A Static Pulling Test Is a Suitable Method for Comparison of the Loading Resistance of Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth.) between Urban and Peri-Urban Forests

In urbanized areas, wind disturbances can be intensified by anthropogenic stresses under which trees may become hazardous, creating serious threats and damages to nearby targets. Therefore, species with notably lower both wood mechanical properties and compartmentalization, such as pioneers, are considered to have higher wind damage risk if subjected to unfavorable growing conditions. Eurasian aspen (Populus tremula L.) and silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), are frequently found in both urban and peri-urban forests in Northeastern and Central parts of Europe, which strengthen the necessity for the evaluation of mechanical stability of such species. Therefore, static pulling tests were performed to compare the mechanical stability of the studied species in both urban and peri-urban forests. The loading resistance of the studied species differed, with birch being more stable than aspen, indicating aspen to be more prone to wind damage. Additionally, the mechanical stability of birch did not differ between trees growing in urban and peri-urban forests, suggesting static pulling tests are a suitable method for comparing trees from completely different growing conditions.

Acute Effects of Particulate Matter on All-Cause Mortality in Urban, Rural, and Suburban Areas, Italy

Background: Short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been related to mortality worldwide. Most evidence comes from studies conducted in major cities, while little is known on the effects of low concentrations of PM and in less urbanized areas. We aim to investigate the relationship between PM and all-cause mortality at national level in Italy. Methods: Daily numbers of all-cause mortality were collected for all 8092 municipalities of Italy, from 2006 to 2015. A satellite-based spatiotemporal model was developed to estimate daily PM10 (inhalable particles) and PM2.5 (fine particles) concentrations at 1-km resolution. Multivariate Poisson regression models were fit to estimate the association between daily PM and mortality at province level, and then, results were pooled with a random-effects meta-analysis. Associations were estimated by combination of age and sex and degree of urbanization of the municipalities. Flexible functions were estimated to explore the shape of the associations at low PM concentrations. Results: We analyzed 5,884,900 deaths (40% among subjects older than 85 years, 60% occurring outside the main urban areas). National daily mean (interquartile range) PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 23 (14) μg/m3 and 15 (11) μg/m3, respectively. Relative increases of mortality per 10 μg/m3 variation in lag 0–5 (average of last six days since death) PM10 and PM2.5 were 1.47% (95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.15%, 1.79%) and 1.96% (1.33%, 2.59%), respectively. Associations were highest among elderly and women for PM10 only, similar between rural and urbanized areas, and were present even at low concentrations, e.g., below WHO guidelines. Conclusions: Air pollution was robustly associated with peaks in daily all-cause mortality in Italy, both in large cities and in less urbanized areas of Italy. Current WHO Air Quality Guidelines (2021) for PM10 and PM2.5 are not sufficient to protect public health.

ЭКОЛОГО-ФИТОХИМИЧЕСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ЦВЕТКОВ БУЗИНЫ ЧЕРНОЙ SAMBUCUS NIGRA L. В УСЛОВИЯХ УРБАНИЗИРОВАННОЙ СРЕДЫ

The impacts of the urbanized environment of Donetsk region on the contents of biologically active substances and heavy metals in black elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) flowers and on the total antioxidant activity of their preparations were evaluated. The contents of lead, cadmium and mercury in all samples studied were within the tolerable limits specified for herbal medicinal raw products. The accumulation coefficients of lead and cadmium were found to decrease with increasing soil levels of these toxicants, whereas the level of mercury did not depend on the degree of soil pollution. The contents of active substances in all samples collected in Donbas conform to the requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. In fact, the contents of carotenoids, flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids are increased in S. nigra flowers collected in urbanized areas; however, the contents of other phenolic substances (anthocyanins and tannins) are decreased. The contents of ascorbic and free organic acids are highest under moderately urbanized conditions, so as the antioxidant activity of S. nigra flower preparations is. The results suggest that prospects for the pharmaceutical use of S. nigra flowers collected in urbanized areas of Donbas are promising.

The effectiveness of SuDS measures in reducing the rainwater runoff from urbanized areas

Over the last few years, climate change is one of the most important phenomena in the 21st century. It is bringing significant changes and negatively affecting the environment. This unwanted phenom causes substantial changes in climatic and hydrological characteristics that are manifested mainly in urban agglomerations. It affects extreme weather changes, the occurrence of natural disasters, water shortages, and other phenomena threatening the quality of the environment. On the other hand, there are measures close to nature based on the sustainable development of urbanized areas. Their main goal is to reduce the volume and rate of runoff and the concentration of undesirable substances in rain runoff from urban areas. Therefore, in the research study, we focus on evaluating published studies that have adopted the SuDS practices. We will compare the effectiveness of SuDS measures in capturing flood peak from surface runoff, pollution loads, and their impact on water quality. The result of this study could help select SuDS measures depending on the need to address the problem in the river basin.

Features of the negative impact of modern infrastructure facilities in urbanized areas on the environment

In the paper, the authors analyze the impact of modern infrastructure facilities in urbanized areas on the quality of the environment. The first stage of the study was to consider the changes in the urban environment of recent decades, which consists in the transformation of many former industrial zones into large objects of a cultural and entertainment nature, namely shopping and entertainment centers (SEC) or complexes (SECo). The authors also pay special attention to the description of the structural diagram of typical SEC or SECo, the main sources of negative environmental impact from them, as well as directly to the types of these impacts. The analysis carried out confirmed that it would be wrong to say that the quality of the environment in urbanized areas has improved due to the replacement of industrial facilities within cities with SEC or SECo. The authors consider the further task of scientific research to be the process of constructing physical models of pollution processes and reducing air pollution for individual sources for the purpose of subsequent analysis and highlighting promising directions (methods and options) for implementing a system for combating pollution.

