This study has investigated the potential of an Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis, a marriage between the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae and the aquatic fern (Azolla), to remove ammonia from freshwater fish breeding areas. Experiments were carried out under artificial light of 20, 70, and 140 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. We investigated three different water temperatures for the growing Azolla, ranging from sub-optimal to optimal temperatures (15, 22, and 28 °C). The capability of Azolla to remove ammonia from wastewater was demonstrated, and the highest ammonia concentration tolerated by the symbiosis between Azolla-anabaena without any toxic effect on the aquatic ferns was ascertained. The shortest time taken to remove ammonia from wastes, 2.5 cm deep and at 28 °C, was 40 min. The ammonia removal rate (A RR) was both light and temperature dependent and the highest rate (6.394 h⁻¹) was attained at light intensity of 140 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and at a temperature of 28 °C; the lowest (0.947 h⁻¹) was achieved at 20 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 15 °C. The depth of the fish-wastewater pool also affected the A RR with the relation between A RR and the depth being a hyperbolic function.

Nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI)-mediated degradation of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) was investigated in a spiked soil under different conditions (iron sources, iron dosage, soil moisture, temperature, and soil types) and DDT-contaminated field. The degradation efficiency of p,p′-DDT by nZVI and nZVI coated with sodium oleate (SO-nZVI) was much higher than that by nZVI coated with polyimide (PI-nZVI). The rapid degradation of p,p′-DDT by nZVI only occurred in flooded soil. The degradation half-life of p,p′-DDT decreased significantly from 58.3 to 27.6 h with nZVI dosage from 0.5 to 2.0 % and from 46.5 to 32.0 h with temperature from 15 to 35 °C. The degradation efficiency of p,p′-DDT by nZVI differed in Jinhua (JH), Jiaxing (JX), Xiaoshan (XS), Huajiachi (HJC), and Heilongjiang (HLJ) soils. A good correlation was found between the degradation half-life of p,p′-DDT and multiple soil properties. The probable nZVI-mediated degradation pathway of p,p′-DDT in soil was proposed as DDT → DDD/DDE → DDNS → DDOH based on the metabolites identified by GC-MS. The in situ degradation efficiency of residual DDTs in a contaminated field was profoundly enhanced by the addition of nZVI as compared to the control. It is concluded that nZVI might be an efficient agent for the remediation of DDT-contaminated soil under anaerobic environment.

In a greenhouse pot experiment, lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.) were grown in a Hg-contaminated sandy soil with and without inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (a commercial inoculum containing infective propagules of Rhizophagus irregularis and Funneliformis mosseae) amended with different rates of a humic acid (0, 1, and 2 g kg⁻¹ of soil), with the objective of verifying the synergistic effects of the two soil treatments on the Hg tolerance of lettuce plants. Our results indicated that the plant biomass was significantly increased by the combined effect of AMF and humic acid treatments. Addition of humic matter to soil boosted the AMF effect on improving the nutritional plant status, enhancing the pigment content in plant leaves, and inhibiting both Hg uptake and Hg translocation from the roots to the shoots. This was attributed not only to the Hg immobilization by stable complexes with HA and with extraradical mycorrhizal mycelium in soil and root surfaces but also to an improved mineral nutrition promoted by AMF. This work indicates that the combined use of AMF and humic acids may become a useful practice in Hg-contaminated soils to reduce Hg toxicity to crops.

Batch adsorption experiments were performed for the removal of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) ions from aqueous solutions using Canadian peat and coconut fiber. The Langmuir model was used to describe the adsorption isotherm. The maximum adsorption for peat reached 18.75 mg/g for Cr(III) and 8.02 mg/g for Cr(VI), whereas the value for fiber was slightly higher and reached 19.21 mg/g for Cr(III) and 9.54 mg/g for Cr(VI). Both chromium forms could be easily eluted from the materials. The adsorption of chromium forms to organic matter could be explained in terms of formation of donor-acceptor chemical covalent bound with hydroxyl groups as ligands and chromium as the central atom in the formed complex. The chromate-reducing activities were monitored with the use of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results showed that both adsorption and reduction occurred simultaneously and the maximum adsorption capacity of hexavalent chromium being equal to 95 % for fiber and 92 % for peat was obtained at pH 1.5. The reduction of Cr(VI) in wastewaters began immediately and disappeared after 20 h. Both materials contained yeast and fungi species which can be responsible for reduction of chromium compounds, due to their enzymatic activity (Chwastowski and Koloczek (Acta Biochim Pol 60: 829–834, 2013)). The reduction of Cr(VI) is a two-phase process, the first phase being rapid and based on chemical reaction and the second phase having biological features. After the recovery step, both types of organic materials can be used again for chromium adsorption without any loss in the metal uptake. Both of the materials could be used as biofilters in the wastewater treatment plants.

