scholarly journals ACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN THE LEAVES OF SORBUS AUCUPARIA L. IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT (ON THE EXAMPIE OF ORENBURG)

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
D. G. Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Biological Indicator ◽  
Sorbus Aucuparia ◽  
Toxic Heavy Metals ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Heavy Metals Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Intervention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

In urban areas, trees play an essential role to cleanse the airborne toxic pollution in the environment. The species Sorbus aucuparia L. was studied as a biological indicator of toxic heavy metals pollution in the city of Orenburg, Russia. The impact of airborne pollution was assessed by the evaluation of morphometric parameters and the chemical analysis of leaves. The rowan leaves were collected in Orenburg in areas exposed to anthropogenic intervention of various degree. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn and Fe in leaf samples were compared. It was found that the concentration of heavy metals in plants growing in the city is higher than in the control samples and decreases in the order Cd ˃ Cu ˃ Pb ˃ Zn ˃ Fe. The biological monitoring can be used to study environmental pollution as an environmentally sustainable tool for environmental management in urban areas.

scholarly journals Mineral and Trace Element Analysis of Australian/Queensland Apis mellifera Honey

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6304
Author(s):  
Natasha L. Hungerford ◽  
Ujang Tinggi ◽  
Benjamin L. L. Tan ◽  
Madeleine Farrell ◽  
Mary T. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Trace Elements ◽  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Trace Element Analysis ◽  
Toxic Heavy Metals ◽  
Floral Nectar ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Minerals And Trace Elements

Honey is an extensively utilized sweetener containing sugars and water, together with small quantities of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and proteins. Naturally produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera) from floral nectar, honey is increasingly sold as a health food product due to its nutritious features. Certain honeys are retailed as premium, trendy products. Honeybees are regarded as environmental monitors, but few reports examine the impact of environment on Australian honey trace elements and minerals. In higher density urban and industrial environments, heavy metals can be common, while minerals and trace elements can have ubiquitous presence in both agricultural and urban areas. Honey hives are traditionally placed in rural and forested areas, but increasingly the trend is to keep hives in more urban areas. This study aimed to determine the levels of 26 minerals and trace elements and assess elemental differences between honeys from various regional Queensland and Australian sources. Honey samples (n = 212) were acquired from markets, shops and supermarkets in Queensland while urban honeys were purchased online. The honey samples were classified into four groups according to their regional sources: urban, rural, peri-urban and blend honey. Elemental analyses of honey were performed using ICP-MS and ICP-OES after microwave and hot block digestion. Considerable variations of essential trace elements (Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo and Zn) and mineral levels (Ca, K, Mg, Na and P) were found in honeys surveyed. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between urban and rural honey samples for B, Na, P, Mn, K, Ca and Cu. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were also found between blend and urban honey samples for K, Cu, P, Mn, Sr, Ni, B and Na. Peri-urban versus urban honeys showed significant differences in P, K and Mn. For rural and peri-urban honeys, the only significant difference (p < 0.05) was for Na. Toxic heavy metals were detected at relatively low levels in honey products. The study revealed that the Queensland/Australian honey studied is a good source of K and Zn and would constitute a good nutritional source of these elements.

scholarly journals The impact on urban accessibility conditions of a proposed cableway line in the city of Manizales, Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (51) ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Jorge Alberto Montoya ◽  
Juan Camilo Aguilera ◽  
Diego Alexander Escobar
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Public Transport System ◽  
Average Travel Time ◽  
Urban Accessibility ◽  
Business District ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Abstract Due to the increased tendency to use private transport in urban areas of Manizales and Villamaría municipalities, it is intended to include alternative modes of transport that are more time-efficient and environmentally sustainable to improve the inhabitants’ quality of life. This article aims to analyse the inclusion impact of a sustainable public transport system, such as a new cableway line in the city connecting the Central Business District (CBD) with Ciudadela del Norte district, measuring overall average accessibility for the current and future scenario. This establishes the average travel time and the savings in terms of time shown as a percentage that these modes of transport would create in the population displacement and also which inhabitants are the most likely to benefit.