Development of the level of sorting of municipal waste in the selected locality

Waste management is one of the essential areas that everyone in the world should carry about. Waste collection and treatment help to reduce the risk of the spread of various diseases. Municipal waste is waste produced in households by the population. Municipal waste can be sorted into other components, such as plastic, paper, glass, metals, and biodegradable waste. These types of waste are in most urbanized areas collected separately. The sorting level offers accurate information about each urbanization, to what extent its population is involved in separated waste collection. The paper focuses on analyzing the waste collection system in the selected locality and will examine the local waste sorting level development during the last few years.

Influence of Recreational, Landscape and Protective Functions on the Value of Forest, Wooded and Bushy Properties in Urbanized Areas on the Example of the Local Market of the City of Krakow

The paper presents a proposal for an approach to the valuation of forest, wooded and bushy real estate located in cities, which allows for the assessment of the impact of natural, protective and landscape factors on the value of this type of real estate. The main problem in the valuation of this type of real estate is the correct estimation of the impact on the value of the non-production factors described above. Considering the above, the main goal of the study was to identify the factors influencing the prices and value of forested, wooded and shrubby properties located in urbanized areas. The supplementary goal was to confirm the suitability of the methods and statistical models used in the study for similar measurements. By implementing the adopted goals, the article presents an analysis of the impact of these factors on the prices and value of real estate. The study covered the southwest part of the city of Kraków, located between the Vistula River and the Kraków-Rzeszów railway line in the north and east, and the southern and western border of the city. Urban forests perform mainly social functions, constituting only a marginal source of wood raw material. The results of the study showed that, in the case of similar properties, prices are significantly influenced by factors such as location, type and nature of the surroundings, form of access to the road, landscape and recreational values, manner of use and development status, as well as the permissible form of development, which is a measure of the profitability of timber production. The work ended with a discussion on the results and proposed directions for further research.

Assessment of the ecological state of Kazan surface waters

The study of the influence of technogenesis on the state of surface waters in urbanized areas is one of the most urgent ecological and social problems. For processing and analysis of hydrochemical indicators of surface water bodies of Kazan for the period 2014–2020 the generally accepted stasticial indicators, as well as the methods of multivariate statistics were used. Hydrochemical models were built using the ArcGisMap software package. The data were grouped using the cluster analysis method separately for each hydrological season with the allocation of 6 groups of hydrochemical components in relation to the maximum permissible values. It has been revealed that the minimum technogenic load on the surface waters of the city falls on the spring period. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, an ecological and hydrological assessment of the state of surface waters was carried out. It was showed that the water bodies of Kazan are classified as unfavorable water bodies.

The Determination of Priority Areas for the Construction of Green Roofs with Use of the Urban Area Valorisation Method

The aim of the research was to valorise the analysed urbanized area in the direction of determining the hierarchy in the order of interventions aimed at increasing the share of biologically active area and natural field retention, the potential impact of green roofs on the valorisation of the studied urbanized areas. The research covered the Gajowice estate in Wrocław. The scope of the research included the division of the area into working cells, for which valorisation was carried out using the point method based on the criterion of the degree of covering the land with vegetation and the degree of covering the area with various types of buildings. The valorisation result was determined on the basis of a comparative matrix taking into account the results of the partial assessment of vegetation and building cover. The impact of green infrastructure (green roofs) on valorisation was simulated by proposing their location on buildings with the so-called big plate. The introduction of green roofs on selected buildings improved the valorisation result in some research cells, reducing the number of cells requiring intervention. This raised the valorisation assessment by even two classes, which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of critical areas, with too much hardened surface, and increased the number of areas with a satisfactory level of biologically active surfaces.

Water-seeking behavior among terrestrial arthropods and mollusks in a cool mesic region: Spatial and temporal patterns

Dehydration can have negative effects on animal physiological performance, growth, reproduction, and survival, and most animals seek to minimize these effects by reducing water losses or seeking water sources. Much—but not all—of the research on animal water balance comes from dryland ecosystems. However, animals inhabiting mesic regions may also experience desiccating conditions, for example within urban heat islands or during heatwaves and droughts. Here we examined how spatial variation in impervious surface and spatial and temporal variation in microclimate impact water demand behavior of terrestrial arthropods and mollusks in three areas of mesic Northwest Ohio, with analysis of taxa that exhibited the greatest water demand behavior. Water demand behavior was measured as the frequency that individuals were observed at an artificial water source (a moistened pouch), relative to the frequency at a control (a dry pouch). Overall, terrestrial arthropods and mollusks were found about twice as often at the water source than at the control (equivalent to 86 more observations on the wet pouch than on dry at each site, on average), with ants accounting for over 50% of the overall response in urban areas. Daily fluctuations in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) best predicted daily variation in water demand behavior, with increased demand at higher VPD. Mean VPD was generally highest near urbanized areas, but effects of VPD on water demand behavior were generally lower in urbanized areas (possibly related to reductions in overall abundance reducing the potential response). On certain days, VPD was high in natural areas and greenspaces, and this coincided with the highest arthropod water demand behavior observed. Our results suggest that terrestrial arthropod communities do experience periods of water demand within mesic regions, including in greenspaces outside cities, where they appear to respond strongly to short periods of dry conditions—an observation with potential relevance for understanding the effects of climate change.