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| 2. |
- Boynukisa, Emre, et al.
(author)
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Differences in Metal Accumulation from Stormwater by Three Plant Species Growing in Floating Treatment Wetlands in a Cold Climate
- 2023
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In: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-6979 .- 1573-2932. ; 234:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stormwater is a source of pollutants in urban areas and should be treated to prevent negative environmental effects. A newer technique uses floating rafts with plants, called floating treatment wetlands (FTWs), which are placed in the polluted water. Few earlier studies have examined heavy metal removal by FTWs, and none has examined stormwater in cold climates. This study therefore aimed to determine whether plants growing in FTWs could accumulate heavy metals from stormwater ponds in a cold climate. This study examined the abilities of three native wetland species (i.e., Carex riparia, C. pseudocyperus, and Phalaris arundinacea) to accumulate Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. The plants were planted on FTWs, which were placed in two stormwater ponds in Stockholm, Sweden, for 12 weeks. Phalaris arundinacea accumulated more Cd, Cu, and Zn than did the Carex species, and C. pseudocyperus accumulated less Pb than did the other species during the experimental period. In most cases, the roots had higher metal concentrations than did the shoots. Carex pseudocyperus had smaller differences between shoot and root metal contents, whereas P. arundinacea had higher Cd and Cu contents and lower Zn contents in its roots than in its shoots. The metal content in the plants increased with higher biomass. The plants that grew in the stormwater pond with a higher Zn concentration had a higher Zn tissue concentration and total Zn content per plant after treatment. This study shows that wetland plants growing on FTWs can accumulate metals from stormwater ponds in a cold climate. Phalaris arundinacea appears to be a good candidate for metal removal use in FTWs. Furthermore, high plant biomass positively affects the metal uptake, meaning that good growing conditions could be essential for metal removal.
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| 3. |
- Jones, Douglas, et al.
(author)
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A multi-isotope approach to evaluate the potential of great cormorant eggs for contaminant monitoring
- 2022
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In: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X .- 1872-7034. ; 136
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Contaminant monitoring in biota is important for determining environmental status and to detect or prioritize action on hazardous substances. Predators higher up a food chain are often used for monitoring of contaminants that bioaccumulate. However, it is not always possible to find higher predators that are both abundant and have a wide distribution for national or international contaminant monitoring. Great cormorants (Phalocrocorax carbo) are a widespread and increasingly common top predator of fish in fresh, brackish and salt water. We evaluate the suitability of great cormorant eggs as a matrix for contaminant monitoring by using stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Despite the fact that cormorants are migratory, egg isotope values showed a significant separation between five breeding colonies in Sweden (1 fresh water lake, 3 Baltic sites and 1 marine site). This high degree of separation indicates that eggs are primarily produced using local resources (not stored body resources) and that contaminants (mercury concentrations in this study) measured in eggs likely reflect levels in fish prey caught close to the breeding area. Compound specific stable isotope analysis was used to estimate cormorant trophic position (TP) and concentrations of mercury in eggs were positively related to TP. The results show that a multi-isotope approach, combined with good ecological diet knowledge allow for meaningful and comparative interpretation of mercury concentrations in biota and that great cormorant eggs appear a suitable matrix to measure locally derived and maternally transferred contaminants.
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| 4. |
- Schück, Maria, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Chloride removal capacity and salinity tolerance in wetland plants
- 2022
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In: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 308
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Deicing with sodium chloride maintains safe roads in the winter, but results in stormwater runoff with high chloride (Cl−) content that causes various downstream problems. Chloride-rich water risks contaminating groundwater, shortening the lifespan of concrete and metal constructions, and being toxic to aquatic organisms. Current stormwater treatment methods are unable to remove Cl−, but wetland plants with high chloride uptake capacity have potential to decrease Cl− concentrations in water. The aim was to identify suitable plant species for removing Cl− from water for future studies on phytodesalination of water, by comparing 34 wetland plant species native to Sweden in a short-term screening. Additionally, Carex pseudocyperus, C. riparia, and Phalaris arundinacea was further compared as to their salinity tolerance and tissue Cl− concentration properties. Results show that Cl− removal capacity, tissue accumulation, and tolerance varied between the investigated species. Removal capacity correlated with biomass, dry:fresh biomass ratio, water uptake, and transpiration. The three tested species tolerated Cl− levels of up to 50–350 mg Cl− L−1 and accumulated up to 10 mg Cl− g−1 biomass. Carex riparia was the most Cl-tolerant species, able to maintain growth and transpiration at 500 mg Cl− L−1 during 4 weeks of exposure and with a medium removal capacity. Due to a large shoot:plant biomass ratio and high transpiration, C. riparia also had high shoot accumulation of Cl−, which may facilitate harvesting. Phalaris arundinacea had the highest removal capacity of the investigated species, but displayed decreased growth above 50 mg Cl− L−1. From this study we estimate that wetland plants can remove up to 7 kg Cl− m−2 from water if grown hydroponically, and conclude that C. riparia and P. arundinacea, which have high tolerance, large biomass, and high accumulation, are suitable candidates for further phytodesalination studies.
