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pp. 291-294 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.001
Pier Paolo Franzese, Giulia Maisto, Anna De Marco, Carmen Arena, Elvira Buonocore
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This volume gathers theoretical, methodological, and applied papers exploring different issues related to environmental quality and management. Human economy depends on healthy ecosystems capable of ensuring a life support system delivering ecosystem services vital for human well-being. Integrated environmental assessment and environmental accounting are essential research areas to assess the quality of environmental matrices while supporting managers and policy makers with scientifically sound information.
pp. 295-304 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.002
Chiara Amitrano, Ermenegilda Vitale, Veronica De Micco, Carmen Arena
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In a climate change scenario, the optimization of growth conditions for food crop species plays a key role for the sustainability of cultivation. Agrotechnologies need to be improved to set up the best conditions to maximize plant development, production and resource use efficiency in growth chambers and greenhouses. The manipulation of light quality during plant growth may be used as a powerful mean to obtain specific functional traits. This practice may be useful to improve plant growth, also avoiding the use of large doses of chemical fertilizers, which may compromise the environment and human health. In our study, we analyzed specific physiological traits of mung bean (Vigna radiata) seed-lings grown at different light quality regimes (W-White, R-Red and RB-Red-Blue light), to assess the best light treatment in promoting plant development and photosynthesis. Plant growth was monitored measuring stem and root elongation, dry biomass and total leaf area. The integrity of the photosynthetic machinery was monitored through fluorescence an emission measurements and content of photosynthetic pigments and total proteins. Our results showed that the growth under R wavelengths promoted stem elongation compared to W and RB. This light treatment was also responsible for the highest production of total chlorophylls. Photochemistry was not affected by the different light qualities. RB light induced a compact architecture of plants and the highest amount of proteins. Overall results indicate that different light quality regimes can be applied during the cultivation to consciously modify plant growth and development. Thus, it will be fundamental to optimize and choose opportunely not only the intensity but also the spectral composition of light to maximize the productivity of a specific crop in quantitative and qualitative terms.
pp. 305-311 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.003
F. Esposito, V. Memoli, S.C. Panico, A. De Marco, G. Maisto
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Anthropization causes an increase of pollutants in the atmosphere that, in turn, leads to a decline of air quality. Leaves from selected tree species are useful tools to evaluate air quality as they intercept air deposition and accumulate, through stomata, pollutants in gaseous form or in fine particulate. However, leaf morphology and biochemical characteristics may be negatively affected by air pollution. The aims of the study were: i) to evaluate the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb in leaves and deposit on them in specimens of Q. ilex L., widely used as biomonitor; ii) to estimate the relationships between metal accumulation and morphologicalleaf traits (length, width, petiole length, leaf area) in two municipalities: Pomigliano (ME) and Naples (UE), respectively, characterized by mixed (urban and industrial) and urban environments. At both site typologies, the investigated metals, with the exception of Cd, were accumulated in leaf deposits, as their concentrations were higher in unwashed than washed. The comparison of the metal concentrations in deposits on leaves collected at the two site typologies highlighted that for Pb values were statistically different with concentrations higher at ME. Instead, the leaves widely differed for metal composition, with statistically higher values of Cd at UE. All the metal concentrations exceeded the chemical fingerprint, in particular Pb and Cd respectively in mixed and urban environments. Besides, the metal capture rate, an estimation of the adsorbed or captured heavy metals on the leaf surface respect to the total concentration, showed statistically lower values for Cu and Ni in leaves collected at ME, suggesting the consistent presence of fine particulate. Finally, metal accumulation in leaves collected at ME was linked to leaf morphology as leaf traits showed values lower than in leaves collected at UE.
