Reviewer acknowledgements for Environment and Pollution, Vol. 10, No. 2

Reviewer acknowledgements for Environment and Pollution, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2021.

Phosphorus Non-Point Pollution from Equestrian Wastes and the Need for Recycling

South Florida and much of the rest of the World suffers from harmful algal blooms (HABs) and controls of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution are required to curtail the onset, spread and/or expansion of these blooms. This report covers our studies on several aspects of equestrian waste (viz. horse manure) aimed at yielding an overview of phosphorus and its pollution stemming from non-point horse manure sources in portions of Palm Beach County Florida. Methods included a modified Hedley extraction sequence, emphasizing ‘easily extractable phosphorus’ (EEP), and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic identification of organic phosphorus (Po) species. Samples included fresh and aged horse manure, pasture soils, horse feed and pasture grasses, and canal waters adjacent to equestrian or agricultural fields. Easily extractable Phosphorus (EEP) averaged about 54-77% of the total horse manure phosphorus. Total phosphorus ranged from 13,020 – 22,300 mg per kilogram dry weight. (≈60-100 lbs. P2O5 / ton and on a wet weight basis, this equates to 4,000 to 14,818 grams-P/ U.S. ton or 8.8 to 32.6 pounds of phosphorus (≈ 20-75 lb. P2O5) per wet weight ton of horse manure. Considering the values of EEP in fresh samples from a single horse, we found a range of 8,000 – 17,000 mg-P/kg (8-17 g-P/kg) dry weight horse manure. Soil samples yielded the highest P in the NaOH extract of the Hedley sequence. This equates to the Al, Fe and ester forms. Phosphorus (viz. EEP) runoff is viewed here as a non-point P pollution source.

Waste Scavenging a Problem or an Opportunity for Integrated Waste Management in Namibia: A Case of Keetmanshoop Municipality, Namibia

Waste scavenging is an emerging challenge faced by many Municipalities and Local Authorities in Namibia. However, it has been neglected by authorities due to insufficient knowledge about its contribution to resource recovery and recycling. This study investigated how waste scavenging as a problem can be transformed into an opportunity for Integrated Waste Management in Namibia. The main objective of the study was to determine the socio-economic drivers as well as health implications of waste scavenging at Keetmanshoop municipal dumping site, Namibia. Using the purposive sampling method, a total of 45 waste pickers were interviewed through semi-structured questionnaires. The data collected included waste pickers demographic (age, gender, marital status, and level of education), socio-economic impacts (income and diseases) from waste scavenging. The study revealed that the main drivers of waste scavenging are poverty (71.1%) and unemployment (64.4%). Furthermore, waste scavenging contributes significantly to waste pickers’ livelihood through income generation from the sale of waste materials (93.3%). The majority of the waste pickers (80%), scavenge mainly for metals whereas the least target food. The study concluded that waste scavenging, although neglected, contributes significantly to the livelihoods of waste pickers and waste management in Keetmanshoop. The study recommends that waste scavenging should be regulated and integrated into the formal waste management system of the Municipality through avenues such as the formation of the waste picker’s cooperatives that will be registered with the municipality and recognised through formal structures.

Accuracy of Local Knowledge in Prediction Seasonal Weather: Empirical Evidence from North eastern Nigeria

Over the years, West African Sahel’s people developed some strategies for predicting the seasonal weather using meteorological indicators to plan for extreme weather events. This study used information on local indicators of seasonal weather prediction and mean monthly rainfall and temperature record (1981-2017) from Nguru weather station located at Latitude 14°N in achieving the aim of the study. Both qualitative and quantitate (descriptive and inferential) statistical tools were employed in analysing the collected data. The study found that the local population of the study area used meteorological indicators in predicting the seasonal weather. The results of the analysis revealed that the variability of the annual rainfall during the study period was large. An increasing trend of 3.1mm annually was observed. While decreasing trend in the cold, dry and hot dry season temperature and an increasing trend in warm moist temperature by 0.025°C, 0.05°C and 0.0004°C respectively, was observed. Annual rainfall amount accounts for 31% and 2% variability in cold dry and warm moist season temperature, respectively. Cold, dry season and warm moist season temperature respond to any 1mm increase in annual rainfall by decreasing by 0.012°C and 0.002°C, respectively. The Hot, dry season temperature also accounts for 4% of the variability in annual rainfall. The model’s result revealed anyone 1°C increase in hot dry season temperature lowers the annual rainfall by 10mm. This study confirmed that the observed relationship between seasons weather conditions by local population exist. Therefore annual rainfall is the major determinant of cold dry seasonal temperature in the study area.

Empirical Model Valuation of Urban Agriculture Vulnerability to Flooding in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

For this study, geospatial technology was used to assess agricultural lands vulnerable to flooding in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Six thematic layers of factors influencing flood occurrences in the study area were generated from monthly rainfall, land use/cover, drainage density, soil, digital elevation model and slope. Pairwise comparison of the Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to derive the weights for each factor using expert’s judgements and literature. Weighted overlay model from the spatial analysis tool in the ArcGIS 10.4 environment was used to perform the vulnerability modelling. Expert’s judgement on the relative factors influencing flood in the study area was: rainfall (25%), elevation (22%), slope (20%), drainage density (13%), soil type (8%) and land use/cover (12%). The consistency ratio of the analysis was reasonable: (CR= 0.078). Results from the model demonstrated land vulnerability to urban agricultural flooding in the study area ranging from areas of very highly vulnerable to very low vulnerable areas, with farmlands along the floodplains of River Benue falls within the very highly vulnerable areas. The elements at Risk are; Farmland 537.6 (66.1%), Irrigation Land 40.5 (5.0%) and Built-up Land 125.8 (15.5%).

