This paper studies the impact of six main air pollutants on three key dimensions of subjective well-being (SWB) – life satisfaction, hedonic happiness and mental health. We match a nationally representative survey in China with local air quality and rich weather conditions according to the exact date and county of each interview. By making use of variations in exposures to air pollution across similar respondents living in the same county, we find that PM2.5 reduces hedonic happiness and increases the rate of depressive symptoms, but does not affect life satisfaction. Our results show that the benefits of reducing air pollution would be higher if the hidden costs of air pollution on SWB in China are taken into account.

This paper estimates Vulnerability Index of air pollution in Delhi taking into account exposure, susceptibility and coping capacity of households. A general health production function model and a vulnerability assessment framework are used for this purpose. Data was collected through a survey of sample households located in close vicinity to 10 air pollution monitoring stations in Delhi. The estimated vulnerability index is used to show the effect of household exposure to air pollution. The vulnerability index takes into consideration sample households' socio-economic status, demographic profile and other characteristics. Result showed that households of lower socio-economic status were the most vulnerable to air pollution and its consequences.

Ocean acidification (OA) is well-known for impairing marine calcification; however, the end response of several essential species to this perturbation remains unknown. Decreased pH and saturation levels (Omega) of minerals under OA is projected to alter shell crystallography and thus to reduce shell mechanical properties. This study examined this hypothesis using a commercially important estuarine oyster Magallana hongkongensis. Although shell damage occurred on the outmost prismatic layer and the undying myostracum at decreased pH 7.6 and 7.3, the major foliated layer was relatively unharmed. Oysters maintained their shell hardness and stiffness through altered crystal unit orientation under pH 7.6 conditions. However, under the undersaturated conditions (Omega Cal ~ 0.8) at pH 7.3, the realigned crystal units in foliated layer ultimately resulted in less stiff shells which indicated although estuarine oysters are mechanically resistant to unfavorable calcification conditions, extremely low pH condition is still a threat to this essential species.

Ocean acidification (OA) has potential to affect marine phytoplankton in ways that are partly understood, but there is less knowledge about how it may alter the coupling to secondary producers. We investigated the effects of OA on phytoplankton primary production, and its trophic transfer to zooplankton in a subtropical eutrophic water (Wuyuan Bay, China) under present day (400 μatm) and projected end-of-century (1000 μatm) pCO2 levels. Net primary production was unaffected, although OA did lead to small decreases in growth rates. OA had no measurable effect on micro-/mesozooplankton grazing rates. Elevated pCO2 had no effect on phytoplankton fatty acid (FA) concentrations during exponential phase, but saturated FAs increased relative to the control during declining phase. FA profiles of mesozooplankton were unaffected. Our findings show that short-term exposure of plankton communities in eutrophic subtropical waters to projected end-of-century OA conditions has little effect on primary productivity and trophic linkage to mesozooplankton.

"Oil pollution receives less attention when compared to air pollution and water pollution. However, soil pollution is grabbing more attention nowadays. Undoubtedly, soil is an indispensable environmental matrix for the growth of any terrestrial plants. Nevertheless, the rapid growth rate of population expansion and urbanization exceeds the sustainability and recovery capability of the ecosystem. This has virtually resulted in soil pollution. The sources of soil pollution can come from various point and non-point sources. Of the obvious and commonest ones are domestic wastes, untreated or insufficient treatment of industrial discharges, husbandry wastes and agricultural uses of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The purpose of this book is to provide the latest, if not the complete, updated information regarding the soil pollution from three main perspectives, namely, sources, health effects and management strategies in the agricultural and urban areas. The intended readers of this book include academicians, policy-makers, university students, teachers and researchers. This book contains eleven chapters. All chapters in this book consist of sources of pollutants (heavy metal monitoring) (Chapters One, Three, Six, Seven, Eight, Ten and Eleven), the application of the monitoring data for the human health risk assessment (Chapters One, Four, Five and Nine), and lastly, management strategies for the polluted soils (Chapters Two, Ten and Eleven). This book presents a thorough compilation of existing information on soil heavy metal pollution in the form of critical review papers (Chapters One, Two, Ten and Eleven) as well as original research papers (Chapters Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine)"--

