Litter Production in an Area of Amazonian Terra Firme Forest. Part I.Litter - fall, Organic carbon and total Nitrogen Contents of Litter').

In 1963 anð, L964 litter was collected in a terra firme forest near Manaus, oven-dried and shipped to Europè. The sampleswere subdivided intofour litterfractions (leaves, wood,'fruits, termite fraction), dried at 105o and weighed. Organic carbon and total nitrogen of these litter fractions were determined. Annual average litter production is 7.4 t/ha consisting in 5.6 t ofleaves, and 1.8 t ofother litter. 105,6 kg nitrogen return annually to the soil. Compared with data on litter production and nitrogen content of litter of other tropical forests, the Amazonian forest produces less litter and returns a lower amount of nitrogen to the soil

Litter Windrows in the South-East Coast of the Bay of Biscay: An Ocean Process Enabling Effective Active Fishing for Litter

Large scale convergence regions of floating marine litter are commonly observed in semi-enclosed seas as the Bay of Biscay. However, clean-up activities on such accumulation regions are limited by the spread of the large-size floating litter on the sea surface. Data gathered by a small-scale fishing vessel devoted to active fishing for floating litter activities during the spring and summer of 2018 reveals that the linear streaks of high concentration of floating litter (so-called litter "windrows") are common accumulation structures in the south-east coast of the Bay of Biscay. The random search of litter windrows for their collection through surface tows of macro-nets was proved to be an effective action for floating litter mitigation. A total of 196 tows collected 16.2 tons of floating marine litter in 68 working days. Most of the litter windrows were around 1 km length and, on average, accumulated 77.75 kg of floating marine litter. Fishing, shipping and aquaculture sectors were the source of 35% of the 4,130 litter items analyzed (55% in weight of the sourced items), and plastic was the most common type of material (96% in terms of items). A better understanding of the phenomenon of the litter windrows, capable to guide clean-up efforts in space and time, would provide a considerable improvement in the efficiency of mitigation actions to reduce the marine litter pollution. The observations of litter windrows in the coastal area of the south-east of the Bay of Biscay demonstrate the key role of submesoscale processes in the distribution of FML. The present work provides a thorough description of floating litter windrows in nature, which it was non-existent to date. The results are the kind of proof necessary to boost the research addressed on the submesoscale aggregations of FML. Coupling litter windrows observations with remote-sensing technology and high-resolution modeling techniques offer great opportunities for the mitigation actions against marine litter

Waller Creek Rapid Visual Litter Assessment Method and Baseline Results

This short report surveyed 10 different Waller Creek sites using a litter index field sheet that they designed. These scores were then assigned to each survey site.The Watershed Protection Department has developed a method to assess litter in creeks and provide a way to evaluate the success of litter management efforts in the lower Waller Creek watershed over time. A rapid visual litter assessment method was applied at ten sites on Waller Creek in downtown Austin, Texas, to describe the abundance and type of litter present at each site in addition to identification of possible sources of litter. Surveys were timed to provide an estimate of staff time necessary to conduct future litter surveys using this method. On average, to complete the survey at one site took between 6.7 and 7.5 minutes. Surveys concluded that there was a significant presence of litter in lower Waller Creek. Beverage containers were identified to be the most prevalent type of litter. Surveys identified a few point sources of litter. Additional data points at each site may be needed to more accurately describe baseline conditions in Waller Creek.Waller Creek Working Grou

How the EU facilitated contact between the Irish government and the British royal family

In 2011, a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland was hailed as a watershed moment for UK-Irish relations. Darren Litter writes that while the event was highly symbolic, the EU had helped facilitate contact between the Irish government and the royals as far back as the 1970s

The totality of UK-Irish relations is at risk because of Brexit

The European Union was a crucial element of the totality of UK-Irish relationships that would allow for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, writes Darren Litter (Queen’s University Belfast)

Understanding the role of European Council summits in reaching the Good Friday Agreement

One of the most sensitive issues during the Brexit process has been the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on Northern Ireland. Darren Litter argues that against this backdrop, the important role that European Council summits played in the Northern Ireland peace process has largely been overlooked. The European Council is currently ... Continue

The EU helped to end the armed campaign of the Provisional IRA

The role of the European Union in the ending of the armed campaign of the Provisional IRA should not be underestimated, argues Darren Litter (Queen’s University Belfast). The historical indispensability of the EU to the UK and Ireland’s ability to strike the delicate balance that is the Northern Ireland peace process must be considered in the months and years ahead