Utilization of sewage sludge as an ameliorant for reclamation of technogenically disturbed lands

When rehabilitating technogenically disturbed lands of mining facilities, fertilizers and ameliorants are to be applied due to the lack of organic matter and nutrients required for the restoration of the soil and vegetation layer. The use of unconventional fertilizers (ameliorants) based on sewage sludge is one of the actual directions of land reclamation at mining sites. The purpose of the work is to summarize and analyze up-to-date information on the effectiveness of the use of sewage sludge for the reclamation of technogenically disturbed lands of mining and processing industries. The analysis is based on a review of recent studies aimed at assessing the impact of introduced sediment on soils, plant communities, and rehabilitated areas. The introduction of sewage sludge has a positive effect on the physical and chemical parameters of the soil (optimizes density and aggregation), saturates it with nutrients, i.e. N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na, thus improving plant growth indicators. However, it may contain a number of heavy metals and pathogens; therefore, studies of each sediment and conditions of reclaimed areas are necessary.

Deposition of dust with active substances in pesticides from treated seeds in adjacent fields during drilling: disentangling the effects of various factors using an 8-year field experiment

The side effects from the use of plant protection products and their potential effects on non-target arthropods (NTAs) such as honey bees, other insects within the vegetation layer and epigeic arthropods nowadays receive more attention. However, uncertainties about the factors driving the deposition of active substances (a.s.) into off-crop areas persist, in particular during sowing of treated seeds. Analysing a highly standardised 8-year field experiment, we assessed the importance of various factors potentially affecting dust drift and deposition of a.s., emitted during the sowing process of treated seeds and deposited on fields adjacent to the drilling field, i.e. on the ground, on flowers, and on nonflowering plant parts. Regarding a.s. deposition, the Heubach a.s. value has a predictive capability, which is independent from all other factors taken into account in this study, and can thus be considered as a scenario-independent measure of potential dust deposition. Petri dish samplers, an established standard method for measuring a.s. deposition, were representative of the results from the plant samplers for a given combination of drilling technique and adjacent crop type. Adjacent crop type is likely to impact on a.s. deposition. The present work will enable a more field-realistic exposure assessment for bees and other NTAs.

Evaluation of Thermal Comfort Performance of a Vertical Garden on a Glazed Façade and its Effect on Building and Urban Scale, Case Study: An Office Building in Barcelona

The aim of this paper is to investigate the thermal performance of vertical gardens by comparing the thermal comfort of bare (glazed) and green façades in the Mediterranean climate. The proposal consists of applying a vegetation layer on a glazed façade that could control solar radiation and reduce indoor air temperatures. This study investigates the thermal performance of green façades of an office building in the Mediterranean climate. For this purpose, the Gas Natural Fenosa Office Building as a case study was simulated, that is located on a site next to the coastline in Barcelona. Dynamic building energy simulation was used to determine and assess indoor thermal conditions and, for this reason, the IES VE as a simulation tool has been utilized. Thermal comfort was assessed through the adaptive comfort approach and results were analyzed and presented in the terms of indoor comfort conditions during occupied hours. As a result, the article shows that applying a green façade as a vegetation layer caused a reduction in the internal and external façade surface temperatures, as well as the indoor air temperature of the workplace. Additionally, enhancing indoor comfort in summer is closely associated with reducing the external surface temperature. In winter, it also protects the exterior surface from the low temperature of the outside, and all of this greatly increases thermal comfort performance.

Influence of Selected Environmental Parameters on Rove Beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) Communities in Central European Floodplain Forests

Wetlands and especially floodplain forests belong to the most endangered ecosystems in Europe, characterized by complex dynamics of flood and dry periods and providing specific irreplaceable habitats for many organisms, including bioindicators. Many rove beetle species, for instance, are well-known detectors in monitoring ecological change, however, their use in environmental assessment requires to expand the insufficient knowledge on ecological environmental particularities of their assemblages. Therefore, we compared the rove beetle communities in eight habitats of floodplain forests from 2015 to 2016. Staphylinids were sampled by pitfall trapping. We compared the rove beetle taxocoenoses in the floodplain forests and their ecotones alongside three rivers (Danube, Tisa and Begej). We evaluated the impact of plant diversity and cover of vegetation layers, area, circumference and age of forest stands, distance to the forest edge, thickness of the litter layer, physical and chemical properties of soil and leaf litter (conductivity, pH, P, N, H, C) and anthropogenic impact on structure of rove beetle communities. We recorded significant interactions between total dynamic activity of rove beetles and number of plant species in shrub vegetation layer. Species richness was significantly positively correlated with number of plant species in shrub vegetation layer and soil pH, and negatively with relative H content of soil. We did not find any significant correlation between Shannon diversity, but evenness was negatively linked with species richness of plant communities in shrub layer.

