Evaluation of the GreyWater Footprint Comparing the Indirect Effects of Different Agricultural Practices

Increasing global food demand and economic growth result in increasing competition over scarce freshwater resources, worsened by climate change and pollution. The agricultural sector has the largest share in the water footprint of humanity. While most studies focus on estimating water footprints (WFs) of crops through modeling, there are only few experimental field studies. The current work aims to understand the effect of supposedly better agricultural practices, particularly precision agriculture (variable rate application of fertilizers and pesticides) and conservation agriculture (minimum, strip, or no-tillage), on water deterioration and water pollution. We analyzed the results from an experimental field study in the northeast of Italy, in which four different crops are grown across three years of crops rotation. We compared minimum, strip, and no-tillage systems undergoing variable to uniform rate application. Grey WFs are assessed based on a field dataset using yield maps data, soil texture, and crop operations field. Leaching and associated grey WFs are assessed based on application rates and various environmental factors. Yields are measured in the field and recorded in a precision map. The results illustrate how precision agriculture combined with soil conservation tillage systems can reduce the grey water footprint by the 10%. We assessed the grey Water Footprint for all the field operation processes during the three-year crop rotation

Going beyond Quietness: Determining the Emotionally Restorative Effect of Acoustic Environments in Urban Open Public Spaces

The capacity of natural settings to promote psychological restoration has attracted increasing research attention, especially with regards to the visual dimension. However, there is a need to extend these studies to urban settings, such as squares, parks or gardens, due to the global trend towards urbanisation, and to integrate the dimension of sound into landscape. Such was the main aim of this study, in which 53 participants assessed four public spaces in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) as part of the CITI-SENSE Project (137 observations were used for analysis). A smartphone application was used to simultaneously collect objective and subjective data. The results show that at the end of the urban environmental experience, there was a statistically significant reduction in negative emotions and perceived stress, and a slight increase in positive emotions. Emotional restoration was mainly associated with prior emotional states, but also with global environmental comfort and acoustic comfort. The soundscape characteristics that contributed to greater emotional restoration and a reduction in perceived stress were pleasantness, calm, fun and naturalness. Therefore, in agreement with previous research, the findings of the present study indicate that besides contributing to the quietness of the urban environment, the urban soundscape can promote psychological restoration in users of these spaces.This research formed part of the CITI-SENSE project funded under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration, grant agreement no 308524

Sustainability Assessment of indicators for integrated water resources management

The scientific community strongly recommends the adoption of indicators for the evaluation and monitoring of progress towards sustainable development. Furthermore, international organizations consider that indicators are powerful decision-making tools. Nevertheless, the quality and reliability of the indicators depends on the application of adequate and appropriate criteria to assess them. The general objective of this study was to evaluate how indicators related to water use and management perform against a set of sustainability criteria. Our research identified 170 indicators related to water use and management. These indicators were assessed by an international panel of experts that evaluated whether they fulfil the four sustainability criteria: social, economic, environmental, and institutional. We employed an evaluation matrix that classified all indicators according to the DPSIR (Driving Forces, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses) framework. A pilot study served to test and approve the research methodology before carrying out the full implementation. The findings of the study show that 24 indicators comply with the majority of the sustainability criteria; 59 indicators are bi-dimensional (meaning that they comply with two sustainability criteria); 86 are one-dimensional indicators (fulfilling just one of the four sustainability criteria) and one indicator do not fulfil any of the sustainability criteria.Postprint (author's final draft

Methodology for environmental assessment of agri-environment schemes: the Agri Environmental Footprint Index

End of project reportAgri-environment schemes pay farmers for the provision of environmental services. Such schemes tend to have multiple measures that deliver multiple environmental objectives, and there is a lack of consistent methodology with which to measure the environmental benefits of such schemes. Funded by EU FP6, the Agri-Environment Footprint project (www.footprint.rdg.ac.uk) aimed to address this challenge, and this report provides results from selected components of the project.European Unio

