Environmental Sciences Europe最新文献

{"title":"Enhancing European climate resilience through circular economy practices: an analysis of economic impacts and policy effectiveness","authors":"Zhiqi Li,&nbsp;Javid Ali,&nbsp;Atif Jahanger,&nbsp;Muhammad Tahir","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01488-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01488-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>European circular economy practices prioritize resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable consumption and production, in contrast to the linear economic model of extracting, using, and disposing. This study investigates the impact of circular economy practices in enhancing European climate resilience; by examining a panel data set from 39 European countries from 2000 to 2022, employing a principle components analysis to construct an index for circular economy practices and a panel quantile regression model, to investigate the impact of circular economy practices on European climate resilience. The findings indicate a recent growth in adopting circular economy practices and European climate resilience. Moreover, it detects a threshold impact for GDP and environmental protection expenditure, indicating a diminishing return beyond a certain level. Environmental taxes exhibit a positive effect within the observed range, up to the turning point of the estimated inverted U-shaped relationship and circular economy practices enhancing their effectiveness. The study underscores the importance of prioritizing circular economy initiatives and policies to bolster European resilience, optimize environmental taxation, and customize strategies to sector-specific needs. Continuously assessing and adjusting policies to ensure alignment with evolving circumstances and overarching resilience goals is recommended. These findings offer essential insight for policymakers who aim to advance sustainable development and mitigate climate-related risk in Europe.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01488-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maximization of bio-methane gas from anaerobic digestion of black liquor wastewater using a fabricated mesoporous graphene oxide nanosheets: experimental and microbial community shifts","authors":"Ahmed I. Omran,&nbsp;Gamal K. Hassan,&nbsp;Mohamed A. Hassan,&nbsp;Asmaa S. Hamouda,&nbsp;Hossam F. Nassar","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01493-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01493-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The global demand for sustainable energy has intensified research into waste-to-energy technologies. The pulp and paper industry generates large volumes of black liquor (BL), a by-product rich in lignin and organic matter, which presents both environmental challenges and energy recovery opportunities. This study explores the enhancement of bio-methane production from paper mill black liquor through the addition of graphene oxide nanosheets (GONSs) synthesized via a modified Hummers method. GONSs was thoroughly characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, zeta potential, BET surface area, and Raman spectroscopy, confirming its high purity, mesoporosity (average pore radius 2.75 nm), and excellent colloidal stability (zeta potential − 36.2 mV). The anaerobic digestion performance of GONSs was tested by treating BL samples with a concentration ranging from 0 to 80 mg/L of GONSs. The high surface area (419.43 m²/g) and functional groups of GONSs facilitated better microbial attachment and electron transfer, overcoming the inhibitory effects of black liquor’s complex organics. The results demonstrated an enhancement in the bio-methane production rate compared to the control phase without the GONSs, as the bio-methane yields increased by 2.0 factor using 60 mg/L GONSs compared to the control batch. GONSs effectively promoted the degradation of organic pollutants in the BL, regarding the chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 31.2%. Furthermore, microbial analysis revealed that GONSs enhanced the activity of microbial species responsible for the methanogenic process such as the <i>Chloroflexi</i> phyla that increased from 10.1 to 29.2%. All these findings indicate that GONSs are effective nano-additives for optimizing anaerobic digestion of industrial waste, providing a promising pathway for sustainable waste management and renewable energy generation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01493-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The EU’s recast of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: analysis of the scientific basis for identifying the cosmetic industry’s contribution to the extended producer responsibility","authors":"Karen Duis,&nbsp;Thomas Junker,&nbsp;Anja Coors","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01497-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01497-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>According to the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD, Directive 2024/3019), quaternary treatment shall be implemented in large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to remove micropollutants, accompanied by an extended producer responsibility system to cover the associated costs. Based on the conclusions of a feasibility report (FR), which identified pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as main sources of micropollutants in wastewater, the costs shall mainly be covered by these two sectors. In the present work, the FR is analysed with regard to the used data, the applied methods, and the derived conclusions concerning the cosmetic industry’s contribution to the total load of micropollutants and the total toxic load in wastewater. Numerous and scientifically serious shortcomings of the FR were identified that invalidate its conclusions. The analyses made in the FR are based on a dataset, which includes substances that are readily biodegradable, and/or not hazardous to the environment or to human health, i.e., which are not within the scope of the UWWTD. The process of selection of WWTP influent concentrations for many substances lacks consistency and transparency, and it remains questionable whether the used concentration data are representative for actual concentrations in untreated wastewater in Europe. The total toxic load was derived using predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs), including PNECs based on ecotoxicity data estimated with quantitative structure–activity relationship models, which are associated with a high level of uncertainty. The contribution of different sectors to the total toxic load was only derived for WWTP influent, although a derivation for WWTP effluents prior to quaternary treatment would have been much more appropriate. In the simplistic approach used to allocate each substance to a single main usage sector, numerous substances were wrongly assigned to the cosmetics sector, although they are mainly or exclusively used in other sectors. Our re-estimation of the contribution of cosmetics to the total toxic load of wastewater correcting only the wrong allocation to sectors resulted in a contribution of 1.4–2.7%, demonstrating that the 26% stated in the FR are a considerable overestimation of the contribution of the cosmetic sector to the total toxic load of WWTP influents.