Special Issue "Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology"

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elena Rada
E-Mail Website
Chief Guest Editor
Theoretical and Applied Science Department - DiSTA, Insubria University, Via G.B. Vico, 46 – Varese I – 21100, Italy
Interests: environmental pollution; circular economy; waste and wastewater management; human health; renewable energy; interdisciplinary approaches for environmental management
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Marco Ciolli
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
University of Trento, Trento, Italy
Interests: applied ecology; biodiversity conservation; Geographic Information Systems; ecosystem services; forest modeling and management; landscape change; renewable energy; ecological informatics; tropical ecology
Dr. Gabriela Ionescu
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departement of Energy Production and Use, Faculty of Power Engineering , University Politehnica of Bucharest, Splaiul Independenţei 313, Romania
Interests: integrated waste management; circular economy; waste to energy; renewable energy; energy and environmental sustainability; intermediate bioenergy carriers; environmental impact assessment
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will publish thematic series of high-quality articles on key topics in Environment and Applied Ecology from developed and developing countries. Research and studies on databases, modeling approaches, and technologies applied to ecology and environment are the starting point for a more sustainable future. Human health must be always considered together and in close connection with legislative frameworks. The boundaries between environment issues and applied ecology must be not only overpassed but thought of as starting point for an interdisciplinary approach. In order to attract excellent scholars and promote our Section “Environment and Applied Ecology”, we will offer discounts and encourage submission of high-quality papers to this Special Issue.

In this framework, studies concerning the following topics (keywords) are welcome as well as other related topics, in the form of both interdisciplinary and specialized manuscripts.

Prof. Dr. Elena Cristina Rada
Prof. Marco Ciolli
Dr. Gabriela Ionescu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Community, ecosystem and global ecology
  • Biometrics, theoretical and quantitative ecology
  • Applied microbiology, biotechnology and public health microbiology
  • Aquatic resources, biomonitoring
  • Water scarcity, water quality, and water/wastewater management
  • Multidisciplinary agricultural and environmental research (including waste and energy generation)
  • Sustainable and organic agriculture, natural resource management
  • Clean energy and sustainability
  • Environmental protection, environmental management and sustainability
  • Environmental analysis and measurements
  • Health and environment
  • Ecological methodology, monitoring, and modeling
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem research
  • Citizen science and public engagement
  • Alien species modeling and control
  • Future studies
  • Ecological economics, natural capital, and ecosystem services
  • Climatology, meteorology, climate-ecology, climate change, and environment
  • Building ecological, economic, and social resilience to extreme events

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

Article
Dust Emission Monitoring in Cement Plant Mills: A Case Study in Romania
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9096; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179096 - 28 Aug 2021
Viewed by 188
Abstract
This paper presents aspects of monitoring material dust emissions from stationary emission sources (monthly dust measurements performed on cement mill stacks—mill outlet and separator outlet). Additionally, the Portland cement mill technological process (its component parts), as well as the solutions regarding the reduction [...] Read more.
This paper presents aspects of monitoring material dust emissions from stationary emission sources (monthly dust measurements performed on cement mill stacks—mill outlet and separator outlet). Additionally, the Portland cement mill technological process (its component parts), as well as the solutions regarding the reduction of the air emissions level, following the emission limit values (VLE), established in the integrated environmental authorization (AIM) from a cement factory in Romania, were analyzed. The paper focused on analyzing the data obtained in three different years for PM10 and dust concentrations (2018–2020). For each year, the measurements have been done in 3 months, each in a different season. The average values for each year for working conditions were: 30.22 mg/m3 (2018), 27.38 mg/m3 (2019), and 27.51 mg/m3 (2020) for working conditions and for normal conditions: 34.22 mg/m3 (2018), 30.49 mg/m3 (2019), and 30.16 mg/m3 (2020). For all 3 years, the values measured in spring were higher than the other two, both for work and normal conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
Article
Analysis on the Temporal and Spatial Features of the Coupling and Coordination of Industrialization and Agricultural Green Development in China during 1990–2019
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8320; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168320 - 06 Aug 2021
Viewed by 389
Abstract
In the past 30 years, China’s industrialization level has developed rapidly, and agricultural green development (AGD) is facing severe challenges. The research on the temporal and spatial features of the coupling and coordination of industrialization and agricultural green development is a key issue [...] Read more.