Biological pollution, caused by the negative impact of alien species, also known as non-indigenous species (NIS), is regarded as one of the greatest threat to marine ecosystems. The recent upsurge in the number and spread of these species drew attention to putative vectors such as shipping and shellfish importation for culture and consumption. The port of Taranto in Southern Italy is a hub for several vectors as it serves commercial and military shipping, fishing and recreational boating, in addition to shellfish importation. An analysis of anthropogenic activities and possible vectors in Taranto Seas was recently carried out within the framework of the RITMARE Project, involving local stakeholders. Different categories of stakeholders answered dedicated questionnaires with a high degree of reticence, and this highlighted a general lack of awareness of the problems associated with alien species. Consequently, there is a strong need to instil a truly ecological awareness among the general public and stakeholders.

We aimed at assessing the effects of four wetland plant species commonly used in constructed wetland systems: Typha, Phragmites, Iris and Juncus for removing ibuprofen (IBU) and iohexol (IOH) from spiked culture solution and exploring the mechanisms responsible for the removal. IBU was nearly completely removed by all plant species during the 24-day experiment, whereas the IOH removal varied between 13 and 80 %. Typha and Phragmites were the most efficient in removing IBU and IOH, respectively, with first-order removal rate constants of 0.38 and 0.06 day⁻¹, respectively. The pharmaceuticals were taken up by the roots and translocated to the aerial tissues. However, at the end of the experiment, plant accumulation constituted only up to 1.1 and 5.7 % of the amount of IBU and IOH spiked initially. The data suggest that the plants mainly function by facilitating pharmaceutical degradation in the rhizosphere through release of root exudates.

The extracellular polymeric substrate (EPS) extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1 was used to adsorb low concentrations of tetracycline, and the efficiency and mechanism of tetracycline adsorption by EPS from strain J1 were studied. Adsorption efficiency was evaluated at different conditions. Results showed that optimal adsorption efficiency was 71.68 % with 60 mg L⁻¹ of EPS from strain J1 and 90 μL of 10 % (w/v) CaCl₂ in 100 mL of tetracycline solution (80 μg L⁻¹) with pH of 8.0. Experimental data was fitted well with Langmuir, Freundlich isotherm, and pseudo-second-order models. Analyses of E value, Ea value, thermodynamics, zeta potential variation, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra proved that chemisorption was the main adsorption type and bridging was the main adsorption mechanism. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that adsorptive reaction was exothermic from 20 to 40 °C. In addition, humic acid (HA) showed little effect on the tetracycline adsorption by MFX.

The aim of this study is to evaluate copper and arsenic accumulation and translocation at a concentration of 100 μg/L of a submersed macrophyte Myriophyllum alterniflorum. The trophic level (eutrophic and oligotrophic conditions) of the medium was also considered. To achieve this goal, plants were incubated for 21 days in the presence of 100 μg/L of Cu or AsV. The heavy metal transfers from the contaminated medium to plants and into plant tissues was discussed in terms of the bioconcentration factor (BCF) and the translocation factor (TF). Malondialdehyde (MDA) content in tissues was analyzed in order to study the toxicity of these two contaminants. Our results show that copper was more accumulated in shoots, than roots, whereas the opposite trend was observed for arsenic. In addition, the two contaminants were more accumulated in oligotrophic than eutrophic medium. The BCF of copper in shoots was 1356 in oligotrophic condition, while that of arsenic was higher in roots about 620 in the same condition. The TF was less than 1 for arsenic, and higher than 1 for copper, indicating that watermilfoil restrains the translocation of arsenic to shoots, while it has a low capacity to control the translocation of an essential micronutrient like copper. An increase in MDA content was observed under Cu and As stress. On the basis of this experiment, M. alterniflorum has a higher accumulation potential of copper and arsenic, and therefore, it can be a good candidate for the phytofiltration of these two contaminants from water.

The assessment of spatial and temporal variation of water quality influenced by land use is necessary to manage the environment sustainably in basin scales. Understanding the correlations between land use and different formats of nonpoint source nutrients pollutants is a priority in order to assess pollutants loading and predicting the impact on surface water quality. Forest, upland, paddy field, and pasture are the dominant land use in the study area, and their land use pattern status has direct connection with nonpoint source (NPS) pollutant loading. In this study, two land use scenarios (1995 and 2010) were used to evaluate the impact of land use changes on NPS pollutants loading in basins upstream of Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), using a calibrated and validated version of the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model. The Pengxi River is one of the largest tributaries of the Yangtze River upstream of the TGR, and the study area included the basins of the Dong and Puli Rivers, two major tributaries of the Pengxi River. The results indicated that the calibrated SWAT model could successfully reproduce the loading of NPS pollutants in the basins of the Dong and Puli Rivers. During the 16-year study period, the land use changed markedly with obvious increase of water body and construction. Average distance was used to measure relative distribution patterns of land use types to basin outlets. Forest was mainly distributed in upstream areas whereas other land use types, in particular, water bodies and construction areas were mainly distributed in downstream areas. The precipitation showed a non-significant influence on NPS pollutants loading; to the contrary, interaction between precipitation and land use were significant sources of variation. The different types of land use change were sensitive to NPS pollutants as well as land use pattern. The influence of background value of soil nutrient on NPS pollutants loading was evaluated in upland and paddy field. It was found that total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) in upland were more sensitive to NPS pollutants loading than in paddy fields. The results of this study have implications for management of the TGR to reduce the loading of NPS pollutants into downstream water bodies.