Trinitrotoluene (TNT), a commonly used explosive for military and industrial applications, can cause serious environmental pollution. 28-day laboratory pot experiment was carried out applying bioaugmentation using laboratory selected bacterial strains as inoculum, biostimulation with molasses and cabbage leaf extract, and phytoremediation using rye and blue fenugreek to study the effect of these treatments on TNT removal and changes in soil microbial community responsible for contaminant degradation. Chemical analyses revealed significant decreases in TNT concentrations, including reduction of some of the TNT to its amino derivates during the 28-day tests. The combination of bioaugmentation-biostimulation approach coupled with rye cultivation had the most profound effect on TNT degradation. Although plants enhanced the total microbial community abundance, blue fenugreek cultivation did not significantly affect the TNT degradation rate. The results from molecular analyses suggested the survival and elevation of the introduced bacterial strains throughout the experiment. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Nõ lvak, H.; Truu, J.; Limane, B.; Truu, M.; Cepurnieks, G.; Bartkevičs, V.; Juhanson, J.; Muter, O. 2013. Microbial community changes in TNT spiked soil bioremediation trial using biostimulation, phytoremediation and bioaugmentation, Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management 21(3): 153Á162. http://dx.Abstract. Development of roads can have deleterious effects on natural habitats containing species of conservation concern. Fragmentation of habitat into small, non-contiguous patches may result in dramatic population declinesThus appropriate studies quantifying ecological impacts of roads at landscape scale are essential. The main goal of this study was ecological impact assessment of roads network in Eastern part of Isfahan Province, including Abassabad wildlife refuge and Siahkouh National park, which are among the most important habitats for Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. For this purpose, Spatial Road Disturbance Index (SPROADI), as a new landscape index was applied for the ecological impact assessment of the roads. This index uses three sub-indices including traffic intensity, vicinity impact and fragmentation grade to calculate the ecological impacts of road networks. Results obtained through quantifying the landscape Index (SPROADI) showed that the degree of disturbance by roads network is between 0 and 54.53. Our results also revealed that 12 percent of Abassabad wildlife and wide range of suitable habitats for Asiatic Cheetah were affected by roads, which presents a conservation concern for this critically endangered species.
Given the growing universal demand for sustainable development in recent years, ecotourism has become one of the top effectual actions that can be employed to reconcile environmental conservation with economic growth. Therefore, sustainable development can be supported by assessing ecotourism ecosystem services at the landscape scale. In this regard, we presented a new technique that considers a potential model of ecotourism along with a landscape resilience measurement to identify the priority areas for sustainable ecotourism development. For this purpose, a multi-criteria fuzzy model with a geographic information system (GIS) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was first used to evaluate potential zones for ecotourism. The landscape ecological risk index (ERI) was then applied to measure the landscape resilience. The usefulness of our novel technique was then tested in a case study in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province (Ch & B), situated in the central part of the Zagros Mountain Chains, Iran. The area has a coarse terrain with climate that varies considerably, which results in high potential for ecotourism development. The results indicated that about half of the provincial area had high potential for developing ecotourism and attracting tourists. However, when considering the landscape resilience, approximately 33% of the study area near the western and central regions had both high potential for ecotourism and the high values of landscape resilience, making these locations suitable for sustainable ecotourism development. Overall, the present study demonstrated that utilizing the integrated models and the ecotourism potential model, together with the landscape resilience assessment, might provide a powerful tool for ecotourism prioritization for the purpose of sustainable development.
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