ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING USING LINDEN TREE LEAVES AS NATURAL TRAPS OF ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION: A PILOT STUDY IN TRANSILVANIA, ROMANIA

Atmospheric pollution caused by toxic elements is an emerging problem of concern. Tree leaves have been widely used as indicator of atmospheric pollutions and they are effective alternatives to the moreusual biomonitoring methods. Tree leaves can be used as natural traps of atmospheric deposition. Elemental composition of dust deposited onto leaf surfaces can be used to characterize the urban environment. A pilot survey including 16 Romanian settlements was carried out in order to evaluate the characteristics and sources of air pollutants. Tree leaves (Tilia tomentosa, Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos) were collected and used for the measurements. Elemental analyses were carried out by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Principal component and discriminant analyses were used to characterizing and estimating the level of pollution. Settlements were grouped on the basis of discriminant function values. Multivariate comparison of chemical data ordered the settlements into 3 main groups, which showed a systematic geographic distribution

Ecological health of coral reefs in Zanzibar

Coral reefs are important ecosystems in terms of their biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Particularly at local scales, coral reefs are vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, leading to the degradation of reef health. Here, we employed two different methods to monitor reef health. First, we conducted line transect surveys to record the benthic community structure to infer ecological reef health. Secondly, trace metal concentrations in sediment samples and a bioindicator sponge species, Haliclona fascigera, were compared among sites to detect cryptic degradation and unknown sources of pollution. The study area comprised six reefs situated along the coast of Zanzibar’s main agglomeration, Stone Town, and subject to different types of disturbances and conservation management schemes. Overall, coral reef health was found to decrease with increasing proximity to Stone Town, with living hard coral cover being particularly low on reefs closest to Stone Town, which coincided with greater fishing, tourism, and pollution pressures. Reef assessments based on trace metal analyses differed from the community structure surveys. All sites showed high levels of arsenic and cadmium contamination, with some samples revealing concerning levels of chromium, copper and zinc. The reefs differed significantly between each other in terms of trace metal concentration for both sediments (p = 0.031, PERMANOVA) and sponge samples (p = 0.001, PERMANOVA). Trace metal concentrations were not correlated with distance to Stone Town, highlighting the downstream effects of industrial and urban sewage on even remote reefs. Coral reef health assessment was found to be dependent on the survey method employed, which is why we recommend the combination of complementary methods

Environmental monitoring using linden tree leaves as natural traps of atmospheric deposition: a pilot study in Transilvania, Romania

Atmospheric pollution caused by toxic elements is an emerging problem of concern. Tree leaves havebeen widely used as indicator of atmospheric pollutions and they are effective alternatives to the moreusual biomonitoring methods. Tree leaves can be used as natural traps of atmospheric deposition.Elemental composition of dust deposited onto leaf surfaces can be used to characterize the urbanenvironment. A pilot survey including 16 Romanian settlements was carried out in order to evaluatethe characteristics and sources of air pollutants. Tree leaves (Tilia tomentosa, Tilia cordata, Tiliaplatyphyllos) were collected and used for the measurements. Elemental analyses were carried out byICP-OES and ICP-MS. Principal component and discriminant analyses were used to characterizingand estimating the level of pollution. Settlements were grouped on the basis of discriminant functionvalues. Multivariate comparison of chemical data ordered the settlements into 3 main groups, whichshowed a systematic geographic distribution

Distribution of Trace Elements in Sediments and Biota of Songkhla Lake, Southern Thailand

The concentrations of Co,Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb,As, Fe, Mn, and Al were determined in sediments and biota of Songkhla Lake, a shallow coastal lagoon located in southern Thailand. In June 2006, surface sediments were sampled in 44 stations in the three sections of the lake (inner-, middle-, and outer sections). Sediment cores were also sampled in 13 stations in three cross-sections of the lake. In surface sediments, trace and major elements, organic matter, sediment grain size analysis, and sulfides were determined, and in the sediment cores, redox profiles were made. Soil samples were also collected at garbage dumping sites in the vicinity of the lake. In addition, the metal accumulation in two catfish species (Arius maculatus and Osteogeneiosus militaris) and the crustacean (Apseudes sapensis) was also investigated. Trace element concentrations in sediments of Songkhla Lake show that, especially the Outer section of the lake, in particular the sediments atthe mouths of the Phawong, U-Taphao, and Samrong Canals are significantly enriched with trace elements due to municipal, agricultural, and industrial discharges entering the lake through the canals. Aluminumnormalized enrichment factors throughout the lake vary from 0.4 to 1.7 for Ni, 0.3 to 3.3 for Cu, 0.2 to 7 for Zn, 0.1 to 14 for As, 1 to 24 for Cd, 0.7 to 6.8 for Pb, and 0.1 to 7.8 for Mn. Correlations between the elements and sediment characteristics show that Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb are essentially associated with the sulfide fraction; that Ni and Co are predominantly bound to the clay minerals and iron oxy-hydroxides, and that As is principally bound to iron oxy-hydroxides. The accumulation of trace elements between muscle tissue and liver and eggs of A. maculatus and O. militaris is element-specific, but concentrations of trace elements in fish muscle tissue are well within the limits for human consumption

Studie van atomisatieprocessen bij verbindingen van vluchtige metalen in diverse M.I.P. nagloeden

SIGLEKULeuven Campusbibliotheek Exacte Wetenschappen / UCL - Université Catholique de LouvainBEBelgiu

Bioavailability and bioaccumulation of uranium: From lab to modelling

International audienc