Tillage versus no-tillage. soil properties and hydrology in an organic persimmon farm in eastern Iberian Peninsula

There is an urgent need to implement environmentally friendly agriculture management practices to achieve the Sustainable Goals for Development (SDGs) of the United Nations by 2030. Mediterranean agriculture is characterized by intense and millennia-old tillage management and as a consequence degraded soil. No-Tillage has been widely examined as a solution for soil degradation but No-Tillage relies more on the application of herbicides that reduce plant cover, which in turn enhances soil erosion. However, No-Tillage with weed cover should be researched to promote organic farming and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, we compare Tillage against No-Tillage using weed cover as an alternative strategy to reduce soil losses in persimmon plantations, both of them under organic farming management. To achieve these goals, two plots were established at "La Canyadeta" experimental station on 25-years old Persimmon plantations, which are managed with Tillage and No-Tillage for 3 years. A survey of the soil cover, soil properties, runoff generation and initial soil losses using rainfall simulation experiments at 55 mm h-1 in 0.25 m2 plot was carried out. Soils under Tillage are bare (96.7%) in comparison to the No-Tillage (16.17% bare soil), with similar organic matter (1.71 vs. 1.88%) and with lower bulk densities (1.23 vs. 1.37 g cm3). Tillage induces faster ponding (60 vs. 92 s), runoff (90 vs. 320 s) and runoff outlet (200 vs. 70 s). The runoff discharge was 5.57 times higher in the Tillage plots, 8.64 for sediment concentration and 48.4 for soil losses. We conclude that No-tillage shifted the fate of the tilled field after 3 years with the use of weeds as a soil cover conservation strategy. This immediate effect of No-Tillage under organic farming conditions is very promising to achieve the SDGs

Municipal solid waste management under Covid-19: Challenges and recommendations

Covid-19 is proving to be an unprecedented disaster for human health, social contacts and the economy worldwide. It is evident that SARS-CoV-2 may spread through municipal solid waste (MSW), if collected, bagged, handled, transported or disposed of inappropriately. Under the stress placed by the current pandemic on the sanitary performance across all MSW management (MSWM) chains, this industry needs to re-examine its infrastructure resilience with respect to all processes, from waste identification, classification, collection, separation, storage, transportation, recycling, treatment and disposal. The current paper provides an overview of the severe challenges placed by Covid-19 onto MSW systems, highlighting the essential role of waste management in public health protection during the ongoing pandemic. It also discusses the measures issued by various international organisations and countries for the protection of MSWM employees (MSWEs), identifying gaps, especially for developing countries, where personal protection equipment and clear guidelines to MSWEs may not have been provided, and the general public may not be well informed. In countries with high recycling rates of MSW, the need to protect MSWEs' health has affected the supply stream of the recycling industry. The article concludes with recommendations for the MSW industry operating under public health crisis conditions

Environmental geotechnics: Challenges and opportunities in the post-Covid-19 world

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic not only has created a health crisis across the world but is also expected to impact negatively the global economy and societies at a scale that is maybe larger than that of the 2008 financial crisis. Simultaneously, it has inevitably exerted many negative consequences on the geoenvironment on which human beings depend. The current paper articulates the role of environmental geotechnics in elucidating and mitigating the effects of the current pandemic. It is the belief of all authors that the Covid-19 pandemic presents not only significant challenges but also opportunities for the development of the environmental geotechnics field. This discipline should make full use of geoenvironmental researchers' and engineers' professional skills and expertise to look for development opportunities from this crisis, to highlight the irreplaceable position of the discipline in the global fight against pandemics and to contribute to the health and prosperity of communities, to serve humankind better. In order to reach this goal while taking into account the specificity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the uncertainty of its environmental effects, it is believed that more emphasis should be placed on the following research directions: pathogen-soil interactions; isolation and remediation technologies for pathogen-contaminated sites; new materials for pathogen-contaminated soil; recycling and safe disposal of medical wastes; quantification of uncertainty in geoenvironmental and epidemiological problems; emerging technologies and adaptation strategies in civil, geotechnical and geoenvironmental infrastructures; pandemic-induced environmental risk management; and modelling of pathogen transport and fate in geoenvironment, among others. Moreover, Covid-19 has made it clear to the environmental geotechnics community the importance of urgent international co-operation and of multidisciplinary research actions that must extend to a broad range of scientific fields, including medical and public health disciplines, in order to meet the complexities posed by the Covid-19 pandemic

