Volume 40 (2021): Issue 2 (June 2021)

Laboratory experiments were conducted under controlled conditions to quantify the potential of microbial transformation associated with floating matrix of floating treatment wetland (FTW) in ammonia removal and nitrification kinetics. The effect of different design parameters on ammonia removal from synthetic medium was investigated to optimize system performance. Effects of surface area of mat material, range of ammonia concentrations, and aeration on ammonia removal kinetics were studied using microcosm systems. A simple dynamics model of mineral nitrogen transformation was used as a framework for interpreting the experimental results. The results revealed that ammonia removal was enhanced in FTWs, and the magnitude of removal was controlled by the design factors examined. Removal by nitrification was directly proportional to mat surface area. The higher ammonia removal efficiency was caused by a larger surface area, which could support the growth of more microbes. Removal rate constants for treatments were 0.011, 0.015, 0.026, 0.035, and 0.033 day–1 for T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. There was also a clear inhibitory effect of NH3 on second-stage nitrification manifested as low production of NO3–. Quantitative index of optimized knit/calibrated knit indicated high inhibition effects of NH3 at high concentration of total ammonia (60 mg N L–1). There was no major effect of oxygen saturation on NHx removal using aerated and nonaerated conditions. Better mechanistic understanding of the fundamental processes operating in FTWs should provide the basis for improving FTW design and efficacy.

The article provides the assessment of the levels of aerotechnogenic pollution caused by the emissions from stationary pollution sources of industrial agglomerations in Zhytomyr, taking into account climatic conditions that affect the dispersion and accumulation of pollutants in soils and vegetation cover of surrounding agricultural landscapes. The examination of dust accumulated on the surface of leaves showed that it contains high concentrations of Mn, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Cu. The bioindication method with the use of white-tip radishes was applied to estimate the extent of aerotechnogenic pollution. The results of the investigation testified to the high informativeness of the offered test objects. The indexes of soil saturation with heavy metals indicated the presence of intensive processes of their accumulation. As a consequence, this territory became unsuitable for agricultural production. The inhibition of growth of radish roots identified the toxicity level of the investigated technogenic substrates as medium and higher than average. Also, there is inverse close correlation relationship between the distance from the emission source and the soil phytotoxicity indicators in all the investigated directions.

Biochar can affect CO₂ emission and C sequestration from soils, but little is known about the effects of its re-application and interaction with easily accessible substrates. Since most agricultural soils are continuously reworked, understanding the mechanics of CO₂ evolution as affected by soil amendments and their combinations may have important lessons for the global effort to combat climate change. In this study carried out in a controlled environment, we tested the short-term effects of biochar, and its re-application at different rates, on the production of CO₂ emission and C accumulation in samples of arable soils. We used a loamy Haplic Luvisol as the substrate and added varying amounts of biochar and sources of easily accessible N and C. We observed CO₂ evolution for 20 days at optimal temperature and moisture conditions. We found that in the control treatment with no biochar, the total potential respiration after the addition of (NH₄)₂SO₄ (N) and glucose (G) was increased compared to basal respiration. The addition of biochar reduced CO₂ emission in the control, N- and G-stimulated treatments by 12–22, 13‒24 and 2‒21%, respectively. Conversely, the application of biochar increased CO₂ emission in the combined NG treatment. Application of biochar at a higher rate, as well as its re-application, increased soil organic carbon content and reduced emission of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

The objective of this study is to establish a soil loss map of a region located in western Algeria allowing the spatialization of erosion models, deposition, and quantification of soil loss. The model applied is Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), wich was developed by Wischmeier and Smith. The map of current soil losses derived from it shows five areas: very low, low, medium, strong, and very strong. The significant loss in soil areas is located in most of the south of the area, the upstream mountains part, and a portion to the northwest of the region. They cover an area of 16,805 ha (15.27%) of the study area. The remainder of area constituting unrigged flat terrain accounts for a loss in low soil. The latter receives all the solid contributions which are deposited there constituting an important deposit.

