scholarly journals The problem of assessing the viability of invasive species in the conditions of the steppe zone of Ukraine

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. K. Holoborodko ◽  
O. M. Marenkov ◽  
V. A. Gorban ◽  
Y. S. Voronkova

This article proposes a completely new method of resolving the pressing global environmental problem of assessing the capacity of invasive organisms to adapt to new environmental conditions. A new three-step approach to the evaluation of vital and ecological functions of invasive species is recommended. In addition to classic species and population surveys, it was proposed to apply a stress-resistance biochemical assessment of invasive species. Stress resistance can be regarded as the main response of living organisms to changes in continuous environmental components. The obtained results will provide an opportunity to give a qualitative prognisis of what adaptive capacity an invasive species has,what precise ecological functions and for what time period it can perform in a new ecosystem.

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 11004
Author(s):  
Galina Semenova

Air pollution is an environmental problem that is familiar to residents of absolutely all corners of the earth. It is especially acutely felt by residents of cities where enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, chemical, petrochemical, construction, pulp and paper industries operate. In some cities, the atmosphere is also severely poisoned by vehicles and boiler houses. These are all examples of anthropogenic air pollution. The subject of the study is the emissions of carbon dioxide into the environment. The purpose of the study is to solve the problem of environmental pollution by harmful substances and preserve the ecology in the world. Methodology. The main indicators characterizing the impact on the environment - CO2 emissions in the global energy sector - have been systematized; two indicators have been identified that determine the level of atmospheric pollution. Results - the scale of the influence of atmospheric air pollution on human health and the entire ecosystem as a whole was revealed.


Author(s):  
I. A. Ivanko ◽  
A. F. Kulik

Nowadays, deterioration and loss of ecological functions of urban tree and shrub plantations take place in Europe and, in particular, in Ukraine; it was noted that their number is insufficient to counteract the negative impact of global climate change and protect the population against industrial pollution effects. The issue of resistance of native and adventitious tree species used in the plantations of industrial cities remains relevant; it necessitates the assessment of physiological and biochemical aspects of their adaptation to extreme environmental factors, such as moisture limit in the steppe zone, periodic dangerously low winter temperatures and anthropo-technogenic load (in large urban agglomerations). In order to optimize the assortment of tree species of large megalopolises of the steppe zone of Ukraine and determine their potential resistance to anthropogenic pressures the study was conducted in conditionally clean forest biogeocenoses of the Samara River levee zone and in artificial plantations on the territories located in the coastal zone of the Dnipro River within 1500 m from the Prydneprovskaya thermal electric station (PTES, Dnipro city). It well known that the TPP is the source of atmospheric air pollution by such heavy metals as lead and cadmium. A study of the activity of antioxidant protection enzymes in leaves of native and adventive tree species showed that in the zone of Prydneprovskaya TES impact there was an increase of guaiacol peroxidase activity in Acer platanoides, Ulmus minor, Morus alba; benzidine peroxidase in Acer negundo, Ulmus laevis, Acer platanoides; catalase in A. platanoides, A. negundo, U. laevis, Ulmus pumila and Robinia pseudoasasia. High peroxidase activity, which is complemented by higher catalase activity, indicates the relative resistance of these species to atropo-technogenic pressures supported by antioxidant defense mechanisms. Total chlorophyll content (Chla + Chlb) in leaves of native species Ulmus laevis, Acer platanoides and adventive Morus alba decreased in the zone of TPP impact in relation to conditionally clean areas. The ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b in contaminated areas significantly increased in leaves of native species Ulmus laevis, Ulmus minor, Acer platanoides compared with control. The invasive species Acer negundo, Morus alba, Ulmus pumila had no significant changes in this indicator. In invasive species such as Ulmus pumila, Acer negundo there was an increase in leaf mass, which may indicate adaptation of these species to anthropogenically altered growth conditions.


BioResources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 7309-7312
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Huayu Liu ◽  
Kun Liu ◽  
Haishun Du ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
...  

As a global environmental problem, plastic pollution has attracted worldwide attention. Plastic wastes not only disrupt ecosystems and biodiversity, but they also threaten human life and health. Countries around the world have enacted regulations in recent years to limit the use of plastics. Paper products have been proposed as promising substitutes for plastics, which undoubtedly brings unprecedented opportunities to the pulp and paper industry. However, paper products have some deficiencies in replacing certain plastic products. Research and development to improve paper properties and reduce production costs is needed to meet such challenges.


