Abstract. Nitrous oxide emissions from a network of agricultural experiments in Europe were used to explore the relative importance of site and management controls of emissions. At each site, a selection of management interventions were compared within replicated experimental designs in plot-based experiments. Arable experiments were conducted at Beano in Italy, El Encin in Spain, Foulum in Denmark, Logården in Sweden, Maulde in Belgium, Paulinenaue in Germany, and Tulloch in the UK. Grassland experiments were conducted at Crichton, Nafferton and Peaknaze in the UK, Gödöllö in Hungary, Rzecin in Poland, Zarnekow in Germany and Theix in France. Nitrous oxide emissions were measured at each site over a period of at least two years using static chambers. Emissions varied widely between sites and as a result of manipulation treatments. Average site emissions (throughout the study period) varied between 0.04 and 21.21 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1, with the largest fluxes and variability associated with the grassland sites. Total nitrogen addition was found to be the single most important determinant of emissions, accounting for 15% of the variance (using linear regression) in the data from the arable sites (p < 0.0001), and 77% in the grassland sites. The annual emissions from arable sites were significantly greater than those that would be predicted by IPCC default emission factors. Variability of N2O emissions within sites that occurred as a result of manipulation treatments was greater than that resulting from site-to-site and year-to-year variation, highlighting the importance of management interventions in contributing to greenhouse gas mitigation.

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Abstract. It is a common practice in developing countries and in some regions of Europe that solid wastes generated in households (e.g. plastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes, fibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured-paper waste) are burned in wood- or coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and volume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because these activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few media reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal waste burning pose a significant hazard to human health due to the combination of excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition, there is scarce information on the specific EFs for PM10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work, controlled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of municipal solid waste, and particulate emissions were measured and collected for chemical analysis. Absolute EFs for PM10 and PAHs as well as the benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first time for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide. It was found that the PM10 emission factors from the combustion of wood-based waste samples were about twice that of firewood, whereas EFs in the range of 11–82 mg g−1 (a factor of 5–40 times higher than that of dry firewood under the same conditions) were obtained for different types of plastic waste. The latter were also found to emit exceptionally high quantities of PAHs, by a factor of 50–750 more than upon the combustion of dry firewood under the same conditions. Since the more toxic 4–6 ring PAHs were predominant in the particulate emission from plastic waste burning, BaP equivalent toxicity was up to 4100 times higher than that from wood combustion.

Abstract. The production and use of plastics increases rapidly as they are widely used in packaging, construction materials, furniture, foils, etc. As a consequence of their widespread use and often disposable character, vast streams of plastic wastes are continuously generated, a considerable fraction of which are combusted in households worldwide. In this paper, various types of commonly used plastics (PE, PET, PP, PU, PVC, PS, ABS), as well as treated wood samples (LDF) and firewood were combusted separately in a test stove under controlled conditions. The particulates emitted during the combustion test were collected on filters, and potential tracers for each waste type were identified by GC-MS, and their relative abundances were determined. The emission factor of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene was found to be higher for polymers containing aromatic rings in their structure. The application of terphenyls and quarterphenyls as tracer compounds has also been investigated. The trimer of styrene was found to be a potential tracer for the combustion of polystyrene and/or styrene containing copolymers. Novel tracers were proposed for the burning of PET and furniture plates (LDF), which are among the most widely used waste types burned in households.

