scholarly journals Tree Root Ecology in the Urban Environment and Implications for a Sustainable Rhizosphere

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 193-205
Author(s):  
Susan Day ◽  
P. Eric Wiseman ◽  
Sarah Dickinson ◽  
J. Roger Harris
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Growth Dynamics ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Tree Roots ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Root Ecology ◽  
Below Ground

This review examines current understandings of how the belowground characteristics of urban settings affect tree roots as well as how tree roots contribute to biogeochemical processes in this belowground environment. Soil characteristics common to the urban environment include soil compaction and other physical impediments to root exploration, elevated pH, altered temperature and moisture patterns, and the presence of contaminants. These conditions may alter the growth dynamics, morphology, and physiology of roots. At the same time, roots have a profound effect on the soil environment, with trees directing 40%–73% of assimilated carbon below ground. Urban rhizosphere ecology is a topic of renewed interest for research not only because of its critical role in the urban ecosystem, but also because of its role in global environmental issues. In addition to its obvious contribution to aboveground growth, root exploration of the soil environment can influence environmental sustainability through root contributions to soil structure and drainage. Root influence is further mediated by the intimate role of roots in soil biological activity and thus carbon storage and nutrient cycling. Current advances and implications for emerging research are discussed.

scholarly journals Uncovering natural variation in root system architecture and growth dynamics using a robotics-assisted phenomics platform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese LaRue ◽  
Heike Lindner ◽  
Ankit Srinivas ◽  
Moises Exposito-Alonso ◽  
Guillaume Ramon Lobet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Growth Dynamics ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Climate Variables ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Local Environments ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Developmental Dynamics

The plant kingdom contains a stunning array of complex morphologies easily observed above ground, but largely unexplored below-ground. Understanding the magnitude of diversity in root distribution within the soil, termed root system architecture (RSA), is fundamental to determining how this trait contributes to species adaptation in local environments. Roots are the interface between the soil environment and the shoot system and therefore play a key role in anchorage, resource uptake, and stress resilience. Previously, we presented the GLO-Roots (Growth and Luminescence Observatory for Roots) system to study the RSA of soil-grown Arabidopsis thaliana plants from germination to maturity. In this study, we present the automation of GLO-Roots using robotics and the development of image analysis pipelines in order to examine the natural variation of RSA in Arabidopsis over time. This dataset describes the developmental dynamics of 93 accessions and reveals highly complex and polygenic RSA traits that show significant correlation with climate variables.

scholarly journals The Role of Biochar in Regulating the Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen Cycles Exemplified by Soil Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5612
Author(s):  
Shu-Yuan Pan ◽  
Cheng-Di Dong ◽  
Jenn-Feng Su ◽  
Po-Yen Wang ◽  
Chiu-Wen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Soil Amendment ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Soil Systems ◽  
P Mineralization ◽  
Rich Material ◽  
Pyrolysis Of Biomass

Biochar is a carbon-rich material prepared from the pyrolysis of biomass under various conditions. Recently, biochar drew great attention due to its promising potential in climate change mitigation, soil amendment, and environmental control. Obviously, biochar can be a beneficial soil amendment in several ways including preventing nutrients loss due to leaching, increasing N and P mineralization, and enabling the microbial mediation of N2O and CO2 emissions. However, there are also conflicting reports on biochar effects, such as water logging and weathering induced change of surface properties that ultimately affects microbial growth and soil fertility. Despite the voluminous reports on soil and biochar properties, few studies have systematically addressed the effects of biochar on the sequestration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils. Information on microbially-mediated transformation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) species in the soil environment remains relatively uncertain. A systematic documentation of how biochar influences the fate and transport of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen in soil is crucial to promoting biochar applications toward environmental sustainability. This report first provides an overview on the adsorption of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen species on biochar, particularly in soil systems. Then, the biochar-mediated transformation of organic species, and the transport of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soil systems are discussed. This review also reports on the weathering process of biochar and implications in the soil environment. Lastly, the current knowledge gaps and priority research directions for the biochar-amended systems in the future are assessed. This review focuses on literatures published in the past decade (2009–2021) on the adsorption, degradation, transport, weathering, and transformation of C, N, and P species in soil systems with respect to biochar applications.

scholarly journals Mechanical and Durability Properties of Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) Incorporated with Nano Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lochana Poudyal ◽  
Kushal Adhikari ◽  
Moon Won
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Durability Properties ◽  
Portland Limestone Cement ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Limestone Cement ◽  
New Generation