In the past 30 years, China’s industrialization level has developed rapidly, and agricultural green development (AGD) is facing severe challenges. The research on the temporal and spatial features of the coupling and coordination of industrialization and agricultural green development is a key issue to promote the sustainable development of agriculture. This paper takes China’s industrialization and AGD level as the research object, and uses panel data from 31 provinces in China from 1990 to 2019 to construct an evaluation index system for industrialization and AGD. This paper uses the coupling coordination degree model and spatial autocorrelation analysis method to calculate, test and analyze the temporal and spatial features of the coupling coordination level of industrialization and AGD. The results show that: this paper compares the industrialization and AGD levels during the study period and finds that China’s industrialization development level is on the rise as a whole, and the AGD level shows a downward trend first and then rises later. Through the horizontal comparison of different regions, this paper finds that there is a large regional imbalance in the level of industrialization and AGD. The coupling and coordination level of industrialization and AGD has always been primary. From the time point of view, coupling coordination degree shows a trend of first decline and then rise. From a spatial point of view, coupling coordination degree varies greatly among provinces, with the eastern, central and western regions decreasing successively. The level of coupling coordination has obvious positive autocorrelation in spatial distribution, and presents significant spatial agglomeration characteristics in space. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for regionally differentiated governance of the coordinated development of industrialization and AGD, and promote coordinated development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
The Seasonality Impact of the BTEX Pollution on the Atmosphere of Arad City, Romania
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4858; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094858 - 02 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 761
Abstract
Benzene, toluene, and total BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) concentrations registered for one year (2016) have been determined every month for one high-density traffic area. The assessment was performed in Arad City, Romania, to evaluate these pollutants and their influence on the [...] Read more.
Benzene, toluene, and total BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) concentrations registered for one year (2016) have been determined every month for one high-density traffic area. The assessment was performed in Arad City, Romania, to evaluate these pollutants and their influence on the inhabitants’ health. The contaminants were sampled using a static sampling method and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Benzene was the most dominant among the BTEX compounds—the average concentrations ranged from 18.00 ± 1.32 µg m−3 in December to 2.47 ± 0.74 µg m−3 in August. The average toluene concentration over the year was 4.36 ± 2.42 µg m−3 (with a maximum of 9.60 ± 2.39 µg m−3 in November and a minimum of 1.04 ± 0.29 µg m−3 in May). The toluene/benzene ratio (T/B) was around 0.5, indicating substantial contributions from mobile sources (vehicles). The emission and accumulation of different aromatic compounds (especially benzene) could deteriorate the urban air quality. The lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) for benzene was found to be more than 10−5 in winter, including the inhabitants in the “probable cancer risk” category. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
Proposed Environmental Risk Management Elements in a Carpathian Valley Basin, within the Roşia Montană European Historical Mining Area
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4565; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094565 - 25 Apr 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 672
Abstract
Non-ferrous metals mining activities have long accompanied people, and began in the study area of South East Europe over 2000 years ago. The environment quality is significantly affected by both historic mining activities and contemporary impacts. All these problems, inducing synergic negative effects [...] Read more.
Non-ferrous metals mining activities have long accompanied people, and began in the study area of South East Europe over 2000 years ago. The environment quality is significantly affected by both historic mining activities and contemporary impacts. All these problems, inducing synergic negative effects on local organism communities, have created a chronic state of pollution. The Corna Valley has one of the oldest historical human impacts in Romania due to the influence of mining. Fish and benthic macroinvertebrates have exhibited significant responses to long term mining effects on lotic systems. The analysis of macroinvertebrate communities, correlated with the lack of fish and some biotope characteristics, indicates that the Corna River presents a variety of categories of ecological status between sectors. The lack of fish reveals the poor ecological conditions. Technical and management solutions are proposed here to diminish the historical environmental problems and to avoid future ecological accidents, especially in an attempt to improve any construction plan concerning a possible new de-cyanidation dam and lake. Fish and benthic macroinvertebrates have exhibited significant responses to long term mining effects on lotic systems. Two management zones were identified, an upper zone which can be used as a reference area and a lower zone, where pollution remedial activities are proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
Central Attention and a Dual Path Convolutional Neural Network in Real-World Tree Species Recognition
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(3), 961; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030961 - 22 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 984
Abstract
Identifying plants is not only the job of professionals, but also useful or essential for the plant lover and the general public. Although deep learning approaches for plant recognition are promising, driven by the success of convolutional neural networks (CNN), their performances are [...] Read more.
