Environmental Management Interventions Research Articles

Assessment of soil erosion risk and vulnerability in the transboundary Sio-Malaba-Malakisi watershed in Kenya and Uganda

Persistent soil erosion poses a significant threat to water quality, ecosystem viability and soil health in many regions of the world. Addressing this challenge requires a comprehensive understanding of local soil erosion rates, including the identification of vulnerable areas, to facilitate effective and integrated environmental management. In East Africa, however, many affected regions are data poor and lack measured hydrological data from which soil erosion estimates can be derived. This study used the physically based Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model to estimate the annual rate of soil erosion in the transboundary Sio-Malaba-Malakisi catchment, straddling Kenya and Uganda. Soil erosion events were quantified by integrating input factors derived from physical datasets using a Geographical Information System (GIS). The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was then used to assess the importance of selected physical factors influencing the soil erosion process in order to identify regions of increasing environmental vulnerability. The results obtained indicate a wide range of soil erosion rates across the region, with an estimated mean annual rate of 250 t ha−1 yr−1 for the whole catchment. Upstream areas characterized by intensive agricultural activity had erosion rates of up to 2000 t ha−1 yr−1, while downstream areas recorded erosion rates below 600 t ha−1 yr−1. Areas with intensive agriculture, unprotected soils, and a soil loss tolerance value above 12 t ha−1 yr−1 were found to be most vulnerable. Rainfall and vegetation cover were identified as key factors influencing erosion susceptibility. Regions with soil erosion rates above 50 t ha−1 yr−1 were identified as high priority regions for targeted soil and water conservation measures. The identification of vulnerability zones, including the classification of their severity, provides an opportunity to prioritize sustainable environmental management interventions; a process that can be replicated for such affected regions elsewhere.

Atmospheric pollutants in Rosario, Argentina analysed through remote sensing: Wildfires and COVID-19 lockdown effects

Spatial-temporal dynamics of atmospheric pollutants can be analysed by space-based observations, contributing to environmental management and public health interventions. The influence of wildfires and anthropogenic activities on air quality is studied for the city of Rosario and its surroundings, including both urban and non-urban areas. Utilizing advanced satellite-based observations, we assess Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). The study employs Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites for AOD analysis. NO2 measurements were derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. Backward trajectory analysis using Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) shows the connection between fire pixels and air masses reaching Rosario. During the COVID-19 lockdown, a period with no significant fire events in the studied region was selected. This provided, for the first time, a baseline on the AOD median value of 0.05 for Rosario city and its surroundings, while NO2 total column median values were close to 3.00 x 1015 molecules/cm2. In a business-as-usual scenario, AOD increased by approximately 52.8% (March 2022) up to 111.3% (March 2019). NO2 median values remain almost the same (March 2019) or reached a median value of 3.38 x 1015 molecules/cm2 (March 2022). During wildfire events, such as March 2023, AOD surged by around 50.9%–108.6% compared to the business-as-usual scenario (March 2019 and March 2022, respectively). NO2 median values ranged from 3.52 x 1015 molecules/cm2 (March 2023) to 3.66 x 1015 molecules/cm (March 01, 2020 to March 19, 2020). NO2 levels correlated with intense fire periods. The analysis provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between natural events, human activities, and air quality dynamics in the region.

The effects of environmental variability and forest management on natural forest carbon stock in northwestern Ethiopia

AbstractNatural forests are crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation, but deforestation and degradation challenges highly reduce their value. This study evaluates the potential of natural forest carbon stock and the influence of management interventions on enhancing forest carbon storage capacity. Based on forest area cover, a study was conducted in nine purposely selected forest patches across various forest ecosystems. Data on diameter, height, and environmental variables from various forest management approaches were collected and analyzed with R Ver. 4.1. The findings revealed a substantial difference (p .029) in carbon stock between environmental variables and management interventions. The findings revealed a strong connection between environmental variables and the overall pool of carbon stock within forest patches (p .029). Carbon stocks were highest in the Moist‐montane forest ecosystem (778.25 ton/ha), moderate slope (1019.5 ton/ha), lower elevation (614.50 ton/ha), southwest‐facing (800.1 ton/ha) and area exclosures (993.2 ton/ha). Accordingly, natural forests, particularly unmanaged parts, are sensitive to anthropogenic stresses, decreasing their ability to efficiently store carbon. As a result, the study highlighted the importance of sustainable forest management, particularly area exclosures and participatory forest management, in increasing forest carbon storage potential.

