Oligochaete bioaccumulation tests with organic compounds

Die Bioakkumulation organischer Substanzen in Bodenorganismen wird als Indikator für “secondary poisoning“ angesehen. Mit dem Ziel eine neu entwickelte Methode zu standardisieren wurde ein internationaler Ringtest vom deutschen Umweltbundesamt (UBA) organisiert. Als Teil dieses Ringtests wurde Toxikokinetik von Hexachlorbenzol in Eisenia andrei und Enchytraeus albidus, die in OECD Kunsterde bzw. einem mediterranen Freilandboden exponiert waren, untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Bioverfügbarkeit und die Akkumulation der Testsubstanz von Bodeneigenschaften wie der Bodenart und dem Gehalt an organischem Material abhängen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die neue, in Kürze von der OECD standardisierte Testmethode für die Umweltrisikobewertung von organischen Substanzen gut geeignet ist

Boden als Lebensraum für Bodenorganismen : bodenbiologische Standortklassifikation ; Literaturstudie

Im Auftrag des Landes Baden-Württemberg, vertreten durch die Landesanstalt für Umweltschutz Baden-Württemberg (LfU Karlsruhe), wurde eine Literaturrecherche zum Thema Bodenfauna und Umwelt durchgeführt. Das Ziel dieser Studie ist, Informationen darüber zusammenzutragen, ob und auf welche Weise das Vorkommen und die Aktivität der Bodenorganismen (Mikroflora und Invertebraten) von pedologischen und biologischen Standortfaktoren abhängt. Dazu wurden insgesamt ca. 7000 wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen in eine Literaturdatei aufgenommen und mit Hilfe eines festgelegten Katalogs von Begriffen (Tiergruppen, Meßparameter, Standortfaktoren) verschlagwortet. Aufbauend auf dieser Literaturauswertung wird die Rolle und Bedeutung der Bodenorganismen für terrestrische Ökosysteme Zusammenfassend dargestellt (Kap. 3). Insbesondere wird der Aufbau (= Struktur) und die naturhaushaltliche Leistung (= Funktion) von Bodenbiozönosen - speziell Mitteleuropas - beschrieben. Zunächst wird dazu eine kurze Übersicht über die Mikroflora (Bakterien und Pilze) gegeben, da die Interaktion zwischen Mikroflora und Bodenfauna eines der wichtigsten Elemente im bodenbiologischen Geschehen darstellt. Aus der großen Zahl bodenlebender Organismen werden dann einige Tiergruppen genauer vorgestellt, die aufgrund ihrer hohen Wertigkeit für das gesamte Ökosystem (z.B. Regenwürmer) sowie als Repräsentanten verschiedener trophischer Ebenen (saprophag: Enchytraeen, Lumbriciden, Isopoden, Oribatiden, Diplopoden; zoophag: Gamasinen, Chilopoden, Carabiden; polyphag: Formiciden) und raum-zeitlicher Skalen ausgewählt werden

Эффективность стретчинга в период предсоревновательной подготовки лыжников 16-17 лет

Объект исследования: тренировочный процесс в лыжных гонках. Предмет исследования: предсоревновательная подготовка лыжников-гонщиков 16-17 лет. Гипотеза: мы предполагаем, что применение комплексов упражнений стретчинга, разработанных для лыжников-гонщиков будет способствовать повышению эффективности предсоревновательной подготовки. Для достижения цели и проверки гипотезы исследования поставленыследующие задачи: 1.Изучить теоретические основы предсоревновательной подготовки спортсменов в лыжных гонках; 2.Провести практическое исследование влияния упражнений стретчинга на эффективность предсоревновательной подготовки лыжников-гонщиков 16-17 лет.Object of study: training process in cross-country skiing. The subject of the research: pre-competitive preparation of skiers-racers of 16-17 years. Hypothesis: we assume that the use of stretching exercise complexes developed for skiers-riders will contribute to improving the efficiency of pre-competition training. To achieve the goal and test the hypothesis of the study, the following tasks are set: 1. To study the theoretical basis of the pre-competitive training of athletes in cross-country skiing; 2. To conduct a practical study of the influence of stretching exercises on the effectiveness of pre-competitive training of skiers-racers aged 16-17