Design and development of a technological system for grey water reuse

This work has as purpose "contribute to the decrease of the consumption of water drinking to purposes that not so require". Its objectives are to design, develop and transfer a system not conventional for such purpose; to improve the health and conditions of habitability of sanitary spaces with sustainability. To such end, it proposes are: an strategy of "Participatory action research" as "a social practice of knowledge production that seeks social change seen as a totality, occurs in the very action and contributes to it?; a system that allows to replace the traditional toilet tank and reuse and store water used in toilets to be downloaded in nuclei sanitary toilets. With regard to the results achieved, the work has 2 stages that includes: 1. Developing the theoretical framework; the study of history and analysis of geographical areas of application; the generation of possible solutions for responding to the system; the selection of surpassing proposal; 2. adjustment of the surpassing proposal; preparation of technical documentation; design of your building process; adjustment of its operation, use and maintenance; its materialization; experimentation and evaluation. The conclusions was that this system is "Adaptive" and "affordable" that presents facility construction and installation work; features that make it an "adoptable product" in different types of architectural objects and a "sustainable product" because that makes it possible to the care of the environment.Indizada en: Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CAB Abstracts, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science DatabaseFil: Garzon, Beatriz Silvia. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Secretaria de Ciencia, Arte E Innovación Tecnologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Paterlini, Leonardo. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Secretaria de Ciencia, Arte E Innovación Tecnologica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentin

Simplified direct water footprint model to support urban water management

Water resources conservation corresponding to urban growth is an increasing challenge for European policy makers. Water footprint (WF) is one of the methods to address this challenge. The objective of this study was to develop a simplified model to assess the WF of direct domestic and non-domestic water use within an urban area and to demonstrate its effectiveness in supporting new urban water management strategies and solutions. The new model was tested on three Central European urban areas with different characteristics i.e., Wroclaw (Poland), Innsbruck (Austria), and Vicenza (Italy). Obtained WFs varied from 291 dm3/(day∙capita) in Wroclaw, 551 dm3/(day∙capita) in Vicezna to 714 dm3/(day∙capita) in Innsbruck. In addition, WF obtained with the proposed model for the city of Vicenza was compared with a more complex approach. The results proved the model to be robust in providing reasonable results using a small amount of data

Overview of methods to analyse dynamic data

This book gives an overview of existing data analysis methods to analyse the dynamic data obtained from full scale testing, with their advantages and drawbacks. The overview of full scale testing and dynamic data analysis is limited to energy performance characterization of either building components or whole buildings. The methods range from averaging and regression methods to dynamic approaches based on system identification techniques. These methods are discussed in relation to their application in following in situ measurements: -measurement of thermal transmittance of building components based on heat flux meters; -measurement of thermal and solar transmittance of building components tested in outdoor calorimetric test cells; -measurement of heat transfer coefficient and solar aperture of whole buildings based on co-heating or transient heating tests; -characterisation of the energy performance of whole buildings based on energy use monitoring

DEB model for cockles (Cerastoderma edule) in the Oosterschelde

The natural and cultured shellfish populations in the Oosterschelde are of considerable biological and economical interest. The hydromorphology of the Oosterschelde is continuously changing and adapting in response to natural anthropological and climatological changes. In view of these changes and of possible future developments in the region, questions arise with regard to the impact on the system’s carrying capacity for shellfish populations. Dynamic shellfish models can help to answer these questions. In this study, a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model for cockles (Cerastoderma edule) in the Oosterschelde estuary is presented

Colloidal carbon particles as a new label for rapid immunochemical test methods: quantitative computer image analysis of results

Colloidal carbon particles can serve as label in sol particle immunoassays. The universal applicability of these particles in qualitative and (semi)quantitative immunoassays has been demonstrated. Sol particle and/or dipstick immunoassays, not yet optimized in terms of sensitivity, are discussed.\ud \ud The colloidal label has been used successfully in a mouse immunoglobulin isotyping kit. Human serum albumin spotted onto nitrocellulose in a concentration range of 7.8 to 1000 ng could be detected using anti-albumin antibody adsorbed onto colloidal carbon particles. It was also possible to perform a competitive assay with this conjugate for a concentration range of free human serum albumin varying from 0.25 to 6.75 ¿g. The Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor from soybean was determined by a colloidal carbon based immunoassay in a range of 2.5 to 160 ng. In this assay, free and colloidal carbon-bound inhibitor competed for binding specific antibodies spotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane.\ud \ud An image- and data-processing procedure has been developed that enables a rapid and simple quantification of colloidal carbon sol particle immunoassays. The average grey level of a spot is taken as a measure for quantitative purposes. This so-called Sol-particle Image Processed ImmunoAssay (SIPIA) procedure is equally well applicable to assays using other colloidal particles