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Environments, Volume 12, Issue 7

2025 July - 41 articles

Cover Story: The extraction and processing of metalliferous ores are associated with detrimental impacts on the environment due to the release of toxic substances via different routes. In this paper, we provide an overview of the historic metal mining and metallurgical activities in the Harz Mountains (Germany) and their toxic legacy at local, regional and supra-regional levels, with a focus on lead pollution and its effects on biota. The need for continuous monitoring of environmental and human health in the affected regions is emphasized. We additionally address the deforestation of the Harz Mountains during Medieval times due to the large amounts of wood required by the mining industry and the subsequent reforestation with fast-growing spruce stands that, in recent years, have suffered heavily from drought and bark beetle damage. View this paper
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Articles (41)

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,401 Views
14 Pages

The use of chloride-based deicing salts, particularly sodium chloride (NaCl) and calcium chloride (CaCl2), is a common practice in cold regions for maintaining road safety during winter. However, the accumulation of salt residues in adjacent soils po...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,942 Views
17 Pages

As marine heatwaves increase in frequency, more rapid means of documenting their impacts are needed. Herein, several thousand coral reef photos were captured before, during, and/or after high-temperature-induced bleaching events in the Central Red Se...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,234 Views
15 Pages

Mercury Concentration and Distribution in Remiges, Rectrices, and Contour Feathers of the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

  • Luca Canova,
  • Federica Maraschi,
  • Roberto Ambrosini,
  • Alessandra Costanzo,
  • Marco Parolini,
  • Antonella Profumo,
  • Andrea Romano,
  • Diego Rubolini and
  • Michela Sturini

Feathers are commonly used to monitor trace elements in birds, including heavy metals. Typically, a single feather is analyzed to avoid harming living birds, assuming it reflects the organism’s overall contamination. To verify this assumption,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,285 Views
18 Pages

A Rapid Method for Identifying Plant Oxidative Stress and Implications for Riparian Vegetation Management

  • Mizanur Rahman,
  • Takashi Asaeda,
  • Kiyotaka Fukahori,
  • Md Harun Rashid,
  • Hideo Kawashima,
  • Junichi Akimoto and
  • Refah Tabassoom Anta

Native and invasive plants of the riverain region undergo a range of environmental stresses that result in excess reactive oxygen species (ROS). Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a relatively stable and quickly quantifiable way among different ROS. The her...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,654 Views
20 Pages

The Occurrence and Distribution of Herbicides in Soil and Irrigation Canals in a High-Input Farming Region of Serbia

  • Dragana Linda Mitić,
  • Mira Pucarević,
  • Mira Milinković,
  • Sanja Lazić,
  • Aleksandra Šušnjar,
  • Slavica Vuković,
  • Jelena Ećimović,
  • Siniša Mitrić and
  • Dragana Šunjka

This study aims to improve the understanding of, and provide insights into, the environmental fate of herbicides currently used in agriculture, which is addressed through the analysis of the quality of canal water used for irrigation and the agricult...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,003 Views
21 Pages

CO2-biomethanation was studied in the present manuscript by considering the direct injection of hydrogen into a conventional anaerobic digester treating sewage sludge within a simulated wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The plant was simulated using...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,099 Views
19 Pages

Optical Monitoring of Particulate Matter: Calibration Approach, Seasonal and Diurnal Dependency, and Impact of Meteorological Vectors

  • Salma Zaim,
  • Bouchra Laarabi,
  • Hajar Chamali,
  • Abdelouahed Dahrouch,
  • Asmae Arbaoui,
  • Khalid Rahmani,
  • Abdelfettah Barhdadi and
  • Mouhaydine Tlemçani

The worldwide air pollution situation reveals significant environmental challenges. In addition to being a major contributor to the deterioration of air quality, particulate matter (PM) is also an important factor affecting the performance of solar e...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,621 Views
20 Pages

Animal production generates gas emissions. It is imperative to reduce them as projections suggest that emissions will continue to increase with rising temperatures, alongside the intensification of agriculture to meet global food demand. Slurry acidi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,637 Views
18 Pages

An Optimistic Vision for Public Transport in Bucharest City After the Bus Fleet Upgrades

  • Anca-Florentina Popescu,
  • Ecaterina Matei,
  • Alexandra Bădiceanu,
  • Alexandru Ioan Balint,
  • Maria Râpă,
  • George Coman and
  • Cristian Predescu