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Abstract. Fine-fraction aerosol samples were collected, and air pollutants and meteorological properties were measured in situ in the regional background environment of the Carpathian Basin, a suburban area and central part of its largest city, Budapest, in each season for a 1-year-long time interval. The samples were analysed for PM2.5 mass, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble OC (WSOC), radiocarbon, levoglucosan (LVG) and its stereoisomers, and some chemical elements. Carbonaceous aerosol species made up 36 % of the PM2.5 mass, with a modest seasonal variation and with a slightly increasing tendency from the regional background to the city centre (from 32 % to 39 %). A coupled radiocarbon-LVG marker method was applied to apportion the total carbon (TC = OC + EC) into contributions of EC and OC from fossil fuel (FF) combustion (ECFF and OCFF, respectively), EC and OC from biomass burning (BB) (ECBB and OCBB, respectively), and OC from biogenic sources (OCBIO). Fossil fuel combustion showed rather constant daily or monthly mean contributions (of 35 %) to the TC in the whole year in all atmospheric environments, while the daily contributions of BB and biogenic sources changed radically (from <2 % up to 70 %–85 %) at all locations and over the years. In October, the three major sources contributed equally to the TC in all environments. In January, it was the BB that was the major source, with a share of 70 % at all sites. The contributions from biogenic sources in January were the smallest. In April, FF combustion and biogenic sources were the largest two contributors at all locations with typical shares of 45 %–50 % each. In July, biogenic sources became the major source type with a monotonically increasing tendency (from 56 % to 72 %) from the city centre to the regional background. The share of BB was hardly quantifiable in July. The ECFF made up more than 90 % of EC in April and July, while in October and January, the contributions of ECBB were considerable. Biomass burning in winter and autumn offers the largest and most considerable potential for improving the air quality in cities as well as in rural areas of the Carpathian Basin.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Abstract.&lt;/strong&gt; Fine-fraction aerosol samples were collected, air pollutants and meteorological properties were measured in-situ in regional background environment of the Carpathian Basin, a suburban area and central part of its largest city, Budapest in each season for 1 year-long time interval. The samples were analysed for PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; mass, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble OC (WSOC), radiocarbon, levoglucosan (LVG) and its stereoisomers, and some chemical elements. Carbonaceous aerosol species made up 36&amp;#8201;% of the PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; mass with a modest seasonal variation and with a slightly increasing tendency from the regional background to the city centre (from 32 to 39&amp;#8201;%). Coupled radiocarbon-LVG marker method was applied to apportion the total carbon (TC&amp;#8201;=&amp;#8201;OC&amp;#8201;+&amp;#8201;EC) into contributions of EC and OC from fossil fuel (FF) combustion (EC&lt;sub&gt;FF&lt;/sub&gt; and OC&lt;sub&gt;FF&lt;/sub&gt;, respectively), EC and OC from biomass burning (BB) (EC&lt;sub&gt;BB&lt;/sub&gt; and OC&lt;sub&gt;BB&lt;/sub&gt;, respectively) and OC from biogenic sources (OC&lt;sub&gt;BIO&lt;/sub&gt;). Fossil fuel combustion showed rather constant daily or seasonal mean contributions (of 35&amp;#8201;%) to the TC in the whole year in all atmospheric environments, while the daily contributions of BB and biogenic sources changed radically (from &lt;&amp;#8201;2 up to 70&amp;#8211;85&amp;#8201;%) over the seasons at all locations. In autumn, the three major sources contributed equally to the TC in all environments. In winter, it was the BB that was the major source with a share of 70&amp;#8201;% at all sites. The contributions from biogenic sources in winter were the smallest, although they were still non-negligible with an increasing share (from 5 to 8&amp;#8201;%) from the regional background to the urban sites. In spring, FF combustion and biogenic sources were the largest two contributors at all locations with typical shares of 45&amp;#8211;50&amp;#8201;% each. In summer, biogenic sources became the major source with a monotonically increasing tendency (from 56 to 72&amp;#8201;%) from the city centre to the regional background. The share of BB was hardly quantifiable in summer. The EC&lt;sub&gt;FF&lt;/sub&gt; made up more than 90&amp;#8201;% of EC in spring and summer, while in autumn and winter, the contributions of EC&lt;sub&gt;BB&lt;/sub&gt; were considerable. Biomass burning in winter and autumn offers the largest and considerable potentials for improving the air quality in cities as well as in rural areas of the Carpathian Basin.&lt;/p&gt;

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