The influence of different forest-growth conditions on the ecological and physiological parameters of Pinus pallasiana D. Don plants growing in anti-erosion planting is investigated. The experimental sites are located in the thalweg (test area 1) and on the slope of southern exposure in the lower, middle, and upper parts (test areas 2–4) of Ravine Viyskovyi (steppe zone of Ukraine). Forest-growth conditions are clay-loam soil (CL₂) (mesophilic, fresh soil), СL_1–2 (xeromesophilic, rather fresh), СL1 (mesoxerophilic, somewhat dry or semi-arid), and СL_0–1 (xerophilic, arid) correspondently. It was shown that the growth rates of trees, the growth rate of lateral (scaffold) branches in length and thickness, needle-packing coefficient, and needle surface area of annual shoots are maximal in P. pallasianа in the thalweg in conditions of the best water supply and minimal in arid and semi-arid conditions of growth. The research revealed that the highest content of total water in the needles is characteristic of plants of fresh forest plant conditions and the smallest in arid and semi-arid areas (test areas 3 and 4), which is consistent with the forest-vegetation conditions.

Sufficient contents of potassium, calcium, and magnesium in all areas and phosphorus in three areas except the middle part of the slope were found in the needles of P. pallasianа. However, insufficient content of nitrogen was found in the needles, especially in the trees of the middle part of the slope, which, together with low water supply, could cause the most significant slowdown in the growth of P. pallasianа plants precisely on this experimental site. A correlation was established between the indices of plant growth and the content of water and nutrients.

Changes in the structure of small mammals’ communities (Eulipotyphla, Rodentia) along urban–rural gradient indicate the environmental state of stability or instability. Since small mammals are important with regard to the transmission of diseases to man and domestic animals, therefore knowledge of their association with the landscape structure is needed in land use planning. In course of the period from 2015 to 2017, there were recorded 109 individuals belonging to 15 species at 9 study sites (3 rural, 3 suburban, and 3 urban). We recorded a decrease in the average number of species in the direction of the suburban–urban–rural gradient. The number of individuals decreased in the rural–urban–suburban gradient. Eudominant species Clethrionomys glareolus (D = 20.2%), Microtus arvalis (13.8%), and Sorex araneus (19.3%) preferred the close links between the terms of the rural landscape, while Apodemus agrarius (D = 11.9%) and Sorex minutus (D = 11.0%) preferred the close links between the terms of the urban landscape.

The habitat suitability for the Common Pochard, a duck species in decline, was studied in the middle reaches of the Orel’ River, Central Ukraine, in 2015–2017. The ducks were counted on their breeding grounds with the use of the ground survey technique. The positions of individual birds were estimated by GPS and plotted on the Google Earth map. The Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) was applied to assess the habitat suitability. Sentinel-2 image was used to extract 13 ecogeographical variables and to get two measures of the ecological niche (marginality and specialization). The ENFA procedure was applied twice at landscape and sub-landscape levels to describe the habitat selection across sequential spatial scales. Both the axes of marginality and specialization of the ecological niche of the species proved to be significantly different from the random alternatives. At landscape level, the distribution may be predicted with the use of Aerosol/Coastal, Vegetation and Hydrothermal Composite indices (marginality) and Modified Normalized Difference Water (MNDW) Index along with several vegetation indices (specialization). At sub-landscape level, MNDW played a crucial role. The importance of MNDW is mediated by the preference for the wetlands with the stretches of open water which are used by the ducks to initiate flight safely and to optimize diving possibilities. The ENFA is a reliable tool for the assessment of the habitat suitability and for setting the conservation priorities for the Common Pochard.