Despite lower environmental impacts, the use of Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) concrete has been limited due to its reduced later age strength and compromised durability properties. This research evaluates the effects of nano calcium carbonate (CaCO3) on the performance of PLC concrete. The study follows a series of experiments on the fresh, hardened, and durability properties of PLC concrete with different replacement rates of nano CaCO3. Incorporation of 1% nano CaCO3 into PLC concrete provided the optimal performance, where the 56 days compressive strength was increased by approximately 7%, and the permeability was reduced by approximately 13% as compared to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete. Further, improvements were observed in other durability aspects such as Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) and scaling resistance. Additionally, nano CaCO3 has the potential to be produced within the cement plant while utilizing the CO2 emissions from the cement industries. The integration of nanotechnology in PLC concrete thus will help produce a more environment-friendly concrete with enhanced performance. More in-depth study on commercial production of nano CaCO3 thus has the potential to offer a new generation cement—sustainable, economical, and durable cement—leading towards green infrastructure and global environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongguo Wen ◽  
Yiling Xie ◽  
Muhan Chen ◽  
Christian Doh Dinga
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Trade Flow ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Waste Trade ◽  
Treatment Structure

AbstractSince the late 1990s, the trend of plastic waste shipment from developed to developing countries has been increasing. In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow and changes in the treatment structure of countries, whose impacts on global environmental sustainability are enormous but yet unexamined. Here, through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we quantified the environmental impacts of changes in the flow patterns and treatment methods of 6 types of plastic waste in 18 countries subsequent to the ban. In the short term, the ban significantly improved four midpoint indicators of environmental impact, albeit contributed to global warming. An annual saving of about 2.35 billion euros of eco-cost was realized, which is equivalent to 56% of plastic waste global trade value in 2017. To achieve global environmental sustainability in the long run, countries should gradually realize the transition from export to domestic management, and from landfill to recycling, which would realize eco-costs savings of about 1.54–3.20 billion euros.

scholarly journals Family leadership and environmental sustainability: a case of the single fathers in Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 250 ◽  
pp. 07006
Author(s):  
Olga Bezrukova ◽  
Valentina Samoylova ◽  
Maria Yashina
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Deviant Behavior ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Single Fathers ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The Family ◽  
Divorce Consequences ◽  
Family Leadership

Nowadays, the traditional perception of the family is changing. However, understanding children preferences and shaping their views of the world still remain the key prerequisites for the environmental sustainability. The purpose of the article is to analyze models of single fatherhood, to study the motivation and structure of factors that determine the involved fatherhood making, the specifics of mother’s and parent family’s influence on the paternal practices implementation. Our research testifies to the fact that single fathers tend to become family leaders and undertake responsibility related to childcare in the context of transforming marital and family relations as well as facing global environmental issues. The results of the study show that single fatherhood is usually a forced situation caused by death or severe illness of the mother, her deviant behavior and leaving the family, deprivation of parental rights, divorce consequences, long-term separation of spouses, use of modern reproductive technologies of surrogacy. It is concluded that the scenarios of the single fatherhood becoming – planned or casual – are associated with the cause of the child appearance in the family. The significant differences are found in the social and cultural capital of the single fathers which might have different impacts on the level of environmental education they can pass on to their children.

Urban Green Innovation

2021 ◽  
pp. 138-153
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Capacity Planning ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
The Public ◽  
Innovation Capacity

This chapter has the objective to analyze the elements of urban green innovation based on the guarantee the public interest, decentralize the infrastructure to democratize the territory, and innovating the institutional design to address the complexity of the challenges in the city. The method employed is the critical analysis supported by a review of the literature and consult to experts in the field. It is concluded that the urban green innovation capacity planning has a critical role in urban innovation development in specific areas of economic growth, social inclusion and equality, environmental sustainability, health, education, business, etc. To achieve these aims, urban green innovation requires to guarantee the public interest, the democratization of the territory, and the new institutional design.

Territory Democratization and Institutional Design in Urban Green Innovation

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Capacity Planning ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
The Public ◽  
Innovation Capacity

This chapter has the objective to analyze the elements of urban green innovation based on the guarantee of the public interest to decentralize the infrastructure to democratize the territory and innovate the institutional design to address the complexity of the challenges in the city. The method employed is the critical analysis supported by a review of the literature and consultation of experts in the field. It is concluded that the urban green innovation capacity planning has a critical role in urban innovation development in specific areas of economic growth, social inclusion and equality, environmental sustainability, health, education, business, etc. To achieve these aims, urban green innovation requires one to guarantee the public interest, the democratization of the territory, and the new institutional design.

How Green Is the Green Banking Investment in Bangladesh?

2020 ◽  
pp. 270-280
Author(s):  
Md Hafij Ullah ◽  
Parvez Mia
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Human Rights Violation

The banking sector plays a critical role in economic development while its activities are also equally responsible for social and environmental damage such as violation of human rights, loss of biodiversity, and climate change in Bangladesh. A careful examination of investing and financing activities disclosed in annual reports of 35 selected banks suggest that, while banks are taking several in-house and external green initiatives, many of them are also actively investing and funding projects like shipbreaking that threaten environmental sustainability and are prone to human rights violation. This chapter urges the government, policymakers, and central bank in developing policies and regulating banks; stakeholders in understanding banks' commitment and actions to safeguard the environment and human rights; and managers in measuring, reporting, and mitigating the social and environmental impact through their current and future lending policies.

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