Evaluation of PM2.5 spatio-temporal variability and hotspot formation using low-cost sensors across urban-rural landscape in lucknow, India

The high-resolution spatio-temporal monitoring through low-cost sensors (LCS) provides important insights into the dynamics of localized pollution patterns and in conceptualizing effective environmental management and public health interventions. We assessed the role of meteorology and local sources on spatially distributed PM2.5 pollutants measured from a unique urban-rural scaled network of LCS in Lucknow, India. The city-wide average PM2.5 annual cycle ranged between 29 ± 7 μg/m3 during the monsoon to 64 ± 30 μg/m3 during the rest of the year. During non-monsoon seasons, >60% of air mass trajectories indicated regional level transportations primarily from the north-western plains of the Indo-Gangetic basin, with peak weighted concentration weighted trajectory (WCWT, scale: 0–100) value estimated at >70. To analyze the impact of local sources, we designed a statistical classification method to divide each seasonal distribution into five incremental concentration groups ranging from no risk zone to hotspots. The hotspots were identified both within urban and rural regions with their average concentration measured as 23 μg/m3 and 26 μg/m3 higher than the rest of the regions in pre-monsoon (2 hotspots) and post-monsoon (4 hotspots) season, respectively. Further analysis shows that the nighttime concentrations were much higher in several locations (up to 40% in pre-monsoon and 54% in post-monsoon compared to their daytime levels), indicating the greater impact of local sources in the presence of low boundary layer height. A diurnal trend analysis along with conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF) was performed to interpret the characteristics and locations of the dominant sources. The study highlights the importance of a dense network of LCS to scale air quality monitoring in spatially heterogeneous environments and as a futuristic tool for PM2.5 exposure-based studies.

Toxins from harmful algal blooms: How copper and iron render chalkophore a predictor of microcystin production

Research on harmful algal blooms has focused on macronutrients, yet recent research increasingly indicates that understanding micronutrient roles is also important in the development of effective environmental management interventions. Here, we report results on metallophore production from mesocosms amended with copper and iron (enzymatic co-factors in photosynthetic electron transport) to probe questions of how cyanobacteria navigate the divide between copper nutrition, copper toxicity, and issues with iron bioavailability. These experiments utilized Microcystis, Chlorella and Desmodesmus spp., in mono- and mixed-cultures in lake water from a large, hypereutrophic lake (Taihu, China). To initiate experiments, copper and iron amendments were added to mesocosms containing algae that had been acclimated to achieve a state of copper and iron limitation. Mesocosms were analyzed over time for a range of analytes including algal growth parameters, algal assemblage progression, copper/iron concentrations and biomolecule production of chalkophore, siderophore and total microcystins. Community Trajectory Analysis and other multivariate methods were used for analysis resulting in our findings: 1) Microcystis spp. manage copper/iron requirements though a dynamically phased behavior of chalkophore/siderophore production according to their copper and iron limitation status (chalkophore correlates with Cu concentration, R2 = 0.99, and siderophore correlates with the sum of Cu and Fe concentrations, R2 = 0.98). 2) A strong correlation was observed between the production of chalkophore and the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin (R2 = 0.76)—Chalkophore is a predictor of microcystin production. 3) Based on our results and literature, we posit that Microcystis spp. produces microcystin in response to copper/iron availability to manage photosystem productivity and effect an energy-saving status. Results from this work underscore the importance of micronutrients in influencing harmful algal bloom progression and represents a major advance in understanding the ecological function for the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin as a hallmark of micronutrient limitation stress.

Development of a multi-criteria decision analysis tool for the assessment of the potential pollution risk of tailings dumps to the environment – An approach validated using selected Zambian Mine tailings

Mine tailings have a huge footprint on the environment and can have serious consequences that are difficult to reverse during mining operations or even long after mining has ceased. Despite several studies that have been conducted on tailings dumps, effective impact assessments of their potential pollution risk have been a challenge. This challenge can, to a certain extent, be attributed to the lack of identification of a common criterion for risk classification to items of environmental concern (people, natural landscapes, and their components) including the absence in consideration of time frames. Consequently, this has made it difficult to conduct impact assessment studies of mine tailing dumps. This study assessed the potential pollution risk of the dumps using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tool called an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). An appropriate criterion for risk assessment was developed with the help of experienced experts and weighted using an AHP methods. This enabled the determination of the potential pollution risk to the environment from three selected Zambian-based tailings dumps (i.e., Kabwe Lead–Zinc, Mopani Copper Mine and Lumwana Mine dumps) by means of a criterion scoring technique developed. Five key indicators were adopted that included: 1) physical properties; 2) soil chemical accumulation; 3) properties of the environment around the dump; 4) climatic factors around the dump area; and 5) protective structures. Specific factors per indicator were identified using expert opinion and experiences. Results of the analysis revealed that the Kabwe Mine tailings dump had the highest pollution potential followed by the Lumwana Mine and then Mopani mine tailings dump when compared against severity of risk scale. The tool was then validated using a tailing dump at Musina Copper Mine, in South Africa, where a different approach was previously used and this tool showed comparable results. Accordingly, this decision support tool can be used by environmental management agencies during the environmental impact assessment (EIA) review processes to improve efficiency in investigating scenarios that would propagate contamination and thus improve environmental management interventions.

The Role of Internet of Things in Smart City Environmental Monitoring: A Pollution Detection System

Smart cities represent a transformative vision of urban living, where technology seamlessly integrates with the urban landscape to enhance sustainability and quality of life. Central to this vision is the effective management of environmental factors, particularly air quality and temperature. This paper presents a comprehensive study on real-time environmental pollution detection within smart cities, utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. We explore the intricate relationships between air pollutant indicators (o3_AQI, no2_AQI, co_AQI, and pm25_AQI) and temperature, shedding light on the dynamic interactions that underlie urban atmospheric conditions. Our research employs a robust dataset and employs statistical analysis, including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, to uncover significant correlations between key environmental variables. These insights not only contribute to a deeper understanding of urban pollution dynamics but also enable the development of predictive models for temperature fluctuations based on pollutant levels. Such models hold promise for proactive environmental management and public health interventions. Furthermore, our study highlights the pivotal role of IoT sensors in revolutionizing smart city governance, offering real-time data-driven solutions for sustainable urban living. As cities worldwide strive to enhance their environmental resilience, this research provides valuable insights and tools for harnessing the potential of IoT technologies in the pursuit of cleaner and more livable urban environments.

Institutional and policy process for climate-smart agriculture: evidence from Nagaland State, India

Abstract A critical global policy question is how the environmental management interventions could be repurposed to meet the sustainable development goals and their target for food security, climate protection, and environmental sustainability. A common challenge facing food systems in developing countries is to improve agricultural productivity to ensure food security for all without increasing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approaches help to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture and address the challenges of climate change (CC) and food insecurity. Yet, CSA lack understanding of the institutional arrangements and policy processes. This paper examines 38 aspects to assess the institutional and policy status for CC mitigation and adaptation and CSA in Nagaland, India. Furthermore, we use these aspects to develop a scale to measure the policy and institutional environment for mitigation and adaptation of CC and implementation of CSA. Nagaland is relatively in a better position in nine aspects, although it can improve. Methodologically, the scale developed in this paper and the identified factors can help study the institutional and policy status of a country, state, or region. We identify several implications for understanding CC and CSA institutions and policies for informing policy research and practice.

Influence of landscape heterogeneity on entomological and parasitological indices of malaria in Kisumu, Western Kenya

BackgroundIdentification and characterization of larval habitats, documentation of Anopheles spp. composition and abundance, and Plasmodium spp. infection burden are critical components of integrated vector management. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of landscape heterogeneity on entomological and parasitological indices of malaria in western Kenya.MethodsA cross-sectional entomological and parasitological survey was conducted along an altitudinal transect in three eco-epidemiological zones: lakeshore along the lakeside, hillside, and highland plateau during the wet and dry seasons in 2020 in Kisumu County, Kenya. Larval habitats for Anopheles mosquitoes were identified and characterized. Adult mosquitoes were sampled using pyrethrum spray catches (PSC). Finger prick blood samples were taken from residents and examined for malaria parasites by real-time PCR (RT-PCR).ResultsIncreased risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection was associated with residency in the lakeshore zone, school-age children, rainy season, and no ITNs (χ2 = 41.201, df = 9, P < 0.0001). Similarly, lakeshore zone and the rainy season significantly increased Anopheles spp. abundance. However, house structures such as wall type and whether the eave spaces were closed or open, as well as the use of ITNs, did not affect Anopheles spp. densities in the homes (χ2 = 38.695, df = 7, P < 0.0001). Anopheles funestus (41.8%) and An. arabiensis (29.1%) were the most abundant vectors in all zones. Sporozoite prevalence was 5.6% and 3.2% in the two species respectively. The lakeshore zone had the highest sporozoite prevalence (4.4%, 7/160) and inoculation rates (135.2 infective bites/person/year). High larval densities were significantly associated with lakeshore zone and hillside zones, animal hoof prints and tire truck larval habitats, wetland and pasture land, and the wet season. The larval habitat types differed significantly across the landscape zones and seasonality (χ2 = 1453.044, df = 298, P < 0.0001).ConclusionThe empirical evidence on the impact of landscape heterogeneity and seasonality on vector densities, parasite transmission, and Plasmodium infections in humans emphasizes the importance of tailoring specific adaptive environmental management interventions to specific landscape attributes to have a significant impact on transmission reduction.Graphical abstract

E-Planner: A web-based tool for planning environmental enhancement on British agricultural land

E-Planner is a free, web-based, application which provides land managers with fine-scale maps of the suitability of agricultural land in Great Britain for environmental enhancement. E-Planner is designed to streamline decision-making around the choice and spatial targeting of environmental management interventions. Suitability scores are calculated by integrating a range of biophysical data sets and presented as easy-to-interpret maps, at fine resolutions (5 m) equivalent to those used by precision agriculture technology.The information provided by E-Planner is important for landscape-to field-scale spatial targeting of farm management to maximise the efficiency of both crop production and environmental delivery. Whilst many datasets and tools support the former, equivalents for environmental factors are not widely available. The methods used by E-Planner for collating and presenting data on environmental constraints and drivers are widely applicable, and efficient spatial targeting of agronomic and environmental management forms an essential step towards sustainable agriculture, a global issue.

A marine natural capital asset and risk register—Towards securing the benefits from marine systems and linked ecosystem services

Abstract Documented biodiversity loss has galvanised a global process to develop conceptual frameworks that link the social and ecological systems. This paper focusses on the development of the first marine natural capital asset and risk register as a foundational decision support tool to understand the risk to ecosystem service delivery in relation to policy or management interventions. We make use of existing marine data products to define the component parts of the asset status (extent, condition, spatial configuration) in line with a natural capital approach. We ‘Pioneer’ the application of this approach in North Devon, UK, an area defined by UK Government to test how marine natural capital can be effectively managed to deliver benefits to the environment, economy and people, and identify how best to share and scale up this learning. We demonstrate that the majority of asset–benefit relationships are at a medium to high risk of loss under current use and management. Despite policy and management measures to reduce pressures on marine systems, activities linked to fishing, farming and the water industry continue to pose a medium to high risk to the asset–benefit relationships. A lack of accurate spatial fishing effort data greatly reduces opportunities for rational and targeted approaches to improve the condition status of marine natural capital assets. Marine protected areas as a single tool are insufficient to prevent further loss of biodiversity that underpins all asset–benefit relationships. Synthesis and applications. Through development of the first marine natural capital asset and risk register we demonstrates a novel decision support tool to understand the risk to ecosystem service availability in relation to environmental policy or management interventions. The results highlight that current marine governance strategies to protect biodiversity are not sufficient to reduce the risk of loss of ecosystem services. Wider application of the marine natural capital approach will require increasing confidence in the metrics to define marine asset status; more directed monitoring (extent and condition) and; greater accuracy in spatial fishing effort.

The Influence of Environmental Management and Personal Health Education on the Incidence of Scabies at Boarding School

Scabies is a skin disease that is global in nature. It is estimated that the prevalence of scabies worldwide reaches more than 300 million cases per year. Personal hygiene and poor environmental management can increase the risk of scabies. The provision of health education on personal hygiene and environmental management is one of the efforts to reduce the incidence of scabies. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of environmental management and personal hygiene education on the incidence of scabies at Islamic Boarding School Pangandaran. This study was a quasi-experimental study with a one group pretest-posttest design. The population was all students who suffer from scabies at the school, and a sample of 42 students was used. Data were analyzed using paired sample t test with a confidence level of 95% (α= 0.05). Based on the bivariate analysis, it was shown that before the environmental management intervention was given, almost all of the respondents (38 people – 90.5%) had a low level of habitual behavior. After the environmental management intervention was given, most of the respondents (28 people – 66.7%) had a higher level of habitual behavior than before environmental management. After education on personal hygiene, 22 respondents (52.4%) had a good level of knowledge and 20 (47.6%) had sufficient knowledge (p-value &lt; 0.05). Therefore, environmental management and health education on personal hygiene can lead to a decrease in the incidence of scabies in Pondok Pesantren Riyadlussharf Walmantiq Pangandaran.&#x0D; Keywords: scabies incidence, personal hygiene, environmental management, health education

Comparative suitability of ordinary kriging and Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation for indicating intactness gradients on threatened savannah woodland and forest stands

Mapping spatial variations in tree density and woody species diversity, as indicators of intactness of tropical forests and woodlands, is potentially useful to nature conservation managers. This paper examines the comparative suitability of ordinary kriging and Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation for mapping these variables. Two study sites representing the dense tree cover of tropical forest and the scattered tree cover in savannah woodland were used. As an interpolation variable, savannah tree density presents the challenge that tree cover is characteristically patchy. Field sampling at unevenly distributed sampling sites yielded spatial gradients in tree and shrub density and number of woody species per hectare, in relation to human harvesting. Autocorrelation indicated suitability of the data for kriging. Based on least error cross-validation statistics, the exponential semivariogram model was the most suitable for the data. Low neighborhood search radius values were more appropriate for IDW interpolation. The accuracy of the resulting tree density interpolations was judged against Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from near-concurrent SPOT images. For the woodland, IDW interpolation had higher correlation with the NDVI (r = 0.782, P < 0.05) than ordinary kriging (r = 0.731, P < 0.05). For the forest, ordinary kriging had higher correlation (r = 0.921, P < 0.01) than IDW interplation (r = 0.875, P < 0.01). The results indicated that ordinary kriging is suitable for mapping tree density in dense forests, while IDW interpolation is more appropriate for scattered tree savannah woodland. The ideal interpolation technique can inform environmental management interventions.

An impact assessment tool to identify, quantify and select optimal social-economic, ecological and health outcomes of civic environmental management interventions, in Durban South Africa

Using an environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodology, we provide a novel approach to identify and assess social-ecological outcomes from civic ecology interventions. We quantified the impact significance of six civic (community led) interventions implemented by the Wise Wayz Water Care (WWWC) local community programme (solid waste management, water quality monitoring, invasive alien plant control, crop production, recycling and community engagement), in two communities, situated in urban to peri-urban/rural environments in Durban, South Africa. Interventions resulted in 37 outcomes, of which 36 were positive and one negative. The resulting significance scores from the impact assessment allowed for interventions and their outcomes to be compared. The socio-economic outcomes were the greatest (21), followed by ecological (11) and health outcomes (6). Outcomes included access to education and training; improved quality of life; improved terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; increase in recreation and cultural uses of natural areas; reduced health risks and increased nutrition. The most significant ecological outcomes resulted from invasive alien plant control, followed by solid waste removal and water quality monitoring. The greatest health outcomes resulted from solid waste removal and vegetable gardens, whereas the greatest social-economic outcomes resulted from the general operation of WWWC, solid waste removal, and invasive alien plant control. We demonstrate that investments in natural areas can deliver not only on enhancements in ecosystems and their services, but also for local community socio-economic and health benefits. This study provides an intervention quantifying tool for practitioners to select optimal local management interventions, that can be aligned with desired outcomes related to specific community challenges and policy requirements. In so doing, this work shows the critical role that civic interventions play to ensure sustainability, and emphasises how social-ecological systems and ecosystem services perspectives can be used in practice towards achieving sustainable outcomes.

The influence of environmental drivers and restoration intervention methods on postmine restoration trajectories

Mining activity causes major changes in site topography, soil physical and chemical properties, hydrology, and biological assemblages. Reassembling plant communities in these highly altered environments is dependent on interactions between environmental drivers and management intervention techniques through time, yet the long‐term effects of these interactions have rarely been quantified. This study examined a 19‐year‐old, postmining woodland restoration chronosequence in southwest Australia to understand plant community compositional development in postmine restoration sites. We tested the effects of environmental drivers (rainfall regimes, site aspect, slope) and management intervention techniques (substrate ripping and material properties) in terms of four restoration criteria: species richness, plant density, vegetation cover, and compositional similarity to reference sites. Irrespective of environmental drivers or management intervention techniques, vegetation cover increased through time, while plant density and species richness declined. Bray–Curtis similarity to reference communities remained unchanged. Within these trends, ripping and first‐year rainfall significantly affected restoration criteria outcomes; species richness and plant density were greatest when rainfall in the first winter immediately following site restoration was low but followed by a high summer rainfall. The most effective ripping depth was dependent on rainfall, deep‐ripped sites performed best when rainfall was high, and nonripped sites performed best under low‐mean rainfall conditions. Measured restoration criteria had not reached the levels of the target reference community after 19 years, which may be attributable to the still‐developing vegetation structure. This emphasizes the importance of assessing postmining restoration outcomes over longer time frames (&gt;&gt;5 years) with implications for determining appropriate, time‐dependent completion criteria.

Effects of air pollutant emission on the prevalence of respiratory and circulatory system diseases in Linyi, China.

As a typical industrial city, Linyi has suffered severe atmospheric pollution in recent years. Meanwhile, a high incidence of respiratory and circulatory diseases has been observed in Linyi. The relationship between air pollutants and the prevalence of respiratory and circulatory system diseases in Linyi is still unclear, and therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the human health risks associated with air pollutants. In this study, the number of outpatient visits and spatial distribution of respiratory and circulatory diseases were first investigated. To clarify the correlation between diseases and air pollutant emissions, the residential intake fraction (IF) of air pollutants was calculated. The results showed that circulatory and respiratory diseases accounted for 62.32% of the total causes of death in 2015. The incidence of respiratory diseases was high in the winter, and outpatient visits were observed for more males (60.9%) than females (39.1%). The spatial distribution suggested that outpatient visits for respiratory and circulatory diseases were concentrated in the main urban area of Linyi, including the Hedong District, Lanshan District, and Luozhuang District, and especially at the junction of these three areas. After calculating the IF combined with the characteristics of pollution sources, meteorological conditions, and population data, a high IF value was concentrated in urban and suburban areas, which was consistent with the high incidence of diseases. Moreover, high R values and a significant correlation (R > 0.6, p < 0.05) between outpatient visits and residential IF of air pollutants imply similar spatial distributions of outpatient visits and IF value of residents. The spatial similarity of air pollution and outpatient visits suggested that future air pollution control policies should better reflect the health risks of spatial hotspots. This study can provide a potentially important reference for environmental management and air pollution-related health interventions.

Production, Validation and Morphometric Analysis of a Digital Terrain Model for Lake Trichonis Using Geospatial Technologies and Hydroacoustics

Covering an area of approximately 97 km2 and with a maximum depth of 58 m, Lake Trichonis is the largest and one of the deepest natural lakes in Greece. As such, it constitutes an important ecosystem and freshwater reserve at the regional scale, whose qualitative and quantitative properties ought to be monitored. Depth is a crucial parameter, as it is involved in both qualitative and quantitative monitoring aspects. Thus, the availability of a bathymetric model and a reliable DTM (Digital Terrain Model) of such an inland water body is imperative for almost any systematic observation scenario or ad hoc measurement endeavor. In this context, the purpose of this study is to produce a DTM from the only official cartographic source of relevant information available (dating back approximately 70 years) and evaluate its performance against new, independent, high-accuracy hydroacoustic recordings. The validation procedure involves the use of echosoundings coupled with GPS, and is followed by the production of a bathymetric model for the assessment of the discrepancies between the DTM and the measurements, along with the relevant morphometric analysis. Both the production and validation of the DTM are conducted in a GIS environment. The results indicate substantial discrepancies between the old DTM and contemporary acoustic data. A significant overall deviation of 3.39 ± 5.26 m in absolute bottom elevation differences and 0.00 ± 7.26 m in relative difference residuals (0.00 ± 2.11 m after 2nd polynomial model corrector surface fit) of the 2019 bathymetric dataset with respect to the ~1950 lake DTM and overall morphometry appear to be associated with a combination of tectonics, subsidence and karstic phenomena in the area. These observations could prove useful for the tectonics, geodynamics and seismicity with respect to the broader Corinth Rift region, as well as for environmental management and technical interventions in and around the lake. This dictates the necessity for new, extensive bathymetric measurements in order to produce an updated DTM of Lake Trichonis, reflecting current conditions and tailored to contemporary accuracy standards and state-of-the-art research in various disciplines in and around the lake.

Assessment of the causes of Hg bioaccumulation in the fish of a Mediterranean lagoon subject to environmental management interventions

In a Mediterranean lagoon characterized by high levels of Hg in the sediment, Hg content in commercial fish species was determined, and, in order to establish Hg concentration in the water column, Diffusive Gradient in Thin films technique (DGT) was used. The results allowed to state (1) the disturbance of the surface sediment and its resuspension in the water column did not cause detectable increase in Hg releases, (2) the East basin acted more than the West one in contamination of fish species, (3) the small-sized sea-breams (<400 g) were more contaminated than larger sizes ones (>400 g). We concluded: (1) fish contamination may also depend on direct contact with releases of the contaminant and small, gregarious and less sedentary subjects are more likely to incur releases of Hg; (2) Hg releases can be greater in areas with a relatively low sedimentary organic matter load compared to areas subjected to high density macroalgal mat, regardless of the amount of Hg present in the sediments; (3) wind transport of plant masses in low energy storage areas, may constitute an increase factor of Hg in the sediment. A critical review of the results was made in comparison with the available literature reports and some hypotheses were proposed regarding the possible dynamics and availability of the contaminant.

Elucidating Environment Management Intervention Benefits and Underpinning Factors among Uganda’s Albertine Rift Communities

Environmental management intervention benefits have been found to depend on beneficiaries’ unique socioeconomic-environmental factors and understanding these helps generate knowledge guidelines for designing, planning and implementation of new interventions. The Ecosystems Alliance (EA) Project in Uganda’s Albertine Rift promoted interventions including, resource access from protected areas, monitoring oil companies’ compliance to set environmental standards, tree planting, lake bank restoration, bee keeping, hay for livestock feeding and cages to shelter communities from crocodiles for four years in Buliisa, Hoima and Kasese district, to, build management capacity of the local communities and institutions to remedy the region’s environment and natural resources which were declining. At the end of the project we interviewed 56 representatives of the project beneficiaries individually and obtained data on benefit level, factors underpinning and perceived livelihoods and environmental impacts of the interventions and used Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 16 (Bryman & Cramer, 2009) to generate percentages (%), correlations with p ≤ 0.05 considered as significant relationship on these. As results, ≥90% of respondents in districts benefited from EA project interventions. Beneficiaries perceived the interventions that enhanced their household incomes and this was especially important for those who were not educated (p = 0.01, for education level); the environment management capacity and this was especially important for women (p = 0.05, for sex) and for households of 4 - 6 members (p = 0.02 with family size); the reduced conflicts with wildlife and this was especially important for households with 4 - 6 members (p = 0.02) and for people who depended on wetlands/wildlife resources (p = 0.00 for both cases) among others. Among constraints to benefit, time of intervention and climatic conditions was especially important among crop farmers (p = 0.04 with occupation) while, intervention not meeting expectation was a factor among beneficiaries in the age group 18 - 31 and 61 - 70 years old (p = 0.01, for age). The respondents recommended future initiatives start with research to determine interventions that match their environment, priority and expectations and these are distributed equitably after prior information/expectation management and technical capacity building.

Environmental management for dengue control: a systematic review protocol

IntroductionDengue is among the most important mosquito-borne diseases, with more than half of the world’s population at risk of infection in dengue endemic countries. Environmental management, which includes any activities...