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- Gautam, Mukesh Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Trends of major, minor and rare earth elements in decomposing litter in a cool temperate ecosystem, South Korea
- 2019
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Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 222, s. 214-226
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The decomposition dynamics of 34 different elements in four different litter types (foliar and woody litter) from Pinus densiflora (Korean red pine) and Castanea crenata (Korean chestnut) was investigated in a cool temperate ecosystem using the litterbag method. Two contrasting trends were observed in the dynamics of elements with accumulated mass loss of litter and carbon. Leaf litter of Korean chestnut, which was richer in elements, showed a general decrease in concentrations of elements with accumulated mass loss of litter and carbon on a dry mass basis during decomposition in the field. Other litter types, with initially lower concentrations of elements, exhibited an increase in concentration on a dry mass basis during field incubation. Highest relative increase in the concentration was noticed for the minor elements, and for the woody litters. Concentrations of major and minor elements increased by factors ranging from 1.07 for antimony (Sb) to 853.7 for vanadium (V). Rare earth elements (REE) concentrations increased by factors ranging from 1.04 for scandium (Sc) to 83.5 for thorium (Th). Our results suggest that litter type plays an important role for nutrient dynamics. Results from principal component analysis for major, minor, and rare earth elements showed grouping of elements and high correlation among them (P < 0.05), which suggests a common source. At both sites, element concentrations were high in the soil, especially for REE. This suggests that increase in element concentrations during field incubation probably was due to transfer of elements from soil to the overlying decomposing litter.
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| 2. |
- Sammalisto, Kaisu, et al.
(författare)
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Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gavle, Sweden
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 16:3, s. 299-309
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gavle (Sweden). The University of Gavle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as reference. The literature review indicates that training is a key factor during implementation of EMS, and that training may change attitude and behaviour among managers and employees. Similar conclusions can be drawn from this study. The case study, and practical experiences from industry, indicate that similar methods of EMS training and communication can be shared by industry and universities. However, "academic freedom" and "critical thinking" may result in the need for more interactive training methods at a university than in industry. The results of the survey indicate that the training and communication have increased awareness of environmental issues. A deeper understanding of the personal role in the EMS was also observed. It can be concluded that the EMS training and communication team has a demanding task to introduce the concept of indirect environmental aspects at a university. Lecturers and researchers should be convinced that the greening of a college involves more than, for example, reducing the consumption of paper. The main role of EMS at a university should be to focus on indirect environmental aspects, for example, to introduce environmental and sustainability issues in courses and research. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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