Flavorings and volatile biologically active substances, used by humans for various purposes, may potentially have fumigating, repellent, or attractive effects on various species of anthropod storage pests. Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val, 1863 (Tenebrionidae) and Sitophilus granarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Curculionidae) are the two most abundant pests of grain and grain products; the damage they cause to stored products of horticulture is 5–20% of the total yield of grain crops. In the experiment, we video-recorded migratory activity of beetles and evaluated it according to standard time periods (10, 20, 30, 60, and 120 seconds after the start of the experiment). No reliable influence of the 15 tested flavoring substances (benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, toluene, hydroquinone, phenethyl alcohol, pinene, methylparaben, kojic acid, formic acid, isoamyl alcohol, tartaric acid, glycine, succinic acid, stearic acid, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) on moving activity of Tribolium confusum was found. Exposure to benzyl alcohol brought a reliable decrease in locomotor activity of Sitophilus granarius (it exerted an attractant effect on imagoes as compared with the variant of the experiment without aromatic substances): 6.09 times more imagoes of S. granarius remained at a minimal distance from the aroma source than in the control, 6.07 more while exposed to hydroquinone, 5.50 to phenethyl alcohol, 4.50 to glycine, 3.44 to EDTA, 3.30 to toluene, 3.18 to methylparaben, 2.84 to succinic acid, 2.65 to benzoic acid, and 2.15 more when exposed to formic acid compared with the control variant of the experiment. Other surveyed flavoring substances (benzyl alcohol, pinene, kojic acid, isoamyl alcohol, tartaric acid, and stearic acid) had no significant effect on migratory activity of imagoes of S. granarius. The results allow us to recommend benzyl alcohol, hydroquinone, phenethyl alcohol, and glycine as potential luring substances or components of multicomponent flavoring mixtures during the assessment of the number of S. granarius in grain storage and processing facilities.

Different approaches were applied to assess soil moisture optima and tolerance of the ecological niche temporal projection of terrestrial invertebrates within an experimental polygon created to investigate the reclamation processes after deep underground hard-rock mining in the Ukrainian steppe drylands. Sampling was carried out in 2013–2015 on a variant of artificial soil (technosols). To investigate the spatiotemporal variation in the abundance, species richness and species composition of invertebrate assemblages the animals were sampled using pitfall traps. The readily available water for plants, precipitation, wind speed, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric humidity, and atmospheric pressure were used as environmental predictors. The two-dimension geographic coordinates of the sampling locations were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based spatial variables. Time series of sampling dates were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based temporal variables. Weighted averaging, generalized linear mixed models, Huisman-Olff-Fresco models expanded by Jansen-Oksanen, correspondence analysis, and constrained correspondence analysis were used to estimate soil moisture species optima and tolerance. The moisture content in the technosols was revealed to be the most important factor determining the temporal dynamics of terrestrial invertebrate community in conditions of semi-arid climate and the ecosystem which formed as a result of the reclamation process. The species response to the soil water content is affected not only by the soil water content but also by the complex of the other environmental, temporal, and spatial factors. The effect of other factors on the species response must be extracted previously to find real estimations of the species optima and tolerance.

Ecosystem services are the benefits provided to human society by natural ecosystems, which are generally understood as the ecosystem processes that sustain human life. In particular, an ecosystem’s cultural services include intangible benefits derived from aesthetic and other experiences, recreation, cognition and spiritual enrichment, and the ability to discern values. The study focuses on the comparison of two methodological approaches to the evaluation of landscape and the benefits of ecosystems for the development of ecological forms of tourism, using Bratislava IV as an example. The basis for database information is the processing of secondary landscape structure. The first methodological approach is based on a detailed mapping of land cover classes (Land Cover) in accordance with the legend of the Technical Guide CORINE Land Cover – supplement at the fourth and fifth levels of mapping in 2014‒2018 and determining the degree of landscape-ecological significance. The second approach is based on creating a set of relevant indicators and their evaluation using the scaling and weighting method. We reached the conclusion that the first methodological approach is more suitable for smaller territories at the cadastral level, while the second is better suited for regional-level territories.