Airborne particulate matter (PM) is presently an environmental problem of primary concern, whose role in air quality, climatic and ecological issues is well recognized, though still a matter of extensive investigations (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007).It is of great scientific interest to detect sources of atmospheric particulate matter and quantify their influence on the global and local scales. Unfortunately, emissions are usually not directly available, while PM concentration time series are experimentally accessible, so that the problem often consists in "inverting" these data to determine the region of influence that caused the measured concentration. In this paper we are concerned with an alternative approach to inverse modeling based on backward trajectory analysis (BTA); this approach has the potential to overcome some limitations associated with traditional BTA.We apply this method to the analysis of PM time series from the Monte Cimone observatory, hereafter MCT, a high altitude station on the top of the Italian Northern Apennines, with the aim of estimate the contribution of Saharan dust transport on PM concentration levels registered in the Mediterranean region.
Desertification, which affects more than two-thirds of the world's arid and semi-arid regions, is a significant global ecological and environmental problem. There is a strong link between desertification of the drylands and emission of CO₂ from soil and vegetation to the atmosphere. The Horqin Sandy Land is a severely desertified area in China's agro-pastoral ecotone due to its fragile ecology, combined with unsustainable land management. We estimated changes of organic carbon content in the bulk soil (0–5 cm), in the light-fraction of soil organic matter (based on density fractionation), and in the various particle-size fractions in areas with mobile sand dunes after implementing grazing exclusion (12 and 27 years) and tree and shrub planting (22 and 24 years). Carbon stocks in the bulk soil and all soil density and particle-size fractions increased significantly in the exclosure and plantation plots. The average rates of carbon accumulation in the bulk soil in the exclosure and plantation plots were 16.0 and 17.8 g m⁻² y⁻¹, respectively, versus corresponding values of 2.3 and 7.1 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the light fraction, 4.3 and 8.0 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the coarse fraction, 5.0 and 3.4 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the fine sand, 4.5 and 4.2 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the very fine sand, and 1.8 and 1.8 g m⁻² y⁻¹ for the silt clay fraction. The older the exclosure and plantation, the more carbon accumulated in the bulk soil and in each fraction. The carbon pool exceeded the level in non-desertified grasslands after 27 years of grazing exclosure and 24 years of the shrub plantation. Our results suggest that both grazing exclusion and planting trees and shrubs can restore desertified grassland, creating a high potential for sequestering soil carbon, but that the plantations appeared to accumulate soil carbon faster than the exclosures.
The study assessed the influence of environmental hazards on the development of rural communities in Abia State. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was 1,772 executive members of 175 Community Development Associations from where a sample of five hundred and nine executive members from 70 Community Development Associations was drawn. Self-structured questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. It was face validated by two experts in Educational Administration and Educational Measurement/ Evaluation from Abia State University, Uturu. The reliability of the instrument was tested on 25 executive members of Ayamele and Ifite-Ogwari Community Development Associations, both are Local Government Areas in Anambra State. Reliability coefficient of 0.88 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha estimate. The data were analyzed by computing and comparing the mean scores and standard deviation. Also, the null hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics. The findings of the study revealed the influence of deforestation, agricultural development and industries and technology on the environment. The study therefore recommended among others that Abia State Government should organize seminars, workshop and conferences for Community Development Associations executive members and other community leaders on the issues concerning environmental protection.
The paper presents the results of several years investigations (2003-2007) on two invaders: the Himalayans Impatiens glandulifera and Asiatic Reynoutria japonica. The Sudety Mountains and their national parks are under strong pressure of both species, threatening the local vegetation. The four-year investigations have been carried out in field, glasshouse and in laboratory. Invasive species have their peculiar life histories which help them to occupy new areas. Those are above all the specific generative reproduction strategies (Impatiens) or vegetative reproduction strategies (Reynoutria). Both strategies secure the reproductive success and to capture more and more highly situated areas of the mountains. Very significant characteristics connected with the expansion of invaders is the excessively over and above the average production of seeds (Impatiens) and a huge annual increment aboveground biomass (Reynoutria). The investigated invasive species are probably not equipped with influence of allelopatic type as of greater importance is their competitive strength. The invaders can eliminate a part of the early spring flora belonging to the geophyte group and impoverish the regional biological diversity. Both the invasive plants enter also into some moist mountain forest communities.
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