ORGANIZATION OF MONITORING STUDIES ON THE FORESTS CONDITIONS IN THE LAPLAND NATURE RESERVE

The article presents the history of monitoring studies of northern taiga in the Lapland Nature Reserve. It is shown that the data on the characteristics of various components of forest biogeocenoses obtained through long- term monitoring are relevant and are not inferior to the European level of research. The results of long-term monitoring revealed the negative impact of atmospheric emissions from the Severonikel metallurgical smelter on the spruce and pine forests of the Reserve. To continue studying the responses of forest ecosystems to industrial air pollution, it is necessary to support stationary monitoring studies in specially protected natural areas.

TREE LITTER PRODUCTION AND DECOMPOSITION IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS UNDER BACKGROUND CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION

The paper provides an overview of Russian and foreign articles devoted to the study of the tree litter production and decomposition in forest ecosystems subjected to natural and anthropogenic factors. The spatial variability (below crown and between crown spaces) and the seasonal features of the tree litter production, its chemical composition and decomposition processes are poorly studied. In addition, most of the works, both in native and foreign countries science, highlight the influence of natural factors on the litter production and the processes of its decomposition, while the impact of point sources of industrial air pollution is rarely considered. The study of the variability of the size, fractional and chemical composition and processes of decomposition of tree litter under conditions of industrial air pollution is important for predicting the dynamics of forest ecosystems subjected to the combined action of natural and anthropogenic factors and reducing the negative impact of production processes on forests.

The Strong Position of Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) in Fertile Variants of Beech and Oak-Hornbeam Forests in the Light of Studies Conducted in the Sudetes

Silver fir is one of the longest living and tallest trees in Europe, it has major commercial importance and may be found in various communities predominantly connected with lower mountainous locations in Central Europe. One of the northernmost ranges in the region is the Sudetes. Currently, the once numerous fir is greatly dispersed, with just several specimens to be found together at one site on average. This drastic reduction in the number of specimens is mainly attributable to intensive forest management, based on the artificial cultivation of fir, conducted in the 19th and 20th centuries, and high industrial air pollution (mainly in the 20th c.). Because practically no firs have been cultivated for the last 200 years, the remaining sites of the species that are remnants of its bigger populations should be regarded as natural. This paper compares fir locations with areas of potential natural vegetation. The obtained results indicate that firs may grow in various types of habitats, with the preferred one being fertile beech woods and richer variants of oak-hornbeam forests. In our opinion, the presented findings are of great importance for the knowledge of the ecology of the species in question and for providing appropriate forest management.

The Environmental Effects of International Trade in China: Measuring the Mediating Effects of Technology Spillovers of Import Trade on Industrial Air Pollution

China is in a strategic phase of an industrial green transformation. Industrial air pollution is a key environmental target for governance. Because import trade is a core channel through which advanced environmental protection technology is absorbed, the question of whether technology spillovers brought about by import trade can reduce industrial air pollution emissions is a topic worth exploring. This paper uses a generalized spatial two-stage least-square (GS2SLS) model to explore the impact of import trade technology spillovers on industrial air pollution emission intensities using panel data from 30 provinces and cities between 2000 and 2017. Economic scale, industrial structure, and technological innovation are used as intermediary variables to test whether they play mediating effects. The results show that: (1) capital and intermediate goods technology spillovers directly reduce industrial air pollution emission intensity and (2) import trade technology spillovers indirectly reduce emission intensities by expanding economic scale, optimizing industrial structure, and enhancing technological innovation through mediating variables. Furthermore, industrial structure optimization and technological innovation have the largest mediating effects on industrial SO2, while economic expansion has the most significant mediating effect on industrial smoke and dust. The mediating effects of technology spillovers from intermediate goods exceed those of capital technology spillovers. Finally, industrial air pollution emission intensity demonstrates both spatial agglomeration and time lag effects. Environmental regulations and energy structure are shown to increase industrial air pollution emissions, while urbanization and foreign direct investment reduce industrial air pollution. Based upon these research results, some pertinent policy implications are proposed for China.