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01497-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microplastic-induced male reproductive toxicity: animal models, key design parameters, and mechanistic insights","authors":"Qiujian Feng,&nbsp;Zhuozhi Gong,&nbsp;Elena Colonnello,&nbsp;Boda Guo,&nbsp;Shengjing Liu","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01482-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01482-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive environmental contaminants detected across air, water, soil, and food chains. Their presence in human reproductive tissues has raised concern that MP exposure may contribute to the global decline in male reproductive health. This review summarizes recent progress in animal models used to investigate MP-induced male reproductive toxicity, with particular attention to key design variables, including animal strain and age, polymer type, particle size, dose, exposure route, and exposure duration, as well as the rationale for their selection. We also summarize the major mechanisms implicated in MP-associated reproductive toxicity, including oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, programmed cell death, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic alterations. Current models remain highly heterogeneous, often rely on exposure doses with limited environmental relevance, and provide incomplete mechanistic resolution. Future work should prioritize standardized model design, multi-omics integration, and improved monitoring of human MP exposure and epidemiological surveillance of male reproductive outcomes. Collectively, this review aims to support the refinement of animal models and provide an integrated mechanistic framework for toxicological assessment of MPs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01482-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predicting rainfed and irrigated yield responses under drought with soil-hydrological modelling and variety trials for economic evaluation","authors":"Börner Julian,&nbsp;Schwemmle Robin,&nbsp;Angenendt Elisabeth,&nbsp;Weiler Markus,&nbsp;Piepho Hans-Peter,&nbsp;Bahrs Enno,&nbsp;Sponagel Christian","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01480-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01480-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Agricultural droughts in many humid regions such as Southern Germany are projected to become more frequent and severe, leading to a substantial rise in irrigation demand to secure crop production. As a result, irrigation is becoming an increasingly important factor in agricultural production, and operational and regulatory decision-makers are relying more on data on site-specific yield responses to severe drought, especially as spatial soil heterogeneity leads to pronounced yield variability. Statistical crop yield models are commonly used to predict yield responses to drought; however, their calibration is often based on aggregated yield data, which can bias predictions of site-specific yield responses. Reported aggregated yield data for drought years are difficult to interpret because it is unclear whether crops were irrigated and to what extent. The aim of this study is to introduce a methodological approach to forecast agro-economic impacts of increasing drought frequency, using site-specific soil properties, meteorological data and yield observations from past drought years to assess potential impacts of future consecutive drought events. High drought frequencies are represented by repeatedly applying the severe drought conditions of 2003 over time. The process-based hydrological model RoGeR was coupled with a linear mixed-effects model, combining simulated soil moisture data with spatially corresponding observed yield data from post-registration variety trials (Landessortenversuche) in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Yield data from the variety trials are characterized by standardized management practices, particularly with respect to irrigation. We demonstrate the proposed approach in a case study in Southern Germany by forecasting yields under rainfed and irrigation scenarios as well as irrigation volumes for major arable crops and representative soils for the period 2000–2024. The results showed that both yield losses and irrigation-induced yield gains during drought vary significantly between crops and across sites and are associated with substantial differences in irrigation volumes and the number of irrigation events, which in turn affect the profitability of irrigation investments. The findings confirm that site-specific modelling of yield effects is essential for evaluating the profitability of irrigation investments. Our approach provides the necessary data basis and can be applied across spatial scales.