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| 5. |
- Schück, Maria, 1986-
(author)
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Floating treatment wetlands for stormwater management : Plant species selection and influence of external factors for heavy metal and chloride removal in a cold climate
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Stormwater, which consists of rainwater and snowmelt, often contains pollutants from vehicle traffic, building materials, and industries. These pollutants include chloride and heavy metals, which can cause several environmental issues, such as being toxic to biota at elevated concentrations. A relatively new water treatment method is floating treatment wetlands. These vegetated rafts have given promising results, mainly for nutrient removal in eutrophic watercourses in warmer climates. However, knowledge is lacking about their ability to remove chloride and heavy metals and their performance in a cold climate.The aim was to identify plant species, intended for floating treatment wetlands, which efficiently can remove chloride and the heavy metals Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn from water in a cold climate such as Sweden and to understand how changes in the environment affect the removal capacity of the plants. This was studied in various conditions by placing plants in water that contained chloride and heavy metals and measuring the concentration of chloride and heavy metals that remained in the water (plant removal capacity; I, III, IV) and the accumulation of removed chloride and heavy metals in the different plant parts (plant accumulation capacity; III, V, VI). In addition, traits of plants capable of high removal and accumulation were identified by correlating their capacity with their morphological characteristics (II, III, VI).The results show that there are Swedish wetland plant species with a high ability to treat water containing chloride and heavy metals, even under varying conditions. Many species effectively reduced the levels of heavy metals in water, and the graminoid species Carex pseudocyperus and Carex riparia distinguished themselves by quickly and significantly decreasing the concentrations of heavy metals in the water (I). Hardly any species were effective chloride removers, but a few, including Phalaris arundinacea, removed large amounts of chloride (III). Species with a high removal and accumulation capacity of chloride and heavy metals generally had high total biomass, a large amount of leaf and thin root biomass, and high transpiration (II, III, VI). The absorbed heavy metals mainly accumulated in the roots, while chloride accumulated in the shoot tissue (III, V, VI). External factors affected the removal and accumulation capacities of the plants to varying degrees. Increased salinity in the water led to lower removal of Cd and Pb, and low temperature decreased the removal of all investigated heavy metals, but some species’ removal capacities were less affected by the salt and the cold (IV). The plant's content of the heavy metals usually equilibrated with the surrounding water. This effect led to increases in the plant's uptake of heavy metals when their concentration in the water increased, but a release of some accumulated heavy metals if the concentration in the water sank (V). Under field conditions, uptake patterns differed (VI). The plants on floating treatment wetlands accumulated the most Cu followed by Zn, Pb, and Cd, and P. arundinacea distinguished itself through high growth and high uptake. The plants accumulated more in one of the stormwater ponds with no clear explanation. This thesis shows that there is potential in a Swedish climate for floating treatment wetlands for the removal of chloride and heavy metals from polluted water. It will be essential to select species expected to achieve high removal capacity in the intended environment, such as P. arundinacea.
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| 6. |
- Schück, Maria, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Salinity and temperature influence removal levels of heavy metals and chloride from water by wetland plants
- 2023
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; :30, s. 58030-58040
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stormwater with low temperatures and elevated salinity, common in areas where deicing salt is used, might affect the removal of heavy metals by plants in stormwater treatment systems such as floating treatment wetlands. This short-term study evaluated the effects of combinations of temperature (5, 15, and 25 °C) and salinity (0, 100, and 1000 mg NaCl L−1) on the removal of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn (1.2, 68.5, 78.4, and 559 μg L−1) and Cl− (0, 60, and 600 mg Cl− L−1) by Carex pseudocyperus, C. riparia, and Phalaris arundinacea. These species had previously been identified as suitable candidates for floating treatment wetland applications. The study found high removal capacity in all treatment combinations, especially for Pb and Cu. However, low temperatures decreased the removal of all heavy metals, and increased salinity decreased the removal of Cd and Pb but had no effect on the removal of Zn or Cu. No interactions were found between the effects of salinity and of temperature. Carex pseudocyperus best removed Cu and Pb, whereas P. arundinacea best removed Cd, Zu, and Cl−. The removal efficacy for metals was generally high, with elevated salinity and low temperatures having small impacts. The findings indicate that efficient heavy metal removal can also be expected in cold saline waters if the right plant species are used.
