Evaporation from a blanket bog in a foggy coastal environment

Introduction:Human activities exert great pressures on the environment which in turn cause environmental stresses of various intensities depending on the factors involved and the sensitivity of the receiving environment.Objective:This study examines the effects of anthropogenic activities along the sub-urban lagoon fragile coastal ecosystem using DPSIR framework.Results:The results show that the study area has undergone a tremendous change between 1964 and 2015 with the built up area increasing to about 1,080 ha (17.87%) in 2015 from 224 ha (1.32%) in 1964 at an average growth rate of 16.78ha per annum. The nature of the degradation includes an increasing fragility of the ecosystem through the emergence and expansion of wetlands, flooding and erosion as well as a reduction in the benefits from the ecosystem services. Population growth, between 2006 and 2015 for Ikorodu LGA, estimated at 8.84% per annum serves as the most important driving force in reducing the quality of the environment. This is in addition to Pressures emanating from anthropogenic activities. The state of the environment shows continuous resource exploitation (fishing and sand mining) with the impacts of the pressures coming from water pollution, bank erosion, biodiversity loss and flooding. Although there has been a strong policy formulation response from the government, weak implementation is a major challenge.Recommendation:The study recommends public awareness campaigns and the implementation of existing policies to ensure a sustainable sub-urban lagoon coastal environment..

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Water, sediments and fishes: first multi compartment assessment of metal pollution in a coastal environment from the SW Atlantic

Chemosphere ◽

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131131 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 131131

Author(s):

Noelia S. La Colla ◽

Sandra E. Botté ◽

Pia Simonetti ◽

Vanesa L. Negrin ◽

Analía V. Serra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metal Pollution ◽

Coastal Environment ◽

Sw Atlantic

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Catchment water quality in the year preceding and immediately following restoration of a drained afforested blanket bog

Biogeochemistry ◽

10.1007/s10533-021-00782-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Paul P. J. Gaffney ◽

Mark H. Hancock ◽

Mark A. Taggart ◽

Roxane Andersen

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Nutrient Release ◽

Pass Rate ◽

Future Research ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Short Term ◽

Peatland Restoration ◽

Blanket Bog ◽

Quality Threshold ◽

Policy Incentives

AbstractThe restoration of drained afforested peatlands, through drain blocking and tree removal, is increasing in response to peatland restoration targets and policy incentives. In the short term, these intensive restoration operations may affect receiving watercourses and the biota that depend upon them. This study assessed the immediate effect of ‘forest-to-bog’ restoration by measuring stream and river water quality for a 15 month period pre- and post-restoration, in the Flow Country peatlands of northern Scotland. We found that the chemistry of streams draining restoration areas differed from that of control streams following restoration, with phosphate concentrations significantly higher (1.7–6.2 fold, mean 4.4) in restoration streams compared to the pre-restoration period. This led to a decrease in the pass rate (from 100 to 75%) for the target “good” quality threshold (based on EU Water Framework Directive guidelines) in rivers in this immediate post-restoration period, when compared to unaffected river baseline sites (which fell from 100 to 90% post-restoration). While overall increases in turbidity, dissolved organic carbon, iron, potassium and manganese were not significant post-restoration, they exhibited an exaggerated seasonal cycle, peaking in summer months in restoration streams. We attribute these relatively limited, minor short-term impacts to the fact that relatively small percentages of the catchment area (3–23%), in our study catchments were felled, and that drain blocking and silt traps, put in place as part of restoration management, were likely effective in mitigating negative effects. Looking ahead, we suggest that future research should investigate longer term water quality effects and compare different ways of potentially controlling nutrient release.

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