环境•农林最新文献

Soil salinization is a growing environmental concern of arid regions, but the salt-accumulator species like Salsola imbricata offer a promising solution for phytoremediation of affected soils. In this context, ten naturally occurring populations of S. imbricata from salt-prone arid environments of Cholistan Desert were evaluated for phytoremediation traits, including (i) hypersaline populations (ECe 31.6 to 21.3 dS m⁻¹), (ii) moderately saline populations (ECe 16.0 to 12.2 dS m⁻¹), and (iii) non-saline populations (ECe 2.5 to 1.7 dS m⁻¹). The populations of S. imbricata collected from the highest salinity sites, Rahim Yar Khan (RYK) and Sadiqabad (SA), exhibited restricted growth habits but demonstrated increased accumulation of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and Cl⁻. These populations showed larger root cross-sectional areas with more prominent xylem vessels and cortical region. Sclerification was notably intense in the roots and stems of population. In the leaves, specific adaptations included a reduced lamina area and enhanced succulence due to the development of storage parenchyma. Notable traits associated with the phytoremediation potential of S. imbricata populations included deeper root systems, taller plant, intensive sclerification around storage and conducting tissues, succulent leaves, salt-excreting trichomes, wider xylem vessels, and the accumulation of noxious ions. Furthermore, the RYK and SA populations displayed higher bioconcentration factors, translocation factors, and dilution factors for Na⁺ and Cl⁻, which are considered key traits for effective phytoremediation. The S. imbricata populations in highly saline environments demonstrate superior salt tolerance and efficient toxic salt management, making them ideal for rehabilitating saline, uncultivated lands through green reclamation.

Pomphorhynchus laevis is a freshwater heteroxenous parasite that infects Gammarus pulex as intermediate host and Squalius cephalus as definitive host. This acanthocephalan parasite is able to manipulate the behavior of G. pulex to increase probability of transmission between G. pulex prey and S. cephalus predator. Manipulation results from complex interactions and could be triggered or enhanced by biotic parameters. This experimental study investigated the effect of the presence both of G. pulex conspecifics and of S. cephalus cues on the behavior of P. laevis-infected and uninfected G. pulex in flowing water. The presence of G. pulex conspecifics increased the distance covered by both uninfected and P. laevis-infected gammarids in the artificial stream, whereas S. cephalus cues did not influence the distance covered by either. In static water, S. cephalus cues significantly decreased G. pulex attraction to light, regardless of infection status. Our results show that P. laevis manipulates distance covered regardless of the presence of either G. pulex conspecifics or S. cephalus cues. We discuss how these two biological parameters affect uninfected G. pulex and other factors involved in P. laevis manipulation of its gammarid host.

Various of factors have contributed to groundwater contamination in the Indo-Gangetic alluvium, including mineral deposits, ion exchange, precipitation, overexploitation, and dissolution. In the current study, 40 different groundwater samples were sampled from different locations of Sadar block Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh and various physicochemical parameters were evaluated. This research aims to investigate the groundwater quality associated with human health risks in all seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon), analyze the reasons for seasonal differences, and identify areas with severe pollution. The water quality in PrM is 48%, in PoM it is 50%, and 48% of the sampling sites are categorized as highly polluted due to high THI value. THI values depict the highest F⁻ and NO₃⁻ contamination levels at PG 13 and P33 (THI > 5.0) in the PrM. After a health risk assessment, it was found that children and females are highly susceptible to health risks. The strongest correlation was found between TDS, EC, and fluoride (r = 0.9). This study would be extremely helpful to aid officials in identifying alternative drinking water resources in affected areas. The Piper plot revealed the presence of Cl⁻ and some SO₄⁻ type waters, which indicates strong acid dominance over weak acids, and the cation is dominated by Ca²⁺ and some of the Mg²⁺ type waters, indicating alkaline earth metal is dominating over alkali metals. Na–K-SO₄-Cl and Ca-Mg-SO₄-Cl mixed water type (23% Prm, PoM, and MoN) facies were detected. According to Gibbs’s plot, most of the samples with "evaporation dominance" and the rest are under “rock-water interaction”.

The direct consumption of fluoride-contaminated groundwater is increasing day by day without our knowledge escalating health risks. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out in-situ fluoride treatment where fluoride exposure is higher, rather than confining to small or large-scale industries. This necessitates of choosing appropriate purification methods and materials for effective treatment. The main objective of this research is to determine the adsorption/removal capacity of different proportions of activated red mud and bentonite mixture (RM:BEN) to remove fluoride from water. The characteristics of adsorption materials such as Red Mud (RM) and Bentonite (BEN) have been studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). These techniques reveal the morphological changes and a loss of crystalline nature, indicating the adsorption of fluoride on the RM:BEN mixture. Different mix proportions of activated red mud and bentonite such as 95%:05% (Mix-A), 90%:10% (Mix-B), 85%:15% (Mix-C), 80%:20% (Mix-D) was analysed to determine its fluoride adsorption characteristics. The results revealed that RM:BEN (Mix-C) mixture demonstrated a higher adsorption capacity of 2.65 mg/g than other mixtures. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics model, fitting the Langmuir and Pseudo-first-order models, suggest that monolayer physical adsorption occurs during fluoride removal. In-situ experiments showed that the maximum removal efficacy of RM:BEN (Mix-C) reached 89.52% on the 7th day under lateral flow conditions and 93.81% on the 10th day under longitudinal flow conditions.

