Ecological risk assessment of transgenic plant releases: an Austrian perspective

Some prerequisites for ecological risk assessment of transgenic plant releases are examined, with the aim of identifying research needs in Austria. Austria harbours high habitat diversity, extending from the Alps to the Pannonian continental lowlands. The Pannonian flora includes potential cross-breeding partners of several crops, which do not occur in western Europe. The border zones of major biogeographical regions contain high biodiversity, both in terms of species and habitat diversity; whether the genetic variability of widespread plant species is also increased in these areas requires further investigation. Especially in Alpine regions, transgenic grasses might eventually cause profound changes in community structure. Ecological risk assessment of transgenic crop releases should not only consider adverse effects on non-target species and ecosystems, but also their likely impact on the agroecosystems.     

Environmental risk assessment of transgenic miraculin-accumulating tomato in a confined field trial in Japan

The commercial use of genetically modified (GM) crops requires prior assessment of the risks to the environment when these crops are grown in the field or distributed. Assessments protocols vary across countries and GM crop events, but there is a common need to assess environmental biosafety. In this study, we conducted an environmental risk assessment in a confined field of GM tomato plants that can produce miraculin, a taste-altering protein that causes sour tastes to be perceived as sweet, for practical use in Japan. The evaluation was conducted for 1) competitiveness (the ability to compete with wild plants for nutrients, sunlight, and growing areas and prevent their growth) and 2) the production of toxic substances (the ability to produce substances that interfere with the habitat and growth of wild plants, animals, and microorganisms). Investigations of plant morphology and growth characteristics as well as tolerance to low temperature during early growth and overwintering for assessment endpoints related to competitiveness showed no biologically meaningful difference between GM tomato and non-GM tomato. In addition, harmful substances in plant residues and root secretions were assessed by the plow-in method, succeeding crop test and soil microflora tests, and it was determined that GM tomato does not exhibit an increase in harmful substances. Based on these results, it was concluded that GM miraculin-accumulating tomato is comparable to conventional tomato and is unlikely to have unintended adverse effects in the natural environment of Japan.     

Ecological risk assessment of metals in roadside agricultural soils: A modified approach

The threat of metal contamination of roadside agricultural soils poses severe ecological risks throughout the globe due to dual contamination by intensive agriculture and traffic-related activities. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess ecological risks posed by metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in intensively cultivated roadside agricultural soils of Punjab, India. The results of the contamination assessment factors i.e. Contamination Factor (CF) and Enrichment Factor (EF) indicated that the studied soils were moderately to highly contaminated with metals. It was observed that the Modified Risk Index (MRI), which is based upon EF, indicated the ecological risks of metals more efficiently than the traditional Ecological Risk Index (RI), which is based upon CF in the present study. The MRI values indicated that the metals posed considerable to high risk in 67.86% samples as compared to only 7.14% samples based upon RI values. Thus, MRI can be considered as a more efficient risk indicator in comparison to RI. Spatial distribution maps of MRI indicated to higher metal contamination in inner urban parts of study area due to higher traffic and industrial activities.     

Big troubles are already here: risk assessment protocol shows high risk of many alien plants present in Portugal

Invasion by alien plants results in serious adverse impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, economy and social welfare, and is an ever-increasing challenge for nature conservation. Control of established invasive species is frequently very difficult and costly. Therefore, predicting which species have risk of becoming invasive is crucial both to prevent introduction of new invaders and to target high risk species already present in order to avoid their spread, particularly to areas with high conservation value. In Portugal more than 600 alien plant species are present as casuals or naturalized, and decision support tools are needed to discriminate which of these have higher probability of becoming invasive. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Weed Risk Assessment, adapted to the Portuguese conditions (P-WRA), by evaluating 172 plant species: 49 considered as invasive; and, 123 as non-invasive species. The results showed that the P-WRA correctly identified all invasive species. As for non-invasive species, 17% were accepted, 78% rejected and 5% required further evaluation. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve reflected high accuracy of predictions despite lower than that found in other regions. The best cutoff level for P-WRA score, maximizing the ability for classification of the protocol, was 13 resulting in more non-invasive species accepted (46%). In the end, this assessment informed that in addition to the 49 species already invasive, a high number (66) of alien plant species have invasive risk. Amongst these, a list of 20 species is proposed for targeted priority management aiming to prevent their spread. Comparison of the scores obtained with A-WRA for other regions with Mediterranean climate revealed that 17% of the species compared (78) reached different outcomes, signaling the need to be careful when extrapolating the use of previous scores. The P-WRA can be a promising screening system post-border for predicting invasive species already present in Portugal and contribute to the targeting of species for priority intervention, particularly in natural areas with high conservation value.     

