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Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 11186

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Dr. Laura Fantozzi

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Guest Editor

National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Largo Tonolli 50, I-28922 Verbania Pallanza, VB, Italy
Interests: biogeochemical cycle of mercury; biomarkers; marine biology; metals; biogeochemistry

Dr. Laura Marziali

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Guest Editor

Water Research Institute, National Research Council (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, I-20861 Brugherio, Italy
Interests: freshwater ecology; benthic macroinvertebrates; trace element contamination; environmental risk assessment; ecotoxicology; bioaccumulation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As economies and populations have continued to grow over time, so too has environmental pollution. Humans contribute every day to air, land, and water pollution. Decades of intensive use of the world’s stock of natural resources in developed countries to fuel economic development have resulted in global warming, loss of biodiversity and various negative impacts on ecosystems and human health. In recent years this tendency has also been reproduced in emerging and developing economies, but at a much faster rate, driven by population growth and rapidly changing resource-exploitation patterns towards levels typical of developed countries. Therefore, environmental pollution resulting from human activities has become one of the most concerning problems on a global scale because of the large number of regulated and unregulated pollutants that can affect environmental systems and human health. Innovative technologies for pollutant analysis and subsequent treatment are important tools for understanding and contrasting risks posed by human activities, and consequently are a prerequisite for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.

This Special Issue titled “Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems” encourages contributions from all around the world and welcomes original research papers or reviews covering all research areas related to environmental pollution, including (but not limited to):

Environmental monitoring of air, land, and water pollution.
Source, fate, and effect of environmental pollutants on ecosystems and implications for human health.
Biomonitoring of environmental pollution.
Human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals.
New analytical methods for the monitoring of environmental pollutants.
Statistical/mathematical modelling for human health and ecological effects of environmental pollutants.
Remediation measures for polluted environments.
Solutions to prevent and to mitigate the harmful effects of environmental pollutants on ecosystems and human health, and to improve the effectiveness of mitigation strategies.

Dr. Laura Fantozzi
Dr. Laura Marziali
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

air, soil and water pollution
environmental health
human health
biomonitoring
environmental pollution data management
risk assessment
remediation strategies
sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4866 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Arsenic Distribution and Pollution in Three Mountain Streams (Anzasca Valley, Italian Central Alps)

by Nicoletta Guerrieri, Andrea Lami, Simona Musazzi, Martina Austoni, Aldo Marchetto, Arianna Orrù, Paola Giacomotti, Gabriele Tartari, Giorgio Lucchini, Leonardo Scaglioni and Gigliola Borgonovo

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14217; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914217 - 26 Sep 2023

Viewed by 757

Abstract

Anzasca Valley is part of the Monte Rosa gold district located in the Italian Central Alps. Since we do not know the effects of arsenic on the aquatic environment in Anzasca Valley, we investigated the biofilm of three streams. The three perennial streams studied are in the Anza catchment but with different lithology. Rio Rosso flows out of an ancient gold mine (Miniera dei Cani); its waters, acid mine drainages, are rich in iron and arsenic. Rio Gattera, a small stream adjacent to the Rio Rosso, flows through metamorphic rocks with mixed composition. Its waters are not acidic but contain a small amount of arsenic. Rio Roletto is upstream, with respect to the others, and drains different metamorphic rocks without arsenic. We analyzed the chemistry and the metals of the water, characterized by microscopic analysis and HPLC, the phytobenthic community living in the biofilm, and in the Rio Rosso, we measured the arsenic adsorbed in the biofilm. Sampling was performed between 2012 and 2014, and arsenic in the biofilm of Rio Rosso was measured in different seasons. In the three streams, the carotenoids of the biofilms showed the different stability of phytobenthic communities (Bacyllariophyceae vs. Cyanobacteria): in Rio Roletto and Rio Gattera, the ratio between the communities did not change; in Rio Rosso, the ratio between the communities changed completely, probably due to the peculiarity of water composition and presence of arsenic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems)

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15 pages, 9977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutrient Sequestration by Two Aquatic Macrophytes on Artificial Floating Islands in a Constructed Wetland

by Zhaozhe Chen and Ozeas S. Costa, Jr.

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6553; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086553 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1870

Abstract

Artificial floating islands (AFIs) have been documented as an efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solution to address nutrient pollution. However, most AFI studies to date have been conducted in controlled experiments, and AFI applications in natural settings, particularly in the U.S. Midwest, are limited. Here, we present the results of a combination of field and mesocosm experiments with two native aquatic plant species (Carex comosa and Eleocharis palustris) in a constructed wetland in north-central Ohio. Results showed that C. comosa outperformed E. palustris with respect to biomass accumulation and root system development. In natural conditions, C. comosa had a total dry biomass production of 58.5 ± 22.2 g/plug compared to 6.1 ± 3.2 g/plug in E. palustris. The maximum estimated mean nutrient storage for C. comosa was 20.24 g/m² of N and 1.33 g/m² of P, whereas it was 2.31 g/m² of N and 0.17 g/m² of P for E. palustris. In addition, the more developed root system of C. comosa suggests that AFIs containing this plant have better total nutrient removal capacity. The growth conditions of both species were significantly impacted by seasonal dynamics with respect to their biomass production and root elongation, as evidenced by reduced growth towards the end of the growing season. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems)