Spatial Relationships Between Socio-Economic Status And Sources of Hazardous Air Pollution in the City of Toronto, Canada

This research paper identifies and characterizes areas in the City of Toronto that may be impacted by facilities that emit air pollutants. The impacted areas were isolated using a combination of K-Means cluster analysis and kernel density estimation to determine whether disparity in socio-economic status can be correlated with the location of these facilities. Dissemination Area (DA) level data from the 2006 Canadian Census were evaluated against pollution data provided by Environment Canada’s 2006 National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) database. A total of 67 socio-economic variables from the 2006 Statistics Canada census were analysed. The City of Toronto’s 3,577 DAs were assigned to one of two cluster groups: Underprivileged Areas, or Areas of Affluence. The DAs represented by the two cluster groups were then analyzed alongside the NPRI pollution data, which had been developed into generalized concentration ranges using a 5km search radius. Although the Areas of Affluence cluster contains 15% more facilities (141) than the Underprivileged Areas (104), the latter are generally impacted by higher concentrations of a more diverse range of pollution. For example, a larger percent of Toronto residents living in Underprivileged Areas are exposed to the highest concentrations of total emissions, heavy metals, miscellaneous compounds, and non-carcinogenic emissions when compared to the population of DAs designated as Areas of Affluence. Conversely, a larger percent of residents living in Areas of Affluence are generally exposed to the highest concentrations of volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic emissions. The findings suggest an environmental justice concern, with respect to industrial air pollution within the City of Toronto.

Spatial Relationships Between Socio-Economic Status And Sources of Hazardous Air Pollution in the City of Toronto, Canada

This research paper identifies and characterizes areas in the City of Toronto that may be impacted by facilities that emit air pollutants. The impacted areas were isolated using a combination of K-Means cluster analysis and kernel density estimation to determine whether disparity in socio-economic status can be correlated with the location of these facilities. Dissemination Area (DA) level data from the 2006 Canadian Census were evaluated against pollution data provided by Environment Canada’s 2006 National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) database. A total of 67 socio-economic variables from the 2006 Statistics Canada census were analysed. The City of Toronto’s 3,577 DAs were assigned to one of two cluster groups: Underprivileged Areas, or Areas of Affluence. The DAs represented by the two cluster groups were then analyzed alongside the NPRI pollution data, which had been developed into generalized concentration ranges using a 5km search radius. Although the Areas of Affluence cluster contains 15% more facilities (141) than the Underprivileged Areas (104), the latter are generally impacted by higher concentrations of a more diverse range of pollution. For example, a larger percent of Toronto residents living in Underprivileged Areas are exposed to the highest concentrations of total emissions, heavy metals, miscellaneous compounds, and non-carcinogenic emissions when compared to the population of DAs designated as Areas of Affluence. Conversely, a larger percent of residents living in Areas of Affluence are generally exposed to the highest concentrations of volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic emissions. The findings suggest an environmental justice concern, with respect to industrial air pollution within the City of Toronto.

Impact of Industrial Air Pollution on Agricultural Production

This paper aimed to study how industrial air pollution impacts crop yield by investigating the relationship between output and changes in factors. A translog production function was estimated in the context of stochastic frontier analysis using data collected from a field survey in the case of corn. The interaction between the factors as well as the impact of industrial air pollution on the relationship between factors was analyzed using numerical simulation, followed by the estimation of economic losses of corn yield in the polluted area. Results show that industrial air pollution causes a decrease in crop yield for two reasons. First, industrial air pollution changes the output elasticities of production factors and reduces its absolute amount. Second, industrial air pollution causes the relationship between labor and capital, labor and chemicals, capital and seeds to change from substitutable to complementary; it also resulted in an opposite result for the relationship between capital and chemicals. The paper presents a new explanation of how industrial air pollution affects agricultural production from an economic perspective.

Associations between Exposure to Industrial Air Pollution and Prevalence of Asthma and Atopic Diseases in Haifa Bay Area

Haifa Bay Area (HBA) contains Israel’s principal industrial area, and there are substantial public concerns about health effects from its emissions. We aimed to examine associations between exposure to air pollution from HBA industrial area with prevalent asthma and other atopic diseases at age 17. This is a cross-sectional study. The study population included all adolescents born in Israel and whose medical status was evaluated for mandatory military recruitment by the Israeli medical corps during 1967–2017. We analyzed prevalent asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and rhinoconjunctivitis. We estimated exposure to industrial air pollution by a kriging interpolation of historical SO2 observations and adjusted the associations to the year of birth, SES, school orientation, and traffic pollution. The study population included n = 2,523,745 adolescents, among which 5.9% had prevalent asthma and 4.6% had allergic rhinitis. Residency in HBA was associated with a higher adjusted risk of asthma, compared with non-HBA residency. Still, this association was limited to the three lowest exposure categories, while the highest exposure group had the lowest adjusted risk. Sensitivity analyses and other atopic diseases presented similar results. These results do not provide support for causal relationships between HBA industry-related emissions and prevalent atopic diseases.