There is a consensus within the scientific community that sediments act as a long-term sink for a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants, which, however, can re-enter the water column upon resuspension of deposited material under certain hydraulic conditions such as flood events. Within the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive, it is important to understand the potential short- and long-term impact of suspended particulate matter (SPM)-associated contaminants on aquatic organisms as well as the related uptake mechanisms for a sound risk assessment. To elucidate the effects of sediment-bound organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to three resuspended natural sediments with different contamination levels. Physicochemical parameters including dissolved oxygen concentration, pH and temperature, total PAH concentration in sediments and SPM as well as different biomarkers of exposure in fish (7-ethoxyresorufin Odeethylase activity, biliary PAH metabolites, micronuclei, and lipid peroxidation) were measured following seven days of exposure within an annular flume, a device to assess erosion and deposition processes of cohesive sediment. Concentrations of PAHs in SPM remained constant and represented the different contamination levels in the unsuspended sediments. Significant differences in bile metabolite concentrations as well as in 7-ethoxyresorufin Odeethylase induction compared to control experiments (untreated animals and animals that were exposed in the annular flume without sediment) were observed for all exposure scenarios. The ratio between 1-hydroxypyrene in bile from fish exposed to the three different contamination levels was 1.0:3.6:10.7 and correlated well with (1) the ratio of pyrene concentrations in corresponding sediments which was 1.0:3.1:12.7 and (2) with the ratio of particle-bound pyrene in SPM which was 1.0:2.7:11.7. In contrast, hepatic lipid peroxidation and micronuclei formation represented the different contamination levels less conclusive. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that firmly bound PAH from aged sediments can become bioaccessible upon resuspension under flood-like conditions and are readily absorbed by aquatic organisms such as rainbow trout. Associated short-term effects were clearly documented and possible adverse long-term impacts due to genotoxicity are likely to follow.

Sea cucumbers are dominant invertebrates in several ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangroves. As bioturbators, they have an important ecological role in making available calcium carbonate and nutrients to the rest of the community. However, due to their commercial value, they face overexploitation in the natural environment. On top of that, occurring ocean acidification could impact these organisms, considered sensitive as echinoderms are osmoconformers, high-magnesium calcite producers and have a low metabolism. As a first investigation of the impact of ocean acidification on sea cucumbers, we tested the impact of short-term (6 to 12 days) exposure to ocean acidification (seawater pH 7.7 and 7.4) on two sea cucumbers collected in SW Madagascar, Holothuria scabra, a high commercial value species living in the seagrass meadows, and H. parva, inhabiting the mangroves. The former lives in a habitat with moderate fluctuations of seawater chemistry (driven by day-night differences) while the second lives in a highly variable intertidal environment. In both species, pH of the coelomic fluid was significantly negatively affected by reduced seawater pH, with a pronounced extracellular acidosis in individuals maintained at pH 7.7 and 7.4. This acidosis was due to an increased dissolved inorganic carbon content and pCO2 of the coelomic fluid, indicating a limited diffusion of the CO2 towards the external medium. However, respiration and ammonium excretion rates were not affected. No evidence of accumulation of bicarbonate was observed to buffer the coelomic fluid pH. If this acidosis stays uncompensated for when facing long-term exposure, other processes could be affected in both species, eventually leading to impacts on their ecological role.

Bac Lieu is a coastal province the Mekong River Delta (MRD), Vietnam. Aside from salinity intrusion from the sea, the province is strongly affected by acidic pollution as 58% of the area (250,000 ha) is overlaid with acid sulphate soil (ASS). Previous studies showed that the eminent sea level rise (SLR) would influence the hydrology and salinity of the canal networks in the province. This study, using the previously validated hydraulic and water quality model VRSAP-ACIDITY (Vietnam River Systems And Plains, coupled with ACIDITY Module), aimed at quantifying impacts of different SLR scenarios (SLR = 17, 30, 50, or 75 cm) on acidic pollution in the province. Under the present sea level, widespread acidic pollution (pH < 5) of surface water occurred at the start of the rainy season, due to leaching of acidity from canal embankments and fields in ASS. The acceleration of SLR reduced the area of acidic polluted water. The lessening in acidic pollution was attributed to (1) SLR that raised the water level in the Mekong River, increasing the amount of fresh water flowing into the study area; and (2) the amount of water drained out of the study area increased, bringing with its acidity. It concluded that SLR has a positive effect on acidic pollution in the ASS coastal area.

Defoliation is one of the most important parameters monitored in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests). Defoliation is an indicator for forest health and vitality. Conventional statistical analysis shows weak or not significant correlations between tree crown defoliation and climatic conditions or air pollution parameters, because of its high variability. The study aims to evaluate the most important factors among climatic, pollutants (Nox and NHy) and stand parameters affecting crown defoliation of the main European tree species (Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies, Quercus ilex, Pinus sylvestris and Quercus petraea) through application of a new and powerful statistical classifier, the random forests analysis (RFA). RFA highlighted that tree crown defoliation was mainly related to age in P. abies, to geographic location in F. sylvatica and to air pollution predictors in Q. ilex, while it was similarly linked to meteorological and air pollution predictors in P. sylvestris and Q. petraea. In this study, RFA has proven to be, for the first time, a useful tool to discern the most important predictors affecting tree crown defoliation, and consequently, it can be used for an appropriate forest management.