Global Research Collaboration for Vapour Intrusion

The complexity of the vapour intrusion (VI) transport pathway has received an ever-increased interest worldwide, and an improved and consolidated understanding of the VI issue requires collaboration between international research groups. This study uses the social network analysis methodology, applied to bibliometric authorship for VI research, to discover trends in collaboration, identify lead scientists, organisations, and countries. Furthermore, some of the external factors influencing the collaboration and productivity were assessed. The data suggests that the global research network for VI produced over a time span of 54 years 566 publications via 157 sources. The research network is composed of 437 organisations and 1053 authors from 33 countries. This suggests an increasingly active international collaborative research effort. However, inter-continental cooperation is much less than continental. The top five most central countries in the network are the USA, followed by Canada, China, The Netherlands, and Italy. The researchers with the most publications are from these five countries as well as the top organisations. The social network analysis conducted shows a good approximation of the collaborative structure for the key countries, organisations and researchers involved. Since 2010, the research community has become more stable.

Reviewer acknowledgements for Environment and Pollution, Vol. 10, No. 1

Reviewer acknowledgements for Environment and Pollution, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2021.

Seedling and Adult Plant Resistance in the Ethiopian Bread Wheat Landraces to Stripe Rust Disease

High yielding farmers’ bread wheat cultivars are threatened by emerging race(s) of stripe (yellow) rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst) in the highlands of Ethiopia. In depletion of rust resistance in commercial cultivars, researchers often look for new sources from close relatives and landraces. The objective of this study was to determine stripe rust resistance in selected Ethiopian bread wheat landraces obtained from the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity (IBCE). In 2017, a total of 152 accessions were exposed to the prevailing stripe rust races in hot spot areas (Kulumsa and Meraro) in Arsi zone of Oromia region. In the second year (2018), only promising landraces (57) were evaluated both at seedling and adult plant growth stages. The seedling test was conducted in the greenhouse at Kulumsa research center using three (PstS2 (v32), (PstS11) and (PstS11 v25) Pst races. In field evaluations, terminal severity (TRS), coefficient of infection (CI), area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), disease progress rate (DPR) and head infection (HI) were considred. High disease pressure was noted with 100% severity on susceptible entries at both locations and seasons. Highly significant (P<0.001) differences were noted among the landraces for all disease parameters indicated above. Of the 152 landraces, 57(38%) exhibited lower or equal disease reaction compared to the resistant check(Enkoy) across locations. Overall, 18 accessions showed resistance to the prevailing Pst races both at seedling stage and field conditions whereas14 exhibited susceptible /intermediate reaction at seedling stage, but had lower disease reaction under field conditions. This study has identified potential sources of overall and adult plant resistance in the Ethiopian bread wheat landraces to the prevailing Pst races. The authors recommend further studies to determine the diversity and/or novelity of resistance genes in selected accessions. Future wheat improvement should focus on utilization of these genetic resources to minimize the re-current outbreak of rust diseases.

Measuring the Physico-Chemical Impact of Wastewater from the Open Sewer in an Industrial Area: Case of the Kossodo Industrial Area in the City of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso

Wastewater from industrial units in the Kossodo district in the city of Ouagadougou has a physicochemical impact on the environment and the population. For several years the Kossodo area was famous for the effects of wastewater from industrial units on the environment (a foul odor). We took samples from various points of the open canals in order to determine the physico-chemical parameters of this wastewater. This choice was guided by a concern to measure the physico-chemical impact of wastewater from the open sewer in the industrial zone of Kossodo in the city of Ouagadougou on the one hand and to show the danger represented by this wastewater from industrial units on the environment and public health on the other hand. The objective also guided the choice of the parameters retained for the measurement of the physicochemical impact of the industrial units wastewater of the open sewer of Kossodo zone in the city of Ouagadougou: MES, DCO, BOD5, pH, Potassium, Sodium. The results show that the wastewater from the open sewers of the industrial units of Kossodo in the city of Ouagadougou, has a high physicochemical parameter content than the authorized discharge standard.

Diagnosis of Lead Pollution of Surface Waters of a River: Case of the Djiri River in the Republic of Congo

This research work deals with the physico-chemical analysis of the surface water of the Djiri river with the aim of preventing the population against possible water pollution. The analysis of the samples collected in the Djiri river revealed the presence of lead in these waters at levels exceeding the WHO guideline values: an average annual pollution (0.93 mg / l) which is visibly above the WHO guideline value (0.01mg / l). The in situ data of the Djiri river revealed a significant drop in flow between the period 2016 characterized by a divergence index of 0.82344 thus highlighting a hydrological situation for which the actors of national hydrology will absolutely have to implement measures. Remedial mechanisms to protect this river against possible disappearance.