Identifying plants is not only the job of professionals, but also useful or essential for the plant lover and the general public. Although deep learning approaches for plant recognition are promising, driven by the success of convolutional neural networks (CNN), their performances are still far from the requirements of an in-field scenario. First, we propose a central attention concept that helps focus on the target instead of backgrounds in the image for tree species recognition. It could prevent model training from confused vision by establishing a dual path CNN deep learning framework, in which the central attention model combined with the CNN model based on InceptionV3 were employed to automatically extract the features. These two models were then learned together with a shared classification layer. Experimental results assessed the effectiveness of our proposed approach which outperformed each uni-path alone, and existing methods in the whole plant recognition system. Additionally, we created our own tree image database where each photo contained a wealth of information on the entire tree instead of an individual plant organ. Lastly, we developed a prototype system of an online/offline available tree species identification working on a consumer mobile platform that can identify the tree species not only by image recognition, but also detection and classification in real-time remotely. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
Study on Mechanisms Underlying Changes in Agricultural Carbon Emissions: A Case in Jilin Province, China, 1998–2018
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(3), 919; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030919 - 21 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 856
Abstract
Reducing agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is a key point to achieve green and sustainable development in agriculture. Based on the ACE statistics of Jilin Province in China from 1998 to 2018, this article considers the sources of ACE in depth, and fourteen different [...] Read more.
Reducing agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is a key point to achieve green and sustainable development in agriculture. Based on the ACE statistics of Jilin Province in China from 1998 to 2018, this article considers the sources of ACE in depth, and fourteen different carbon sources are selected to calculate ACE. Besides, the paper explores the variation characteristics of ACE in Jilin Province, their structure, and the relationship between the intensity and density of the dynamic changes in ACE in the province in terms of time. Finally, this paper uses the Kaya identity and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) to analyze the influential factors in ACE. The results show the following: (1) During 1998–2018, the amount of ACE in Jilin Province increased, with an average annual growth rate of 1.13%. However, the chain growth rate has been negative in recent years, which reflects that carbon emission reduction has been achieved to a certain extent. (2) The characteristics of ACE in Jilin Province during the years is that of the low-intensity, high density category. Furthermore, agricultural resource input is the main source of the planting industry’s carbon emissions. From the perspective of animal husbandry, the proportion of CH4 decreased, while the proportion of N2O is relatively stable. (3) Based on the LMDI decomposition model, production efficiency, industrial structure, and labor are the three main factors that reduce ACE in Jilin Province. The economic level is the main factor of ACE, and it will be the most important factor leading to an increase in ACE in the short term. On the basis of comprehensive analysis, this article puts forward reasonable suggestions in terms of policy improvement, production mode and industrial structure adjustment, technological innovation, and talent introduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
The Impact of Planting Industry Structural Changes on Carbon Emissions in the Three Northeast Provinces of China
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(2), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020705 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 915
Abstract
This paper focuses on the impact of changes in planting industry structure on carbon emissions. Based on the statistical data of the planting industry in three provinces in Northeast China from 1999 to 2018, the study calculated the carbon emissions, carbon absorptions and [...] Read more.
This paper focuses on the impact of changes in planting industry structure on carbon emissions. Based on the statistical data of the planting industry in three provinces in Northeast China from 1999 to 2018, the study calculated the carbon emissions, carbon absorptions and net carbon sinks of the planting industry by using crop parameter estimation and carbon emissions inventory estimation methods. In addition, the multiple linear regression model and panel data model were used to analyze and test the carbon emissions and net carbon sinks of the planting industry. The results show that: (1). The increase of the planting area of rice, corn, and peanuts in the three northeastern provinces of China will promote carbon emissions, while the increase of the planting area of wheat, sorghum, soybeans, and vegetables will reduce carbon emissions; (2). Fertilizer application, technological progress, and planting structure factors have a significant positive effect on net carbon sinks, among which the changes in the planting industry structure have the greatest impact on net carbon sinks. Based on the comprehensive analysis, it is suggested that, under the guidance of the government, resource endowment and location advantages should be given full play to, and the internal planting structure of crops should be reasonably adjusted so as to promote the development of low-carbon agriculture and accelerate the development process of agricultural modernization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Article
Drought, Climate Change, and Dryland Wheat Yield Response: An Econometric Approach
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(14), 5264; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145264 - 21 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1359
Abstract
Agriculture has been identified as one of the most vulnerable sectors affected by climate change. In the present study, we investigate the impact of climatic change on dryland wheat yield in the northwest of Iran for the future time horizon of 2041–2070. The [...] Read more.
