List of Titles

Assessment of public health risk associated with viral contamination in harvested urban stormwater for domestic applications

- Lim, Keah-Ying, Hamilton, Andrew, Jiang, Sunny

Authors: Lim, Keah-Ying , Hamilton, Andrew , Jiang, Sunny
Date: 2015
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 523, no. (2015), p. 95-108
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Description: Capturing stormwater is becoming a new standard for sustainable urban stormwater management, which can be used to supplement water supply portfolios in water-stressed cities. The key advantage of harvesting stormwater is to use low impact development (LID) systems for treatment to meet water quality requirement for non-potable uses. However, the lack of scientific studies to validate the safety of such practice has limited its adoption. Microbial hazards in stormwater, especially human viruses, represent the primary public health threat. Using adenovirus and norovirus as target pathogens, we investigated the viral health risk associated with a generic scenario of urban stormwater harvesting practice and its application for three non-potable uses: 1) toilet flushing, 2) showering, and 3) food-crop irrigation. The Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) results showed that food-crop irrigation has the highest annual viral infection risk (median range: 6.8×10-4-9.7×10-1 per-person-per-year or pppy), followed by showering (3.6×10-7-4.3×10-2pppy), and toilet flushing (1.1×10-7-1.3×10-4pppy). Disease burden of each stormwater use was ranked in the same order as its viral infection risk: food-crop irrigation>showering>toilet flushing. The median and 95th percentile risk values of toilet-flushing using treated stormwater are below U.S. EPA annual risk benchmark of ≤10-4pppy, whereas the disease burdens of both toilet-flushing and showering are within the WHO recommended disease burdens of ≤10-6DALYspppy. However, the acceptability of showering risk interpreted based on the U.S. EPA and WHO benchmarks is in disagreement. These results confirm the safety of stormwater application in toilet flushing, but call for further research to fill the data gaps in risk modeling as well as risk benchmarks. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

Anthropogenic forcing of estuarine hypoxic events in sub-tropical catchments : Landscape drivers and biogeochemical processes

- Wong, Vanessa, Johnston, Scott, Burton, Edward, Bush, Richard, Sullivan, Leigh, Slavich, Peter

Authors: Wong, Vanessa , Johnston, Scott , Burton, Edward , Bush, Richard , Sullivan, Leigh , Slavich, Peter
Date: 2011
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 409, no. 24 (2011), p. 5368-5375
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Description: Episodic hypoxic events can occur following summer floods in sub-tropical estuaries of eastern Australia. These events can cause deoxygenation of waterways and extensive fish mortality. Here, we present a conceptual model that links key landscape drivers and biogeochemical processes which contribute to post-flood hypoxic events. The model provides a framework for examining the nature of anthropogenic forcing. Modification of estuarine floodplain surface hydrology through the construction of extensive drainage networks emerges as a major contributing factor to increasing the frequency, magnitude and duration of hypoxic events. Forcing occurs in two main ways. Firstly, artificial drainage of backswamp wetlands initiates drier conditions which cause a shift in vegetation assemblages from wetland-dominant species to dryland-dominant species. These species, which currently dominate the floodplain, are largely intolerant of inundation and provide abundant labile substrate for decomposition following flood events. Decomposition of this labile carbon pool consumes oxygen in the overlying floodwaters, and results in anoxic conditions and waters with excess deoxygenation potential (DOP). Carbon metabolism can be strongly coupled with microbially-mediated reduction of accumulated Fe and Mn oxides, phases which are common on these coastal floodplain landscapes. Secondly, artificial drainage enhances discharge rates during the flood recession phase. Drains transport deoxygenated high DOP floodwaters rapidly from backswamp wetlands to the main river channel to further consume oxygen. This process effectively displaces the natural carbon metabolism processes from floodplain wetlands to the main channel. Management options to reduce the impacts of post-flood hypoxia include i) remodifying drainage on the floodplain to promote wetter conditions, thereby shifting vegetation assemblages towards inundation-tolerant species, and ii) strategic retention of floodwaters in the backswamp wetlands to reduce the volume and rate during the critical post-flood recession phase. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

