Evanescing Beauty and Viability of Coastal Beaches of Colombo District.

According to a weekly beach survey conducted for two months and data analysis done by Clean Coast Index (CCI) method, some beaches in the Colombo district are located in the backyard of suburb residences and become the dumping sites for the adjacent community, such as Moratuwa and Ratmalana. Beaches in Wellawatte, Dehiwala, Bambalapitiya, and Kollupitiya hold trash from mixed sources such as domestic dumping, wastes from commercial activities such as hotels, from running trains and beach visitors, and beaches in Mt.Lavania, Galle face, and Mattakuliya hold similar kind of wastes that are mostly from beach visitors including tourists. Furthermore, wastes from fishing-related activities are abundant in Dehiwala, they are nylon fishing nets, ropes, and polystyrene floats. Besides, PET bottle usage by the fisherman also significantly high. In urban areas such as Kollupitiya, Bamblapitiya, Wellawatte, and Dehiwala most of the wastes are carried by the drainage canals. Mechanized beach grooming is not possible in most of the locations due to the presence of the Southern railway track and the rocks. Thus, to seek sustainable solutions source-level mitigation plans have to be implemented such as source-level waste categorization (already in action), penalties, waste bins in public transport (trains), and billboards in public transport (“Please do not through your garbage outside”), deposit refund scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles, public awareness and stewardship programmes, waste bins at identified locations in the beach, screening floating plastics at canals by sieves and banning of certain types of plastics (e.g. plastic wraps or packaging materials, straws, spoons, yoghurt cups, and styrofoam). Also, it is possible to design regenerative solutions such as provide incentives e.g. offering travel free pass for waste plastic bottles (in Indonesia) and waste to energy projects ( Muthurajawela).

Indicator for peat natural recovery in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Most of the existing peatland area in Indonesia is degraded mainly due to human activities. This, in association with the construction of drainage canals, resulted in a lower water table compared to its natural condition, causing many changes. Although the criteria for damage and recovery have already been articulated into several existing regulations, yet the indicators for recovery have not been widely studied. For effective restoration, managers need to have basic data related to the initial condition of damaged areas or at least have data on areas that are able to recover naturally without human assistance. Random sampling was used to collect field data on vegetation structure and composition, including direct interviews with the resource persons. Observations made in several locations within the Sebangau National Park indicated that some areas are recovering naturally and relatively fast, although some are not. During 2017 forest fires, only 98.03 ha or burned areas were recorded. This can be seen from the species composition and the vegetation structure covering the studied area. Conditions in the field indicate that all peat forests have been fragmented through the existence of canals which are used for various activities.

Detection of potentially pathogenic Arcobacter spp. in Bangkok canals and the Chao Phraya River

The management of pathogenic bacteria in waterways is a public health issue. Here, we investigated the concentrations of potentially pathogenic bacteria, Arcobacter spp. and Campylobacter spp., and Escherichia coli, by quantifying species-specific genes in surface water samples from canals and the Chao Phraya River from June 2017 to June 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. We assessed the relationship between the specific bacterial concentrations, water quality, and seasonal changes. Arcobacter spp. were detected at high density in all samples and showed seasonal fluctuations according to analyses based on 16S rDNA and the invasion gene ciaB. High levels of 16S rDNA and dut gene of E. coli were detected in the polluted drainage canals. A high correlation was observed between E. coli and chemical (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suggesting that untreated domestic wastewater was the source of the E. coli. In contrast, Arcobacter spp. were detected with high density even in water samples with relatively low COD, suggesting that Arcobacter spp. are more likely than E. coli to survive in the water environment. The analysis of 16S rDNA and ciaB gene sequence analyses indicated that the Arcobacter spp. isolated from the drainage canals were A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus.

Impact of forest fire on the vegetable cover of radioactively contaminated areas

This article presents the results of assessing the impact of fires on the vegetation of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement, Drevlyansky Nature Reserve using means of remote sensing of the Earth for the period from 1986 to 2020. The methods and criteria for assessing vegetation damage using spectral data obtained from space satellites of the Earth and using methods of geoinformation technologies are proposed. This methodology provides mapping vegetation through remote sensing imagery. Comparing space images of the territory of the exclusion zone and the zone of unconditional mandatory resettlement for 1986, 1999, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, for the period of 34 years after the accident, identified significant changes in the condition of lands belonging to forest and agricultural lands. In the result of the study revealed the changes observed in the boundaries of water bodies because drying of artificial reservoirs, changes in the direction of riverbeds, waterlogging of drainage canals and adjacent forest areas. The identified effect from fires in forests where dry forest materials have accumulated and from consequences of forest management. It is also noted, that according to the spectral data of space images, areas of forest damaged by insects are well defined. The study reveals

Arundo donax (giant reed).

