Metal Distribution in Forested Ecosystems in Urban and Rural Northwestern Indiana

Wildfires in the Arctic tundra have become increasingly frequent in recent years and have important implications for tundra ecosystems and for the global carbon cycle. Lake sediment–based records are the primary means of understanding the climatic influences on tundra fires. Sedimentary charcoal has been used to infer climate-driven changes in tundra fire frequency but thus far cannot differentiate characteristics of the vegetation burnt during fire events. In forested ecosystems, charcoal morphologies have been used to distinguish changes in fuel type consumed by wildfires of the past; however, no such approach has been developed for tundra ecosystems. We show experimentally that charcoal morphologies can be used to differentiate graminoid (mean = 6.77; standard deviation (SD) = 0.23) and shrub (mean = 2.42; SD = 1.86) biomass burnt in tundra fire records. This study is a first step needed to construct more nuanced tundra wildfire histories and to understand how wildfire will impact the region as vegetation and fire change in the future.

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Lac Dufault sediment core trace metal distribution, bioavailability and toxicity to Hyalella azteca

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2005.05.023 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 139 (3) ◽

pp. 532-540 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Monica Nowierski ◽

D. George Dixon ◽

Uwe Borgmann

Keyword(s):

Trace Metal ◽

Sediment Core ◽

Hyalella Azteca ◽

Metal Distribution ◽

Trace Metal Distribution

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Using Landscape Change Analysis and Stakeholder Perspective to Identify Driving Forces of Human–Wildlife Interactions

Land ◽

10.3390/land10020146 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 146

Author(s):

Mihai Mustățea ◽

Ileana Pătru-Stupariu

Keyword(s):

Landscape Change ◽

Ursus Arctos ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Brown Bear ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Change Analysis ◽

Local Stakeholders ◽

Stakeholder Perspective ◽

Forested Ecosystems ◽

Forest Habitats

Human–wildlife interactions (HWI) were frequent in the post-socialist period in the mountain range of Central European countries where forest habitats suffered transitions into built-up areas. Such is the case of the Upper Prahova Valley from Romania. In our study, we hypothesized that the increasing number of HWI after 1990 could be a potential consequence of woodland loss. The goal of our study was to analyse the effects of landscape changes on HWI. The study consists of the next steps: (i) applying 450 questionnaires to local stakeholders (both citizens and tourists) in order to collect data regarding HWI temporal occurrences and potential triggering factors; (ii) investigating the relation between the two variables through the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA); (iii) modelling the landscape spatial changes between 1990 and 2018 for identifying areas with forest loss; (iv) overlapping the distribution of both the households affected by HWI and areas with loss of forested ecosystems. The local stakeholders indicate that the problematic species are the brown bear (Ursus arctos), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the grey wolf (Canis lupus). The number of animal–human interactions recorded an upward trend between 1990 and 2018, and the most significant driving factors were the regulation of hunting practices, the loss of habitats, and artificial feeding. The landscape change analysis reveals that between 1990 and 2018, the forest habitats were replaced by built-up areas primarily on the outskirts of settlements, these areas coinciding with frequent HWI. The results are valid for both forest ecosystems conservation in the region, wildlife management, and human infrastructures durable spatial planning.

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Linking Bi-Metal Distribution Patterns in Porous Carbon Nitride Fullerene to Its Catalytic Activity toward Gas Adsorption

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11071794 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1794

Author(s):

Parisa Nematollahi ◽

Erik C. Neyts

Keyword(s):

Catalytic Activity ◽

Carbon Nitride ◽

Gas Adsorption ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Catalyst Design ◽

Metal Distribution ◽

Binary Complex ◽

Metal Atoms ◽

Metal Composition ◽

Single Transition

Immobilization of two single transition metal (TM) atoms on a substrate host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst design. If the substrate contains more than one vacancy site, the combination of TMs along with their distribution patterns becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to the substrate itself and the bi-metal composition. By means of DFT calculations, we modeled three dissimilar bi-metal atoms (Ti, Mn, and Cu) doped into the six porphyrin-like cavities of porous C24N24 fullerene, considering different bi-metal distribution patterns for each binary complex, viz. TixCuz@C24N24, TixMny@C24N24, and MnyCuz@C24N24 (with x, y, z = 0–6). We elucidate whether controlling the distribution of bi-metal atoms into the C24N24 cavities can alter their catalytic activity toward CO2, NO2, H2, and N2 gas capture. Interestingly, Ti2Mn4@C24N24 and Ti2Cu4@C24N24 complexes showed the highest activity and selectively toward gas capture. Our findings provide useful information for further design of novel few-atom carbon-nitride-based catalysts.

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Influence of ponds on hazardous metal distribution in sediments at a catchment scale (agricultural critical zone, S-W France)

Journal of Hazardous Materials ◽

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125077 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 125077

Author(s):

X. WU ◽

A. PROBST

Keyword(s):

Critical Zone ◽

Metal Distribution ◽

Catchment Scale ◽

Hazardous Metal

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Prediction of Trace Metal Distribution in a Tailings Impoundment Using an Integrated Geophysical and Geochemical Approach (Raibl Mine, Pb-Zn Alpine District, Northern Italy)

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18031157 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 1157

Author(s):

Nicolò Barago ◽

Stefano Covelli ◽

Mara Mauri ◽

Sara Oberti di Valnera ◽

Emanuele Forte

Keyword(s):

Electrical Resistivity ◽

Metal Distribution ◽

Tailings Impoundment ◽

Secondary Recovery ◽

Chemical Content ◽

Bulk Chemical ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Ground Penetrating ◽

Tailings Ponds ◽

Geochemical Approach

When mines are decommissioned, tailings piles can act as sources of contamination for decades or even centuries. Tailings, which usually contain high concentrations of metals and trace elements, can be reprocessed for a secondary recovery of valuable elements with an innovative approach to a circular economy. This study offers new results for tailings ponds characterisation and chemical content prediction based on an integrated geophysical-geochemical approach. The study of the Raibl Pb-Zn tailings impoundment was done using bulk chemical analysis on borehole samples, Electrical Resistivity Tomography surveys, and Ground Penetrating Radar measurements. We found valuable and statistically significant correlations between the electrical resistivity of the mining impoundments and the metal distribution, thus providing a practical opportunity to characterise large volumes of metal-bearing tailings. In particular, these results can be useful to aid in the development of environmental monitoring programs for remediation purposes or to implement economic secondary recovery plans.

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