Species-specific efficiency in PM removal by urban trees: From leaf measurements to improved modeling estimates.

The growing population in cities is causing a deterioration of air quality due to the emission of pollutants, causing serious health impacts. Trees and urban forests can contribute through the interception and removal of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM). The dry deposition of PM by vegetation depends on air pollutant concentration, meteorological conditions, and specific leaf traits.

The achievement of Water Framework Directive goals through the restoration of vegetation in agricultural canals.

Decreasing nitrate concentrations is one of the most relevant Water Framework Directive (WFD) goals, which today is still unreached in several European countries. Vegetated canals have been recognized as effective filters to mitigate nitrate pollution, although rarely included in restoration programs aimed at improving water quality in agricultural watersheds. The Po di Volano basin (713 km, Northern Italy) is a deltaic territory crossed by an extensive network of agricultural canals (~1300 km).

Plastic (PET) vs bioplastic (PLA) or refillable aluminium bottles - What is the most sustainable choice for drinking water? A life-cycle (LCA) analysis.

Nowadays, the most important tool to evaluate the environmental impact of both petro-plastics and bioplastics is the life cycle analysis (LCA). LCA determines the overall impact on the environment by defining, calculation and analyzing all the input and output directly related to production, utilization, and disposal of a product or a process. In this work, a LCA (cradle to grave) of bottles for drinking water was developed on three scenarios: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, as conventional packaging material for outdoor drinking water, polylactic acid (PLA) bottles, as alternative and innovative biodegradable packaging and aluminum bottle, as reusable and almost infinitely refilling packaging.

Temporal dynamics of species associations in the parasite community of European eels, , from a coastal lagoon.

The resilience of biological communities is of central importance in ecology, but is difficult to investigate in nature. Parasite communities in individual hosts provide good model systems, as they allow a level of replication usually not possible with free-living communities. Here, using temporal data (2005-2017) on the communities of endohelminth parasites in European eels, , from brackish-water lagoons in Italy, we test the resilience of interspecific associations to changes in the abundance of some parasite species and the disappearance of others.

The role of species introduction in modifying the functional diversity of native communities.

Although one of the most evident effects of biological invasions is the loss of native taxonomic diversity, contrasting views exist on the consequences of biological invasions on native functional diversity. We investigated this topic using Mediterranean stream, river and canal fish communities as a test case, at 3734 sites in Italy, and distinguishing between exotic and translocated species invasion in three different faunal districts. Our results clearly confirmed that introduced species were widespread and in many cases the invasion was severe (130 communities were completely composed by introduced species).

Could a freshwater fish be at the root of dystrophic crises in a coastal lagoon?

Eutrophication has a profound impact on ecosystems worldwide. Grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, an herbivorous fish, has been introduced to control aquatic plant overgrowth caused by eutrophication, but could have other, potentially detrimental, effects. We used the Po di Volano basin (south of the Po River delta, northern Italy) as a test case to explore whether grass carp effects on canal aquatic vegetation could be at the root of historical changes in N loads exported from the basin to the Goro Lagoon.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure Assessment on Common Carp Liver through Image and Ultrastructural Investigation.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) poses particular concern as an emerging pollutant in both surface and ground waters. Fish, as a natural inhabitant of these waters and being highly representative of vertebrates, represents an ideal animal model to assess the toxic effects of PFOA. Hereby, liver microscopic texture was comparatively evaluated in individuals of common carp subchronically exposed to PFOA using grayscale differential box counting, a fractal analysis method.

Estimate of gas transfer velocity in the presence of emergent vegetation using argon as a tracer: Implications for whole-system denitrification measurements.

Denitrification associated with emergent macrophytes is a pivotal process underlying the treatment performance of wetlands and slow-flow waterways. Laboratory scale experiments targeting N losses via denitrification in sediments colonized by emergent macrophytes require the use of mesocosms that are necessarily open to the atmosphere. Thus, the proper quantification of N effluxes relies on the accurate characterization of the air-water gas exchanges.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Managing macrophytes for nitrate mitigation in irrigated agricultural watersheds.

Although ubiquitous elements of agricultural landscapes, the interest on ditches and canals as effective filters to buffer nitrate pollution has been raised only recently. The aim of the present study was to investigate the importance of in-ditch denitrification supported by emergent aquatic vegetation in the context of N budget in agricultural lands of a worldwide hotspot of nitrate contamination and eutrophication, i.e.