Benefícios de métodos de estudos ecológicos para a taxonomia de enquitreídeos no sul da Mata Atlântica

The objective of this work was to determine how taxonomy benefited from the ecological quantitative and site-based sampling methods in enchytraeids studies. Enchytraeids (small relatives of earthworms) were sampled in different phases of rain forest regeneration in the southern Mata Atlântica in Paraná, Brazil. The research combined ecological and taxonomic work, because enchytraeids are poorly studied and difficult to identify, and many new species were expected. The provision of large numbers of specimens enabled the test of species diagnoses by investigating the ranges of character variations in a larger series of specimens. Simplified species diagnoses adapted to the local conditions that allowed the identification of all specimens, juveniles included, were developed. Key characters and character states are presented for the three genera: Achaeta, Hemienchytraeus and Guaranidrilus. Among several new species, a rare species, possibly a remnant of the autochthonous forest fauna, was found and described.O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar como a taxonomia beneficia-se de métodos quantitativos e de amostragem ecológicos nos estudos dos enquitreídeos. Enquitreídeos (pequenos parentes das minhocas) foram coletados em diferentes fases de regeneração da Mata Atlântica no Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Foram combinadas as pesquisas ecológica e taxonômica, pois os enquitreídeos são pouco estudados e difíceis de identificar, e muitas espécies novas eram esperadas. O grande número de espécimes coletados permitiu testar diagnoses de espécies por meio da investigação das amplitudes de variações de caracteres em uma série mais ampla de espécimes. Diagnoses de espécies simplificadas, adaptadas às condições locais do ambiente, foram desenvolvidas, o que permitiu a identificação de todos os exemplares, incluindo juvenis. Caracteres-chave e estados de caracteres foram formulados para três gêneros: Achaeta, Hemienchytraeus e Guaranidrilus. Entre várias espécies novas, uma espécie rara, possível remanescente da fauna autóctone da floresta, foi encontrada e descrita

The EU-project ERAPharm - Incentives for the further development of guidance documents? (4 pages)

-: Triggered by the detection of a large variety of pharmaceuticals in surface waters, soils and groundwaters across the world (e.g. Halling- Sørensen et al. 1998, Daughton & Ternes 1999, Jones et al. 2001, Heberer 2002) and the widespread occurrence of endocrine active compounds and related effects in the environment (e.g. Purdom et al. 1994, Tyler et al. 1998, Vethaak et al. 2002), pharmaceuticals in the environment have become an issue for both the scientific and the public community. During the last few years, our understanding of the fate and effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment has progressed significantly. However, there are still a number of uncertainties concerning the effects of pharmaceuticals on the environment and the assessment of potential exposure (e.g. Hanisch et al. 2004, Salomon 2005). These uncertainties will be addressed by the EU-project ‘Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals' (ERAPharm). This project, a specific targeted research project, is carried out within the priority ‘Global change and ecosystems' of the 6th framework programme of the European Union. ERAPharm has started on 1st October 2004; the project duration is three year

Semi-field methods are a useful tool for the environmental risk assessment of pesticides in soil

http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2008.01.47

Application of a standard risk assessment scheme to a North Africa contaminated site (Sfax, Tunisia) - tier 1

Phosphorus is a critical element to agriculture, consequently global phosphate rock demand will remain rising to feed a growing world population. The beneficiation of phosphorous ore gives rise to several tons of a waste by-product [phosphogypsum (PG)] which valorisation is limited, within other reasons, by the risks posed to environment and human health. Although threatening, the accumulation in stacks is the only procedure so far practiced by several countries as a means to get rid of this industrial externality. As part of a NATO Science for Peace Project (SfP 983311) this study describes the application of an environmental risk assessment (ERA) framework, to assess the risks posed by a PG stack to the surrounding soils, in Sfax, Republic of Tunisia. The ERA followed a weight of evidence approach, supported by two lines of evidence (LoE): the chemical (ChemLoE) and the ecotoxicological (EcotoxLoE). Integrated risks point for risk values greater than 0.5 in soils collected in PG stack surrounding area. Soil salinization, has likely contributed to the exacerbation of risks, as well as to the lack of consistency between both LoEs. This study highlights the need of rethinking the weight given to each LoE in ERA, in areas where soil salinization is a reality.publishe