Air pollution caused by CO2 emissions has become a global issue of vital importance, posing irreversible risks to health and life when concentration of CO2 becomes too high. This study aims to estimate the CO2 emissions and carbon footprint of the pu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
966 Views
20 Pages

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the concept of Water Quality Volume (WQv) as a Best Management Practice (BMP) to treat the first 25.4 mm of rainfall in urban areas, aiming to capture approximately 90% of annual runoff. Howeve...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,419 Views
16 Pages

Improper emissions from industrial activities pose toxicological risks to groundwater safety. Based on an environmental forensic identification case involving livestock (sheep) damage caused by groundwater pollution in a pastoral area, we comprehensi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,469 Views
18 Pages

Saline Water Stress in Caatinga Species with Potential for Reforestation in the Face of Advancing Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

  • Márcia Bruna Marim de Moura,
  • Tays Ferreira Barros,
  • Thieres George Freire da Silva,
  • Wagner Martins dos Santos,
  • Lady Daiane Costa de Sousa Martins,
  • Elania Freire da Silva,
  • João L. M. P. de Lima,
  • Xuguang Tang,
  • Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim and
  • Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza
  • + 2 authors

The advance of the soil desertification process and water salinisation hinders reforestation actions in the Brazilian semiarid region due to the negative effects on the initial establishment of seedlings. Knowledge of potential species for overcoming...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,635 Views
21 Pages

Energy Footprints, Energy Sufficiency, and Human Well-Being in Iceland

  • Kevin Joseph Dillman,
  • Anna Kristín Einarsdóttir,
  • Marta Rós Karlsdóttir and
  • Jukka Heinonen

In the intersecting field of energy consumption and human well-being, many macro-level studies link national energy use with well-being. These studies often rely on aggregate data, however, limiting insights into intra-national inequities and diverse...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,358 Views
21 Pages

Hydrological Transformation and Societal Perception of Urban Pluvial Flooding in a Karstic Watershed: A Case Study from the Southern Mexican Caribbean

  • Cristina C. Valle-Queb,
  • David G. Rejón-Parra,
  • José M. Camacho-Sanabria,
  • Rosalía Chávez-Alvarado and
  • Juan C. Alcérreca-Huerta

Urban pluvial flooding (UPF) is an increasingly critical issue due to rapid urbanization and intensified precipitation driven by climate change that yet remains understudied in the Caribbean. This study analyzes the effects of UPF resulting from the...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,417 Views
40 Pages

Stream metabolism is traditionally defined as the combined metabolism of all aerobic organisms in a stream. Its component processes of oxygenic photosynthesis and aerobic respiration create and consume dissolved oxygen (DO) and therefore can be measu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,593 Views
28 Pages

Analysis and Prospective Use of Local Mineral Raw Materials to Increase the Aesthetic and Recreational Value of the Vyzhyvka River (Western Ukraine)

  • Yuliia Trach,
  • Tetiana Tkachenko,
  • Maryna Kravchenko,
  • Viktor Mileikovskyi,
  • Oksana Tsos,
  • Mariia Boiaryn,
  • Olha Biedunkova,
  • Roman Trach and
  • Ihor Statnyk

Macrophytes are important components of aquatic ecosystems performing essential ecological functions. Their species composition and density reflect the ecological status of water bodies. The optimal ratio of morphological types of macrophytes is an i...

  • Review
  • Open Access
4 Citations
2,480 Views
14 Pages

Nanomaterials (NMs) are currently widely used in a wide range of industrial production and scientific applications, starting from molecular and medical diagnostics to agriculture. In the agricultural and food systems, NMs are now used in various ways...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3,619 Views
36 Pages

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be used to inactivate microorganisms, with upper-room UV germicidal irradiation (UR-UVGI) representing a promising approach. This study investigated the inactivation of the airborne surrogate virus Phi6 by a UR-UVGI sys...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,132 Views
19 Pages

Livestock contributes to global warming through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing these emissions is an ongoing challenge for the small ruminant sector. Despite its significant role in national economies, limited studies on the carbon footprin...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,026 Views
13 Pages

The use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is steadily growing as the world’s population both increases and ages. Many of these products are released into the environment via municipal wastewater treatment plants and onsite w...

  • Editorial
  • Open Access
1 Citations
798 Views
7 Pages

The biosphere (as the habitat of all species, including humans) and its self-organization, to provide deep interactions and support biodiversity, require full understanding and appropriate environmental policy making [...]

