Technogenesis and Ecological State of Natural Waters in Eastern Transbaikalia

The research on the state of water ecosystems is significant in terms of future biological impacts of natural and anthropogenic effects. The key branches of natural resources management in Eastern Transbaikalia (agriculture, hydraulic power industry) are based on using water resources. The findings show that technogenesis affects surface waters of the region. Alluvial gold mining represents a significant part of mining industry. Gold mining in river channels results in run-of-stream diversion and interferes with the ecosystem of watercourses. A newly formed structure of a water ecosystem is not favourable for self-purification capacity of rivers. This leads to pollutants accumulation in water objects and deteriorates ecological state of watercourses. Natural components in the technoecosystem of hydropower objects in Eastern Transbaikalia are Lake Kenon and the Kharanor Reservoir. Although the catchment area is polluted by TPP-1, the ecosystem of the lake is still capable of self-purification due to biodiversity of hydrobionts. Under the dry climate in recent years, the Kharanor Reservoir ecosystem turned as rather unstable due to constant refilling from the Onon River. However, generally, pigment indices show physiological activity of primary producers of organic matter.

Different Approaches to Assessing Pollution Load: The Case of Nitrogen-Related Grey Water Footprint of Barley and Soybean in Argentina

Agriculture is among the main causes of water pollution. Currently, 75% of global anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loads come from leaching/runoff from cropland. The grey water footprint (GWF) is an indicator of water resource pollution, which allows for the evaluation and monitoring of pollutant loads (L) that can affect water. However, in the literature, there are different approaches to estimating L and thus contrasting GWF estimates: (A1) leaching/runoff fraction approach, (A2) surplus approach and (A3) soil nitrogen balance approach. This study compares these approaches for the first time to assess which one is best adapted to real crop production conditions and optimises GWF calculation. The three approaches are applied to assess N-related GWF in barley and soybean. For barley in 2019, A3 estimated a GWF value 285 to 196% higher than A1, while in 2020, the A3 estimate was 135 to 81% higher. Soybean did not produce a GWF due to the crop characteristics. A3 incorporated N partitioning within the agroecosystem and considered different N inputs beyond fertilization, improving the accuracy of L and GWF estimation. Providing robust GWF results to decision-makers may help to prevent or reduce the impacts of activities that threaten the world’s water ecosystems and supply.

Using remote sensing data for environmental monitoring of water objects using GIS and machine learning

The main way to understand variability of any spatial data using remote sensing is calculating spectral indices. For now, some difficulties have receiving water surface temperature due to specific properties for satellite sensors and low spatial resolution. The main sources of receiving salinity data are remote sensing data from ESA SMOS, NASA Aquarius and SMAP satellites. Using different machine learning algorithms, we can get models or equations, representing dependency between studied environmental variable and different spectral channels of remote monitoring data. After receiving and collecting remote sensing data in database this system uses machine learning algorithms to find dependency between collected field data and different spectral bands of the remote sensing data. Our goal was to form an analytical system based on remote sensors and machine learning algorithm to analyse, predict and evaluate water ecosystems for fisheries and environmental protection.

Edukasi Jelantah sebagai Sumber Energi pada Kelompok Ibu Rumah Tangga di Desa Petir, Bogor

Jelantah is the used cooking oil. After being used more than three times for frying, the oil will be oxidized by ambient air, and dangerous free radical compounds are formed. Consuming of jelantah in certain amounts, can trigger diseases such as blockage of blood vessels, cancer and nervous disorders. In addition, jelantah discharged into the drains will cause blockage of drains and kill water ecosystems. However, jelantah can be used as an energy source and other products that have economic value. The purpose of this activity is to provide education for groups of housewives in Babakan Gang Salak, Petir Village, Bogor Regency regarding the dangers and benefits of jelantah, introducing simple technology of biodiesel production. The methods used include questionnaires, training and monitoring. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd trainings were held with different participants in the same location. The the participants’ enthusiasm and local site leaders was very high and they wished training for a wider range of participants. The training has been conducted successfully, which was showed that most of the participants could increase their skills and knowledge about the dangers and benefits of jelantah is biodiesel production. This knowledge is supposed to be applied in everyday life by not consuming jelantah for frying food, but it is used as a raw material for biodiesel production.