Agriculture has been identified as one of the most vulnerable sectors affected by climate change. In the present study, we investigate the impact of climatic change on dryland wheat yield in the northwest of Iran for the future time horizon of 2041–2070. The Just and Pope production function is applied to assess the impact of climate change on dryland wheat yield and yield risk for the period of 1991–2016. The Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) is used to generate climate parameters from General Circulation Model (GCM) outputs. The results show that minimum temperature is negatively related to average yield in the linear model while the relationship is positive in the non-linear model. An increase in precipitation increases the mean yield in either model. The maximum temperature has a positive effect on the mean yield in the linear model, while this impact is negative in the non-linear model. Drought has an adverse impact on yield levels in both models. The results also indicate that maximum temperature, precipitation, and drought are positively related to yield variability, but minimum temperature is negatively associated with yield variability. The findings also reveal that yield variability is expected to increase in response to future climate scenarios. Given these impacts of temperature on rain-fed wheat crop and its increasing vulnerability to climatic change, policy-makers should support research into and development of wheat varieties that are resistant to temperature variations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Review

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Review
A Review of Processes for Removing Antibiotics from Breeding Wastewater
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4909; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094909 - 05 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 705
Abstract
Antibiotic pollution has become an increasingly serious issue due to the extensive application of antibiotics, their resistance to removal, and the harmful effects on aquatic environments and humans. Breeding wastewater is one of the most important sources of antibiotics in the aquatic environment [...] Read more.
Antibiotic pollution has become an increasingly serious issue due to the extensive application of antibiotics, their resistance to removal, and the harmful effects on aquatic environments and humans. Breeding wastewater is one of the most important sources of antibiotics in the aquatic environment because of the undeveloped treatment systems in breeding farms. It is imperative to establish an effective antibiotic removal process for breeding wastewater. This paper reviews the treatment methods used to remove antibiotics from breeding wastewater. The mechanisms and removal efficiency of constructed wetlands, biological treatments, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), membrane technology, and combined treatments are explained in detail, and the advantages and disadvantages of the various treatment methods are compared and analyzed. Constructed wetlands have high removal rates for sulfonamide (SM), tetracycline (TC), and quinolone (QN). The antibiotic removal efficiency of biological treatment methods is affected by various processes and environmental factors, whereas AOPs and combined treatment methods have better antibiotic removal effects. Although it has broad application prospects, the application of membrane technology for the treatment of antibiotics in breeding wastewater needs further research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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Review
Health Benefits Derived from Forest: A Review
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(17), 6125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176125 - 23 Aug 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1366
Abstract
In this paper the scientific literature on the association between forests, stress relief and relaxation is reviewed with the purpose to understand common patterns of research, the main techniques used for analysis, findings relevant to forest-therapy-oriented management, and knowledge gaps. The database of [...] Read more.
In this paper the scientific literature on the association between forests, stress relief and relaxation is reviewed with the purpose to understand common patterns of research, the main techniques used for analysis, findings relevant to forest-therapy-oriented management, and knowledge gaps. The database of studies was collected with a keyword search on the Web, which returned a set of 32 studies that were included in the analysis. The main findings and patterns were identified with a text mining analysis of the abstract to search for keyword patterns across studies. The analysis indicates that most studies compared rest and relaxation performances across urban and forest environments and used a combination of self-reported measure of stress or rest collected with validate scales, e.g., the Profile of Mood of States (POMS) and the Restoration Outcome Scale (ROS), and a minority-only set of these two groups of indicators. Results of this review indicate that primary studies identified a positive association between forest exposure and mental well-being, in particular when compared to urban environments, thus suggesting that forest are effective in lowering stress levels. This study found that, to date, the characteristics of forests and characteristics of the visit are little investigated in the literature. For this reason, more research with a focus on forest variables such as tree species composition, tree density and other variables affecting forest landscape should be further investigated to inform forest management. Similarly, the characteristics of the visits (e.g., length of visit and frequency) should be further explored to provide robust forest therapy guidelines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future and Feature Paper in Environment and Applied Ecology)
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