| 1. |
- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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A Combined Measurement and Modelling Approach to Assess the Sustainability of Whole-Tree Harvesting—A Swedish Case Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 13:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The demand of renewable energy has increased the interest in whole-tree harvesting. The sustainability of whole-tree harvesting after clear-cutting, from an acidification point of view, depends on two factors: the present acidification status and the further loss of buffering capacity at harvesting. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between these two factors at 26 sites along an acidification gradient in Sweden, to divide the sites into risk classes, and to examine the geographical distribution of them in order to provide policy-relevant insights. The present status was represented by the acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) in soil solution, and the loss of buffering capacity was represented by the estimated exceedance of critical biomass harvesting (CBH). The sites were divided into three risk classes combining ANC and exceedance of CBH. ANC and exceedance of CBH were negatively correlated, and most sites had either ANC < 0 and exceedance (high risk) or ANC > 0 and no exceedance (low risk). There was a geographical pattern, with the high risk class concentrated to southern Sweden, which was mainly explained by higher historical sulfur deposition and site productivity in the south. The risk classes can be used in the formulation of policies on whole-tree harvesting and wood ash recycling.
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| 2. |
- da Silva, Marisa, et al.
(författare)
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Pesticide Use and Self-Reported Health Symptoms Among Rice Farmers in Zanzibar
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Agromedicine. - 1059-924X .- 1545-0813. ; 21:4, s. 335-344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The agrarian population in low- and middle-income countries suffers from a number of adverse health effects due to pesticide exposure. In Zanzibar, the government subsidizes pesticides to enhance local rice production. The objectives of this study were to assess Zanzibar smallholder rice farmers' pesticide use and self-reported health symptoms in relation to pesticide exposure, training, and use of protective measures and to raise awareness for future local policy formulation. An exploratory cross-sectional interviewer-administered study was conducted among 99 rice farmers. Participants were selected based on convenience sampling and stratified by expected exposure category. The study participants reported using pesticides in World Health Organization (WHO) Class II. Of pesticide users, 61% reported one or more symptoms of possible acute pesticide poisoning. Only 50% of pesticide users had received training in safe handling and application of pesticides, but those who had displayed a higher use of protective measures. Farmers who did not use protective measures were more likely to have reported skin irritation and headache, which, together with eye irritation, were the most commonly reported acute symptoms. The main sociodemographic differences between the expected exposure categories of pesticide users and nonusers were in gender and education level. Scaling up of training in safe handling and application of pesticides is needed. Further studies are required to better understand the mechanisms behind the choice to use pesticides or not.
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| 6. |
- Kronnäs, Veronika, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of droughts and climate change on future soil weathering rates in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - Göteborg : IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 20:10, s. 1879-1899
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a future warmer climate, extremely dry, warm summers might become more common. Soil weathering is affected by temperature and precipitation, and climate change and droughts can therefore affect soil chemistry and plant nutrition. In this study, climate change and drought effects on soil weathering rates and release of Ca, Mg, K and Na were studied on seven forest sites across different climates in Sweden, using the dynamical model ForSAFE.Two climate scenarios were run, one medium severity climate change scenario from IPCC (A1B) and one scenario where a future drought period of 5 years was added, while everything else was equal to the first scenario. The model results show a large geographical variation of weathering rates for the sites, without any geographical gradient, despite the strong dependence of temperature on weathering and the strong gradient in temperature in Sweden. This is because soil texture and mineralogy have strong effects on weathering.The weathering rates have a pronounced seasonal dynamic. Weathering rates are low during winters and generally high, but variable, during summers, depending on soil moisture and temperature. According to the model runs, the future yearly average weathering rates will increase by 5 %–17 % per degree of warming. The relative increase is largest in the two southeastern sites, with low total weathering rates. At sites in southern Sweden, future weathering increase occurs throughout the year according to the modelling.In the north, the increase in weathering during winters is almost negligible, despite larger temperature increases than in other regions or seasons (5.9 ∘C increase in winter in Högbränna; the yearly average temperature increase for all sites is 3.7 ∘C), as the winter temperatures still will mostly be below zero. The drought scenario has the strongest effect in southern Sweden, where weathering during the later parts of the drought summers decreases to typical winter weathering rates.Soil texture and amount of gravel also influence how fast the weathering decreases during drought and how fast the soil rewets and reaches normal weathering rates after the drought. The coarsest of the modelled soils dries out and rewets quicker than the less coarse of the modelled soils. In the north, the soils do not dry out as much as in the south, despite the low precipitation, due to lower evapotranspiration, and in the northernmost site, weathering is not much affected. Yearly weathering during the drought years relative to the same years in the A1B scenario are between 78 % and 96 % for the sites.The study shows that it is crucial to take seasonal climate variations and soil texture into account when assessing the effects of a changed climate on weathering rates and plant nutrient availability.
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| 7. |
- Stadlinger, Nadja, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of predicted aquatic risks of pesticides used under different rice-farming strategies in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:14, s. 13322-13334
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study evaluates the risks of pesticides applied in rice-fish and rice farming, with and without integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, to non-target aquatic organisms in two provinces of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Pesticide inventories and application patterns were collected from 120 Vietnamese farmers through interviews. Risks were assessed using (1) Pesticide RIsks in the Tropics to Man, Environment, and Trade (PRIMET), a first-tier model, which calculates predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of pesticides in the rice field, based on the compound's physico-chemical properties and the application pattern, and then compares the PECs to safe concentrations based on literature data, and (2) species sensitivity distribution (SSD), a second-tier assessment model using species sensitivity distributions to calculate potentially affected fraction (PAF) of species based on the PECs from PRIMET. Our results show that several of the used insecticides pose a high risk to fish and arthropods and that the risks are higher among rice farmers than among rice-fish farmers. This study indicates that the PRIMET model in combination with SSDs offer suitable approaches to help farmers and plant protection staff to identify pesticides that may cause high risk to the environment and therefore should be substituted with safer alternatives.
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| 9. |
- Stadlinger, Nadja, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Pesticide use among smallholder rice farmers in Tanzania
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environment, Development and Sustainability. - : Springer. - 1387-585X .- 1573-2975. ; 13:3, s. 641-656
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In an interview study conducted among smallholder rice farmers in Rufiji, Tanzania coastal mainland, and in Cheju, Zanzibar, farmer’s pesticide use and risk awareness were assessed. The farmers generally lacked knowledge or possibilities to manage the pesticides as prescribed by the manufacturers. Few farmers knew what kind of pesticides they were using and had never seen the original packages, as pesticides were usually sold per weight or already diluted without labeling. Protective equipment was rarely used since they were not aware of risks associated with pesticides or did not know where to purchase protective gear. Only half of the farmers were aware of pesticides’ health hazards and few associated pesticides with environmental problems. The pesticide use was relatively low, but based on farmers’ pesticide handling and application practices, health risks were a major concern. Most farmers did not believe in successful rice cultivation without using pesticides to control pests. However, estimated yields did not differ between pesticide users or farmers using conventional methods or neem tree extract. To avoid negative effects on human health and the environment, the farmers need basic education and better assistance in their farming practices and pesticide management.
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