Habitat conditions in streams influence Odonata larval assemblages in the eastern Amazon

The growth of agricultural and mining activities in the Amazon has impacted land-use and caused significant changes in the local environmental conditions of streams. In the face of these changes, our study aimed at assessing how environmental changes affect Odonata larval assemblages in streams in the eastern Amazon. We hypothesized that habitat conditions in streams are strong predictors of Odonata larval assemblages. We sampled 30 headwater streams (1st through 3rd order) in the eastern Amazon. We corroborated our hypothesis that regional- and local-scale environmental changes are important predictors of the Odonata larval assemblage structure. These results indicate that environmental conditions within the stream channel are important to maintain Odonata larval assemblages, as they provide important resources for larval development. For new studies, we recommend the assessment of temporal dynamics to evaluate whether these patterns are stable across time. Finally, evaluating various environmental scales of the original impact is extremely relevant for preventing the deterioration of or recuperating aquatic assemblages in Amazonian streams, considering the ongoing rapid environmental changes and deforestation in the region. Here we demonstrate that in-stream environmental conditions are important to assemblage structure and this must be considered in environmental restoration plans.

Ecological Areas and Challenges of Urbanization

Ecological areas are the network of protected areas that contribute to the ecosystem's productivity and services. With increased human demands, towns and cities are blooming with changes in landuse patterns around their peripheral areas or in the immediate vicinity. Land intensification and disproportionate urbanization have inflicted various challenges such as qualitative and quantitative depletion of natural resources, ecosystem services, and degradation of environmental quality in and around ecological areas. The chapter will focus on the circumstantial elucidation of ecological areas, their recorded challenges caused by urbanization, and the need for their conservation in previous research studies. The authors explore reported challenges encompassing ecological areas by urbanization. This will help understand the various aspects of urban transformation, like physical, social, cultural, and economic change in and around the ecological areas, and develop measures and strategies for ecosystem conservation and environmental restoration in ecological areas.

Assembling Ultrafine SnO2 Nanoparticles on MIL-101(Cr) Octahedrons for Efficient Fuel Photocatalytic Denitrification

Effectively reducing the concentration of nitrogen-containing compounds (NCCs) remains a significant but challenging task in environmental restoration. In this work, a novel step-scheme (S-scheme) SnO2@MCr heterojunction was successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method. At this heterojunction, MIL-101(Cr) octahedrons are decorated with highly dispersed SnO2 quantum dots (QDs, approximate size 3 nm). The QDs are evenly wrapped around the MIL-101(Cr), forming an intriguing zero-dimensional/three-dimensional (0D/3D) S-scheme heterostructure. Under simulated sunlight irradiation (280 nm < λ < 980 nm), SnO2@MCr demonstrated superior photoactivity toward the denitrification of pyridine, a typical NCC. The adsorption capacity and adsorption site of SnO2@MCr were also investigated. Tests using 20%SnO2@MCr exhibited much higher activity than that of pure SnO2 and MIL-101(Cr); the reduction ratio of Cr(VI) is rapidly increased to 95% after sunlight irradiation for 4 h. The improvement in the photocatalytic activity is attributed to (i) the high dispersion of SnO2 QDs, (ii) the binding of the rich adsorption sites with pyridine molecules, and (iii) the formation of the S-scheme heterojunction between SnO2 and MIL-101(Cr). Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism of pyridine was elucidated, and the possible intermediate products and degradation pathways were discussed.

Environmental Restoration of Metal-Contaminated Soils

The growing industrialization of the last two centuries has improved life to a great extent in the countries where it occurred [...]

Proposals for an environmental and social just transition for the post-lignite era in Western Macedonia, Greece

This text formulates a set of coherent and realistic proposals for the after delignification period in Western Macedonia. The aim of these proposals is to avoid the economic decline and poverty of the Region. The first part, based on the literature and the best available practices, the proposals for the necessary environmental restoration of mine lands. Concerning the economic rehabilitation of the Region, a mix of actions referring to the whole production chain: from the primary to the tertiary sector of the economy, is proposed. The action that is expected to enhance the production potential of this region is the creation of branded products, under a single brand name, which will voluntarily bring together, in the context of synergies, the agri-food and manufacturing activities. Overall, it is estimated that the deadline set for de-lignification in 2023, is too early to start all those activities that will allow the economic transition of the Region, and to exclude the possibility of a massive wave of migration. For this reason, the extension of de-lignification, for a period of time within the European objectives to achieve the target of climate neutrality in 2050, are proposed.