Atmospheric pollution by potentially toxic elements: measurement and risk assessment using lichen transplants

The lichen Usnea articulata collected from an unpolluted area was exposed for 6 months at 26 sites for the sample chosenusing a stratified random design, and the content of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) including As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, V, and Zn, was assessed using ICP-MS. The health risk for both adults and children was then calculated using the PTEs concentrations. The results showed that despite the hostile urban conditions, transplanted lichens depicted clear deposition patterns of airborne PTEs, mostly associated with industrial sites, where As and other elements showed remarkably high values. The cumulative hazard index was below the risk threshold, both for adults and children. For the entire population (particularly children) residing in areas surrounding industrial sites, As and Cr appeared to be potentially carcinogenic elements.

Landscape-scale drivers of pollinator communities may depend on land-use configuration

Research into pollinators in managed landscapes has recently combined approaches of pollination ecology and landscape ecology, because key stressors are likely to interact across wide areas. While laboratory and field experiments are valuable for furthering understanding, studies are required to investigate the interacting drivers of pollinator health and diversity across a broader range of landscapes and a wider array of taxa. Here, we use a network of 96 study landscapes in six topographically diverse regions of Britain, to test the combined importance of honeybee density, insecticide loadings, floral resource availability and habitat diversity to pollinator communities. We also explore the interactions between these drivers and the cover and proximity of semi-natural habitat. We found that among our four drivers, only honeybee density was positively related to wild pollinator abundance and diversity, and the positive association between abundance and floral resources depended on insecticide loadings and habitat diversity. By contrast, our exploratory models including habitat composition metrics revealed a complex suite of interactive effects. These results demonstrate that improving pollinator community composition and health is unlikely to be achieved with general resource enhancements only. Rather, local land-use context should be considered in fine-tuning pollinator management and conservation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.

[Effects of Biochar Input on Changes of Available Nutrient Elements in Riparian Soils with Different Landuse Types]

Biochar, as a new environmentally friendly material, has been used to improve soil quality and for pollution remediation. Biochar input has a significant impact on available nutrients in the soil. Based on the different land use types (forestland, grassland, cultivated land, and barren land) in the riparian zone of Taihu Lake, the effects of biochar application on the available content of nutrients in different land use types of soil were compared, and the dynamics of nutrient change was also discussed. Results show that the addition of biochar can significantly affect the available nutrient content in riparian soil, however the influential degrees for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were different. After the input of biochar, dissolved organic carbon in riparian soils showed a clear downward trend, while the available nitrogen increased slightly, and the available phosphorus increased significantly. For woodland, grassland, arable land and wasteland soils, the contents of dissolved organic carbon decreased by 33.3%, 27.4%, 29.5%, and 51.4%, while the contents of available nitrogen increased by 10.8%, 18.2%, 16.4%, and 15.2%, and the contents of available phosphorus increased by 40.0%, 50.2%, 34.0%, and 43.6%, respectively. Compared with the concentrations between the control group soil (CK) and the biochar additive group soil (BC), the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and available phosphorus exhibited large differences between the two groups regarding available nitrogen concentrations. Among the four types of riparian soils, the effects of biochar on the availability of different nutrients were different.

[Interannual Variations of Soil Respiration and Its Temperature Sensitivity in an Orchard in Jinci Region of Taiyuan City]

Jinci area of Taiyuan city is a former hometown of rice, and with the cutoff of the Jinci spring the land use in the area changed fundamentally from original paddy rice to corn or orchard use. So it is very important to investigate soil respiration after land use change and to analyze the relationship between soil respiration (R_s) and soil temperature (T_s) and soil water content (SWC), and to estimate soil carbon dioxide efflux in the region. For this purpose, we measured R_s for seven years (2006 to 2012) with an interval of 1 to 3 times per month from March to December in a field originally for rice but now Chinese jujube, and analyzed seasonal, annual variations of R_s and relationships between R_s and both T_s and SWC. The results showed that the seasonal variations of R_s against day number of the year could be significantly fitted with a three-parameter Gaussian equation while there was no significant correlation between T_s and SWC. Significant exponential relationship between R_s and T_s over the season was found, but not with SWC. Interannual average estimation of soil efflux between March and December from the soil was (5.32±3.31) μmol·(m²·s)^-1, and was equal to 1690.2 g·m^-2 from the same period ranging from 1294 to 2006 g·m^-2. No significant difference in annual efflux was found between the years. The sensitivity of R_s to T_s, Q₁₀ value, ranged from 1.54-2.20, 1.68-2.48 and 1.82-2.46, respectively, for the T_s measurement at 5, 10 and 15 cm depths. The R_s at 10℃, R₁₀, ranged from 2.37 to 2.81, 2.43 to 3.13 and 2.59 to 3.47μmol·(m²·s)^-1, respectively, for the T_s measurement at 5, 10 and 15 cm depths. Both the Q₁₀ and R₁₀ increased with increasing T_s measurement depth. In comparison with the fitted one-variable of temperature model, the two-variable model combining both the T_s and SWC together could be well used to predict R_s over the season. Our research results can bear important implications for the study of CO₂ efflux in the region and similar regions.

Landscape characteristics influence helminth infestations in a peri-domestic rodent--implications for possible zoonotic disease

BACKGROUND

Anthropogenic habitat change often results in altered landscapes that can provide new environments where hosts, parasites and pathogens can interact. The latter can have implications for human and animal health when in close proximity to developed areas. We recorded the helminth species richness and level of infestation in the peri-domestic rodent, Rhabdomys pumilio, in three different human linked landscapes. The aim was, to investigate the potential of R. pumilio to act as a reservoir host for zoonotic helminths and to compare the effect of anthropogenic habitat change on its parasite infestation patterns.

METHODS

Rodents (n = 518) were trapped in natural areas (nature reserves) and in three human linked landscapes (crop, livestock and urban fragments). Gastrointestinal parasite burdens were recovered and helminths identified from each animal. Generalized linear models were applied to investigate the effect of different landscape types on helminth infestation.

RESULTS

Rhabdomys pumilio was the most abundant rodent species within each landscape type. Eight helminths species were recovered and overall helminth prevalence was 86.68%. Mean helminth species richness, prevalence and abundance were significantly higher in crop fragments compared to natural landscapes and overall lower for nematodes in livestock and urban areas. Cestode prevalence showed a tendency to be elevated at anthropogenic linked landscape types.

CONCLUSIONS

Host parameters and parasite infestations were strongly influenced by landscape characteristics. Resource-rich landscapes (crop fragments) provide favorable conditions for helminth infestations, while landscapes that are more closely associated with humans (livestock and urban landscapes) pose a larger risk by zoonotic species.