Potential impact of two landfills on the near vicinity with the use of bioindicators

The research deals in complex with the issue of landfilling and with a possible use of biological indicators to assess the impact of landfill on its surroundings. The problem is topical as landfilling remains the most spread technology for the disposal of communal waste in the Czech Republic. Assessing the impact of the landfill on its environs, we based our study on the selected bioindicators present in 1995 and in 2007 – 2010. During the period of vegetation biomonitoring, we did not detect any significant impact of the landfills on the biotic composition of the environment and no symptoms of leaf area chlorosis or necrosis that would have indicated the direct impact of sanitary landfills operation on the locality. The Štěpánovice landfill and Kuchyňky landfill have a functional system of drains combined with the system of ground sealing and the system of seepage water drainage pits. It further has a sophisticated system to check fencing, fly-offs and to collect lightweight waste. Both landfills are constructed and operated in compliance with the most modern and strictest requirements and standards

Testing the biodegradability and biodegradation rates of degradable/biodegradable plastics within simulated environment

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the biodegradability and biodegradation rates of ‘single-use' plastic bags available on the market and labeled as degradable/biodegradable. The test was carried out under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The project length was 20 months. The biodegradation results in the laboratory conditions demonstrate that none of the degradable/ biodegradable bags showed visual changes and/or were broken into pieces and none of them experienced any disintegration or degradation. The cellulose filter paper (CFP) completely degraded after 10 days in the aerobic conditions and after 5 month in the anaerobic conditions, implying that the conditions required for biodegradation to occur in a sampling environment were present

Disposal of unused tires in the Czech Republic

W ostatnich latach, z powodu szybkiego rozwoju społeczeństwa, rośnie popyt na opony. Wiąże się to ze wzrostem produkcji zużytych opon. Jednym z głównych problemów, związanch ze zużytymi oponami, jest znalezienie odpowiedniego sposobu ich unieszkodliwiania. Unieszkodliwianie zużytych opon powinno być w zgodzie z zasadą zrównoważonego rozwoju. Oznacza to, że produkcyjnie i energetycznie wymagające produkty muszą być po ukończeniu swojej żywotności w 100% recyklowane, a uzyskane w ten sposób komponenty ponownie wykorzystane. Niniejsza praca zajmuje się problematyką zużytych opon jako cennego surowca. Celem pracy jest opisanie sytuacji unieszkodliwiania zużytych opon w Republice Czeskiej, w Unii Europejskiej (dalej EU – od roku 2004 w 25 krajach członkowskich, od roku 2007 w 27 krajach członkowskich) oraz na świecie. W dalszej części praca dotyczy problematyki wtórnego odbioru zużytych opon w Republice Czeskiej.The worldwide production of waste tires (so called "end of life tires" - ELT) grows every year. The same situation is in the Czech Republic and in the countries of the European Union, but also in the world. Every year about 3.4 million tonnes of used tyres (part worn + end of life tyres) are generated in Europe, of which 3 million tonnes are either recycled or recovered. This amounts to approximately 300 million units. The composition and energy characteristics of tires are a significant source of material, energy and also raw material. Calorific value tires ranges from approximately 25 to approximately 32 MJ · kg-1. The calorific value is comparable with conventional fossil fuels, which is due to the high proportion of hydrocarbons (over 75%). For these reasons, an alternative tire conventional fuels. The aim of the research is focused on the second part of product life cycle – the tire at the end of lifetime. The main possibilities of utilization of used up tires after end of their life are as follows: retreading, recycling (production of granulate), energy and material utilization in a cement factory, pyrolysis (production of pyrolytic products) and formerly used waste storing. Another objective of the work is to describe the situation of waste tires in the Czech Republic in the European Union and the world and focus on the issue of return