Bed sediments and a dated sediment core were collected upstream and downstream from the city of Lyon (France) to assess the spatial and temporal trends of contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in this section of the Rhône River. Upstream from Lyon, concentrations of total PFASs (tPFASs) in sediments are low (between 0.19 and 2.6 ng g-1 dry weight - dw), being characterized by a high proportion of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Downstream from Lyon, and also from a fluoropolymer manufacturing plant, tPFASs concentrations reach 48.7 ng g-1 dw. A gradual decrease of concentrations is reported at the coring site further downstream (38 km). Based on a dated sediment core, the temporal evolution of PFASs is reconstructed from 1984 to 2013. Prior to 1987, tPFASs concentrations were low (≤ 2 ng g-1 dw), increasing to a maximum of 51 ng g-1 dw in the 1990s and then decreasing from 2002 to the present day (~10 ng g-1 dw). In terms of the PFAS pattern, the proportion of perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) has remained stable since the 1980s (~10%), whereas large variations are reported for carboxylic acids (PFCAs). Long chain- (C>8) PFCAs characterized by an even number of perfluorinated carbons represent about 74% of the total PFAS load until 2005. However, from 2005 to 2013, the relative contribution of long chain- (C>8) PFCAs with an odd number of perfluorinated carbons reaches 80%. Such changes in the PFAS pattern likely highlight a major shift in the industrial production process. This spatial and retrospective study provides valuable insights into the long-term contamination patterns of PFAS chemicals in river basins impacted by both urban and industrial activities.

Irrigation with treated waste water (TWW) in combination with plantation of agroforest species was tested in the Kalaât Landelous region for the reclamation of salt affected soils. Five species (Atriplex nummularia, Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Acacia cyanophylla, Casuarina glauca, Pinus halepensis) were cultivated in saline soils that are affected by shallow, saline groundwater and were irrigated with TWW during the summer season. The results after 4 years of experimentation show a distinct decrease in soil pH and salinity accompanied by a decrease in Cl and Na concentrations. Irrigation decreased the heavy metal concentrations in the topsoil but an increase in deeper layers indicate to leaching due to TWW irrigation. The investigated plant species were differently affected in growth performance by salinity and TWW irrigation. Atriplex nummularia appeared to be the most resistant species and Pinus halepensis the most sensitive one to hydro-pedological conditions of the Kalaât Landelous plot. In conclusion, salt-tolerant plant species seem to be good candidates for the reclamation of salt-affected, waterlogged sites in combination with TWW irrigation, as the adaptations of such species seem to operate under different abiotic stress conditions.

Average nitrogen (N) deposition across Europe has declined since the 1990s. This resulted in decreased N inputs to forest ecosystems especially in Central and Western Europe where deposition levels are highest. While the impact of atmospheric N deposition on forests has been receiving much attention for decades, ecosystem responses to the decline in N inputs received less attention. Here, we review observational studies reporting on trends in a number of indicators: soil acidification and eutrophication, understory vegetation, tree nutrition (foliar element concentrations) as well as tree vitality and growth in response to decreasing N deposition across Europe. Ecosystem responses varied with limited decrease in soil solution nitrate concentrations and potentially also foliar N concentrations. There was no large-scale response in understory vegetation, tree growth, or vitality. Experimental studies support the observation of a more distinct reaction of soil solution and foliar element concentrations to changes in N supply compared to the three other parameters. According to the most likely scenarios, further decrease of N deposition will be limited. We hypothesize that this expected decline will not cause major responses of the parameters analysed in this study. Instead, future changes might be more strongly controlled by the development of N pools accumulated within forest soils, affected by climate change and forest management.