Land use specific deposition velocities of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols—particularly of reactive nitrogen compounds—are a fundamental input variable for a variety of deposition models. Although the concept is known to have shortcomings—especially with regard to bi-directional exchange—the often limited availability of concentration data and meteorological input variables make it a valuable simplification for regional modeling of deposition fluxes. In order to meet the demand for an up-to-date overview of recent publications on measurements and modeling studies, we compiled a database of ammonia (NH3) deposition velocities published from 2004 to 2013. Observations from a total of 42 individual studies were averaged using an objective weighing scheme and classified into seven land use categories. Weighted average and median deposition velocities are 2.2 and 2.1 cm s-1 for coniferous forests, 1.5 and 1.2 cm s-1 for mixed forests, 1.1 and 0.9 cm s-1 for deciduous forests, 0.9 and 0.7 cm s-1 for semi-natural sites, 0.7 and 0.8 cm s-1 for urban sites, 0.7 and 0.6 cm s-1 for water surfaces, and 1.0 and 0.4 cm s-1 for agricultural sites, respectively. Thus, values presented in this compilation were considerably lower than those found in former studies (e.g., VDI 2006). Reasons for the mismatch were likely due to different land use classification, different averaging methods, choices of measurement locations, and improvements in measurement and in modeling techniques. Both data and code used for processing are made available as supplementary material to this article.

Grey seals as top-predators bioaccumulate contaminants and can be considered as sentinels of ecosystem health. Pups are weaned after a short nursing period, characterised by an enormous lipid transfer and exposure to contaminants. This study established molecular biomarkers of the xenobiotic metabolism and immune system to help assess health and immune status. mRNA transcription of AHR, ARNT, PPAR~a and cytokine IL-2 and heat-shock-protein HSP70 was measured in blood of grey seal pups and adults in rehabilitation and permanent care using RT-qPCR and compared to rehabilitating harbour seal pups and haematology values. In pups highest levels at admission in xenobiotic biomarker, HSP70 and cytokine transcription may show contaminant exposure via lactation, stress during abandonment and dehydration. The significant decrease may be linked to diet, health improvement and adaptation. Adults showed higher levels and more variation in biomarker transcription and clear species-specific differences between harbour and grey seal pups were found.

International audience | Co-composting biowastes such as manures and biosolids can be used to stabilize carbon (C) without impacting the quality of these biowastes. This study investigated the effect of co-composting biowastes with alkaline materials on C stabilization and monitored the fertilization and revegetation values of these co-composts. The stabilization of C in biowastes (poultry manure and biosolids) was examined by their composting in the presence of various alkaline amendments (lime, fluidized bed boiler ash, flue gas desulphurization gypsum, and red mud) for 6 months in a controlled environment. The effects of co-composting on the biowastes' properties were assessed for different physical C fractions, microbial biomass C, priming effect, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, bioavailable phosphorus, and revegetation of an urban landfill soil. Co-composting biowastes with alkaline materials increased C stabilization, attributed to interaction with alkaline materials, thereby protecting it from microbial decomposition. The co-composted biowastes also increased the fertility of the landfill soil, thereby enhancing its revegetation potential. Stabilization of biowastes using alkaline materials through co-composting maintains their fertilization value in terms of improving plant growth. The co-composted biowastes also contribute to long-term soil C sequestration and reduction of bioavailability of heavy metals.

Bac Lieu is a coastal province the Mekong River Delta (MRD), Vietnam. Aside from salinity intrusion from the sea, the province is strongly affected by acidic pollution as 58% of the area (250,000 ha) is overlaid with acid sulphate soil (ASS). Previous studies showed that the eminent sea level rise (SLR) would influence the hydrology and salinity of the canal networks in the province. This study, using the previously validated hydraulic and water quality model VRSAP-ACIDITY (Vietnam River Systems And Plains, coupled with ACIDITY Module), aimed at quantifying impacts of different SLR scenarios (SLR = 17, 30, 50, or 75 cm) on acidic pollution in the province. Under the present sea level, widespread acidic pollution (pH < 5) of surface water occurred at the start of the rainy season, due to leaching of acidity from canal embankments and fields in ASS. The acceleration of SLR reduced the area of acidic polluted water. The lessening in acidic pollution was attributed to (1) SLR that raised the water level in the Mekong River, increasing the amount of fresh water flowing into the study area; and (2) the amount of water drained out of the study area increased, bringing with its acidity. It concluded that SLR has a positive effect on acidic pollution in the ASS coastal area.