This paper aimed to evaluate the ecological risk posed by the accumulation of heavy metals in the salt-affected soils of the habitat covered by the EU Natura 2000 program in relation to the activity of soil redox enzymes. The research was carried out in the halophyte reserve in Ciechocinek (north-central Poland) which is a very specific habitat as it undergoes a long-term human impact related to both the operation of the medical spa town and the agricultural use of soils in the adjacent areas. The obtained results showed that the content of Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd in the studied soils exceeded the Polish standards. Based on the obtained data and statistical analysis, it was found that metals may come from two different sources: emission from household boiler rooms (Pb, Cd) and corroded brine sewage pipeline (Zn, Cu).They are characterized by limited mobility due to alkaline environment and strong sorption properties of the clay fraction and organic matter. The correlation analysis indicates that the dehydrogenase activities were negatively correlated with soil electrical conductivity (EC₁:₅) (r = − 0.665, P < 0.05). Taking into account the protective status of the area, it is difficult to indicate definitely the solution concerning the land management. However, according to the authors, one should pay special attention to a possibility of using halophytes which occur within the reserve for phytoremediation.

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of phosphate fertilization on chemical speciation of cadmium (Cd) in the rhizospheric soil of Chlorophytum comosum, a potential cadmium hyperaccumulator. The results revealed that when 200 mg kg⁻¹ phosphate was applied into the soil, the Cd contents in the exchangeable fraction (EXC), carbonate-binding fraction (CA), and Fe–Mn oxides-binding fraction (Fe–Mn) were the highest, and the Cd content in the residual fraction (RES) was the lowest. Phosphate fertilization could enhance Cd conversion from RES into CA and weak RES, thereby improving the bioavailability of Cd and enhancing Cd enrichment and adsorption by C. comosum. The total Cd content in the soil was reduced by 10.15 mg kg⁻¹ in the planted group, which was significantly different from the control group (p < 0.01). The highest bioaccumulation coefficient (BC) values in root and aboveground parts appeared when the phosphate rates were 276 and 217 mg kg⁻¹, whereas the highest translocation factor (TF) occurred with a phosphate rate of 188 mg kg⁻¹. Phosphate fertilization facilitated phytoremediation of Cd-polluted soil by C. comosum.

Salt stress is a main abiotic stress that limits agricultural productivity in many parts of the world. To investigate whether poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) can alleviate the negative effects of salt stress on wheat, a foliar application of 400 mg/L γ-PGA was applied to wheat seedlings, which were then subjected to 150 mM NaCl. Our results showed that after application of γ-PGA, the plant height, the plant weight, and the antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase were significantly increased compared with the treatment of 150 mM NaCl alone. Meanwhile, γ-PGA application also resulted in high accumulation of K⁺ and decreased storage of Na⁺ in wheat leaves. These results suggest that γ-PGA treatment may improve salt tolerance of wheat by diminishing ionic imbalances and enhancing antioxidant capacity. Our results indicate that exogenous γ-PGA could alleviate the damage caused by salt stress.

Adsorption-desorption behavior of ionic antibiotics in natural aquatic environment is complex, especially in coastal or estuary area where influencing factors such as pH and salinity usually varied in a wide range. In this study, batch-type and stirred flow chamber (SFC) experiments were carried out to simulate the sorption-desorption behavior of trimethoprim (TMP) in seawater-sediment system. Equilibrium and kinetic modeling were carried out to determine the rate and extent of TMP sorption on two marine sediments with different properties. Sediment BHB (K d , 6.40 L kg⁻¹) has a greater sorption capacity compared with sediment LZB (K d , 3.40 L kg⁻¹), which is related to the higher content of organic carbon and clay of sediment BHB. Adsorption of TMP varied in the pH range of 6.9 to 8.1 with maximum adsorption at pH 7.4. Increasing salinity and presence of phosphate and nitrate led to decreased TMP sorption. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis demonstrated the formation of hydrogen bond between TMP and marine sediments. Adsorption of TMP on marine sediments was a non-equilibrium process that can be described with second-order kinetic model. Our analysis suggested that chemical non-equilibrium was the rate controlling process and intraparticle diffusion was also involved in TMP adsorption. A moderate desorption percentage (16.4–22.8% for LZB and 32.5–42.0%for BHB) was observed. Overall, the results showed that environmental factors and time-dependent processes need to be considered in modeling the fate and transport of TMP in coastal/estuarine waters.

At the southeastern part of Sweden, old art and crystal waste glass has been identified as a hazardous waste due to high weight concentrations of Pb (32.398%), Cd (0.085%), and As (1.976%). The reduction-melting technique was used to investigate the extraction of these trace elements from powder waste glass of particle size < 1 mm. Following a factorial design technique, the experimental results of the reduction-melting method showed that 99.9% of Pb, 100% of Cd, and 99% of As could be extracted. For a batch of 10 g powder waste glass, the found experimental and theoretical optimum operating conditions were 1100 °C of melting temperature, 5 g of Na₂CO₃, 2 g of carbon, and 120 min of melting time. The reduction-melting method displayed promising results which might help in recycling the extracted trace elements and glass compared to the current used solution of landfilling as hazardous wastes.