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Arsenic microdistribution and speciation in toenail clippings of children living in a historic gold mining area

- Pearce, Dora, Dowling, Kim, Gerson, Andrea, Sim, Malcolm, Sutton, Stephen, Newville, Matthew, Russell, Robert, McOrist, Gordon

Authors: Pearce, Dora , Dowling, Kim , Gerson, Andrea , Sim, Malcolm , Sutton, Stephen , Newville, Matthew , Russell, Robert , McOrist, Gordon
Date: 2010
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 408, no. 12 (2010), p. 2590-2599
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Description: Arsenic is naturally associated with gold mineralisation and elevated in some soils and mine waste around historical gold mining activity in Victoria, Australia. To explore uptake, arsenic concentrations in children's toenail clippings and household soils were measured, and the microdistribution and speciation of arsenic in situ in toenail clipping thin sections investigated using synchrotron-based X-ray microprobe techniques. The ability to differentiate exogenous arsenic was explored by investigating surface contamination on cleaned clippings using depth profiling, and direct diffusion of arsenic into incubated clippings. Total arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.15 to 2.1

Air-water CO

- Li, Siyue, Bush, Richard, Ward, Nicholas, Sullivan, Leigh, Dong, Fangyong

Authors: Li, Siyue , Bush, Richard , Ward, Nicholas , Sullivan, Leigh , Dong, Fangyong
Date: 2016
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 542, no. (2016), p. 453-468
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Description: Lakes are an important source and sink of atmospheric CO2, and thus are a vital component of the global carbon cycle. However, with scarce data on potentially important subtropical and tropical areas for whole continents such as Australia, themagnitude of large-scale lake CO2 emissions is unclear. This study presents spatiotemporal changes of dissolved inorganic carbon and water—to—air interface CO2 flux in the two of Australia's largest connected, yet geomorphically different freshwater lakes (Lake Alexandrina and LakeAlbert, South Australia), during drought (2007 to September—2010) and post-drought (October 2010 to 2013). Lake levels in the extreme drought were on average approximately 1 m lower than long-term average (0.71 m AHD). Drought was associated with an increase in the concentrations of dissolved inorganic species, organic carbon, nitrogen, Chl-a and major ions, aswell aswater acidification as a consequence of acid sulfate soil (ASS) exposure, and hence, had profound effects on lake pCO2 concentrations. Lakes Alexandrina and Albert were a source of CO2 to the atmosphere during the drought period, with efflux ranging from0.3 to 7.0mmol/m2/d. The lake air–water CO2 flux was negative in the post-drought, ranging between−16.4 and 0.9mmol/m2/d. The average annual CO2 emission was estimated at 615.5 × 106 mol CO2/y during the drought period. These calculated emission rates are in the lower range for lakes, despite the potential for drought conditions that shift the lakes from sink to net source for atmospheric CO2. These observations have significant implications in the context of predicted increasing frequency and intensity of drought as a result of climate change. Further information on the spatial and temporal variability in CO2 flux from Australian lakes is urgently warranted to revise the global carbon budget for lakes.

Regime shifts, thresholds and multiple stable states in freshwater ecosystems; a critical appraisal of the evidence

- Capon, Samantha, Lynch, Jasmyn, Bond, Nick, Chessman, Bruce, Davis, Jenny, Davidson, Nick, Finlayson, C. Max, Gell, Peter, Hohnberg, David, Humphrey, Chris, Kingsford, Richard, Nielsen, Daryl, Thomson, James, Ward, Keith, Mac Nally, Ralph