Investigation on carbon sequestration capacity of typical subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve

Three typical substropical evergreen broad-leaved forests (Castanopsis eyrei, Schima superba and Cyclobalanopsis glauca) in Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve of Jiangxi Province were selected to investigate its carbon sequestration capacity. The biomass and soil bulk density of sample investigation were get by setting sample investigation, field quadrat sampling, indoor sample making, experimental analysis testing, data statistics and analysis. The organic carbon content of vegetation layer (arbor layer, shrub layer and herbaceous layer, litter layer) and soil layer (0-10cm, 10-20cm, 20-30cm, 30-50cm and 50-100cm) were also get. The carbon density and carbon storage of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests vegetation and soil were estimated which including Castanopsis eyrei, Schima superba and Cyclobalanopsis glauca. The investigation results had shown that: The average organic carbon content of each vegetation layer in the investigation plot (400 m2) of Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve was arbor layer (54.07%)> shrub layer (52.8%)> herbaceous layer (47.5%), in which the average organic carbon content of the three subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in the arbor layer was close 52.97% to 54.87% and the total average content was 54.07%. The average carbon density of the forest vegetation layer was 178.3587t/hm2, the average carbon density of the vegetation layer was arbor layer (176.0273t/hm2)> shrub layer (1.3043t/hm2)> litter layer (0.8144t/hm2)> herbaceous layer (0.2127t/hm2); the average carbon density of each forest species was Castanopsis eyrei (213.5141t/hm2)> Schima superba (168.9069t/hm2)> Cyclobalanopsis glauca (152.6551t/hm2). Investigation sample of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest (400 m) in Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province2 The average soil bulk density of each soil layer cm 0-100 g/cm was 0.868-1.816 g/cm3 both soil organic carbon content and soil carbon density decreased with the increase of soil depth. The average organic carbon content of each soil layer was between 3.75% and 12.48%, and the average soil carbon density was between 62.85t/hm2 and 146.14t/hm2. The average total carbon density of the soil in the investigated sample plots was 754.77t/hm2, of which the average soil carbon density in investigation sample plots in Castanopsis eyrei, Schima superba and Cyclobalanopsis glauca was 911.49t/hm2, 762.56t/hm2 and 543.22t/hm2 respectively. The average carbon storage of the investigation sample plot (400m2) in Jiangxi Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve were Castanopsis eyrei forest (45.0002t) >Cyclobalanopsis glauca forest (36.6087t) > Schima superba forest (28.4850t), the average soil carbon storage(30.1908t) was 4.23 times the average carbon storage(7.1314t).

A parametric study of implementing green roofs to improve building energy performance in tropical climate

Energy is one of the most involving issues, its use, the way to spread it, and how to reduce its consumption. Because of this, it is important to opt for solutions that determine the final use of energy. The feasibility study of vegetation applied to green roofs for buildings would be a favorable solution to stop absorbing the heat that we consume daily, and at the same time, we produce. Thus, this research aims to evaluate the implementation of generic vegetation on the roof of buildings in Panama, in terms of electricity consumption for cooling, through dynamic simulation. For this, a parametric analysis was performed through the DesignBuilder program, where four plants suitable for the climate of Panama and resistant to solar radiation, high temperatures, and humidity were chosen, which were Tradescantia spathacea Sw., Sansevieria sp., Aloe Vera, and Arachis hypogaea. Employing passive and mechanical mode simulations with 24-hour irrigation systems, it was possible to observe how the temperature inside the building and the heat gains through the roof decrease. This led us to determine the most important parameters of the vegetation layer: plant height, leaf area index (LAI), leaf reflectivity, and stomatal resistance.

Performance of Three Different Native Plant Mixtures for Extensive Green Roofs in a Humid Subtropical Climate Context

Most of the services and benefits of green roofs are related to the substrate as well as the vegetation layer. Although plant selection should be made on the basis of green roof typology, morphology, and climate conditions, very often, Sedum species only are used worldwide. However, they do not always guarantee the best performances; hence, it is important to investigate different plant species and their performance in different climate contexts. Herein, an experiment was conducted using three plant mixes (i.e., a Sedum mix, a perennial herbaceous mix, and a suffruticose mix), grown in boxes containing two substrates (a volcanic substrate or a recycled crushed brick substrate) and two drainage/storage layers (a preformed layer or a mineral layer), in factorial combination. The Sedum mix showed a high canopy cover, comparable to or even higher than that of the other mixes, particularly when supplemental irrigation was stopped. However, the actual crop coefficient (Kcact) of the herbaceous and suffruticose mixes was often higher than that of the Sedum mix. The results also showed that both the substrate and the drainage/storage layer may improve Kcact values as a consequence of their capacity for stormwater retention.