Socio-demographic factors play a significant role in increasing the individual’s climate change awareness and in setting a favorable individual attitude towards its mitigation. To better understand how the adversative effects of climate change can be mitigated, this study attempts to investigate the impact of socio-demographic factors on the mitigating actions of the individuals (MAOI) on climate change. Qualitative data were collected from a face-to-face survey of 360 respondents in the Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia through a close-ended questionnaire. Analysis was conducted on the mediating effects of attitudinal variables through the path model by using the SEM. Findings indicate that the socio-demographic factors such as gender, age, education, income, and ethnicity can greatly influence the individual’s awareness, attitude, risk perception, and knowledge of climate change issues. The results drawn from this study also revealed that the attitudinal factors act as a mediating effect between the socio-demographic factors and the MAOI, thereby, indicating that both the socio-demographic factors and the attitudinal factors have significant effects on the MAOI towards climate change. The outcome of this study can help policy makers and other private organizations to decide on the appropriate actions to take in managing climate change effects. These actions which encompass improving basic climate change education and making the public more aware of the local dimensions of climate change are important for harnessing public engagement and support that can also stimulate climate change awareness and promote mitigating actions to n protect the environment from the impact of climate change.

The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata, is distributed widely in eastern Asia and Australia. The response of M.separata to 27 compounds identified from plant volatiles was determined from electroantennography (EAG) and wind tunnel results, which allowed an evaluation of the possible plant volatile compounds. The highest EAG values of males were elicited by trans-2,cis-6-nonadienal, and virgin females by benzyl alcohol. The amplitude in EAG dose-response was in the range of 0.24 to 2.87 mV. In the wind tunnel bioassays, significantly more females showed behavioral responses to wilting leaves and headspace collection of Pterocarya stenoptera rather than control. In addition, significantly more females flew upwind with beta-ocimene compared with the control. The number of females that landed at the source with cis-3-hexen-1-ol, phenylethyl alcohol, trans-2-nonenal, and 2-pentylfuran was significantly different from the number that moved towards control.

The town of Bor and its surroundings (Serbia) have been under environmental pollution for more than a century, due to exploitation of large copper deposits. Naturally present Corylus spp. were sampled in the surroundings of the mine and flotation tailings at 12 sites distributed in six zones with different pollution loads, under the assumption that all the zones were endangered except for the background. As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn inputs from soil and the air were evaluated in plant parts, in terms of absorption, accumulation and indication abilities of Corylus spp. The obtained results showed that As and Cu were the most enriched elements in soil, and their concentration exceeded the limit and remediation values proposed by the regulation. Plant parts (root, branch, leaf and catkin) also showed enrichment of most studied elements in wide ranges. According to the enrichment factor for plant, metal/metalloid inputs, particularly in leaves, were from anthropogenic origin. Plant absorption which occurred at the soil–root interface was low, based on the bioaccumulation factor, which could be indicative of resistance mechanisms of root to abiotic stress induced by a high content of elements in soil substrate. The values of bioaccumulation coefficient suggested weak and intermediate absorption and exclusion abilities of Corylus spp. to the studied elements. Element concentrations differ in unwashed and washed leaves, as well as pollution loads in plant and soil samples from the background, traffic and the sites with clear mining–metallurgical influence. Therefore, Corylus spp. could be promising in biomonitoring studies.

Chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) are pollutants with a strong environmental impact. “Green biotechnology” as phytoremediation represents a sustainability opportunity for soil reclamation. In this study, we evaluated the possibility to reclaim agricultural soils located in the Solofrana valley, contaminated by Cr or Cu. Chromium contamination derives by repeated flooding events of Solofrana rivers containing Cr because of leather tanning plants, while Cu soil pollution was due to the use of Cu-rich pesticides in agriculture. Both metals showed a very low bioavailability. In order to perform an assisted phytoremediation of polluted fields, we carried out a preliminary ex situ experimentation testing for the first time sunflowers (cv. Pretor) and chelants (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and/or ethylene diamine disuccinate (EDDS)), useful when metal bioavailability is low. No symptoms of toxicity were observed in sunflowers grown on both soils, while biomass was improved when EDDS was added. Cr and Cu bioavailability was only slightly enhanced by chelants at the end of the treatments. Both Cr and Cu were mainly accumulated in the roots; moreover, Cu was also translocated to the aboveground organs in the presence of EDTA. The ex situ experimentation demonstrated that assisted phytoremediation is a very slow process not useful in the case of persistent pollution.

To explore the correlations among water quality parameters, suspended solids (SS) and total dissolved solids (TDS) with meteorological factors in a shallow reservoir in China, the long-term variations of water quality were considered. A non-parametric regression method, generalized additive models (GAM), was used to analyse the correlations among eleven physicochemical and biological parameters as well as three meteorological factors (wind speed, rainfall and solar radiation) which we collected from 2000 to 2011. The results indicate that the three meteorological factors may have positive effects on SS. Moreover, statistically significant correlations between many water quality parameters and SS or TDS were exhibited seasonally. The correlations between electrical conductivity (EC) and SS were opposite to correlations between EC and TDS. This finding reveals that TDS have a positive impact on EC, while EC negatively affects SS. The results indicated that many parameters, such as total nitrogen, total phosphorus, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), were related to SS due to the adsorption of SS. Moreover, both positive and negative correlations between COD and TDS were observed in this freshwater reservoir. The positive correlation between chlorophyll a and SS suggested that the change of SS concentration in autumn was caused by the growth of algae. Meanwhile, significant correlations between SS and meteorological factors were also observed, indicating that meteorological factors had effects on SS dynamics. This study provides useful information regarding the correlations among water quality parameters, SS and TDS with meteorological factors in a freshwater reservoir.