Urbanization of fauna on the example of marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 116-123
Author(s):  
A. P. Korzh ◽  
T. V. Zahovalko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Corrective Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Recently, the number of published works devoted to the processes of synanthropization of fauna, is growing like an avalanche, which indicates the extreme urgency of this theme. In our view, the process of forming devices to coexist with human and the results of his life reflects the general tandency of the modern nature evolution. Urbanization is characteristic for such a specific group of animals like amphibians, the evidence of which are numerous literature data. Many researchers use this group to assess the bioindicative quality of the environment. For this aim a variety of indicators are used: from the cellular level of life of organization up to the species composition of the group in different territories. At the same time, the interpretation of the results is not always comparable for different areas and often have significantly different interpretations by experts. Urban environment, primarily due to the contamination is extremely aggressive to amphibians. As a consequence, the urban populations of amphibians may be a change in the demographic structure, affecting the reproductive ability of the population, the disappearance of the most sensitive species or individuals, resizing animals, the appearance of abnormalities in the development, etc. At the same time play an important amphibians in the ecosystems of cities, and some species in these conditions even feel relatively comfortable. Therefore, it is interesting to understand the mechanisms of self-sustaining populations of amphibians in urban environments. To assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the development of amphibian populations were used cognitive modeling using the program Vensim PLE. Cognitive map of the model for urban and suburban habitat conditions were the same. The differences concerned the strength of connections between individual factors (migration, fertility, pollution) and their orientation. In general, factors like pollution, parasites, predators had negative impact on the population, reducing its number. The birth rate, food and migration contributed to raising number of individuals. Some of the factors affected on the strength to of each other as well: the majority of the factors affected the structure of the population, had an influence on the fertility. Thanks to it the model reflects the additive effect of complex of factors on the subsequent status of the population. Proposed and analyzed four scenarios differing strength and duration of exposure. In the first scenario, a one-time contamination occurs and not subsequently repeated. The second and third scenario assumes half board contamination, 1 year (2 scenario) and two years (scenario 3). In the fourth scenario, the pollution affected the population of amphibians constantly. In accordance with the results of simulation, much weaker than the natural populations respond to pollution - have them as an intensive population growth and its disappearance at constant pollution is slow. Changes to other parameters of the model showed that this pollution is the decisive factor -only the constant action leads to a lethal outcome for the populations. All other components of the model have a corrective effect on the population dynamics, without changing its underlying trand. In urban areas due to the heavy impact of pollution maintaining the population is only possible thanks to the migration process – the constant replenishment of diminishing micropopulations of natural reserves. This confirms the assumption that the form of existence metapopulations lake frog in the city. In order to maintain the number of amphibians in urban areas at a high level it is necessary to maintain existing migration routes and the creation of new ones. Insular nature of the placement of suitable habitats in urban areas causes the metapopulation structure of the types of urbanists. Therefore, the process of urbanization is much easier for those species whicht are capable of migration in conditions of city. In the initial stages of settling the city micropopulationis formed by selective mortality of the most susceptible individuals to adverse effects. In future, maintaining the categories of individuals is provided mainly due to migration processes metapopulisation form of the species of existence is supported). It should be noted that the changes in the previous levels are always saved in future. In the case of reorganizations of individuals we of morphology can assume the existence of extremely adverse environmental conditions that threaten the extinction of the micropopulations. 

The impact of urban effluents on the coastal marine environment of Mediterranean islands

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O. Angelidis
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Suspended Particle ◽  
Pollution Source ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Coastal Marine Environment ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The impact of the urban effluents of Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece) on the receiving coastal marine environment, was evaluated by studying the quality of the city effluents (BOD5, COD, SS, heavy metals) and the marine sediments (grain size, organic matter, heavy metals). It was found that the urban effluents of Mytilene contain high organic matter and suspended particle load because of septage discharge into the sewerage network. Furthermore, although the city does not host important industrial activity, its effluents contain appreciable metal load, which is mainly associated with the particulate phase. The city effluents are discharged into the coastal marine environment and their colloidal and particulate matter after flocculation settles to the bottom, where is incorporated into the sediments. Over the years, the accumulation of organic matter and metals into the harbour mud has created a non-point pollution source in the relatively non-polluted coastal marine environment of the island. Copper and Zn were the metals which presented the higher enrichment in the sediments of the inner harbour of Mytilene.