Research of the biodegradability of degradable/biodegradable plastic material in various types of environments

Research of the biodegradability of degradable/biodegradable plastic material in various types of environments. Research was carried out in order to assess biodegradability of degradable/biodegradable materials made of HDPE and mixed with totally degradable plastic additive (TDPA additive) or made of polyethylene (PE) with the addition of pro-oxidant additive (d2w additive), advertised as 100% degradable or certified as compostable within various types of environments. Research conditions were: (i) controlled composting environment – laboratory-scale, (ii) real composting conditions – domestic compost bin, (iii) real composting conditions – industrial composting plant and (iv) landfill conditions. The results demonstrate that the materials made of HDPE and mixed with totally degradable plastic additive (TDPA additive) or made of polyethylene (PE) with the addition of pro- -oxidant additive (d2w additive) or advertised as 100% degradable did not biodegrade in any of the above-described conditions and remained completely intact at the end of the tests. Biodegradation of the certified compostable plastic bags proceeded very well in laboratory-scale conditions and in real composting conditions – industrial composting plant, however, these materials did not biodegrade in real composting conditions – domestic compost bin and landfill conditions

Wpływ zielonych dachów na jakość wody deszczowej oraz wybrane problemy ekoploatacyjne - studium przypadku

Shopping centres usually occupy large areas of land development. However, their roofs are rarely used for purposes related to rainwater management and introduction of active biological surfaces. In Bielsko-Biała, thanks to the initiative of the originator and architect, an intense green roof was created on the rooftop of a shopping centre. In addition to the primary role of the roof as a garden that makes the housing estate more attractive, it also collects some of the rainwater and delays its outflow to the sewage system. Plants, shrubs and trees planted on the roof are watered almost exclusively with water collected in a tank located under the building, intended for retaining rainwater. These waters are pretreated before they reach the tank, i.e. they filter through the root layer of plants growing on the roof, and through the biologically active layer (substrate). This paper highlights some of the operating problems of the selected green roof. The authors focused on assessing the toxicity of rainwater flowing down from hardened surfaces on the roof of the shopping centre and the area occupied by the green roof. Relevant toxicity studies on these waters have been carried out in this regard. The research hypothesis that rainwater percolating through the selected soil material is not toxic and stimulates test plant growth was put forward. Tests of semichronic toxicity with the seeds of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) prove that all the rainwater samples showed a stimulating effect on the test plant. The average root growth stimulation value during the period considered was –125%. It was confirmed that rainwater did not show toxic properties for white mustard seeds (Sinapis alba L.) and can be used for watering the garden constituting the green roof of a selected research facility. In the case of rainwater pH, it was found that the pH is adequate and has no toxic effect on the selected white mustard test plant (Sinapis alba L.). It confirms that the rainwater retained in this way can be used to water the green roof. The selected research facility meets the requirements set for green roofs

Fiber Quality of Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Grown in Soil Irrigated by Landfill Leachate Water

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) for industrial use is often considered as a renewable resource for cultivation in polluted areas, on one hand, for the purpose of possible remediation of soil and, on the other hand, for wide options of the possible use of plant material after the harvest in such areas, namely hemp fiber. This study summarizes the effects of landfill leachate irrigation on agronomic parameters and fiber properties in two cultivars of hemp has grown and harvested in two consecutive seasons. Cultivar Bialobrzeskie shows more promising results in terms of total fiber content and phloem fiber content, while it tends to sacrifice the density of both xylem and phloem fiber in comparison to cultivar Monoica. The two cultivars also demonstrate different sensitivity and responses to the presence of heavy metals, namely zinc and chromium