Simplification of soil biota communities impairs nutrient recycling and enhances above- and belowground nitrogen losses

Agriculture is a major source of nutrient pollution, posing a threat to the earth system functioning. Factors determining the nutrient use efficiency of plant-soil systems need to be identified to develop strategies to reduce nutrient losses while ensuring crop productivity. The potential of soil biota to tighten nutrient cycles by improving plant nutrition and reducing soil nutrient losses is still poorly understood. We manipulated soil biota communities in outdoor lysimeters, planted maize, continuously collected leachates, and measured N$_{2}$ O- and N$_{2}$ -gas emissions after a fertilization pulse to test whether differences in soil biota communities affected nutrient recycling and N losses. Lysimeters with strongly simplified soil biota communities showed reduced crop N (-20%) and P (-58%) uptake, strongly increased N leaching losses (+65%), and gaseous emissions (+97%) of N$_{2}$ O and N$_{2}$ . Soil metagenomic analyses revealed differences in the abundance of genes responsible for nutrient uptake, nitrate reduction, and denitrification that helped explain the observed nutrient losses. Soil biota are major drivers of nutrient cycling and reductions in the diversity or abundance of certain groups (e.g. through land-use intensification) can disrupt nutrient cycling, reduce agricultural productivity and nutrient use efficiency, and exacerbate environmental pollution and global warming

Recomendações para avaliação de populações de minhocas em ecossistemas brasileiros

Earthworms are often related to fertile soils and are also frequently used as environmental quality indicators. However, to optimize their use as bioindicators, earthworm populations must be evaluated together with the environmental and anthropogenic variables regulating their communities. This review sought to identify the earthworm-sampling, soil chemical and physical, and environmental and anthropogenic attributes evaluated in 124 published studies that quantified earthworm abundance (>7,300 samples) in 765 sites with different types of climate, soils, land use, and management systems in Brazil. Soil chemical and physical attributes (except pH) were less reported (≤50% of studies) than other environmental variables such as sampling date, altitude, temperature, precipitation, climate and soil type, and land use (>50% of studies). Earthworms were rarely identified (24%) and few studies (31%) measured their biomass, although most provided adequate information on sampling protocol. Based on their importance in regulating earthworm populations, a set of variables is proposed to be evaluated when studying earthworm communities and other macrofauna groups. This should help guide future studies on earthworms in Brazil and other countries, optimize data collection and replicability, allow comparisons between different studies, and promote the use of earthworms as soil quality bioindicators.As minhocas são frequentemente relacionadas a solos férteis e, também, bastante usadas como indicadores da qualidade ambiental. No entanto, para otimizar seu uso como bioindicadores, as populações de minhocas devem ser avaliadas juntamente com as variáveis ambientais e antropogênicas que regulam as suas comunidades. Esta revisão buscou identificar os atributos relacionados à amostragem de minhocas, físicos e químicos dos solos, e ambientais e antropogênicos avaliados em 124 estudos publicados que quantificaram a abundância de minhocas (>7.300 amostras) em 765 locais com diferentes tipos de clima, solos, uso da terra e sistemas de manejo no Brasil. Os atributos químicos e físicos do solo (exceto pH) foram menos relatados (≤50% dos estudos) do que outras variáveis ambientais, como data de coleta, altitude, temperatura, precipitação, tipo de solo e de clima, e uso do solo (>50% dos estudos). As minhocas foram raramente identificadas (24%) e poucos estudos (31%) mediram sua biomassa, embora a maioria tenha fornecido informações adequadas sobre o protocolo de amostragem. Com base na sua importância para a regulação das populações de minhocas, propõe-se um conjunto de variáveis que devem ser avaliadas no estudo de comunidades de minhocas e outros grupos da macrofauna do solo. Isso deve ajudar a guiar futuros estudos sobre minhocas no Brasil e em outros países, otimizar a coleta e a replicabilidade de dados, permitir comparações entre diferentes estudos e promover o uso de minhocas como bioindicadores da qualidade do solo