基于空间扩张互侵过程的土地生态安全动态评价——以(中国)苏锡常地区为例

从景观单元水平过程出发,通过采用生态用地和建设用地两种不同源空间扩张互侵过程的方法,提出了以分区形式的土地生态安全动态评价方法。以快速城市化苏锡常地区为研究区域,分别以生态系统服务价值高的水域和林地及建设用地现状为扩张源,生态系统服务价值和生态风险值为阻力赋值依据,在模拟不同生态安全格局水平和城市发展模式的基础上测算互侵结果并进行区划。结果表明:1)不同城市发展模式下建设用地空间扩张随生态用地从底线到满意到理想水平变化呈空间集聚收敛趋势;生态用地呈似圈层状空间集聚趋势。2)城市发展模式对土地生态安全水平具有显著影响;高等级源优先发展模式下土地资源利用更集约。3)将研究区划分为生态核心区(面积占比35.27%)、生态安全区(29.07%)、缓冲区(7.76%)及建设区(27.90%),提出相应土地用途管制措施。探讨了新方法不足和未来研究方向。     

多尺度滑坡灾害生态风险评价与风险管理——以三峡库区万州-巫山段为例

进行生态风险多尺度综合评价,对环境管理及风险决策具有重要意义。以三峡库区滑坡重点监测县域为例,基于“危险性-脆弱性-潜在损失”三维模型,以随机森林模型评估滑坡危险性,采用景观格局指数表征生态脆弱性,利用生境质量核算潜在生态损失,进行格网、行政、子流域多尺度下的滑坡灾害生态风险评价,提出适合各尺度的风险管理措施,在此基础上选择最适宜尺度并结合研究区实际情况进行验证。结果表明,生态风险等级较高区域集中于长江两岸沿线,三峡库区建设对研究区滑坡生态风险产生较大影响;两两尺度风险分布结果具有一定相似性,而三种尺度共同作用结果又存在一定差异;子流域尺度在保证生态结构完整性的前提下评价结果好于其他两种尺度,更适合三峡库区县域的生态风险评价;研究区东部风险防范类型相对单一,而西部风险防范类型较多,需做到精细化管理。研究增加了多尺度综合评价实例,对今后开展整个三峡库区滑坡生态风险研究奠定一定理论和实践基础。     

沿江地区土地利用生态风险评价——以长江三角洲南京地区为例

基于改进的相对生态风险模型,从风险源强度、受体暴露度以及风险效应三方面构建土地利用生态风险评价指标体系,以子流域为单元分析南京地区土地利用生态风险空间分异及影响因素,结果表明:综合生态风险值总体分布较分散,高风险区位于江北八百河流域、老山北坡及南坡河系、石臼湖流域,风险源强和受体暴露度较高,风险效应值较低,潜在生态风险很高,应重点实施环境治理,强化土地生态环境建设;较高风险区位于一干河、二干河、句容河、秦淮中游、江宁河、向阳河、固城湖、境外常州太湖流域,风险源强和受体暴露度中等,应加强环境治理,强化土地利用规划引导与集约利用;较低和低风险区包括境外沿江八卦洲、沿江靖安板块、沿江秦淮河、沿江汤水河、沿江滁河、横溪河、牛首河、前进河、马鞍山长江流域,风险源强和受体暴露度较低,风险效应值低,主要分布于沿江以及山地丘陵河流上游地区,沿江流域近年排污治理力度较大有效保证了低风险源强值,而山地丘陵河流上游植被覆盖度一般较高,人为影响相对较弱,应注重生态环境维护和土地集约利用;其他流域综合生态风险中等,应加强生态环境监测,防止生态环境恶化。     

Site-specific risk assessment and integrated management decision-making: A case study of a typical heavy metal contaminated site,Middle China

A typical contaminated land was spatially investigated and assessed based on Chinese guidelines to establish remediation strategy for exploring the shortcomings of the current guidelines to suggest improvements. Results showed that Cr, As, Pb, and Cd should be regarded as the priority pollutants under sensitive land use, while Cr and As should be regarded as the priority pollutants under insensitive land use. Ingestion of soil for each studied metal appeared to be the main exposure pathway under both the land uses. The calculated screening values of the priority metals were conservative to certain extent—even some were lower than their background values. Therefore, an integrated risk management strategy was suggested and the hierarchic clean-up values were proposed considering the health risk, local background value, land remediation cases, current remediation technology, and financial cost. Consequently, it was suggested the clean-up values of Cr(VI), Cr, As, Pb, and Cd, under future sensitive land use, should be 7.5, 1000, 30, 250, and 1.4 mg/kg in the first class control layer, respectively. For future insensitive land use, the clean-up values of Cr(VI), Cr, As, Pb, and Cd should be 20.4, 8000, 60, 580, and 4.3 mg/kg in the first class control layer, respectively.     

