Zur Bestimmung der Konzentrationen linearer Alkylbenzolsulfonate (LAS) und Alkylethersulfate (AES) in Kläranlagenabläufen wurden 7-Tagesmischproben (n=33) an Abläufe von 33 konventionellen Kläranlagen in Deutschland genommen. Zudem wurden an vier der untersuchten Kläranlagen die Zuläufe beprobt und ebenfalls auf LAS und AES untersucht, um Rückschlüsse auf die Entfernung dieser Tenside in konventionellen Kläranlagen ziehen zu können. Insgesamt umfasste die Studie die Analyse von vier LAS-Homologen (C10-C13) sowie von jeweils 10 Ethoxymeren zweier Homologe von AES (C12 und C14, jeweils mit 0-9 Ethoxygruppen). Die Probenvorbereitung bestand aus der Entfernung der wässrigen Phase mit Hilfe eines Rotations-Vakuum-Konzentrators und anschließender Resolvatisierung des Trockenrückstandes in einer definierten Menge Reinstwasser und Acetonitril. Die Identifikation und Quantifizierung der Zielanalyten erfolgte mittels Hochleistungsflüssigkeitschromatographie mit Tandem-Massenspektrometrie-Kopplung (HPLC-MS/MS). Die Leistungsfähigkeit der analytischen Methoden wurde in Leitungswasser und Kläranlagenablauf evaluiert. Die Analysemethoden zeigten für beide Matrices eine allgemein gute Richtigkeit sowie Präzision. Basierend auf den geschätzten mittleren Konzentrationen einzelner LAS-Homologe wurde eine mittlere Gesamtkonzentration von 14,4 Mikro g/L in Kläranlagenabläufen ermittelt. Verglichen mit LAS, wurden für AES stets geringere Gesamtkonzentrationen im Ablauf gemessen: Die mittlere AES-Gesamtkonzentration in den Abläufen betrug 0,57 Mikro g/L. Zwischen den Gesamtkonzentrationen von AES und LAS bestand keine Korrelation. In den Zuläufen beprobter Kläranlagen wurden im Mittel 3.200 Mikro g/L LAS detektiert. Damit betrug die mittlere Entfernung für LAS 99,6 %. Die mittlere AES-Konzentration im Kläranlagenzulauf belief sich auf 680 Mikro g/L, was einer mittleren AES-Entfernung von größer als 99.9% entspricht. Retrospektives Screening von 1.564 Tensiden und deren Transformationsprodukte (TPs) erfolgte durch ein zweites Labor unter Anwendung der Ultrahochleistungsflüssigkeitschromatographie mit Flugzeitmassenspektrometer-Kopplung (UHPLC-QTOF-MS). In vielen Fällen wurde die Konzentration von LAS von der Summe der Konzentrationen der Neben- und Transformationsprodukte von LAS überstiegen. Für die LAS-Nebenprodukte Dialkyltetralinsulfonate (DATS) lag die maximale Summenkonzentration bei 19 Mikro g/L, für die Sulfophenylalkylcarbonsäuren (SPACs) bei 17 Mikro g/L und für die Sulfotetralinalkylcarbonsäuren (STACs) bei 5,3 Mikro g/L. Hohe Konzentrationen von bis zu 7,4 Ìg/L wurden für Polyethylenoglycole in den Abwasserproben bestimmt. Die Gesamtkonzentration aller quantifizierten Tenside, TPs und Nebenprodukte in einer einzelnen Probe betrug bis zu 82 Mikro g/L.
Water supply pipes, sewers and wastewater treatment plants are in need of renovation in many places. However, current water policies in Switzerland are inadequate for the durable and strategic planning of such infrastructure. How must tools and planning processes be adapted to the changes in nature and society? Background Infrastructure in the water sector should be as long-lived as possible. However, its planning is very complex: extreme events such as droughts and floods should be taken into account to the same extent as the increasing water demand or the demographic development. Also, the stakeholders are to be included in the decision making processes. The division of waste water disposal and drinking water supply into separate organizational entities is a weak point in the planning process. Instruments are available to identify infrastructural flaws in a municipality and to recommend investment plans. But they do not make long-term planning possible - amongst other things because the necessary tools are not available. Objectives and methods Decision making support will be developed so that the long-term planning of water supply and wastewater treatment infrastructure can be improved. The project will strive for a balance between economic costs, ecological aspects and social values. Special attention will be given to the fact that many communities have only limited data concerning their infrastructure and that future developments cannot be predicted with certainty. Subjective preferences of the various policy-makers will be integrated by means of a multi-layered decision analysis. Decision making support will be developed and validated in several municipalities, together with the practically-oriented partners. Significance The tools that will be developed assist the transition from problem-based 'repairs' to foresighted planning of water infrastructure. The stakeholders participating in the case studies will be sensitized for planning issues by being included in a forward-looking, joint planning process. This approach can be adapted to other difficult decision-making situations in which many different stakeholders are involved.