  • Review
  • Open Access
13 Citations
10,707 Views
31 Pages

A Review of Persistent Soil Contaminants: Assessment and Remediation Strategies

  • António Alberto S. Correia and
  • Maria Graça Rasteiro

The presence of persistent contaminants in soils is of growing concern around the world. Contaminated soils can affect numerous ecological environments and lead to significant health risks to humans, affecting soil biodiversity, structure and geomech...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,997 Views
19 Pages

Substantial boosts in the low-energy nano-oxygenation of incoming process water were achieved at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) upstream of activated sludge (AS) aeration lanes on a single-pass basis by means of an electric field nanob...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
1,635 Views
23 Pages

Decoding Salinization Dynamics in Mediterranean Coastal Aquifers: A Case Study from a Wetland in Southern Italy

  • Giuseppe Passarella,
  • Rita Masciale,
  • Matia Menichini,
  • Marco Doveri and
  • Ivan Portoghese

This study investigates the salinization processes affecting the coastal aquifer within the Torre Guaceto State Nature Reserve, a Mediterranean coastal area characterized by a unique ecological value of a brackish wetland threatened by water-intensiv...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,799 Views
30 Pages

Laminaria digitata Supplementation as a Climate-Smart Strategy to Counteract the Interactive Effects of Marine Heatwaves and Disease Outbreaks in Farmed Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata)

  • Isa Marmelo,
  • Tomás Chainho,
  • Daniel Bolotas,
  • Alícia Pereira,
  • Busenur Özkan,
  • Cátia Marques,
  • Iris A. L. Silva,
  • Florbela Soares,
  • Pedro Pousão-Ferreira and
  • Ana Luísa Maulvault
  • + 7 authors

Extreme weather events, such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), pose serious threats to the aquaculture sector, facilitating the occurrence of disease outbreaks and compromising farmed animals’ welfare and survival. Hence, finding eco-innovative strat...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,638 Views
21 Pages

Mineral Condition Changes in Amended Soils and Woody Vegetation Installed on a Polluted Soil with Trace Metals in Lubumbashi (DR Congo): Results of a Four-Year Trial

  • Serge Langunu,
  • Jacques Kilela Mwanasomwe,
  • Dieu-donné N’Tambwe Nghonda,
  • Gilles Colinet and
  • Mylor Ngoy Shutcha

The use of trees to revegetate urban areas contaminated by mining activity is a low-cost, low-maintenance technique, of which the success will depend on the plant species, planting methods, and geochemical processes at the soil-plant interface. This...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,860 Views
20 Pages

Trail erosion is a global issue, particularly in mountainous regions, that is largely driven by increased tourist flows and uncontrolled trampling. Our study was conducted in the Bucegi Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Romania, along three of the mos...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,931 Views
15 Pages

Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Suitability in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

  • Emma Haggerty,
  • Ethan R. Wertlieb and
  • Dmitry A. Streletskiy

Changing climatic conditions are significant determinants of agricultural productivity. Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state and the second-largest agricultural producer in Brazil. The suitability of its land for farming can be used as a proxy...

  • Opinion
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,267 Views
11 Pages

Beyond Biomass: Reimagining Microalgae as Living Environmental Nano-Factories

  • Thinesh Selvaratnam,
  • Shaseevarajan Sivanantharajah and
  • Kirusha Sriram

Microalgae have long been recognized for their potential in biofuel production and wastewater treatment, but their broader capabilities remain underexplored. This opinion paper presents a case for a significant shift in how microalgae are conceptuali...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,718 Views
24 Pages

Impact of Permanent Preservation Areas on Water Quality in a Semi-Arid Watershed

  • Fernanda Helena Oliveira da Silva,
  • Fernando Bezerra Lopes,
  • Bruno Gabriel Monteiro da Costa Bezerra,
  • Noely Silva Viana,
  • Isabel Cristina da Silva Araújo,
  • Nayara Rochelli de Sousa Luna,
  • Michele Cunha Pontes,
  • Raí Rebouças Cavalcante,
  • Francisco Thiago de Alburquerque Aragão and
  • Eunice Maia de Andrade

Water is scarce in semi-arid regions due to environmental limitations; this situation is aggravated by changes in land use and land cover (LULC). In this respect, the basic ecological functions of Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) help to maintain...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,122 Views
22 Pages

Seasonality of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Shallow Lakes, Florida, USA—Part A

  • Elzbieta Bialkowska-Jelinska,
  • Philip van Beynen and
  • Laurent Calcul

Shallow lakes are highly vulnerable to pollution due to their small water volume. Those that receive effluent from the drainfields of onsite wastewater treatment systems (septic tanks) may contain pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) th...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,507 Views
21 Pages