A first assessment of the distribution and abundance of large pelagic species at Cocos Ridge seamounts (Eastern Tropical Pacific) using drifting pelagic baited remote cameras

Understanding the link between seamounts and large pelagic species (LPS) may provide important insights for the conservation of these species in open water ecosystems. The seamounts along the Cocos Ridge in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) ocean are thought to be ecologically important aggregation sites for LPS when moving between Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). However, to date, research efforts to quantify the abundance and distribution patterns of LPS beyond the borders of these two oceanic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been limited. This study used drifting-pelagic baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) to investigate the distribution and relative abundance of LPS at Cocos Ridge seamounts. Our drifting-pelagic BRUVS recorded a total of 21 species including elasmobranchs, small and large teleosts, dolphins and one sea turtle; of which four species are currently threatened. Depth of seamount summit was the most significant driver for LPS richness and abundance which were significantly higher at shallow seamounts (< 400 m) compared to deeper ones (> 400m). Distance to nearest MPA was also a significant predictor for LPS abundance, which increased at increasing distances from the nearest MPA. Our results suggest that the Cocos Ridge seamounts, specifically Paramount and West Cocos which had the highest LPS richness and abundance, are important aggregation sites for LPS in the ETP. However, further research is still needed to demonstrate a positive association between LPS and Cocos Ridge seamounts. Our findings showed that drifting pelagic BRUVS are an effective tool to survey LPS in fully pelagic ecosystems of the ETP. This study represents the first step towards the standardization of this technique throughout the region.

Comparison of Existing Legal Assessment Values for Heavy Metal Deposition in Western Europe and Calculation of Assessment Values for Luxembourg

The protection against eco- and human-toxicological impairments caused by atmospheric deposition of heavy metals requires legally defined assessment values. Since such values are missing for Luxembourg, the aim of this investigation was to evaluate different approaches to derive assessment values for the regulation of heavy metals that are in accordance with scientific and legal standards. To this end, assessment values for heavy metals were derived from the compilation of respective values implemented in European countries. In addition, (1) precipitation-related assessment values for the protection of soil for Cr, Zn, and Cu and (2) precautionary assessment values (critical loads for Cr, Zn, and Cu, as well as As, Cd, Ni, and Pb) for the protection of human health and ecosystems were calculated. The calculation of the regionally differentiated precipitation-related assessment values resulted in ranges of 17–272 g Cu ha−1 a−1, 167–2672 g Zn ha−1 a−1 and 17–272 g Crtotal ha−1 a−1. The critical loads for drinking water protection vary in the ranges from 1.23 to 2.14 g Cd ha−1 a−1, from 4.05 to 8.63 g Pb ha−1 a−1, from 2.6 to 5.9 g As ha−1 a−1, from 258 to 564 g Cu ha−1 a−1, from 1292 to 2944 g Zn ha−1 a−1, and from 12.9 to 29.9 g Crtotal ha−1 a−1. Ecosystems are significantly more sensitive to Pb, Cu, and Zn inputs than humans. For As and Cr, humans react much more sensitively than ecosystems. For Cd, the critical loads for drinking water, ecosystems, and wheat products are about the same.

Pollution and biodiversity: a case study of the Argun River Basin

We analyzed the studies on the hydrochemical composition in the Argun basin and evaluated the level of pollution. We found that the water of the Argun River was contaminated by organic substances and toxic elements. We distinguished 9 major types of the ecosystems based on the prior findings. The prevalent species of Cladophora fracta was chosen as an indicator for the monitoring of the Argun drainage basin pollution by toxic elements. The concentrations of toxic elements in algae remained unchanged for a long term and they appeared to be more informative for the assessment of pollution than the rapidly changing water quality. It is necessary to determine indicator hydrobionts for each type of the ecosystems within such a vast territory as the Argun basin. Our findings showed that current mining production produces a negative ecological impact on the quality of the water ecosystems which should be considered during further developments. It is necessary to conduct a research on the regional background concentrations for toxic elements in water and hydrobionts, and to enlarge the list of indicator hydrobionts for water quality assessment.

Testing the Influence of Incomplete DNA Barcode Libraries on Ecological Status Assessment of Mediterranean Transitional Waters

The ecological assessment of European aquatic ecosystems is regulated under the framework directives on strategy for water and marine environments. Benthic macroinvertebrates are the most used biological quality element for ecological assessment of rivers, coastal-marines, and transitional waters. The morphological identification of benthic macroinvertebrates is the current tool for their assessment. Recently, DNA-based tools have been proposed as effective alternatives. The main current limits of DNA-based applications include the incompleteness of species recorded in the DNA barcode reference libraries and the primers bias. Here, we analysed the influence of the incompleteness of DNA barcode databases on species diversity indices, ecological indicators, and ecological assessment in transitional waters of the southeast Mediterranean, taking into account the availability of commonly sequenced and deposited genomic regions for listed species. The ecological quality status assigned through the potential application of both approaches to the analysed transitional water ecosystems was different in 27% of sites. We also analysed the inter-specific genetic distances to evaluate the potential application of the DNA metabarcoding method. Overall, this work highlights the importance to expand the barcode databases and to analyse, at the regional level, the gaps in the DNA barcodes.