Can wheat be genetically engineered to become durably resistant to mildew? Individual resistance genes to mildew protect wheat plants against some, but not all, variants of this pathogen. A series of field trials will be carried out to test various means of genetically engineering wheat to enhance its resistance. The combination of several genes will play a central role in this project. Background Wheat has various genes that are responsible for resistance to mildew. One of these genes has seven variants, known as alleles. Individually, these alleles make wheat resistant to some, but not all, variants of the mildew fungus. There are in fact varieties of conventional wheat that have a certain degree of resistance to mildew. However, this resistance is often lost within a short time-frame. To overcome this shortcoming, genetic engineering will be used to combine the alleles. Field trials are the only way to find out whether long-term resistance can be achieved by this means. Objectives Various transgenic wheat lines will undergo comprehensive testing in a field trial (cf. Keller project I). The aim is first to establish whether the individual lines do indeed have better resistance to mildew. The second aim is to investigate how the additional gene affects the performance of the plant - in terms of yield, for example. The project also aims to analyse the effect of the environment on the plants' resistance properties. Methods Transgenic wheat lines - each containing one of the seven resistance alleles - will be developed and tested over three years for properties including seed maturation, yield and resistance following artificial and natural infection with mildew. Some of these lines will also be cultivated as a seed mixture. At the same time, wheat lines will be produced which combine the different alleles in the same plant. Both trials will test whether and to what extent mildew develops less frequently. Significance This is the first time that a field trial of this size will be carried out with transgenic plants in Switzerland. The project will not only elicit a major response from the general public, it will also provide new facts about the possible benefits of genetically modified plants.
The overall goal of this project is to provide a systematic assessment of the feasibility of applying the virtual water concept to improve water productivity in individual provinces and for the whole country in Iran, taking into account various natural, socio-economic and resources constraints. Specific objectives relating to the overall goal include: 1 To assess the water resources availability and reliability in different regions/provinces taking into consideration the fluctuation within a year and between years. 2 To estimate the water requirement of different crops in different regions/provinces with improved spatial resolution. 3 To estimate crop water productivities with respect to quantity and value of product on irrigated and rain-fed land concerning consumptive water use and water supply in different regions/provinces. 4 To assess the water use intensity in different regions/provinces based on the water resources availability and water demand in the industrial, domestic and agricultural sectors at present and in the next 10-20 years. 5 To provide scenarios for improving regional/provincial and national water productivity through regional crop structural adjustment and inter-provincial food trade, taking into account natural, socio-economic and resources constraints at different levels and other regional and national objectives. Water resources endowment in Iran is generally poor and the spatial distribution is uneven. Some regions are enduring severe water stress. Producing more food with increasing water scarcity is a daunting challenge to the country. In this project, water resources availability and crop water requirement across provinces/regions in Iran will be estimated to lay the basis for the assessment. Water productivity across regions will be evaluated with respect to physical yield and value of products and different expressions of water input. Scenarios for improving water productivity through regional crop structural adjustment and virtual water trade are proposed for individual regions and then aggregated to the whole country, taking into consideration constraints concerning natural and socio-economic conditions and other regional and national objectives. The SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) will be used for the assessment of water resources availability and crop water requirement in different provinces/regions. The SWAT model is currently used in several other projects at Eawag. The regional socio-economic data and farmers' water use behavior will be sought from both secondary data and field surveys and interviews. Scenarios for regional crop structural adjustment and virtual water trade will be proposed based on optimizing water productivity subject to various constraints.
Forest structure is altered by humans for long times (Bramanti et al. 2009). The long lasting modification of forests pursuant to human demands modified the living conditions for birds as well as for many other animals. This included changes in resource availability (e.g., food, foraging, nesting sites) and changes of interspecific interactions, e.g., parasitism and predation (Knoke et al. 2009; Ellis et al. 2012). Also species compositions and the survivability of populations and even species are affected. The loss of foraging sites and suitable places for reproduction, the limitation of mobility due to fragmented habitats and the disturbances by humans itself may lead to more stressed individuals and less optimal living conditions. In certain cases species are not able to deal with the modified requirements and their populations will shrink and even vanish. Depending on the intensity of management and the remaining forest structure, biodiversity is more or less endangered. Especially in systems of two or more strongly connected taxa changing conditions that affect at least one part may subsequently affect the other, too. One system of interspecific communities that recently attracted the attention of biologists includes birds, blood parasites (haemosporidians) and their transmitting vectors. For instance, avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) represents the reason for extreme declines in the avifauna of Hawaii since the introduction of respective vectors (e.g. Culicidae) during the 20th century (van Riper et al. 1986, Woodworth et al. 2005). With the current knowledge of this topic we are not able to predict if such incidences could also occur in Germany. All in all, different management strategies and intensity of forest management may influence the network of birds, vectors and blood parasites and change biodiversity. To elucidate this ecological complex, and to understand the interactions of the triad of songbirds as vertebrate hosts, dipteran vectors and haemosporidians within changing local conditions, I intend to collect data on the three taxa in differently managed forest areas, the given forest structure and the climatic conditions. I will try to explain the role of abiotic factors on infection dynamics, in detail the role of forest management intensity. Data acquisition takes place at three spatially divided locations: inside the Biodiversity Exploratory Schwäbische Alb, at the Mooswald in Freiburg, and inside the Schwarzwald.