Drinking Water and Sanitation Safety Planning for Medical Facilities: An Innovative PoU Approach for a Water System Description Using Ecomaps

  • Lara Kamm,
  • Ralf M. Hagen,
  • Nico T. Mutters,
  • Ricarda M. Schmithausen,
  • Ruth Weppler and
  • Manuel Döhla

Drinking Water Safety Plans (DWSP) in buildings serve to identify health hazards associated with the drinking water system. Sanitation Safety Plans (SSP) fulfill the same purpose for the sewage system. Water Safety Plans (WSP) include DWSPs, SSPs, an...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
839 Views
17 Pages

The standard methods for sediment phosphorus (P) fractionation are impractical for use with suspended solids due to the inherent difficulties associated with collecting sufficient sample quantities for analysis. To allow the fractionation analysis of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,961 Views
24 Pages

Multi-Output Machine-Learning Prediction of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Learning from Co-Emitted VOCs

  • Abdelrahman Eid,
  • Shehdeh Jodeh,
  • Ghadir Hanbali,
  • Mohammad Hawawreh,
  • Abdelkhaleq Chakir and
  • Estelle Roth

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are important contributors to indoor and occupational air pollution, such as environments involving the extensive use of paints and solvents. The routine measurement of VOCs is often limited by resource constraints,...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2 Citations
5,362 Views
29 Pages

Toxic Legacy—Environmental Impacts of Historic Metal Mining and Metallurgy in the Harz Region (Germany) at Local, Regional and Supra-Regional Levels

  • Louisa Friederike Steingräber,
  • Friedhart Knolle,
  • Horst Kierdorf,
  • Catharina Ludolphy and
  • Uwe Kierdorf

As a legacy of historical metal mining and the processing and smelting of metalliferous ores, metal pollution is a serious environmental problem in many areas around the globe. This review summarizes the history, technical development and environment...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,489 Views
27 Pages

Lavender as a Bioindicator: Bioaccumulation Assessment of Cd, Pb, and Zn

  • Daniela Simina Ștefan,
  • Ecaterina Anca Șerban,
  • Magdalena Boșomoiu,
  • Camelia Ungureanu and
  • Mircea Ștefan

This study explores the bioaccumulation behavior of heavy metals (cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn)) in lavender (Lavandula spp.) cultivated under controlled greenhouse conditions to assess its potential in sustainable phytoremediation. The plan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,891 Views
14 Pages

Effect of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in the Snail Cornu aspersum

  • Davide Gualandris,
  • Francesco Dondero,
  • Alberico Franzin,
  • Davide Rotondo,
  • Candida Lorusso,
  • Teodoro Semeraro and
  • Antonio Calisi

The progressive commercial deployment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) raises concerns about their terrestrial ecotoxicity. We exposed adult Cornu aspersum (150 snails; five replicates of three animals per time-point) to 50 mg L−1 MWCN...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
3,148 Views
22 Pages

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental threats, with particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5 representing its most harmful components, significantly affecting public health. These particles are primarily generated by transport, industry, re...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,558 Views
20 Pages

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fertilization Practices in Maize Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Toward Climate-Smart Agriculture

  • Pawend-taoré Christian Bougma,
  • Loyapin Bondé,
  • Valaire Séraphin Ouehoudja Yaro,
  • Idrissa Dicko,
  • Aurelie Flavy Rufine Zongo,
  • Amanuel Woldeselassie Gebremichael,
  • Mounkaila Mohamed,
  • Claudia Malz,
  • Jörg Matschullat and
  • Oumarou Ouédraogo
  • + 1 author

The intensive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in maize (Zea mays L.) cropping in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contributes significantly to nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Due to limited data on emissions and emission factors (EFs) in SSA, this study inves...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,015 Views
17 Pages

Analytical Workflow for Tracking Aquatic Biomass Responses to Sea Surface Temperature Changes

  • Teodoro Semeraro,
  • Jessica Titocci,
  • Lorenzo Liberatore,
  • Flavio Monti,
  • Francesco De Leo,
  • Gianmarco Ingrosso,
  • Milad Shokri and
  • Alberto Basset

Ocean ecosystem services provisioning is driven by phytoplankton, which form the base of the ocean food chain in aquatic ecosystems and play a critical role as the Earth‘s carbon sink. Phytoplankton is highly sensitive to temperature, making it...

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Environments - ISSN 2076-3298