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01480-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148751210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Policy layering in EU carbon farming governance: insights from eight EU Member States","authors":"Susanna Esther Hönle,&nbsp;Claudia Heidecke,&nbsp;Laure Bamière,&nbsp;Ennio Facq,&nbsp;Ilaria Falconi,&nbsp;Frederik Gerits,&nbsp;Morten Graversgaard,&nbsp;Jana Poláková,&nbsp;Albert Bene Smit,&nbsp;Martin Hvarregaard Thorsøe","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01475-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01475-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Carbon farming has become an increasingly prominent concept in European climate and agricultural policy, particularly in the context of efforts to strengthen carbon removals from the land sector. In parallel, the European Union adopted the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF) in 2024, adding a new certification-based governance layer to an already dense landscape of public agricultural support instruments and diverse private initiatives. This article examines how this evolving policy field is perceived by national experts across eight EU Member States. Drawing on expert survey data collected in 2023, we analyse expert perceptions of carbon farming relevance, the potential and barriers of different practices, the status of monitoring, reporting and verification, and expectations regarding private initiatives. The results indicate that carbon-farming-related practices are currently supported mainly through existing CAP instruments rather than through coherent stand-alone carbon-farming strategies, and that inventory visibility of these measures remains limited and highly heterogeneous across countries. We interpret these patterns as indications of policy layering, in which new governance instruments are being added to established agricultural and climate policy architectures, without changing the existing policy structure. The type of layering varies by dimension: while some complementarities between CAP and CRCF incentives for farmers exist, the absence of reliable demand structures for CRCF credits and structural incompatibilities between CRCF certification and national climate accounting systems point towards an inefficient outcome and counter-productive layering, respectively. Unless these challenges are addressed, the CRCF risks remaining a layered instrument without real integration into national policy frameworks and with low climate impact.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01475-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148628460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a retrospective processing and data aggregation platform for non-target screening of surface waters","authors":"Kevin S. Jewell,&nbsp;Nina Hermes,&nbsp;Franziska Prodöhl,&nbsp;Ole Lessmann,&nbsp;Georg Dierkes,&nbsp;Björn Ehlig,&nbsp;Tobias Schulze,&nbsp;Eric Winter,&nbsp;Ronya Mona Wallis,&nbsp;Anna Lena Kronsbein,&nbsp;Jan Koschorreck,&nbsp;Arne Wick","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01477-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01477-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Data accessibility and exchange are current key topics in the exploitation of the enormous potential of non-target screening (NTS) for surface water monitoring, especially when monitoring water bodies crossing jurisdictional boundaries. So far, major challenges stem from (1) the size of NTS raw measurement files, (2) the diverse array of instrumental and computational methods, and (3) a need for continuous reprocessing of measurement files as spectral libraries grow. Pre-processing workflows connected to databases and online dashboards are one crucial way to address these challenges and provide direct access to monitoring data.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The NTSPortal is a data assessment dashboard and repository for pre-processed and annotated NTS data for online access by users in the fields of analytical chemistry and environmental management. It provides both a graphical interface for search and visualization and a programming interface for integration into tailored data science workflows. We present the functionality using data from over 12,000 measurements from over 300 sampling sites within Germany analyzed with a uniform method over the course of 7 years. Using a collaborative spectral library, over 1000 compounds were identified via library screening, including pharmaceuticals, synthesis intermediates, and transformation products. We report performance figures and several use-cases demonstrating (a) searching for multiple substances and retrieving an overview of their detections in different matrices, (b) selecting a substance based on long-term intensity trends and visualizing time series, and (c) searching for substances with an isolated spatial occurrence pattern. The programming interface is demonstrated by implementing a time-series analysis script to search for discontinuous emission patterns.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The highly automated pre-processing workflow for library screening allows much of the “heavy lifting” in NTS data processing to be off-loaded, enabling the environmental manager to focus on data analysis. The proposed system is open source and institutional access to the database can be made available upon request. The database has a flexible schema geared towards surface water monitoring but can be adapted to different needs. Further development of the system is underway, including the integration of unknown non-target features (without a library match), different instrumental analytical methods and concentration estimates.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01477-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measuring the unmeasurable? ESG rating divergence in Indian blue-chip companies: comparative insights for European sustainable finance","authors":"Pallavi Mishra","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01473-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01473-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Environmental, social, and governance ratings increasingly shape capital allocation in both emerging and developed markets, yet their divergence across providers raises fundamental questions about their reliability as measurement instruments. Existing literature documents substantial disagreement among global rating agencies and attributes it to differences in scope, measurement, and weight. However, evidence from emerging markets with mandatory sustainability disclosure regimes remains limited, and the interaction between domestic regulator-aligned raters and international providers has not been systematically examined. This study addresses that gap by analysing ESG rating divergence among Nifty 100 constituents in India and deriving comparative insights for European sustainable finance regulation, with particular attention to the recently introduced Indian ERP framework and European Regulation 2024/3005.