pp. 313-324 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.004
Rossana Marzaioli, Elio Coppola, Paola Iovieno, Alfonso Pentangelo, Catello Pane, Flora Angela Rutigliano
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Greenhouse agriculture, a widespread practice in the Mediterranean basin, is prone to impoverishment in soil organic carbon because of crop removal and high decomposition rate. Open-field experimentation has shown that the addition of biochar, a product of thermochemical conversion of biomass, under a limited concentration of oxygen, increases the soil organic C pool, enhances crop productivity and improves C terrestrial sink. The present study investigates the effect of biochar amendment in a greenhouse environment in a Southern Italy organic farm. Two doses (10 or 20 t ha −1) of biochar from conifer pruning wastes were applied immediately before planting 1-week old plants of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Plant growth and crop yield were evaluated six months later, at the end of cultivation, in biochar-treated and in control (without biochar) plots. Soil samples were collected in the same plots immediately after biochar addition and six months later and were analyzed for the following parameters: bulk density, water-holding capacity, pH, electrical conductivity,organic carbon,mineral nitrogen, total microbial biomass and fungal mycelium contents, soil respiration, nitrogen mineralization, potential nitrification, soil suppressiveness to Rhizoctonia solani. A single biochar application caused no apparent damage to the crop; on the other hand, no improvement was observed in crop yield or soil suppressiveness to R. solani. In contrast, the single char application positively affected soil respiration, nitrogen mineralization and potential nitrification. These preliminary results suggest that soil amendment with biochar is a potentially useful practice in greenhouse agriculture, yet further experimentationis necessary to assess optimal amounts for better crop productivity and soil quality.
pp. 325-333 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.005
Alessandro Sapio1
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Through a theoretical model of subsidies for renewable energy (RE), the paper shows that regions characterised by high energy demand and low RE endowments contribute disproportionately to the green energy budget. Such a pattern is emphasised if subsidies are tied to wholesale electricity prices, because the merit order effect associated with renewables, by depressing the electricity price, justifies higher subsidies to RE generators. Due to a pecuniary externality, interconnection between regions allows the region with a lower income and richer RE production to partly shift the burden of RE support on the other region. These spatial patterns can be overturnedif RE ownership is distributed across zones, and under some parameter sets in which market integration implies a heavier unit burden of RE support.
pp. 335-343 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.006
V. Romanucci, A. Ladhari, G. De Tommaso, A. De Marco, C. Di Marino, G. Di Fabio, A. Zarrelli
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The subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system is a micro-irrigation technique applied below the soil surface through drip lines buried at a depth depending on the characteristics of the soil and on the plants to be irrigated. SDI distributes precise amounts of water directly to the root area, with the possibility of leaving the soil surface dry and less subject to weeds. This system reduces the use of water, herbicides, and environmental pollution. Furthermore, SDI allows the use of urban wastewater, advantageous from the environmentalpoint of view since it reduces the consumption of ground water and energy costs required for its pumping. In addition, it reduces the use of chemical fertilizers through the enhancement of organic fertilizer content in the waste. However, there are issues related to the use of SDI systems, such as the elimination or reduction of roots that wrap the dripper thus blocking the water flow. It has been hypothesized that it would be useful to add a pure or blended phytotoxic mixture to plastic during the production of drippers, whose herbicidal action dissolves gradually with the passage of water. Five species of plants have been selected in this study: Vetch villosa, Brassica juncea, Secale cereale, Juncus effusus, and Vallisneria natans. The phytotoxicity has been tested in vivo on Lactuca sativa, Lycopersicon esculentum, and Allium cepa. The plants showed the same behavior but the aerial biomass of V. natans resulted the most active ones. The phytotoxicity of the hydroalcoholic extract of each plant was evaluated on the same test organisms, with peak inhibitions up to 60, 70, and 80% at concentrations ranging from 10−4 to 10−7 M. In general, the most active hydroalcoholic infusion was that of V. villosa. Finally, after some chromatographic steps and LC/GC-MS analyses, the most abundant metabolites of the hydroalcoholic extracts were identified.
pp. 345-353 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.007
S. Schiavo, M. Oliviero, V. Romano, S. Dumontet, S. Manzo
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The environmental contamination caused by the widespread diffusion of plastic material all over the world is a topic of high concern. Virgin plastic pellets of different polymers are often used in particle toxicity studies as reference materials. In this study we exposed organisms of different trophic levels, spanning form prokaryotes to eukaryotes, to leachate of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene (PS) pellets in acute and chronic ecotoxicological tests. A toxicity test battery integrated index (TBI) was used to rank the relative toxicity of studied polymers and to define their possible ecotoxicological risk in freshwater environment. Daphnia magna showed the highest susceptibility in the chronic exposure tests (around 50% of effect) while Aliivibrio fischeri (around 25 % of effect) in the acute one. No relevant toxic effects were observed on Sorghum saccharatum, Lepidium sativum and Sinapis alba seeds, while significant toxicity for Vicia faba along 21 days of exposure was reported. TBI allowed us to rank the toxicity risk associated to the studied materials as follows: PP>PS>PE. PP toxicity could be related to the presence of solvents (methanol, oil, cyclohexane) employed for its production, whereas PS toxicity was probably due to the depolymerization, occurring in water, followed by styrene release, while the mild toxic effects of PE and its temporary bio stimulation could be attributable to the thermoregulatory additives present in the polyethylene resins. Our results highlighted that also the virgin plastic pellets could be responsible of toxic effects that should not be neglected.