Environments ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Alfredo Ricardo Zárate Valencia ◽  
Maximino Reyes Umaña ◽  
Hilda Janet Arellano Wences ◽  
Antonio Alfonso Rodríguez Rosales ◽  
Columba Rodríguez Alviso ◽  
...  

Air pollution is a global environmental problem that affects the population. This work demonstrates the perception of air quality by the population of the urban area of the municipality of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. To meet the objective, a survey of 36 questions was applied to a sample of 382 people living in the main crossing points of vehicles, where there is more traffic and more severe pollutant concentration problems. We decided to apply the grouping method within a radius of 500 m around the selected intersections, where 95% of the respondents are aware that the air they breathe has a certain degree of contamination.


2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Zolper ◽  
Aaron R. Cupp ◽  
David L. Smith

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) have spread throughout the United States via major rivers and tributaries. Locks and dams positioned along affected waterways, specifically lock chambers, are being evaluated as potential management sites to prevent further expansion into new areas. Recent research has shown that infusion of chemicals (e.g., carbon dioxide) into water can block or kill several invasive organisms and could be a viable option at navigational structures such as lock chambers because chemical infusion would not interfere with vessel passage or lock operation. Chemical treatments near lock structures will require large-scale fluid-mechanic systems and significant energy. Mixing must extend to all stagnation regions within a lock structure to prevent the passage of an invasive fish. This work describes the performance of both wall- and floor-based CO2-infused-water to water injection manifolds targeted for lock structures in terms of mixing time, mixing homogeneity, injection efficiency, and operational power requirements. Both systems have strengths and weaknesses so selection recommendations are given for applications such as open systems and closed systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (47) ◽  
pp. 12507-12511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cang Hui ◽  
Gordon A. Fox ◽  
Jessica Gurevitch

Population demography is central to fundamental ecology and for predicting range shifts, decline of threatened species, and spread of invasive organisms. There is a mismatch between most demographic work, carried out on few populations and at local scales, and the need to predict dynamics at landscape and regional scales. Inspired by concepts from landscape ecology and Markowitz’s portfolio theory, we develop a landscape portfolio platform to quantify and predict the behavior of multiple populations, scaling up the expectation and variance of the dynamics of an ensemble of populations. We illustrate this framework using a 35-y time series on gypsy moth populations. We demonstrate the demography accumulation curve in which the collective growth of the ensemble depends on the number of local populations included, highlighting a minimum but adequate number of populations for both regional-scale persistence and cross-scale inference. The attainable set of landscape portfolios further suggests tools for regional population management for both threatened and invasive species.


Oryx ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
Russell A. Mittermeier ◽  
Ian A. Bowles

Biodiversity – a measure of the wealth of species, ecosystems and ecological processes that make up our living planet –received public prominence as a result of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The loss of biodiversity, say the authors, is the greatest environmental problem the world faces but the issue has not been given the attention it deserves. With the emergence of the Global Environmental Facility in 1990 came the chance to fund biodiversity conservation on a unprecedented scale and in 1992 the GEF was adopted as the interim funding mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity signed at the Earth Summit. Three years after its foundation, the authors of this paper suggest that the GEF has to be reformed radically if it is to become an effective force in conservation. Their conclusions are based on Conservation International's experience with the GEF over the last 3 years in more than 10 countries.


Author(s):  
Maria Balazova ◽  
Dana Blahutova ◽  
Terezia Valaskova

Biological invasions are recognised as a potentially major threat to biodiversity and may have considerable economic and social effects. Public, including pupils, attitudes may have large implications for invasive species management in terms of prevention, early warning and eradication success, but significant is the relations between the lay public’s visions of nature, their knowledge about non-native species and their perceptions of invasive species management. The more direct experience people have with the impact of invasive species, the more likely they will be able to understand the potential benefits of management programmes. The aim of our work was to prepare educational materials about invasive organisms for elementary schools. Some of them were subsequently applied directly in practice as part of an excursion in a schoolyard in west Slovakia, where up to six species of invasive plants were identified in the close proximity to the school. Keywords: Biological invasions, prevention, education, excursion.


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