Application of GMOs in the U.S.: EPA research & regulatory considerations related to soil systems

During the last 20 years recombinant biotechnology has resulted in the development of organisms with unique genetic compositions, some of which are for intentional release to the environment. While concerns have been raised that such organisms may be capable of inducing transient unintended environmental effects, longer-term perturbations to soil processes and non-target species effects have yet to be demonstrated. In parallel with the growth of the commercial biotechnology industry has come a significant growth in regulatory review processes intended to evaluate the risks of these GMO products. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), certain new microbial products that undergo pre-manufacture review are examined for human and environmental risks using data and other information received in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) “Points to Consider” guidance document. In the risk assessment process, carried out under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) authorities, EPA evaluates both microbial pesticide products and plants with pesticidal properties to determine if Federal safety standards are met. For all pesticide products, including genetically engineered pesticides, EPA receives testing of product composition and chemical properties, human health effects, environmental effects on non-target pests, and the fate of the pesticide in the environment. The EPA’s Office of Research and Development supports risk assessment research related to such GMO products. This paper focuses on relevant EPA research and regulatory examples related to soil effects considerations for GMOs.     

基于生态系统服务视角的生态风险评估及生态修复空间辨识——以长江源区为例

辨识生态修复空间是进行生态恢复与重建的重要前提。在流域尺度,以长江源区为研究对象,构建了青藏高原生态修复空间辨识框架,以定量方法为主、定性方法为辅,依次开展了区域主导生态系统服务评估、生态风险评估、植被退化评价,识别了生态修复优先区,提出了系统保护与修复建议。结果表明：①2000年、2015年长江源区生态系统服务呈现从西北部向东南部增加的趋势,单位面积水源涵养量、土壤保持量分别下降18.06%、22.9%,单位面积防风固沙量增加8.84%,NPP未发生显著变化。②生态风险以1、2、3级中低风险为主,面积占比共计74.41%;4级区面积占比19.35%;5级区面积占比仅6.24%,集中分布于称多、玉树和唐古拉山。不同风险等级呈圈层递减的分布格局。③2000-2015年NDVI增长率为0.013%/a。绝大部分草地未发生退化,轻度退化草地面积占比0.82%;中重度退化草地面积占比1.09%;④严格施行划区轮牧和草畜平衡管理,坚持以自然修复为主、辅以人工修复,治理黑土滩、沙化土地、水土流失。对于昂日曲、麻多乡北、加巧曲等9个地块（393.75 km²）,严格封禁,针对性地实施沙化地修复、黑土滩修复、草原有害生物防控工程等人工干预和保护措施。研究结果能为青藏高原生态系统服务功能维护和提升、退化生态系统的修复治理提供理论依据和技术支撑。     

Rivers in peril inside and outside protected areas: a systematic approach to conservation assessment of river ecosystems

This paper establishes a framework within which a rapid and pragmatic assessment of river ecosystems can be undertaken at a broad, subcontinental scale, highlighting some implications for achieving conservation of river biodiversity in water‐limited countries. The status of river ecosystems associated with main rivers in South Africa was assessed based on the extent to which each ecosystem had been altered from its natural condition. This requires consistent data on river integrity for the entire country, which was only available for main rivers; tributaries were thus excluded from the analyses. The state of main river ecosystems in South Africa is dire: 84% of the ecosystems are threatened, with a disturbing 54% critically endangered, 18% endangered, and 12% vulnerable. Protection levels were measured as the proportion of conservation target achieved within protected areas, where the conservation target was set as 20% of the total length of each river ecosystem. Sixteen of the 112 main river ecosystems are moderately to well represented within protected areas; the majority of the ecosystems have very low levels of representation, or are not represented at all within protected areas. Only 50% of rivers within protected areas are intact, but this is a higher proportion compared to rivers outside (28%), providing some of the first quantitative data on the positive role protected areas can play in conserving river ecosystems. This is also the first assessment of river ecosystems in South Africa to apply a similar approach to parallel assessments of terrestrial, marine, and estuarine ecosystems, and it revealed that main river ecosystems are in a critical state, far worse than terrestrial ecosystems. Ecosystem status is likely to differ with the inclusion of tributaries, since options may well exist for conserving critically endangered ecosystems in intact tributaries, which are generally less regulated than main rivers. This study highlights the importance of healthy tributaries for achieving river conservation targets, and the need for managing main rivers as conduits across the landscape to support ecological processes that depend on connectivity. We also highlight the need for a paradigm shift in the way protected areas are designated, as well as the need for integrated river basin management plans to include explicit conservation visions, targets, and strategies to ensure the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide.