Environment and Natural Resources Research最新文献

{"title":"Apportionment of Funds to Mining-Impacted Communities within Forest Reserve Environments in Ghana","authors":"G. Foli, G. Obeng, M. Adjaloo, Donald Amrago, E. Mensah","doi":"10.5539/enrr.v8n3p193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n3p193","url":null,"abstract":"This paper uses risk assessment of socio-economic and environmental indicators to develop criteria for apportionment (AP) of funds to communities impacted by mining activities within a Forest Reserve environment in Ghana. A t-test statistic of assessment data shows that factors such as; cost of living, health conditions, air pollution, water contamination, land degradation and distance (D km) are significant. Ratings of the factors using a 1-5 intensity scale to determine risk values (RV) for communities indicate that RV of 25 requires no remediation, while (25-RV) is remediation factor. A long-term AP criterion using the ranked risk (RR) values is defined by the equation APRR%=7.45-0.233(RR) with R2 of 0.961. Based on this criterion, communities D and S which are located at 1.5 and 16.1km from the mining focus have APRR values of 7.23% and 2.26%, respectively. APRR% in relation to distance is defined by the equation APRR%=7.22-0.281(D) with R2 of 0.647. RR-dependent distance equation (APD %) is used to deduce a short-term criterion defined by K*APD%=4.13-0.097(RR), where K is a constant. The expression of (APRR-K*APD) represents the residual apportionment required after a long-term assessment. The findings in this research demonstrate well-defined patterns that can be replicated for similar future projects.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90070613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bioaccumulation of Trace Elements in the Organisms of Benthic Communities in the Reducing Environments of the Sea of Okhotsk","authors":"S. Galkin, L. Demina","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P182","url":null,"abstract":"A comparative study of the bioaccumulation of trace elements in benthic organisms inhabiting the area of methane seeps in the Deryugin Basin and nearby the Paramushir Island (Sea of Okhotsk) has been performed. The data pertain to both essential elements (Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cr, and Cu), which are necessary in certain concentrations for the metabolism of organisms, and nonessential heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Hg), as well as As, a toxic metalloid. Dominating representatives of the bottom fauna from the Deryugin Basin (sea anemones, clams) were characterized by high bioaccumulation coefficients of most of the elements (≥ n103), regardless of their biochemical properties. The use of the coefficient K, which characterizes the accumulation of trace elements in the soft tissues of bivalves relative to their shells, allowed us to detect differences in the bioaccumulation character. Symbiotrophic bivalves of the family Vesicomyidae from the Deryugin Basin were characterized by the accumulation of all of the trace elements mostly in soft tissues (gills, primarily) compared to the carbonate shells (coefficient K > 1). We suppose that different effect of abiotic (biological availability of elements and water turbidity) and biotic (throphic strategy) factors of the habitats may probably be a reason of such phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86001455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Response of Four Shrub Species to Different Water Source Components in an Arid Environment","authors":"A. Wagner, D. Devitt, B. Bird, R. Jasoni, J. Arnone","doi":"10.5539/enrr.v8n3p166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n3p166","url":null,"abstract":"Shrubland species in the Great Basin (USA) depend on soil water recharged from precipitation and/or groundwater for survival and growth. Climate warming and possible basin water diversion could alter the amount and timing of water availability to these plants. The objective of this study was to quantify the extent to which each of four co-occurring shrub species, big sage [Artemisia tridentata], rabbitbrush [Ericameria nauseosus], greasewood [Sarcobatus vermiculatus] and shadscale [Atriplex confertifolia)) acquired water from different sources (precipitation, soil vadose zone and/or groundwater) during a growing season. Soil salinity increased linearly with depth over the upper 1.5 m of soil, with salinity ranging from 0.84 to 31.70 dSm-1 in saturation extracts (R2=0.78, p<0.001). Changes in soil water both with depth and time during the growing period indicated that all species accessed soil water from precipitation recharge. Evapotranspiration totals for the growing period exceeded total precipitation by 137 mm, indicating that plants also used water stored deeper within the vadose zone and/or from groundwater (particularly) by the phreatophyte greasewood. Delta18O in the soil solution declined linearly with depth over the upper 100 cm (R2=0.80, p<0.001). Delta18O values in greasewood corresponded closely to Delta18O values measured deeper in the vadose zone and groundwater. Output from a mixing model indicated a decrease in groundwater reliance for greasewood from 30% in July to 2% in September, with a major shift to deeper soil water in the vadose zone (180 cm depth) (38% in July to 97% in September). Our data suggested that the four shrub species at our site were able to coexist because of their different spatial, temporal, and physiological uses of available soil water, reflecting possible water resource partitioning based on differences in response to precipitation, ability to extract water at deeper depths and variable tolerance to elevated levels of soil salinity to access groundwater.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"308 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79914285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characteristics of Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Kenya: Examples of Tsavo and Maasai Mara Regions","authors":"Joseph M. Mukeka, J. Ogutu, E. Kanga, E. Røskaft","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P148","url":null,"abstract":"Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a widespread and persistent challenge to conservation. However, relatively few studies have thus far examined long-term monitoring data to quantify how the type, and severity of HWC varies across species, seasons, years and ecosystems. Here, we examine human-wildlife conflicts in Tsavo and Maasai Mara, two premier wildlife conservation areas in Kenya. Using Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) data (2001-2016), we show that both the type and severity of conflicts vary among species such that the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), is the leading conflict species in both the Tsavo (64.3%, n= 30664) and Mara (47.0%, n=12487) ecosystems. The next four most notorious conflict animals, in decreasing order, are nonhuman primates (Tsavo 11.4%, n=3502; Mara 11.8%, n=1473), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer, Tsavo 5.5%, n=1676; Mara 11.3%, n=1410), lion (Panthera leo,Tsavo 3.6%, n=1107; Mara 3.3%, n=416) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta, Tsavo 2.4%, n=744; Mara 5.8%, n=729). We group the observed conflict incidences (n= 43,151) into four major conflict types, including crop raiding, the most common conflict type, followed by human and livestock attacks and property damage. The severity of conflicts also varies markedly seasonally and inter-annually. Crop raiding peaks in May-July, during and at the end of the wet season when crops are maturing but is lowest in November during the late dry season and beginning of the early rains. Attacks on humans and livestock increased more than other conflict types in both Tsavo (from 2001) and Mara (from 2013). Relatively fewer people in Mara (7.2%, n=901) than in Tsavo (38.2%, n = 11714) felt threatened by wildlife, suggesting that the Maasai people are more tolerant of wildlife. Minimizing HWC is tightly linked to successfully resolving the broader conservation challenges, including enhancing ecosystem connectivity, community engagement and conservation benefits to communities.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88801708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of RESRAD-Onsite 7.2 Code to Assess Environmental Risk around Tudor Shaft Mine Tailing Sites","authors":"R. Njinga, V. Tshivhase","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P138","url":null,"abstract":"The RESRAD-onsite 7.2 code has been used to assess the total dose rate in Tudor shaft site contaminated over an area of 10 km2. The risk analysis simulation was span over a period of 1.0E+3 years. The maximum total dose of 1.64 mSv/yr was obtain at t = 8.17 ± 0.02 years. The total peak dose at time t = 0 yr. is 1.63 ± 1.0 mSv/yr for all pathways. This value is 6.53 times higher compare to the basic radiation dose limit of 2.5E-01 mSv/yr. The evaluated excess cancer risk was 3.46E-3 and is 10 times higher compared to the recommended limit of WHO. A cover layer depth of 1.25 m was simulated using the code and a total maximum peak dose for all pathways was 2.52E-01 mSv/yr at t = 5.0E+2 ± 1.0 years.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75301704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydrogeochemical Characterization of Dug Well Water and Its Suitability for Domestic Water Supply in the Village of Passakongo, Dedougou municipality, Burkina Faso","authors":"A. Sako, Sâga Sawadogo, M. Yoni, M. Nimi, Ousseni Zongo, O. Bamba","doi":"10.5539/enrr.v8n3p126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n3p126","url":null,"abstract":"Hydrogeochemical characterization and suitability study of dug well water for domestic purpose were carried out in a semi-arid rural village in Burkina Faso. Thirty water samples were collected from 15 wells in dry and wet seasons, 2017. Electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids as well as major ions of all samples were within the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits for drinking water. In contrast, nine wells had pH beyond the WHO limit during the dry season and one well had very high NO3- concentration in the wet season. Most wells were seriously polluted with total Cr (CrT) in both seasons (11 and 14 wells in dry and wet seasons, respectively). Although Pb was not detected in the wells during the dry season, six wells showed Pb concentrations exceeding the WHO guideline limit for drinking water in the wet season. Graphic interpretation, including the Piper diagram, major ion ratios and Na/Cl versus EC, were used to characterize the hydrochemistry and water – rock interaction within the wells. The dominant hydrochemical facies of the wells was Ca-HCO3 during the dry season, reflecting the influence of silicate weathering. Following loadings of agricultural and domestic effluent, the hydrochemical facies shifted to more mixed type during the wet season. All samples had negative chloro-alkaline indices, suggesting retention of Ca2+ and Mg2+ by the aquifer materials and release of Na+ and K+ into the groundwater. In addition to silicate weathering, the hydrochemistry and water quality of the majority of the wells were partially controlled by the evaporation process and longer water–rock interaction in the dry season. In contrast, recharge and dilution effects appeared to alter the natural hydrochemistry of the wells in the wet season. Geochemical characterization has clearly shown that seasonal changes do affect the dug well water quality. The study also demonstrated that, in terms of CrT and Pb, water from the majority of the wells was not suitable for drinking. A special attention should be therefore paid to groundwater quality protection in the","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"163 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86214711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigation of Permeable Pavement Implementation in Baghdad Using PCSWMM Model","authors":"H. Azawi, D. E. Sachit","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P117","url":null,"abstract":"One of the most important reasons for the frequent occurrence of rainwater flooding in Baghdad in general and Al-Huryai, part of Baghdad, in particular is the lack of runoff drainage systems in conventional pavement. Incidents of flooding have occurred on an average three times per year in many parts of the town due to heavy rain of high intensity and short duration. Using permeable pavement will help to control flooding and improve public health. The objective of this study is to investigate the important factors that describe the possible implementation of permeable pavement in Al-Huryai city using PCSWMM software and to quantify the effectiveness of this technique on the hydrologic response of the case study by comparing the simulation analyses of the site under its undeveloped condition, after development, and after implementing permeable pavement. The simulation results showed that permeable pavement approach has a significant impact on runoff reduction.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87047683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does the Date of Burning Affect Carbon and Nutrient Losses in a Humid Savanna of West Africa?","authors":"Aya B. N Dri, Louis N. Konan","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P102","url":null,"abstract":"A significant impact of fires is the transfer to the atmosphere of the elements contained in combusted biomass. This study was carried out in the Guinean savanna of Lamto (Côte d’Ivoire) to evaluate fire-mediated carbon and nutrient losses from biomass according to the date of burning. The fire regimes tested consisted of three different burning dates: early (EF), mid (MF), and late (LF) season fires, on nine 0.5 ha plots. Carbon and five elemental nutrients were assessed in the aboveground biomass prior to burning and in ash and unburnt biomass after fires; losses were assessed by subtraction. The proportion of nutrients transferred to the atmosphere varied from 42 % (K) to 98 % (C). The lowest losses were recorded during the EF and the greatest during the MF and LF. Emission of CO2 was relatively greatest during the EF than during the MF and LF (16, 14 and 13 t ha-1 respectively). The proportion of the fine ash fraction (< 1 mm) was the greatest during MF. The highest concentrations of K, P, Ca and Mg occurred in this fraction, most susceptible to losses due to wind and rainfall. The percentage losses of C, N and K were positively correlated with fire maximal temperatureand flame height, explaining the relatively higher losses during MF. Over the long term, the MF applied annually, would lead to important depletion of soil nutrients, particularly N and P, which contributes to the low availability of nutrients in the soils of Lamto savannas.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89725809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CoBAGNPS: A Toolbox to Estimate Sediment Removal Efficiency of WASCoBs–Pipe Risers and Blind Inlets","authors":"A. Gupta, R. Rudra, Bahram Gharabaghi, P. Daggupati, G. Parkin, P. Goel, Rituraj Shukla","doi":"10.5539/enrr.v8n3p84","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/enrr.v8n3p84","url":null,"abstract":"Water and Sediment Control Basin (WASCoB) is an important BMP constructed along concentrated flow-paths (gullies etc.) to control the movement of water and sediment within a watershed. A WASCoB constitutes of a berm, surface inlets, and a drainage pipe to route water into a ditch. Direct runoff ponded behind the berm is routed through surface inlets into an underground drainage pipe. Therefore, surface inlets are an exceedingly important constituent of a WASCoB. Further pipe risers and blind inlets are the two most common type of surface inlets used. Therefore, maximum sediment removal efficiency of WASCoBs at a watershed-scale can be attained by the appropriate selection of a surface inlet, since the efficiency of a WASCoB is greatly impacted by the quantity of runoff and sediment leaving the surface inlet. In this study a toolbox was developed viz., CoBAGNPS to compute the sediment removal efficiency of pipe risers and blind inlets. A watershed-scale model (AGNPS) was integrated within the toolbox. Output files of the AGNPS model are fed as input files into the toolbox where a sediment routing module is programmed separately for pipe risers and blind inlets to obtain the sediment removal efficiency for each type of surface inlet. Further, the sediment routing module programmed for blind inlets integrates the AGNPS model with the HYDRUS 1-D model. The toolbox developed was applied to the Gully Creek watershed in Ontario, and the sediment load routed through pipe risers and blind inlets were compared.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89762644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Butterfly Diversity: An Indicator for Environmental Health within Tarkwa Gold Mine, Ghana","authors":"R. Kyerematen, S. Adu-Acheampong, Daniel Acquah-Lamptey, R. S. Anderson, E. H. Owusu, J. Mantey","doi":"10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P69","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ENRR.V8N3P69","url":null,"abstract":"Many human societies, rely on proceeds from mining of metals and fossil fuels for income generation as well as resource supplies from biodiversity. However, these mining activities are in conflict with and threaten the sustainable utilisation and conservation of biodiversity. We used butterflies, a known bioindicator species as surrogates to measure the level of change in vegetation within Tarkwa Gold Mines (TGM) in Ghana. Butterfly assemblages were sampled within the concession and characterised in terms of diversity indices and vegetation type. Transect counts, aerial netting and charaxes trapping were employed to assess butterfly assemblages. Results showed that although there were high records of degraded forest and savanna indicator species, the fairly high presence of deep forested species also shows that some forested areas within the concession are still in good condition. Recommendations are made to maintain forest blocks to serve as refugia for butterflies and urge management to institute measures to restore old and abandoned mined sites. We also recommend policy makers to enact laws that will ensure that, mining organisations lay down plans for sustainable mine operations and biodiversity conservation before being granted licenses to operate in Ghana.","PeriodicalId":11699,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Natural Resources Research","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89536604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}