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| 7. |
- Schück, Maria, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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Screening the Capacity of 34 Wetland Plant Species to Remove Heavy Metals from Water
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs), consisting of vegetated rafts, may reduce heavy metal levels in polluted water, but the choice of plant species for efficient metal removal needs to be further investigated. We screened the capacity of 34 wetland plant species to remove metals dissolved in water to identify suitable species for FTWs. The plants were grown hydroponically for 5 days in a solution containing 1.2 µg Cd L−1, 68.5 µg Cu L−1, 78.4 µg Pb L−1, and 559 µg Zn L−1. Results show large variation in metal removal rate and capacity between the investigated species. The species with highest removal capacity could remove up to 52–94% of the metals already after 0.5 h of exposure and up to 98–100% of the metals after 5 days of exposure. Plant size contributed more to high removal capacity than did removal per unit of fine roots. Carex pseudocyperus and C. riparia were the most efficient and versatile species. The findings of this study should be considered as a starting point for further investigation of plant selection for improved water purification by FTWs.
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| 8. |
- Båth, Petra, 1988, et al.
(author)
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Lipidic cubic phase serial femtosecond crystallography structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre
- 2022
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In: Acta Crystallographica Section D-Structural Biology. - : International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). - 2059-7983. ; 78, s. 698-708
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serial crystallography is a rapidly growing method that can yield structural insights from microcrystals that were previously considered to be too small to be useful in conventional X-ray crystallography. Here, conditions for growing microcrystals of the photosynthetic reaction centre of Blastochloris viridis within a lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization matrix that employ a seeding protocol utilizing detergent-grown crystals with a different crystal packing are described. LCP microcrystals diffracted to 2.25 angstrom resolution when exposed to XFEL radiation, which is an improvement of 0.15 angstrom over previous microcrystal forms. Ubiquinone was incorporated into the LCP crystallization media and the resulting electron density within the mobile Q(B) pocket is comparable to that of other cofactors within the structure. As such, LCP microcrystallization conditions will facilitate time-resolved diffraction studies of electron-transfer reactions to the mobile quinone, potentially allowing the observation of structural changes associated with the two electron-transfer reactions leading to complete reduction of the ubiquinone ligand.
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| 9. |
- Fiddaman, Steven R., et al.
(author)
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Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek's disease virus
- 2023
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In: Science (New York, N.Y.). - 1095-9203. ; 382:6676, s. 1276-1281
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological and evolutionary trajectory of their associated pathogens. For example, Marek's disease virus (MDV), which causes lymphoid tumors in chickens, has experienced a marked increase in virulence over the past century. Today, MDV infections kill >90% of unvaccinated birds, and controlling it costs more than US$1 billion annually. By sequencing MDV genomes derived from archeological chickens, we demonstrate that it has been circulating for at least 1000 years. We functionally tested the Meq oncogene, one of 49 viral genes positively selected in modern strains, demonstrating that ancient MDV was likely incapable of driving tumor formation. Our results demonstrate the power of ancient DNA approaches to trace the molecular basis of virulence in economically relevant pathogens.
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| 10. |
- Greger, Maria, 1956-, et al.
(author)
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Equisetum arvense as a silica fertilizer
- 2024
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In: Plant physiology and biochemistry (Paris). - 0981-9428 .- 1873-2690. ; 210
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim was to use the agricultural weed and silica (Si) hyperaccumulator Equisetum arvense as Si fertilizer in plant cultivation. We investigated (1) the Si uptake in various Equisetum species, (2) where Si accumulates in the Equisetum plant, (3) processing methods to release as much Si as possible from dried, ground E. arvense plants and (4) which treatment yields gives the highest uptake of Si in young wheat plants cultivated in soil containing ground E. arvense . The results showed that E. arvense containes 22% Si and was among the best Si accumulators. Equisetum arvense accumulates Si as both soluble and firmly bound fractions. Amorphous silica (SiO 2 ) accumulates in the outer cell walls of epidermis of the entire plant. Regarding the processing method, a longer treatment time, greater concentration of Equisetum , boiling, and the addition of sodium bicarbonate increased the Si availability in ground, dried E. arvense . The addition of untreated, ground, dried E. arvense to the soil, corresponding to 160 kg Si ha -1 , increased the available Si in the soil and the Si uptake in wheat plants by five -fold, compared with the control. Boiling the ground E. arvense increased the Si uptake by 10 times, and the of sodium bicarbonate increased the availability and uptake by 40 times, compared with the control. In conclusion, dried, ground E. arvense can be used as a Si fertilizer as is, after boiling for a slightly better effect, or with sodium bicarbonate (up to a similar amount as the ground material) for best effect.
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