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18 pages, 2886 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Legacy Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Pollution in a River Ecosystem: Sediment Contamination and Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates

by Stefano Tasselli, Laura Marziali, Claudio Roscioli and Licia Guzzella

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6493; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086493 - 11 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2136

Abstract

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) contamination in the Toce River in northern Italy was studied by collecting data from 2016 to 2021 upstream and downstream of a production factory which in the past had discharged technical DDT. Analysis of sediments and of bioaccumulation in different benthic invertebrate taxa (Gammaridae, Diptera, Ephemeroptera Baetidae and Heptageniidae) was carried out to assess the transfer of DDT from sediments to benthic invertebrates and the environmental risk of this legacy pollutant for the river ecosystem. DDT and its metabolites dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), here called DDx, were analyzed by isotope dilution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). DDx values in sediments in upstream stations (1.14–2.25 ng g⁻¹ 1% Organic Carbon) were lower than downstream of the industrial site (5.60–7.60 ng g⁻¹ 1% Organic Carbon), often exceeding Sediment Quality Guidelines for total DDx. Peak levels derived from new inputs of parental DDT, as confirmed by fingerprint analysis. Bioaccumulation was higher at downstream sites (up to 5107 ng g⁻¹ lipid weight), confirming the bioavailability of residual DDT as well as active metabolism, with the formation of DDD and DDE. The Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor evidenced the highest values (over 4.2) for Diptera and Gammaridae, highlighting that invertebrates can transfer contamination from sediments to the trophic chain. Linear regression models were developed to estimate DDx concentrations in benthic invertebrates from DDx concentrations in sediments. However, determination coefficients R² remained in the range of 0.36–0.51, highlighting the necessity of bioaccumulation analysis to fully estimate environmental risk. The results show that DDT contamination, even if residual, may still represent a risk due to its effective transfer to the trophic chain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems)

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25 pages, 6953 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Machine Learning for Determining Interactions between Air Pollutants and Environmental Parameters in Three Cities of Iran

by Abdullah Kaviani Rad, Redmond R. Shamshiri, Armin Naghipour, Seraj-Odeen Razmi, Mohsen Shariati, Foroogh Golkar and Siva K. Balasundram

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8027; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138027 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3088

Abstract

Air pollution, as one of the most significant environmental challenges, has adversely affected the global economy, human health, and ecosystems. Consequently, comprehensive research is being conducted to provide solutions to air quality management. Recently, it has been demonstrated that environmental parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, air pressure, and vegetation, interact with air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), NO₂, SO₂, O₃, and CO, contributing to frameworks for forecasting air quality. The objective of the present study is to explore these interactions in three Iranian metropolises of Tehran, Tabriz, and Shiraz from 2015 to 2019 and develop a machine learning-based model to predict daily air pollution. Three distinct assessment criteria were used to assess the proposed XGBoost model, including R squared (R²), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). Preliminary results showed that although air pollutants were significantly associated with meteorological factors and vegetation, the formulated model had low accuracy in predicting (R²_{PM_2.5} = 0.36, R²_PM₁₀ = 0.27, R²_NO₂ = 0.46, R²_SO₂ = 0.41, R²_O₃ = 0.52, and R²_CO = 0.38). Accordingly, future studies should consider more variables, including emission data from manufactories and traffic, as well as sunlight and wind direction. It is also suggested that strategies be applied to minimize the lack of observational data by considering second-and third-order interactions between parameters, increasing the number of simultaneous air pollution and meteorological monitoring stations, as well as hybrid machine learning models based on proximal and satellite data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems)

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19 pages, 1373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Small-Scale Farmers’ Preference Heterogeneity for Green Agriculture Policy Incentives Identified by Choice Experiment

by Yaying Zhu and Juan Chen

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105770 - 10 May 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2445

Abstract

This study addresses differentiation among small-scale farmers’ preferences for green agriculture policy incentive mixes. Transforming modern agriculture to ecological fertilization and pest extermination practices is paramount in developing green agriculture, but policy incentives aimed at stimulating small-scale farmers’ adoption of ecological fertilization and deinsectization techniques are often challenged by those farmers’ heterogeneous characteristics and their consequent mixed incentive preferences. We establish a model examining the interplay between small-scale farmers’ characteristics (e.g., age, education level, family size, participation in agricultural organization) and combinations of incentive policies (i.e., green subsidy, technical support, environmental propaganda, agricultural insurance) in farmers’ willingness to participate in ecological fertilization/deinsectization, using a sample of 1032 Chinese farmers. By applying a mixed logit model and latent class model regressions, we find that farmers’ age, education level, family size, and farming organization participation are the most important characteristics influencing farmers’ preferences. Specifically, senior farmers tend to accept an incentive policy combination of green subsidy and technical support; farmers with higher education levels prefer an incentive policy combination of technical support and environmental propaganda; and larger families prefer an incentive policy combination of technical support and agricultural insurance. Additionally, participation in any agricultural organization reduces the household’s preference for incentive policy combinations of technical support, agricultural insurance, and green subsidy. Based on these findings, a typology of small farmers’ green agriculture incentive preferences (including security, monetary, and autonomy orientations) is proposed, offering suggestions for future green agriculture policy optimization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Strategies for Managing Environmental Pollution in Altered Ecosystems)

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