scholarly journals Nitrogen Mass Balance and Pressure Impact Model Applied to an Urban Aquifer

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitja Janža ◽  
Joerg Prestor ◽  
Simona Pestotnik ◽  
Brigita Jamnik
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Nitrate Concentration ◽  
Impact Model ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Pressure Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The assurance of drinking water supply is one of the biggest emerging global challenges, especially in urban areas. In this respect, groundwater and its management in the urban environment are gaining importance. This paper presents the modeling of nitrogen load from the leaky sewer system and from agriculture and the impact of this pressure on the groundwater quality (nitrate concentration) in the urban aquifer located beneath the City of Ljubljana. The estimated total nitrogen load in the model area of 58 km2 is 334 ton/year, 38% arising from the leaky sewer system and 62% from agriculture. This load was used as input into the groundwater solute transport model to simulate the distribution of nitrate concentration in the aquifer. The modeled nitrate concentrations at the observation locations were found to be on average slightly lower (2.7 mg/L) than observed, and in general reflected the observed contamination pattern. The ability of the presented model to relate and quantify the impact of pressures from different contamination sources on groundwater quality can be beneficially used for the planning and optimization of groundwater management measures for the improvement of groundwater quality.

Can management improve the lawn’s functioning in the conditions of multiple anthropogenic stressors?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Gavrichkova ◽  
Dario Liberati ◽  
Viktoriya Varyushkina ◽  
Kristina Ivashchenko ◽  
Paolo De Angelis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Heterotrophic Respiration ◽  
Sand Mixture ◽  
Anthropogenic Stressors ◽  
Unplanted Soil ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Release of heavy metals, salts and other toxic agents in the environment is of increasing concern in urban areas. Contaminants not solely decline the quality of the local environment and affect the health of human population and urban ecosystems but are also spread through runoff and leaching into non-contaminated areas. Urban lawns are the most distributed green infrastructure in the cities. Management of lawn system may either exacerbate the negative effects of contaminants on lawn functioning either help to withstand the toxic effects and maintain the lawn ecosystem health and the efficient release of ecosystem services. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The aim of this study was to evaluate the interactions between the lawn management, the lawn functioning, and the release into the soil of typical urban contaminants. For this purpose, &lt;em&gt;Festuca arundinacea&lt;/em&gt; grass was planted in a turf-sand mixture with and without amendment addition (zeolite + vermicompost). To reproduce the impact of traffic-related contaminants in proximity of the road, pots were treated with a solution containing de-icing salt (NaCl) and 6 heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni), imitating road runoff solution. After contamination, half of pots was maintained at optimum soil water content (Smart irrigation), another half was left to periodical drying in order to simulate conditions with discontinuous watering (Periodical irrigation). The same experimental scheme was reproduced for unplanted soil. CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; net ecosystem exchange (NEE), soil and ecosystem respiration as well as flux from unplanted soil (heterotrophic respiration) were measured shortly after the treatment (short-term) and up 3 months since the treatment start (long-term).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Soil amendment stimulated plant productivity and increased the efficiency of the system in C uptake (+56% NEE). A relevant reduction of NEE was observed from 14 to 40 days after the application of traffic-related contaminants in both amended and non amended pots. During this period the contaminants had the greatest impact on lawn NEE subjected to Periodic irrigation (-49% and -66% in amended and non amended pots, respectively), while lawn under Smart irrigation was less affected (-35% and -26% in amended and non amended pots, respectively). Different respiration sources (ecosystem respiration, soil respiration, heterotrophic respiration) were characterized by different sensitivity to management and contamination. Heterotrophic flux was not sensitive to soil amending but declined with contamination with enhanced negative effect under Smart irrigation. Response of ecosystem respiration to contamination was less pronounced in confront to soil respiration suggesting leaf-level buffering.&amp;#160; &amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Three months later,&amp;#160; the effect of contaminants on lawn gas exchange ceased for all treated pots. Instead, the irrigation effect persisted depending on whether pots were amended or not. In non amended pots NEE was reduced by 18% under Periodic irrigation, while this effect was not present in amended pots. We conclude, that performance of such green infrastructure as lawns in terms of C sequestration under multiple anthropogenic stressors could be efficiently improved through soil amending and irrigation control.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Current research was financially supported by RFBR No. 19-29-05187 and RSF No. 19-77-30012.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Building The Tree Inventory Application for City of East Jakarta

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bambang Sulistyantara ◽  
Imawan W. Hidayat ◽  
A. Nasirudin Taher ◽  
Hendrawan
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Fundamental Function ◽  
Tree Inventory ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Trees are essential elements of an urban space. The presence of trees in urban areas is not only appreciated as physical attribute, but beyond this, it serves a fundamental function in balancing and conserving urban ecosystem. Especially in tropical countries like Indonesia which receive high levels of solar radiation, trees contribute to the protection of urban areas from the impact of excessive micro-climatic conditions. But, the presence of trees sometimes resulted in the accidents for the residences because of broken branches and human injuries. This situation leads the city to prepare a tree inventory system, which is beneficial in giving the information about tree conditions and thus the information that would be useful for tree maintenance activities. The tree inventory on application for the city of East Jakarta was built for this purpose, comprising a tree inventory and easy access to the database. The application connects the database source with the GIS map, so that the users could retrieve information for each kind of data.

scholarly journals Sustainable Site System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorden J. S. Lefler
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Site Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

This thesis discusses a method of analysing the input of interventions in a building's site design, all of which affect the heat island effect, bio-diversity and hydrology of urban areas. Existing standards from Toronto, Vancouver and Berlin have been researched and analysed. This paper presents an evolution of a method called biotope area factor used in Berlin, Germany. A synthesis of the approach of all three systems was considered and distilled into the key points which were then incorporated into the proposed method. In addition to the impact of an individual building, it also includes the impact from the adjacent street area. The final components of this thesis are the application of the method developed to an urban area in the city of Toronto and results showing the impacts on architectural design from site rating systems.

scholarly journals Incidence of Photovoltaics in Cities Based on Indicators of Occupancy and Urban Sustainability

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Barragán-Escandón ◽  
Esteban Zalamea-León ◽  
Julio Terrados-Cepeda
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Urban Energy ◽  
Urban Level ◽  
Energy Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Previous research has assessed the potential of solar energy against possible demand; however, the sustainability issues associated with the use of large-scale photovoltaic deployment in urban areas have not been jointly established. In this paper, the impact of photovoltaic energy in the total urban energy mix is estimated using a series of indicators that consider the economic, environmental and social dimensions. These indicators have been previously applied at the country level; the main contribution of this research is applying them at the urban level to the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca is close to the equatorial line and at a high altitude, enabling this area to reach the maximum self-supply index because of the high irradiation levels and reduced demand. The solar potential was estimated using a simple methodology that applies several indexes that were proven reliable in a local context considering this particular sun path. The results demonstrate that the solar potential can meet the electric power demand of this city, and only the indicator related to employment is positive and substantially affected. The indicators related to the price of energy, emissions and fossil fuel dependency do not change significantly, unless a fuel-to-electricity transport system conversions take place.

scholarly journals Small cities face greater impact from automation

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (139) ◽  
pp. 20170946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan R. Frank ◽  
Lijun Sun ◽  
Manuel Cebrian ◽  
Hyejin Youn ◽  
Iyad Rahwan
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Worker Displacement ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Job Content ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City ◽  
Technical Professions

The city has proved to be the most successful form of human agglomeration and provides wide employment opportunities for its dwellers. As advances in robotics and artificial intelligence revive concerns about the impact of automation on jobs, a question looms: how will automation affect employment in cities? Here, we provide a comparative picture of the impact of automation across US urban areas. Small cities will undertake greater adjustments, such as worker displacement and job content substitutions. We demonstrate that large cities exhibit increased occupational and skill specialization due to increased abundance of managerial and technical professions. These occupations are not easily automatable, and, thus, reduce the potential impact of automation in large cities. Our results pass several robustness checks including potential errors in the estimation of occupational automation and subsampling of occupations. Our study provides the first empirical law connecting two societal forces: urban agglomeration and automation's impact on employment.

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