Authors: Capon, Samantha , Lynch, Jasmyn , Bond, Nick , Chessman, Bruce , Davis, Jenny , Davidson, Nick , Finlayson, C. Max , Gell, Peter , Hohnberg, David , Humphrey, Chris , Kingsford, Richard , Nielsen, Daryl , Thomson, James , Ward, Keith , Mac Nally, Ralph
Date: 2015
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. , no. (2015), p.
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Description: The concepts of ecosystem regime shifts, thresholds and alternative or multiple stable states are used extensively in the ecological and environmental management literature. When applied to aquatic ecosystems, these terms are used inconsistently reflecting differing levels of supporting evidence among ecosystem types. Although many aquatic ecosystems around the world have become degraded, the magnitude and causes of changes, relative to the range of historical variability, are poorly known. A working group supported by the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) reviewed 135 papers on freshwater ecosystems to assess the evidence for pressure-induced non-linear changes in freshwater ecosystems; these papers used terms indicating sudden and non-linear change in their titles and key words, and so was a positively biased sample. We scrutinized papers for study context and methods, ecosystem characteristics and focus, types of pressures and ecological responses considered, and the type of change reported (i.e., gradual, non-linear, hysteretic or irreversible change). There was little empirical evidence for regime shifts and changes between multiple or alternative stable states in these studies although some shifts between turbid phytoplankton-dominated states and clear-water, macrophyte-dominated states were reported in shallow lakes in temperate climates. We found limited understanding of the subtleties of the relevant theoretical concepts and encountered few mechanistic studies that investigated or identified cause-and-effect relationships between ecological responses and nominal pressures. Our results mirror those of reviews for estuarine, nearshore and marine aquatic ecosystems, demonstrating that although the concepts of regime shifts and alternative stable states have become prominent in the scientific and management literature, their empirical underpinning is weak outside of a specific environmental setting. The application of these concepts in future research and management applications should include evidence on the mechanistic links between pressures and consequent ecological change. Explicit consideration should also be given to whether observed temporal dynamics represent variation along a continuum rather than categorically different states.

Risk of post-fire metal mobilization into surface water resources : A review

- Abraham, Joji, Dowling, Kim, Florentine, Singarayer

Authors: Abraham, Joji , Dowling, Kim , Florentine, Singarayer
Date: 2017
Type: Text , Journal article , Review
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 599-600, no. (2017), p. 1740-1755
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Description: One of the significant economic benefits to communities around the world of having pristine forest catchments is the supply of substantial quantities of high quality potable water. This supports a saving of around US$ 4.1 trillion per year globally by limiting the cost of expensive drinking water treatments and provision of unnecessary infrastructure. Even low levels of contaminants specifically organics and metals in catchments when in a mobile state can reduce these economic benefits by seriously affecting the water quality. Contamination and contaminant mobility can occur through natural and anthropogenic activities including forest fires. Moderate to high intensity forest fires are able to alter soil properties and release sequestered metals from sediments, soil organic matter and fragments of vegetation. In addition, the increase in post-fire erosion rate by rainfall runoff and strong winds facilitates the rapid transport of these metals downslope and downstream. The subsequent metal deposition in distal soil and water bodies can influence surface water quality with potential impacts to the larger ecosystems inclusive of negative effects on humans. This is of substantial concern as 4 billion hectares of forest catchments provide high quality water to global communities. Redressing this problem requires quantification of the potential effects on water resources and instituting rigorous fire and environmental management plans to mitigate deleterious effects on catchment areas. This paper is a review of the current state of the art literature dealing with the risk of post-fire mobilization of the metals into surface water resources. It is intended to inform discussion on the preparation of suitable management plans and policies during and after fire events in order to maintain potable water quality in a cost-effective manner. In these times of climate fluctuation and increased incidence of fires, the need for development of new policies and management frameworks are of heighted significance. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

When trends intersect : The challenge of protecting freshwater ecosystems under multiple land use and hydrological intensification scenarios

- Davis, Jenny, O'Grady, Anthony, Dale, Allan, Arthington, Angela, Gell, Peter, Driver, Patrick, Bond, Nick, Casanova, Michelle, Finlayson, C. Max, Watts, Robyn, Capon, Samantha, Nagelkerken, Ivan, Tingley, Reid, Fry, Brian, Page, Timothy, Specht, Alison