</p><h3>Main body</h3><p>Using FY 2023–24 assessments from six rating agencies spanning domestic regulator-aligned, consensus-aggregation, performance-based, and risk-based methodologies, the study applies pairwise correlation analysis, cluster analysis, sector-level decomposition, and multivariate regression. Pairwise correlations range from − 0.758 to 0.703 with a mean of 0.119, far below the near-unity convergence observed in credit ratings. Raters cluster into three methodological regimes: a consensus-aggregation cluster, a performance-rating cluster, and a scale-separated risk-based cluster. Regression analysis confirms that firms covered by the domestic regulator-aligned rater exhibit significantly higher divergence, and the interaction between domestic rating and foreign coverage is highly significant, supporting an institutional-embedding interpretation. Sectoral divergence is non-uniform, highest in industrials, metals, and retail, and lowest in information technology services and insurance, where domestic and international materiality frameworks overlap most. Five methodological sources of divergence (scope, measurement, weight, normalisation, and temporal) are identified, and a fourth structural channel, regulatory-environment divergence, is proposed. Comparative evaluation of India’s ERP framework and European Regulation 2024/3005 identifies complementary strengths and shared gaps in standardisation, comparability, materiality guidance, enforcement, and cross-border coordination.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>ESG ratings do not yet function as interchangeable measurement instruments. For European investors with Indian blue-chip exposure, reliance on international providers alone yields incomplete assessments. The findings support bilateral regulatory cooperation between Indian and European authorities, standardised pillar-level disclosure, harmonised materiality guidance, and integrated reporting strategies for cross-jurisdiction issuers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01473-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Radiological assessment of NORMs resulting from petroleum industry, Idku coastal area, Egypt","authors":"Amal Ahmed Taha Shaalan,&nbsp;Fawaz Agizah,&nbsp;Mohamed Hegazy Mohamed Salama,&nbsp;M. F. El-Shahat","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01465-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01465-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) are often associated with oil and gas production wastes, where their concentrations may be enhanced by industrial activities. This study assessed potential radiological impacts at the Idku coastal area, which hosts the onshore gas processing facilities of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) field. Samples of sludge, produced sand, and produced water were collected from processing facilities, along with soil, sediments, plants, and water from surrounding environments. Gamma spectrometry (HPGe) was used to determine activity concentrations of radionuclides from the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th series and ⁴⁰K, and standard radiological hazard indices were calculated and compared with international guidelines. The results indicate that activity concentrations in waste samples ranged from 10–122 Bq/kg for ²²⁶Ra, 4–145 Bq/kg for ²³²Th, and 138–529 Bq/kg for ⁴⁰K, with the highest values observed in produced sand and sludge from processing units such as slug catchers and sand removal packages. The absorbed dose rate ranged from 7 to 164 nGy/h (average: 51 nGy/h), while the annual effective dose equivalent varied between 0.01 and 0.20 mSv/y (mean: 0.06 mSv/y). Radium equivalent activity ranged from 14 to 366 Bq/kg, remaining below the recommended limit of 370 Bq/kg. Overall, all radiological parameters were within internationally recommended limits, indicating minimal risk to workers and the surrounding environment. These findings emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring and the implementation of preventive measures to maintain exposures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), while supporting effective environmental management strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01465-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatiotemporal distribution of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in gill filterable fish food webs of European freshwater lakes and ponds: a systematic review","authors":"Bidipta Mandal,&nbsp;Radek Gebauer,&nbsp;Jan Mraz,&nbsp;Koushik Roy","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01464-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01464-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Temperate European lakes and fishponds offer an untapped source of land-locked long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (ARA). This article systematically compiles data from 48 peer-reviewed studies (2000–2024) to assess their spatiotemporal availability in gill-filterable (&gt; 100 µm) planktonic and benthic fish food webs. Spatial analysis reveals that zooplankton DHA content increases with latitude, while EPA and ARA levels peak in lowland waterbodies. Zoobenthos exhibit stable ARA and EPA concentrations across latitudes but lower DHA levels than zooplankton. Temporal trends indicate a decline in DHA and EPA in highland zooplankton over recent decades, likely influenced by climate change, while eutrophication-driven shifts contribute to seasonal DHA reductions in lowland lakes. Fatty acid stoichiometries (SFA: PUFA, n-6: n-3 PUFA) suggest metabolic adaptations to climate, with PUFA sparing effects increasing with latitude. Ecological correlations indicate dissolved organic carbon (DOC) positively influences EPA and DHA in zooplankton, whereas total phosphorus shows negative correlations, suggesting eutrophication could reduce n-3 LC-PUFA availability. Generalized additive modeling highlights an optimum organic carbon load (8–10 mg DOC L⁻¹) and reduced phosphorus–driven eutrophication (&lt; 20 µg TP L⁻¹) for maximized EPA (&gt; 20 µg g⁻¹ dry matter, DM) and DHA (&gt; 10 µg g⁻¹ DM) concentrations. Zooplankton-benthos provide 600–1050 mg EPA + DHA 100 g⁻¹ DM (zooplankton &gt; zoobenthos), and out of it, freshwater fish likely accumulate 150–525 mg EPA + DHA 100 g⁻¹ biomass. High-latitude, pelagic niche, lowland waterbodies during spring are identified as omega-3 LC-PUFA “hotspots” but progressively deteriorating over the last decades due to global change.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01464-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}