Suchergebnisse

Summarization: The environmental impact of EU policies aiming at protecting surface and ground waters were assessed in the Acheloos River Basin and coastal zone, Greece. The basin offered the possibility of studying the impact of EU policies on a multitude of aquatic ecosystems: four artificial and four natural lakes and a large estuary with important hydrotops (lagoons, coastal salt lacustrine and freshwater marshes) that belong to the NATURA 2000 or are protected by the RAMSAR Convention. A GIS-database was developed and was used to identify the environmental pressures and develop nutrient budgets for each sub-basin of the watershed to assess the relative contributions of nutrients from various land uses. The emissions based, mathematical model MONERIS was used to model the fate of nitrogen and phosphorous and their inputs to the coastal zone. The model CABARRET was used to assess the eutrophication impacts of these emissions to the coastal zone. Management scenarios were developed and modelling exercises were carried out to assess the impacts of management practices. Phosphorous loads were targeted for management since it was the limiting factor of phytoplankton growth controlling lake and coastal eutrophication. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: International Symposium on Water Resources Management: Risks and Challenges for the 21st Century, European Water Resources Association

Summarization: Governmental agencies, municipalities and industries around the world have been seeking viable alternatives for disposing of biosolids generated from wastewater treatment since landfill capacity diminishes and waste disposal costs increase. Biosolids are composed of compounds valuable for agricultural use (organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and micro-nutrients such as calcium, sulphur and magnesium), and pollutants that include heavy metals, organic compounds and pathogens. While they can be a valuable resource, potential risks associated with the nutrients, disease causing microorganisms, chemical contaminants and unstabilized material that biosolids include need to be appropriately managed. Alternative disposal methods for biosolids that have been used in the past include dumping at sea, landfilling, incineration and land application. The amount of generated sludge that needs to be disposed of in EU is exceeding 10 M dry tons per year while the US has to dispose approximately 7 M dry tons per year. Given that approximately half of the operating cost of waste water treatment plants is related to the treatment and disposal of sludge, the magnitude of treatment and disposal has promoted regulatory actions during the past 20 years focusing mostly on land application of biosolids and spurred the development of composting and other lower cost technologies that ensure not only their disposal, but also their reuse. The objective of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the potential benefits and risks of land application of biosolids with special emphasis on rural environments as well as on the management cost of disposal. Special focus will be given to sludges produced in rural areas such as the island of Crete and on closing the nutrient loop between urban and peri-urban areas. Sewage sludge has to be treated (dewatered and stabilized) before land application either in terms of soil fertilization or land reclamation. There are several treatment methods available: lime ...

Summarization: The Mediterranean temporary ponds (MTPs) are "priority habitats for conservation" (Natura code: 3170*), according to the Habitat Directive of the European Union (92/43/EC) and they are considered as ecological ornaments of the environment. They possess peculiar hydroperiods that provide habitat to many rare and endangered species. The geochemical conditions that prevail in MTPs, create an unique environment, for each one, of high geochemical value, which has not been studied up to now in Greece. The objective of this work is the study of hydrology and geochemistry of a characteristic MTP at Omalos plateau. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Restoration and Protection of the Environment VIII

Summarization: In an increasingly urbanizing world, governments and international corporations strive to increase the productivity of cities, recognized as economy growth hubs, as well as ensuring a better quality of life and living conditions to citizens. The urban environment has been associated with citizens' human health and wellbeing, such as infant mortality, emotional health, and psychopathology, infectious disease risk, nutrition, and obesity. Moreover, citizens suffer from various environmental hazards such as pollution, overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate waste disposal, and insufficient access to safe drinking water. Nature-based solutions, when integrated into the urban environment, in the form of parks, green spaces, blue spaces, and biodiversity, may have a positive effect on the health and wellbeing of citizens. The present paper aims to review and analyze the impact of nature-based solutions on citizens 'health and wellbeing. More than fifty case studies are categorized and discussed versus their psychological and physiological effect. The analysis shows that people's proximity to natural environments is associated with lower stress, faster recovery from psychological events, improved air quality, reduced urban overheating, and increased level of physical activity. Therefore, nature-based solutions can contribute to a considerable reduction of urban life depression and provide alternative ways of overcoming negative impacts on health. ; Presented on: Energy and Buildings

Summarization: European Union policy on soil threats and soil protection has prioritized new research to address global soil threats. This research draws on the methodology of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) to focus a critical mass of international, multidisciplinary expertise at specific field sites. These CZOs were selected as part of an experimental design to study soil processes and ecosystem function along a hypothesized soil life cycle—from incipient soil formation where new parent material is being deposited, to highly degraded soils that have experienced millennia of intensive land use. Further CZOs have been selected to broaden the range of soil environments and data sets to test soil process models that represent the stages of the soil life cycle. The scientific methodology for this research focuses on the central role of soil structure and soil aggregate formation and stability in soil processes. Research methods include detailed analysis and mathematical modeling of soil properties related to aggregate formation and their relation to key processes of reactive transport, nutrient transformation, and C and food web dynamics in soil ecosystems. Within this program of research, quantification of soil processes across an international network of CZOs is focused on understanding soil ecosystem services including their quantitative monetary valuation within the soil life cycle. Further experimental design at the global scale is enabled by this type of international CZO network. One example is a proposed experiment to study soil ecosystem services along planetary-scale environmental gradients. This would allow scientists to gain insight into the responses of soil processes to increasing human pressures on Earth's critical zone that arise through rapidly changing land use and climate. ; Presented on: Vadose Zone Journal

Summarization: Nature-based solutions (NBS) are actions that use natural processes in a resource efficient manner to solve societal challenges. The lack of supportive legislature, and financial, communication and social barriers complicate the process of NBS implementation. It is an urgent need to develop approaches to design and implement NBS that would act as drivers to overcome potential barriers and enhance the social acceptability of the project. The vision-based decision-making methodology and participatory process created in this study has been carried out in the Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory in Crete to design erosion and flood protection NBS and restore the riparian forest. The methodology consists of four distinct steps as follows: i) develop a vision of the area, ii) conduct a baseline assessment study, iii) NBS design and co-design, and iv) procurement and implementation. The methodology overcame multiple barriers because of the effective stakeholder engagement and the vision "drove" the project and created the necessary consensus that is necessary to achieve the objective of converting privately owned prime agricultural land to riparian forest. It offers an exemplar of a functional ecosystem restoration project that protects the river in a sustainable way, improves its biodiversity and water quality and improves the quality of life and social cohesion. ; Presented on: Sustainability

Summarization: An innovative multi-criteria methodology was proposed for the prioritization of the Program of Measures (PoM) in the Water Region of Crete, and applied specifically to the basin of Geropotamos river according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. This study relied on the four pillars of sustainability and the EU cross-compliance legislative objective for the minimization of the climate change impact. The multi-criteria evaluation methodology was based on the results of four different types of analyses: a DPSIR analysis, a SWOT analysis, a Cost-Benefit Analysis and a climate change impacts analysis. Public participation on the results of the study with local stakeholders was used at every stage of the multi-criteria evaluation process, from the selection and weighing of the criteria to the final ranking and measures' prioritization. The PoM contains two types of measures: basic measures which deal with the implementation of existing legislation and are the same for all regions of Greece and additional measures which are specified for the Region of Crete. The results of the prioritization process in Geropotamos Basin suggests that improving the water quality and ecological status of available water resources do not always require significant financial resources and can have a high impact in terms of achieving "good" quality status. ; Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Science of the Total Environment