Authors: Davis, Jenny , O'Grady, Anthony , Dale, Allan , Arthington, Angela , Gell, Peter , Driver, Patrick , Bond, Nick , Casanova, Michelle , Finlayson, C. Max , Watts, Robyn , Capon, Samantha , Nagelkerken, Ivan , Tingley, Reid , Fry, Brian , Page, Timothy , Specht, Alison
Date: 2015
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 534, no. (2015), p. 65-78
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Description: Intensification of the use of natural resources is a world-wide trend driven by the increasing demand for water, food, fibre, minerals and energy. These demands are the result of a rising world population, increasing wealth and greater global focus on economic growth. Land use intensification, together with climate change, is also driving intensification of the global hydrological cycle. Both processes will have major socio-economic and ecological implications for global water availability. In this paper we focus on the implications of land use intensification for the conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems using Australia as an example. We consider this in the light of intensification of the hydrologic cycle due to climate change, and associated hydrological scenarios that include the occurrence of more intense hydrological events (extreme storms, larger floods and longer droughts). We highlight the importance of managing water quality, the value of providing environmental flows within a watershed framework and the critical role that innovative science and adaptive management must play in developing proactive and robust responses to intensification. We also suggest research priorities to support improved systemic governance, including adaptation planning and management to maximise freshwater biodiversity outcomes while supporting the socio-economic objectives driving land use intensification. Further research priorities include: i) determining the relative contributions of surface water and groundwater in supporting freshwater ecosystems; ii) identifying and protecting freshwater biodiversity hotspots and refugia; iii) improving our capacity to model hydro-ecological relationships and predict ecological outcomes from land use intensification and climate change; iv) developing an understanding of long term ecosystem behaviour; and v) exploring systemic approaches to enhancing governance systems, including planning and management systems affecting freshwater outcomes. A major policy challenge will be the integration of land and water management, which increasingly are being considered within different policy frameworks. © Published by Elsevier B.V.

Biomass bottom ash & dolomite similarly ameliorate an acidic low-nutrient soil, improve phytonutrition and growth, but increase Cd accumulation in radish

- Ondrasek, Gabrijel, Kranjčec, Filip, Filipović, Lana, Filipović, Vilim, Bubalo Kovačić, Marina, Badovinac, Ivana Jelovica, Peter, Robert, Petravić, Mladen, Macan, Jelena, Rengel, Zed

Authors: Ondrasek, Gabrijel , Kranjčec, Filip , Filipović, Lana , Filipović, Vilim , Bubalo Kovačić, Marina , Badovinac, Ivana Jelovica , Peter, Robert , Petravić, Mladen , Macan, Jelena , Rengel, Zed
Date: 2021
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: The Science of the total environment Vol. 753, no. (2021), p. 141902-141902
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Description: One of negative side-effects of usage of bio-renewables might be generation of mineral (ash) material, potential source of environmental pollution. A hypothesis was that bottom ash (BA from biomass cogeneration facility) could be efficiently (re) used in soil chemical conditioning similarly to widely-used dolomite-based soil conditioner (DO from Croatian Dinaric-coastal region) which we tested by: i) physicochemical characterisation of BA and DO, and ii) bioassay with Raphanus sativus cultivated in acidic soil amended with BA or DO. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) confirmed complex chemical/physical structures and morphology between amendments, X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed their distinctive mineralogy with predominantly dolomite (in DO) vs. quartz and calcite (in BA), while secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) revealed their diverse elemental/isotopic composition. The BA or DO amendments ameliorated soil acidity, increased available P, K and most other nutrients, but not Cd. The BA or DO amendments improved vegetative growth and edible hypocotyl yield. However, both amendments also increased Cd accumulation in all radish tissues, which was unexpected given the alkaline matrix of bio-ash and dolomite that would be likely to facilitate retention and immobilisation of toxic Cd. Thus, thorough characterisation and evaluation of BA- and/or DO-based materials and relevant soils (with an emphasis on metal sorption/immobilisation) prior to application in (agro) ecosystems is crucial for producing food clean of toxic metals. [Display omitted] •Biomass bottom ash (BA) & dolomite (DO) are very alkaline (pHKCl = 10.2–11.2) matrices.•BA & DO ameliorated soil acidity quickly (by >1.5 pH units) & nutrient availability.•BA & DO improved radish vegetative growth & nutrition accumulation.•BA & DO increased Cd uptake and accumulation in all radish tissues.

