The use of mycorrhiza for eco‐engineering measures in steep alpine environments: effects on soil aggregate formation and fine‐root development

Steep erosion‐prone and vegetation‐free slopes are widespread in alpine areas and are often discussed since they have a high socio‐economic damage potential. We present an eco‐engineering approach to test whether a mycorrhizal inoculum improves the establishment of hedge brush layers and in turn soil structural stability on a steep, coarse‐grained vegetation‐free slope in the eastern Swiss Alps. We established (i) mycorrhizal and (ii) non‐mycorrhizal treated eco‐engineered research plots on a field experimental scale, covering a total area of approximately 1000 m² on an east‐northeast (ENE) exposed slope, where many environmental parameters can be regarded as homogeneous. After a full vegetation period, we quantified soil aggregate stability, the formation of water stable aggregates and the fine‐root development. Our results illustrate that the establishment of brush layers without mycorrhizal inoculum increased aggregate stability significantly. Against our expectation and glasshouse experiments, the addition of mycorrhizal inoculum did not have a statistically significant effect after one vegetation period although it tended to increase aggregate stability. Analogously, root length density (RLD) tended to be higher at the non‐mycorrhizal treated site. Aggregate stability was significantly correlated with RLD. Studies on a bigger field experimental scale are inevitable, complement glasshouse studies and lead to a better understanding for a successful application of sustainable eco‐engineering measures in alpine environments. Based on our results and considering the fact that the response time in natural ecosystems may be slower than in laboratory approaches, we conclude that long‐term field studies are necessary to validate results gained through laboratory experiments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microbial Degradation of Tar Oil Compounds under Different Redox Conditions

The microbial transformation of typical tar oil compounds such as acridine, benzo(b)thiophene, dibenzofuran, indane, and indene under different redox conditions was investigated in microcosm studies. Under aerobic conditions the inherent contamination in polluted soil as well as the added N‐, S‐, O‐ heterocyclic and homocyclic compounds were transformed predominantly apart from thiophene. 1‐Indanone was detected by RP‐HPLC‐DAD and GC‐MS as an intermediate metabolite from indane and indene. Under nitrate and sulfate reducing conditions indane, benzo(b)thiophene, and dibenzofuran were transformed in assays with the polluted soil samples from well B 65 and B 66 within 426 days, whereas they were persistent in assays with the highly polluted soil B 67. All heterocyclic and homocyclic compounds added to the non‐contaminated soil from well B 85 were not degraded under nitrate and sulfate reducing conditions, too. The results indicate that for the decision, wether natural attenuation can be implemented in the remediation of contaminated site, in addition to BTEX and PAHs especially the fate of further tar oil compounds in anoxic aquifers has to be considered.     

U-Pb zircon ages for the Luzhenguan Complex in northern part of the eastern Dabie orogen

The Dabie Mountain is the collisional orogenic belt between the North China Block and the Yangtze Block. As the eastern segment of the central-China orogenic belt, its tectonic framework is corresponding to the Qinling orogenic belt as a whole[1]. The NHB in northern part of Dabie Orogen is regarded as the joint belt between the Yangtze Block and the North China Block, and roughly corresponds to the north Qinling belt of the Qinling orogenic belt, which separated the Tongbai-Dabie hig…     

An Improved Gas Chromatographic Method for the Determination of C6–C12 Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil Water

In this work, investigations dealing with the determination of hydrocarbons in contaminated soil water are presented. The hydrocarbons under investigation range from low to high volatility compounds. A GC‐FID method was developed that due to its efficiency, routine suitability, relative rapidity, and low cost is suitable for the analysis of complex chemical mixtures of highly volatile hydrocarbons (with boiling points between 69 and 190°C). The standard used was a gasoline mixture with boiling points ranging from 100 to 190°C. For this standard, no supplementary preparation is needed and it is suitable for the whole range of hydrocarbons under investigation. The determination of the hydrocarbon content of the samples was performed applying univariate and multivariate statistical analysis to the experimental data. In the characterization of a contamination with highly volatile hydrocarbons of soil water originating from different depth layers from the chemistry location Leuna (Sachsen‐Anhalt, Germany), the advantages of a multivariate method are demonstrated in exemplary manner.     

Improving sustainability of urban drainage systems for climate change adaptation using best management practices: a case study of Tehran,Iran

Although the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) in reducing urban flooding is widely recognized, the improved sustainability achieved by implementing BMPs in upstream suburban areas, reducing downstream urban floods, is still debated. This study introduces a new definition of urban drainage system (UDS) sustainability, focusing on BMP usage to enhance system performance after adaptation to climate change. Three types of hydraulic reliability index (HRI) plus robustness and improvability indices were used to quantify the potential enhanced sustainability of the system in a changing climate, together with a climate change adaptability index (CCAI). The sustainability of UDS for the safe conveyance of storm-water runoff was investigated under different land-use scenarios: No BMP, BMP in urban areas, and BMP inside and upstream of urban areas, considering climate change impacts. Rainfall–runoff simulation alongside drainage network modelling was conducted using a storm-water management model (US EPA SWMM) to determine the inundation areas for both base-line and future climatic conditions. A new method for disaggregating daily rainfall to hourly, proposed to provide a finer resolution of input rainfall to SWMM, was applied to a semi-urbanized catchment whose upstream runoff from mountainous areas may contribute to the storm-water runoff in downstream urban parts. Our findings confirm an increase in the number of inundation points and reduction in sustainability indices of UDS due to climate change. The results present an increase in UDS reliability from 4% to 16% and improvements in other sustainability indicators using BMPs in upstream suburban areas compared to implementing them in urban areas.     

Focal Mechanisms and Stress Field in The Region Vogtland/Western Bohemia

We calculated focal mechanisms for 30 of the strongest events (1.5 M _L 3.3) in distinct subregions of Vogtland/Western Bohemia between 1990 and 1998. Our investigations are concerned with events of the swarms near Bad Elster (1991), Haingrün (1991), Nový Kostel (1994 and 1997) and Zwickau (1998), two events from a group of earthquakes near Klingenthal (1997) and eight single events. Seismograms were provided by the digital station networks of the Geophysical Observatory of the University of Munich, the Technical University of Freiberg, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, the Masaryk University in Brno and some nearby stations of the German Regional Seismic Network (GRSN). To calculate focal mechanisms two inversion methods were applied. The inferred focal mechanisms do not show a simple, uniform pattern of seismic dislocation. All possible dislocation types – strike-slip, normal and thrust faulting - are represented. The prevailing mechanisms are normal and strike-slip faulting. Considerable differences in the fault plane solutions are noted for the individual subregions as well as in some cases among the individual events of a single swarm. For the Nový Kostel area we succeeded to resolve a change in the orientations of the nodal planes for the two successive swarms of December 1994 and January 1997. Besides this we also observe a change in the mechanisms, namely from strike-slip and normal faulting (December 1994) to strike-slip and thrust faulting (January 1997). Based on the inferred focal mechanisms the stress field was estimated. It turned out, that the dominating stress field in the region Vogtland/Western Bohemia does not substantially differ from the known stress field of West and Central Europe, being characterized by a SE-NW direction of the maximum compressive horizontal stress. We conclude that the seismicity in the Vogtland/Western Bohemia region is not predominantly caused by an independent local stress field, but rather controlled by the dominating stress regime in Central Europe.