A. donax has played an important role in the culture of the western world through its influence on the development of music, which can be traced back 5000 years. A. donax cane was the source of the original Pan pipe or syrix and to this day the A. donax culms remain an unrivalled source of reeds for woodwind instruments. A. donax has been purposefully introduced by man and cultivated into many of the subtropical and warm temperate areas of the world for a number of uses. It is planted as an ornamental and cultivated for a variety of uses including erosion control along ditches and drainage canals. It is available via the nursery trade and spreads as a garden escapee and through the disposal of garden waste.

EFFICIENCY OF FOREST RECULTIVATION OF LAND DISTURBED BY PEAT EXTRACTION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE BASYANOVSKY DEPOSIT)

Приведены результаты оценки эффективности лесной рекультивации земель, нарушенных при добы- че торфа на Басьяновском торфяном месторождении. Целью исследований явилось выявление наиболее эффективных вариантов лесной рекультивации на основе оценки состояния лесных культур, созданных на отработанных торфяниках после их технической рекультивации и мелиоративной подготовки. В основу исследований положен метод пробных площадей. В результате исследований установлено, что эффектив- ность рекультивации определяется водным режимом осушенных территорий, который зависит от расстоя- ния между осушительными каналами, их состояния. На большинстве обследованных участков состояние лесных культур оценивается как хорошее. Основные причины гибели лесных культур – это угнетение их мягколиственными породами, поврежде- ние культур сосны дикими животными (лосями) и вымокание. Причиной угнетения культур мягколиствен- ными породами явилось отсутствие своевременного проведения мероприятий по уходу за молодняками (прочисток). При этом угнетению более подвержены культуры сосны. Лесные культуры ели оказались в целом более эффективными по сравнению с культурами сосны. При посадке культуры ели целесообразно высаживать под полог мягколиственных пород. На рекультивированных участках с нормальным водным режимом наблюдается формирование живого напочвенного покрова, типичного по составу для мелкотравно-зеленомошных и разнотравно-зеленомош- ных типов леса. Полученные результаты имеют практическое значение и могут быть использованы недропользователя- ми, органами исполнительной власти в области лесных отношений, проектно-изыскательскими организа- циями при проектировании, организации и проведении работ по лесной рекультивации на отработанных торфяных месторождениях. The article contains the results of assessing the effectiveness of forest reclamation of lands disturbed during peat extraction at the Basyanovskiy peat deposit. The aim of the research was to identify the most effi cient options for forest reclamation based on an assessment of the state of forest crops created on spent peatlands after their technical reclamation and reclamation preparation. The research is based on the trial plot method. As a result of the research, it was found that the effi ciency of reclamation is determined by the water regime of the drained territories, which depends on the distance between the drainage canals, their condition. In most of the surveyed areas, the state of forest cultures is assessed as well. The main reasons for the death of forest crops are their oppression by soft-leaved species, damage to pine crops by wild animals (elks) and soaking. The reason for the oppression of crops by soft-leaved breeds was the lack of timely measures for the care of young stands (cleanings). At the same time, pine crops are more subject to oppression. Spruce forest crops were generally more effective than pine crops. When planting spruce crops, it is advisable to plant under the canopy of soft-leaved species. In the reclaimed areas with a normal water regime, the formation of a living ground cover is observed, typical in composition for small-grass-green moss and forb-green moss types of forest.The results obtained are of practical importance and can be used by subsoil users, executive authorities in the fi eld of forest relations, design and survey organizations in the design, organization and implementation of forest reclamation work at spent peat deposits.

The Field-Scale Investigation of the Low Mobility of Drainage Canal Sediments Polluted by Copper in Lowland Area of Croatia

The sedimentation of drainage canals is a common process and its intensity depends on several geographical and hydrological factors. Drainage canal sediments are frequently polluted by heavy metals or other pollutants; they need to be periodically dredged and ultimately, have to be safely disposed of. Furthermore, pollution in smaller drainages may go undetected because under the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC), catchment areas < 10 km2 do not require monitoring. We investigated the hypothesis that water resources of small sub-catchments exposed to agricultural pollutants accumulate sediment for a longer period (several years) and severely enhance environmental risks. We analyzed the data on sediment mobility in drainage canals for a small lowland catchment in Croatia during 2013–2017. We conducted sediment transport modelling for actual precipitation episodes of a 10-year return period and design precipitation of a 50-year return period. The results indicated that sediments and associated copper pollution persist at the canal bottom for several years, which increases the risk of polluting groundwater and the environment in general. Only copper present at the maximum downstream section of the canal has the possibility of moving to the recipient stream and would only be detected in catchment areas bigger than 10 km2. We proved that smaller water bodies evaluated according to monitoring standards prescribed for the closest larger water can enhance environmental risks.