectively at 6h. The metabolites of p,p′-DDT found in the two reaction systems were identified as p,p′-DDD and p,p′-DDE. The dechlorination pathways of p,p′-DDT to p,p′-DDD and p,p′-DDE were proposed, based on mass balance and dechlorination time-courses. The results indicated that RSC-induced natural dechlorination may play an important role in the fate of organochlorines.

To determine if long-term equilibration may alleviate molybdenum toxicity, earthworms, enchytraeids, collembolans and four plant species were exposed to three soils freshly spiked with Na₂MoO₄.2H₂O and equilibrated for 6 or 11 months in the field with free drainage. Total Mo concentrations in soil decreased by leaching, most (up to 98%) in sandy soil and less (54–62%) in silty and clayey soils. Changes in residual Mo toxicity with time were inconclusive in sandy soil. In the other two soils, toxicity of residual total Mo was significantly reduced after 11 months equilibration with a median 5.5-fold increase in ED50s. Mo fixation in soil, i.e. the decrease of soil solution Mo concentrations at equivalent residual total soil Mo, was maximally a factor of 2.1 only. This experiment shows natural attenuation of molybdate ecotoxicity under field conditions is related to leaching of excess Mo and other ions as well as to slow ageing reactions.

The distribution of antimony (Sb) in topsoil and moss (Dicranum angustum) in disturbed and undisturbed areas, as well as coal and gangue, in Ny-Ålesund, Arctic was examined. Results show that the weathering of coal bed could not contribute to the increase of Sb concentrations in topsoil and moss in the study area. The distribution of Sb is partially associated with traffic and historical mining activities. The occurrence of the maximum Sb concentration is due to the contribution of human activities. In addition, the decrease of Sb content in topsoil near the coastline may be caused by the washing of seawater. Compared with topsoils, moss could be a useful tool for monitoring Sb in both highly and lightly polluted areas.

This study evaluated the effect of continuous and batch feeding on the removal of 8 pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, naproxen, diclofenac, ibuprofen, caffeine, salicylic acid, ketoprofen and clofibric acid) from synthetic wastewater in mesocosm-scale constructed wetlands (CWs). Both loading modes were operated at hydraulic application rates of 5.6 cm day⁻¹ and 2.8 cm day⁻¹. Except for carbamazepine, clofibric acid and naproxen, removal in CWs was significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced under the batch versus continuous mode. For all compounds tested except naproxen, values for first-order decay constants (k) for drain and fill operation were higher than that for the continuous mode of operation. Correlation between the distribution coefficient (log Dₒw) and removal efficiencies of pharmaceutical compounds in the CWs, showed that pharmaceutical removal efficiency was significantly (p < 0.1) and inversely correlated with log Dₒw value, but not with log Kₒw value.