scholarly journals Overlooked and undervalued: the neglected role of fauna and a global bias in ecological restoration assessments

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie L. Cross ◽  
Sean Tomlinson ◽  
Michael D. Craig ◽  
Kingsley W. Dixon ◽  
Philip W. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Grey Literature ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mine Site ◽  
Restoration Success ◽  
Regulatory Standards ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Site Restoration ◽  
Faunal Communities ◽  
Global Bias

Globally increasing rates of mine site discontinuations are resulting in the need for immediate implementation of effective conservation and management strategies. Surveying vegetation structure is a common method of assessing restoration success; however, responses of fauna to mine site restoration remain largely overlooked and understudied despite their importance within ecosystems as ecological engineers, pollinators, and restoration facilitators. Here we review the current state of the use of fauna in assessments of mine site restoration success globally, and address biases or shortcomings that indicate the assessment approach may undershoot closure and restoration success. We identified just 101 peer-reviewed publications or book chapters over a 49-year period that assess responses of fauna to mine site restoration globally. Most studies originate in Australia, with an emphasis on just one company. Assessments favour general species diversity and richness, with a particular focus on invertebrate responses to mine site restoration. Noteworthy issues included biases towards origin of study, study type, and target taxa. Further searches of the grey literature relating to fauna monitoring in mine site restoration, which was far more difficult to access, yielded six monitoring/guidance documents, three conference proceedings, two book chapters without empirical data, and a bulletin. As with peer-reviewed publications, grey literature focussed on invertebrate responses to restoration, or mentioned fauna only at the most basic level. We emphasise the need for global re-evaluation of regulatory standards to address these major limitations in assessing the capacity of the mining industry to comprehensively and representatively restore faunal communities after mining.

Mine Site Restoration Using Silvicultural Approach

2018 ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Borišev ◽  
Slobodanka Pajević ◽  
Nataša Nikolić ◽  
Andrej Pilipović ◽  
Danijela Arsenov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mine Site ◽  
Site Restoration

scholarly journals Remote Sensing of Mine Site Rehabilitation for Ecological Outcomes: A Global Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 3535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip B. McKenna ◽  
Alex M. Lechner ◽  
Stuart Phinn ◽  
Peter D. Erskine
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Ecological Monitoring ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vegetation Development ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Mine Site ◽  
Site Rehabilitation

The mining industry has been operating across the globe for millennia, but it is only in the last 50 years that remote sensing technology has enabled the visualization, mapping and assessment of mining impacts and landscape recovery. Our review of published literature (1970–2019) found that the number of ecologically focused remote sensing studies conducted on mine site rehabilitation increased gradually, with the greatest proportion of studies published in the 2010–2019 period. Early studies were driven exclusively by Landsat sensors at the regional and landscape scales while in the last decade, multiple earth observation and drone-based sensors across a diverse range of study locations contributed to our increased understanding of vegetation development post-mining. The Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) was the most common index, and was used in 45% of papers; while research that employed image classification techniques typically used supervised (48%) and manual interpretation methods (37%). Of the 37 publications that conducted error assessments, the average overall mapping accuracy was 84%. In the last decade, new classification methods such as Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) have emerged (10% of studies within the last ten years), along with new platforms and sensors such as drones (15% of studies within the last ten years) and high spatial and/or temporal resolution earth observation satellites. We used the monitoring standards recommended by the International Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) to determine the ecological attributes measured by each study. Most studies (63%) focused on land cover mapping (spatial mosaic); while comparatively fewer studies addressed complex topics such as ecosystem function and resilience, species composition, and absence of threats, which are commonly the focus of field-based rehabilitation monitoring. We propose a new research agenda based on identified knowledge gaps and the ecological monitoring tool recommended by SER, to ensure that future remote sensing approaches are conducted with a greater focus on ecological perspectives, i.e., in terms of final targets and end land-use goals. In particular, given the key rehabilitation requirement of self-sustainability, the demonstration of ecosystem resilience to disturbance and climate change should be a key area for future research.

scholarly journals Mass gathering public health and emergency medicine literature review: Levels of evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Arbon ◽  
Lynette Cusack ◽  
Naomi Oenol
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Expert Opinion ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mass Gathering ◽  
Levels Of Evidence