Space and time variations of watershed N and P budgets and their relationships with reactive N and P loadings in a heavily impacted river basin (Po river, Northern Italy).

The aim of the present study is to analyze relationships between land uses and anthropogenic pressures, and nutrient loadings in the Po river basin, the largest hydrographic system in Italy, together with the changes they have undergone in the last half century. Four main points are addressed: 1) spatial distribution and time evolution of land uses and associated N and P budgets; 2) long-term trajectories of the reactive N and P loadings exported from the Po river; 3) relationships between budgets and loadings; 4) brief review of relationships between N and P loadings and eutrophication in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Net Anthropogenic N (NANI) and P (NAPI) inputs, and N and P surpluses in the cropland between 1960 and 2010 were calculated.

Run to the hills: exotic fish invasions and water quality degradation drive native fish to higher altitudes.

While the significance of anthropogenic pressures in shaping species distributions and abundances is undeniable, some ambiguity still remains on their relative magnitude and interplay with natural environmental factors. In our study, we examined 91 late-invasion-stage river locations in Northern Italy using ordination methods and variance partitioning (partial-CCA), as well as an assessment of environmental thresholds (TITAN), to attempt to disentangle the effects of eutrophication and exotic species on native species. We found that exotic species, jointly with water quality (primarily eutrophication) and geomorphology, are the main drivers of the distribution of native species and that native species suffer more joint effects than exotic species.

The effect of water velocity on nitrate removal in vegetated waterways.

The extended networks of canals and ditches in agricultural landscapes provide high buffer capacity towards nitrogen (N) excess. Their N mitigation potential depends on several biotic and abiotic factors, among which water velocity is poorly explored and generally omitted from the parameterization of this remarkable ecosystem service. The present work reports new insights on the role of flow velocity in regulating N removal via denitrification in sediments colonized by Phragmites australis.

Environmental doses of perfluorooctanoic acid change the expression of genes in target tissues of common carp.

We aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental doses of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on bioconcentration and gene expression in common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Adult male and female carp were exposed to environmental (200 ng/L) and experimental (2 mg/L) doses of PFOA for 56 d. Carp exposed to 200 ng/L had levels of PFOA below the level of detection in all tissue samples analyzed, whereas variable concentrations were measurable in various tissues from carp exposed to 2 mg/L.

Testing Spirotetramat as an Alternative Solution to Abamectin for Cacopsylla pyri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) Control: Laboratory and Field Tests.

Aim of the study was to investigate the performance of the new insecticide "spirotetramat" as an alternative solution of "abamectin" for the control of Cacopsylla pyri L. (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in the context of an IPM program in European pear, Pyrus communis L..

Occurrence of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid and histopathology in eels from north Italian waters.

A perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) biomonitoring study was conducted in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in Italy for the first time. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were assessed in the organs of 35 wild eels from two locations, the highly impacted Po River and the Comacchio Lagoon along the north-western Adriatic coast. PFAS were extracted by ion-pairing liquid extraction procedure and measured using high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Assessment of insecticide resistance of Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Emilia-Romagna region.

The European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is the key pest of vineyard, Vitis vinifera L. In Italy, failures in field chemical pest control have been recently reported. The susceptibility to insecticides indoxacarb, methoxyfenozide, and emamectin benzoate was then evaluated in a L.

An EPG study of the probing behavior of adult Bemisia tabaci biotype Q (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) following exposure to cyantraniliprole.

Cyantraniliprole is a novel insecticide for control of multiple chewing and sucking insect pest species including the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), which is one of the most important polyphagous pests in tropical, subtropical, and Mediterranean regions. This study aims to evaluate the effects of cyantraniliprole on the probing behavior of B. tabaci on tomato.

Nitrogen budget in a lowland coastal area within the Po River basin (northern Italy): multiple evidences of equilibrium between sources and internal sinks.

Detailed studies on pollutants genesis, path and transformation are needed in agricultural catchments facing coastal areas. Here, loss of nutrients should be minimized in order to protect valuable aquatic ecosystems from eutrophication phenomena. A soil system N budget was calculated for a lowland coastal area, the Po di Volano basin (Po River Delta, Northern Italy), characterized by extremely flat topography and fine soil texture and bordering a network of lagoon ecosystems.