pp. 355-363 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.008
F. Figlioli, V. Memoli, G. Maisto, V. Spagnuolo, S. Giordano, E. O. Leidi, S. Rossini Oliva
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Mining and smelting activities can alter the ecosystem degrading vegetation and landscape, causing loss of soil fertility and changes in hydrology and microclimate. The mining area of Rio Tinto is one of the largest metallic sulfide deposits in the world, extending to southern Portugal and the Rio Tinto region (Huelva, SW Spain). Soils, characterized by low pH, are strongly impoverished in macro- and micronutrients essential to the plant metabolism and contain very high concentrations of As, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Pb. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing Mn concentrations (0, 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg /L) on the uptake of a set of micro and macro nutrients in Cistus salvifolius L., a species native of the Rio Tinto region. The plants, grown in hydroponic culture, were analyzed by AAS for elemental content and by SEM-XS ray microanalysis for element localization. The results of this study showed a stunted growth and ultrastructural alterations in the root of C. salvifolius, with the most evident damages occurring at the highest Mn concentration. Chemical analyses confirm that the higher the concentration in culture medium, the higher the uptake of Mn in plant tissue; both lower and higher Mn concentrations influence the absorption of other essential nutrients, as Fe, Zn, K, and Mg. The visible state of stress observed in plants grown with addition of 300 ppm Mn may therefore be due to such variations in the absorption of micronutrientsand/or to the Mn itself. Future studies should focus on possible synergistic and antagonistic activities of Mn versus other essential elements for proper plant development.
pp. 365-380 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.009
Luca Appolloni, Roberto Sandulli, Carlo Nike Bianchi, Giovanni Fulvio Russo
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Landscape ecology investigates spatial patterns of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems (anthromes). However, most studies were focused on terrestrial environment, while submarine landscape (seascape) was poorly taken into account. This study represents a first attempt to perform an integrated landscape/seascape spatial analysis of the densely populated Gulf of Naples. Multivariate analyses on landscape metrics were used to detect differences in the spatial patterns of ecosystem patches between landscape and seascape and to compare the effects of anthropogenic impact in terms of spatial heterogeneity. Results showed that landscape, mainly composed by humans perturbed ecosystems, presents higher patch edge dimension, diversity and evenness, and a lower fractal dimension than seascape. Significant differences on edges, diversity metrics, and heterogeneity among patches were also detected between land- and seascape. Landscape showed low γ -variability (a measure of heterogeneity) due to the highly homogenous distribution of ecosystem patches, a characteristic feature of impacted anthropogenic system with low resilience. Conversely, seascape showed high γ -variability, a feature of systems with low anthropogenic impact and high resilience. These outcomes suggest that anthropogenic impact on integrated territorial systems is inversely related to γ -variability, and consequently to resilience. In addition, they also suggest that seascape is more resilient than landscape, also in a highly exploited and overcrowded territorial system like the Gulf of Naples. Such findings can also be useful in support of environmental accounting and management at landscape scale.
pp. 381-391 | DOI: 10.5890/JEAM.2018.12.010
Elvira Buonocore, Flavio Picone, Giovanni Fulvio Russo, Pier Paolo Franzese
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Natural capital can be defined as the stock of natural resources generating a “natural income” in terms of valuable flows of different types of ecosystem goods and services. According to “strong sustainability”, natural capital is irreplaceable with manufactured capital and it ensures a life support system vital for human well-being. In this study, the global scientific literature on natural capital was explored by performing a bibliometric network analysis. The investigation of the networks of authors, countries, journals, and keywords allowed a comprehensive overview of the scientific literature on natural capital. Results showed an increase in the attention given to the topic of natural capital worldwide. The combined use of social network analysis and bibliometrics proved to be a promising approach for exploring the scientific literature by applying systems thinking in bibliometric science.