Introduction The science of mass gatherings is a relatively new and developing field. It is currently at a stage where summarising the rigour of knowledge gained about the complex interrelationships between key characteristics of an event, spectator profiles and health implications are critical. This study seeks to summarise the levels of evidence in peer-reviewed journal articles concerning mass gathering public health and emergency medicine published 2001 to 2011. Until now, the evidence behind the science of mass gathering public health and emergency medicine has not been critically analysed. Methods Publications were reviewed by searching the following online databases: GALE, NLM, Web of Science, Elsevier, Wiley, BMJ Journals, OUP, IngentaConnect, RMIT, DOAJ and JSTOR. Published news articles and grey literature were omitted. The peer-reviewed articles were organised into pre-determined World Health Organisation categories and the levels of evidence were assessed using the effectiveness classifications developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Descriptive statistical analysis was then undertaken using Microsoft Excel®. Results Of all publications examined, 38·86% (n = 89) of the articles found in this review were categorised as observational studies, 36·68% (n = 84) were expert opinion or consensus, 20·09% (n = 46) were cohort studies, 2·18% (n = 5) were case-controlled studies and 2·18% (n = 5) were quasi-experimental studies. Conclusion High-level evidence studies may not be possible in the mass gathering context, but research in the middle-level should be encouraged to ensure that literature is less reliant on experience and expert opinion when applied to event management strategies which impact on public health and emergency medicine.

scholarly journals Opportunities for Mineral Carbonation in Australia’s Mining Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Azadi ◽  
Mansour Edraki ◽  
Faezeh Farhang ◽  
Jiwhan Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Mineral Carbonation ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Mine Site

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) via mineral carbonation is an effective method for long-term storage of carbon dioxide and combating climate change. Implemented at a large-scale, it provides a viable solution to harvesting and storing the modern crisis of GHGs emissions. To date, technological and economic barriers have inhibited broad-scale utilisation of mineral carbonation at industrial scales. This paper outlines the mineral carbonation process; discusses drivers and barriers of mineral carbonation deployment in Australian mining; and, finally, proposes a unique approach to commercially viable CCUS within the Australian mining industry by integrating mine waste management with mine site rehabilitation, and leveraging relationships with local coal-fired power station. This paper discusses using alkaline mine and coal-fired power station waste (fly ash, red mud, and ultramafic mine tailings, i.e., nickel, diamond, PGE (platinum group elements), and legacy asbestos mine tailings) as the feedstock for CCUS to produce environmentally benign materials, which can be used in mine reclamation. Geographical proximity of mining operations, mining waste storage facilities and coal-fired power stations in Australia are identified; and possible synergies between them are discussed. This paper demonstrates that large-scale alkaline waste production and mine site reclamation can become integrated to mechanise CCUS. Furthermore, financial liabilities associated with such waste management and site reclamation could overcome many of the current economic setbacks of retrofitting CCUS in the mining industry. An improved approach to commercially viable climate change mitigation strategies available to the mining industry is reviewed in this paper.

The impact of surviving bowel cancer on occupation: A scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 297-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Martin ◽  
Clare Hocking ◽  
Margaret Sandham
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Bowel Cancer ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Impact

Introduction The number of people surviving bowel cancer is increasing globally, with many of those affected living with long-term psychological and physical sequelae that potentially disrupt occupations. Method A scoping review – guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework – was conducted to provide an overview of what is known about the impact of having had bowel cancer on occupations, and to reveal the potential role of occupational therapy. A systematic search of four databases and a grey literature repository generated 244 results. Applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 items addressing bowel cancer and occupations were selected and thematically analysed. Results Researchers have identified six domains of occupation that are impacted by bowel cancer (social activity, physical activity, sexual activity, employment and role functioning, physical functioning, and self-care) but survivors report a distinct lack of health professional support after completion of medical treatment and being left to devise self-management strategies to accommodate the long-term effects of their cancer. Conclusion The sequelae of bowel cancer can have a significant impact on occupational participation. There is scope for increasing and improving occupational therapy input to assist people with cancer-related loss of function to re-engage in valued occupations and improve wellbeing.

Demographic, seed and microsite limitations to seedling recruitment in semi-arid mine site restoration

2019 ◽  
Vol 457 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Elizabeth Commander ◽  
Luis Merino-Martín ◽  
Carole P. Elliott ◽  
Ben P. Miller ◽  
Kingsley Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Mine Site ◽  
Site Restoration ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals A risk assessment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in swimming pools: a review

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Rice ◽  
Ben van den Akker ◽  
Francesco Pomati ◽  
David Roser
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Quantitative Risk Assessment ◽  
Swimming Pools ◽  
Critical Knowledge ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Significant Public Health

Despite routine monitoring and disinfection, treated swimming pools are frequently contaminated with the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can represent a significant public health threat. This review was undertaken to identify the current understanding of risk factors associated with pool operation with respect to P. aeruginosa. The ecology and factors that promote growth of P. aeruginosa in the pool environment are complex and dynamic and so we applied a systematic risk assessment approach to integrate existing data, with the aim to improve pool management and safety. Sources of P. aeruginosa, types of infections, dose responses, routes of transmission, as well as the efficacy of current disinfectant treatments were reviewed. This review also highlights the critical knowledge gaps that are required for a more robust, quantitative risk assessment of P. aeruginosa. Quantitative risk management strategies have been successfully applied to drinking water systems and should similarly be amenable to developing a better understanding of the risk posed by P. aeruginosa in swimming pools.

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