The study evaluates the suitability of untreated distillery wastewater, and wastewater obtained after primary treatment and secondary treatment stages on key pod characteristics and yield attributes of Pisum sativum L. var. Rachna. Four concentrations of the three wastewater types viz., 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% were used for the irrigation of P. sativum L. at regular intervals upto 120 days and various yield parameters along with iron and zinc dynamics in various plant parts were examined. The study’s findings showed that pod characteristics such as pods per plant (6.7), pod length (6.17 cm), total weight of pod (1.57 g), number of seeds per plant (27), and yield attributes, e.g., economic yield (7.12 g), stover yield (2.70 g), harvest index (83.61%), and seed output (31.26) were maximum at 50% concentration of secondary treated wastewater (ST₅₀). The minimum value of pods per plant (3.6 cm), pod length (4 cm), total weight of pod (0.8 g), number of seeds per plant (14.6), economic yield (2.75 g), stover yield (0.54 g), harvest index (67.824%), and seed output (11.0) were observed at 100% concentration of untreated wastewater (UT₁₀₀). Maximum accumulation of iron and zinc in various parts of the plant was observed at UT₁₀₀, while minimum at 25% concentration of secondary treated wastewater (ST₂₅) besides the control (tap water). Similar trends were observed for the enrichment factor, translocation factor, bioaccumulation factor, and mobility ratio.

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By constructing catalytic membranes, the tedious post-treatment catalyst separation during the utilization of powdered catalysts can be avoided. In this work, a copper ferrous disulfide catalytic membrane (CuFeS₂-M) prepared by in-situ loading CuFeS₂ on a ceramic tubular membrane was employed to activate sodium percarbonate (SPC) towards the degradation of organic dye pollutants. Under the optimum conditions (SPC dosage of 8.0 mM and flow rate of 1.0 mL/min), the removal efficiency of 10 mg/L acid orange 7 (AO7) achieved 97.93%, and several other organic dyes were also efficiently removed by 75.23–95.96%. The coexisting inorganic anions and humic acid showed little detrimental effect on the removal of AO7. Reusability tests showed that CuFeS₂-M could effectively catalyze the degradation of AO7, removing around 7 mg of AO7 during the operation time of 12 h from both deionized water and synthetic wastewater. Furthermore, the degradation mechanism analysis revealed that CO₃^•− was the main reactive oxidative species. Finally, the degradation pathway of AO7 was investigated, and the environmental toxicity effects of the degradation products were also predicted. Therefore, the CuFeS₂-M/SPC system exhibited prospective application for the oxidative removal of AO7 and other organic dyes from water.

Precise delineation of contaminant plume distribution is essential for effective remediation of contaminated areas in and around unmonitored and not planned cemeteries. In these areas, the necrochorume is the primary source of contamination that reaches groundwater, putting the environment and the population residing around at risk. This contamination is bigger in sandy soils, as, in general, sandy soils are propitious to leachates migration in depth, promoting subsoil and groundwater contamination. Therefore, the present work identified contamination zones in an area occupied by a cemetery located in soils with high sand content, high permeability coefficient, and saturated hydraulic conductivity close to the city of Tramandaí, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The results identified concentrations of organic matter and Biochemical Oxygen Demand above the maximum allowed values, clearly pointing to contamination of the samples collected. By using geophysical technique, the bidimensional profiles of apparent resistivity were obtained permitting the assessment and identification of the contaminant plumes. The results point to the necessity to improve burial practices below ground level, especially in areas where the natural characteristics favor the contamination of underground springs. In view of this, the importance of monitoring in these areas stands out as they can alter the quality of the environment and become a public health problem for the local and regional community.

Herein, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) bunch (DPB) waste was transformed into activated carbon (DPAC) adsorbent by using microwave-induced ZnCl₂ activation for 15 min at a power of 600 W. Several analytical methods were used to explain the physicochemical parameters of DPBAC including XRD, pH_pzc, BET, SEM–EDX, and FTIR. Afterwards, the adsorptive performance of DPBAC was thoroughly investigated for the removal of two structurally different organic dyes namely methyl violet (MV) and fuchsin basic (FB). The key adsorption parameters, including the dose of DPBAC (A: 0.02–0.06 g), the solution pH (B: 4–10), and the contact time (C: 2–20 min) were statistically optimized using the Box-Behnken design with response surface methodology (RSM-BBD). The Freundlich isotherm model exhibits the best fit for explaining the isotherm data for both the MV and FB dyes, whereas the pseudo-second-order model shows an accurate description of the kinetic data. Thus, DPBAC shows maximum adsorption capacities (q_max) for319.9 mg/g (MV) and 246.9 mg/g (FB) respectively. The possible DPBAC surfacec interaction with MV and FB dye molecules can be assigned to various pathways including pore filling, electrostatic attraction, π-π stacking, and H-bonding. The finding of this study indicates that date palm bunch can be effectively converted into large surface area activated carbon with the potential application for removal of cationic dyes from wastewater.