Agriculture is the branch of economy with the greatest degree of land responsibility. Because of it and because of the important role it plays in supplying the population, it is the subject of many political ordinances and interventions. The impacts of these agro-political measures are not limited to agriculture alone, but bring about considerable side effects in the ecosystem as well. These 'environmental side effects in such highly fragile areas as mountain ecosystems are of highest significance. It was the goal of the SUSTALP Project to analyse the environmental impacts of agro-political measures and to derive from that analysis the consequences necessary to give a strategic direction to agricultural policy. Results: In the alpine region, it was possible to identify eight well distinguishable agro-regional types based on natural, socio-economical, and agro-economical indicators. Agro-policy was effective on agricultural reference values as well as on the environment. Its impact differs according to regional and operational settings. Five main farm strategies (optimisation of subsidies, intensification, extensification, specialisation and modernisation) were primarily responsible for the transfer of agro-political impulses to the environmental situation. Next to a whole row of technical results, the analysis of these strategies and the way they were influenced by the regional and operational setting allowed the conclusion that an environmentally appropriate European agricultural policy must be especially enduring (long-term, clearly formulated goals and instruments) and subsidiary (wide leeway for regional differentiation of the measures). Results showed, furthermore, that the highest agro-political leverage on the environment existed in the disadvantaged areas. Further references for the structuring of European agricultural policy could be deduced from these strategical principles.
Die Karte gibt einen Überblick über bestehende und geplante Flüchtlingsunterkünfte in Hamburg.
Humanity has influenced and changed the large majority of the earths landscapes, especially those in urban areas. There is no doubt that it is crucial to include human dimensions - perceptions, attitudes, preferences etc. - in terms of landscape inheritance, conservation, development and management or what. Public perception and preference research has a long lasting history in landscape subjects, and has been playing an important role in practical implementation. This study will be conducted in Suzhou, China - a typical Chinese city with numerous ancient cultural heritages and facing endless modernization and urbanization. Literate review will be thoroughly carried out on respect to the processes, states, significances of human dimensions for landscapes. The interpretation of historical materials about landscape changes during decades of the research site will be completed. The targeted objects will be the residents there and visitors. There are still more than 200.000 permanent residents living in the research core, who represent the main force of conserving the ancient heritages lasted thousands years. Therefore, their attitudes towards the landscape changes, ancient landscape elements or symbols are vital, and should be included in routines for landscape design, management and conservation. Moreover, up to millions of visitors from both inside and outside of China come to Suzhou every year, which makes the study concerning their perceptions and preferences even more critical. The well-structured questionnaires, together with semi-open or open interviews will be applied aimed at different targeted groups, and the results will be interpreted and evaluated based on scientific theories and methodologies in both quantitative and qualitative ways. Eventually, how these findings could be used to inform the landscape policy-makers, designer, planner or managers and how to transfer the results into practical status in other cities of China or even in other developing countries facing the same dilemmas would be generated.
The aim of BioBuild is to use biocomposites to reduce the embodied energy in building facade, supporting structure and internal partition systems by at least 50Prozent over current materials with no increase in cost. This will lead to a step change in the use of sustainable, low carbon construction materials, by replacing aluminium, steel, FRP, brick and concrete in buildings. Facades are widely used in construction, primarily to protect and insulate the internal structure. Internal partitions are used to divide space, carry utilities and provide thermal and acoustic insulation. The current materials used such as aluminium, steel, brick and concrete are energy intensive to produce and have high embodied energy. FRP is an alternative construction material, benefitting from low weight, formability and simple manufacturing, allowing low material content structures and innovative design. However, typical resin and glass fibre are non-renewable, energy intensive to synthesise. Biocomposites overcome these drawbacks, whilst maintaining the benefits, being based on natural fibres and bioresins which have low embodied energy and cost. Biocomposites are renewable and sustainable resin and reinforcement structures. The resins in this project are furan and cashew nut oil based with reinforcing fibres of flax and jute. Bast fibres have lower environmental impacts than glass, concerning climate change and energy but have similar properties. Biocomposites are used commercially in automotive interior parts, but for outdoor applications they can degrade due to moisture absorption and bio-degradation. BioBuild will develop biocomposites and construction products with a life span of 40 years, by protecting the fibres with novel treatments and coatings. The result of the project will be a low cost, lightweight, durable and sustainable biocomposite building system, with full technical and environmental validation, offering low embodied energy construction materials.