Agriculture management and seasonal impact on soil properties, water, sediment and chemicals transport in a hazelnut orchard (Croatia)

- Dugan, Ivan, Pereira, Paulo, Barcelo, Damia, Telak, Leon, Filipovic, Vilim, Filipović, Lana, Kisic, Ivica, Bogunovic, Igor

Authors: Dugan, Ivan , Pereira, Paulo , Barcelo, Damia , Telak, Leon , Filipovic, Vilim , Filipović, Lana , Kisic, Ivica , Bogunovic, Igor
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 839, no. (2022), p. 156346-156346
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Description: Soil and water conservation practices are key to agroecosystems sustainability and avoiding diffuse pollution. Here, we compare the impacts of different types of mulch, barley straw (Straw), wooden chips (Chip) and tillage (Till) on vegetation mulch cover (VMC) soil properties, bulk density (BD), mean weight diameter (MWD), water stable aggregates (WSA), soil water content (SWC), soil organic matter (SOM), pH and total phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb). We also assessed the ponding time (PT), runoff time (RT), runoff, sediment concentration (SC), sediment loss (SL) and chemicals transport (the same studied in soil). A set of rainfall simulation experiments (90 in total) was applied in the different Spring, Summer, and Fall treatments. The results showed that mulch increased VMC in all the seasons, while other properties (BD MWD, WSA SOM, pH) were not affected, especially in Spring. The biggest impact was observed in Fall, especially in the Till plot, due to the tillage practices applied in Summer. Mulch increased PT, RT and reduced runoff, SL and chemicals transport. Chemical losses were very much associated with SL, and the concentration of P and metals in soil depended on soil Ca and pH. SWC, MWD and runoff were inversely related to PT, RT and SC. Finally, BD, VMC and SOM were highly associated. Overall, tillage practices dramatically impact SL, and diffuse pollution and urgent measures are needed to reverse this. Mulching is excellent and cost-effective to mitigate the impacts of agriculture on land degradation and diffuse pollution. [Display omitted] •Impacts of season and soil management were studied in a hazelnut orchard.•Season had a strong impact on hydrological response.•Water, sediment and chemicals loss were high in Fall.•Tillage increased the chemicals transport.•Sustainable measures are needed to revert the tillage impact.

Transdisciplinary synthesis for ecosystem science, policy and management : The Australian experience

- Lynch, Jasmyn, Thackway, Richard, Specht, Alison, Beggs, Paul, Brisbane, Shantala, Burns, Emma, Byrne, Margaret, Capon, Samantha, Casanova, Michelle, Clarke, Philip, Davies, Janet, Dovers, Stephen, Dwyer, Ross, Ens, Emilie, Fisher, Diana, Flanigan, M., Garnier, Eric, Guru, Siddeswara, Kilminster, Kieryn, Locke, John, Mac Nally, Ralph, McMahon, Kathryn, Mitchell, Paul, Pierson, Jennifer, Rodgers, Essie, Russell-Smith, Jeremy, Udy, James, Waycott, Michelle

Authors: Lynch, Jasmyn , Thackway, Richard , Specht, Alison , Beggs, Paul , Brisbane, Shantala , Burns, Emma , Byrne, Margaret , Capon, Samantha , Casanova, Michelle , Clarke, Philip , Davies, Janet , Dovers, Stephen , Dwyer, Ross , Ens, Emilie , Fisher, Diana , Flanigan, M. , Garnier, Eric , Guru, Siddeswara , Kilminster, Kieryn , Locke, John , Mac Nally, Ralph , McMahon, Kathryn , Mitchell, Paul , Pierson, Jennifer , Rodgers, Essie , Russell-Smith, Jeremy , Udy, James , Waycott, Michelle
Date: 2015
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 534, no. (2015), p. 173-184
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Description: Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary. 11Transdisciplinary: A theory, methodology, point of view or perspective that transcends entrenched categories and engages both researchers and practitioners in formulating problems in new ways to address real-world problems (e.g. eco-health, ecosystem services). collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS <. http://www.aceas.org.au>) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis. We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres, and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

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