ALBERT

Description: Climate, Vol. 6, Pages 78: Possible Scenarios of Winter Wheat Yield Reduction of Dryland Qazvin Province, Iran, Based on Prediction of Temperature and Precipitation Till the End of the Century Climate doi: 10.3390/cli6040078 Authors: Behnam Mirgol Meisam Nazari The climate of the Earth is changing. The Earth’s temperature is projected to maintain its upward trend in the next few decades. Temperature and precipitation are two very important factors affecting crop yields, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. There is a need for future climate predictions to protect vulnerable sectors like agriculture in drylands. In this study, the downscaling of two important climatic variables—temperature and precipitation—was done by the CanESM2 and HadCM3 models under five different scenarios for the semi-arid province of Qazvin, located in Iran. The most efficient scenario was selected to predict the dryland winter wheat yield of the province for the three periods: 2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099. The results showed that the models are able to satisfactorily predict the daily mean temperature and annual precipitation for the three mentioned periods. Generally, the daily mean temperature and annual precipitation tended to decrease in these periods when compared to the current reference values. However, the scenarios rcp2.6 and B2, respectively, predicted that the precipitation will fall less or even increase in the period 2070–2099. The scenario rcp2.6 seemed to be the most efficient to predict the dryland winter wheat yield of the province for the next few decades. The grain yield is projected to drop considerably over the three periods, especially in the last period, mainly due to the reduction in precipitation in March. This leads us to devise some adaptive strategies to prevent the detrimental impacts of climate change on the dryland winter wheat yield of the province.

Description: Environments, Vol. 5, Pages 106: Preface: Special Issue on Innovative Processes and Technologies for the Management of Hazardous Waste Environments doi: 10.3390/environments5100106 Authors: Terry Tudor Mentore Vaccari n/a

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 62: Ten Steps Qualitative Modelling: Development and Validation of Conceptual Institutional-Social-Ecological Model of Public Open Space (POS) Governance and Quality Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7040062 Authors: Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling Pau Chung Leng Compared to the literature on quantitative and statistical modelling, there is a lack of research on qualitative environmental-related modelling, which focuses on a conceptual-theory-based model. Therefore, this paper attempts to formulate a qualitative institutional-social-ecological model, by showcasing how the 10 steps modelling is relevant and is applied to the institutional-property-rights model of neighbourhood residential commons. Using an instance from one case study (i.e., Sabah, Malaysia), a conceptual problem-solution model describing local property-rights system tragedies of public open space (POS) governance and quality, and the emergence of self-governing collective action was demonstrated. Methodologically, the modelling procedures were specified as a 10-step process, starting with setting the objectives of the model and concluding with the validation of suitability and usefulness of the model. The validation was conducted using the experts’ opinion, via the semi-structured interviews with five public officials. With slight necessary amendments, the model was proven practical, useful, flexible, reliable and valid in serving its purposes in understanding and predicting the effects of local property-rights system tragedies on POS commons dilemmas, and the subsequent emergence and necessity of a self-governing solution. This local model provides policy insights to the local public officials, which facilitate their institutional-social-ecological decision-making process that helps improve local POS governance and quality.

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 60: Fermentable Sugar Production from the Peels of Two Durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) Cultivars by Phosphoric Acid Pretreatment Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7040060 Authors: Abraham Kusi Obeng Duangporn Premjet Siripong Premjet The potential of durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) peel as feedstock for the production of fermentable sugars was evaluated. Durian peel biomass from two cultivars, monthong (Durio zibethinus Murr. cv. Monthong) and chanee (Durio zibethinus Murr. cv. Chanee), were pretreated with different concentrations (70%, 75%, 80%, and 85%) of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) at a moderate temperature of 60 °C for 60 min. The H3PO4-pretreated durian peel biomass was then subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis. Significantly higher glucan (44.74 ± 0.21%) content was observed in the monthong peel compared to the chanee peel (42.06 ± 0.28%). Phosphoric acid pretreatment caused the significant solubilization of the xylan and acid soluble lignin (ASL) contents. This enhanced the enzymatic hydrolysis process causing a significant increase in the hydrolysis efficiency and glucose concentration. The highest hydrolysis efficiency and glucose concentration were obtained after 72 h from the 75% H3PO4-pretreated peel biomass for both the monthong (90.33 ± 0.42% and 9.55 ± 0.11 g/L, respectively) and chanee (90.06 ± 0.40% and 8.56 ± 0.13 g/L, respectively) peels. Biomass to glucose recovery for monthong and chanee were improved by approximately 7- and 6-fold, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed destruction of the peel biomass structure and changes in the cellulose crystallinity index (CrIs).

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 61: Fisheries-Based Ecotourism in Bangladesh: Potentials and Challenges Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7040061 Authors: Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder Mohammad Muslem Uddin Petra Schneider Mohammad Mahmudul Islam Md. Mostafa Shamsuzzaman Recreational fishing trips constitute a significant part of the tourism business in many countries. Linking fisheries to tourism can be both a response to the need to create innovative tourism products and the need to find new sources of income for fisheries to make them more profitable and sustainable. This leads to the question of whether Bangladesh can be developed as a Fisheries-Based Ecotourism (FbE) destination. Though several types of research have been done concerning the prospects of ecotourism in Bangladesh, the feasibility of FbE specifically remains under-studied. Based on a literature review and stakeholder interviews, this study explores the concept of FbE in a Bangladeshi context and its potential impacts on socio-economic community life as well as on the environment. This paper makes the case that the diversified topography of Bangladesh—including the riverine flat alluvial plains, hills and valleys, deciduous and evergreen forests, lakes, seashores, and beaches—is ripe with potential for FbE development. With its focus on the prospects and challenges of FbE development in Bangladesh, this paper could provide a useful reference point for future discourse on these sorts of cultural and economic strategies.

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 59: Shedding Light on the Anthropogenic Europium Cycle in the EU–28. Marking Product Turnover and Energy Progress in the Lighting Sector Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7030059 Authors: Luca Ciacci Ivano Vassura Fabrizio Passarini Phase-out strategies for incandescent bulbs in favor of advanced energy-efficiency lighting systems such as fluorescent lamps and solid-state technology have considerably reduced the energy use for lighting, but have also resulted in dependence on many critical materials like rare earth elements and shifted the attention to sustainable use and recovery of resources. In this work, a dynamic material flow model was developed to analyze the socio-economic metabolism of europium in the EU–28. The analysis shows that europium marked product turnover and progress in lighting efficiency, with this element being employed both in traditional and novel lighting technology to provide luminescence. The results also demonstrate that the current anthropogenic reserve could constitute an attractive source of secondary europium with substantial potentials for environmental benefits. However, nonexistent recycling and market forces hinder strategies for material circularity. In particular, the transition from fluorescent lamps to solid-state technology is quickly decreasing the demand for europium. This trend adds further constraints to the creation of a sustainable recycling industry for europium, with primary sources that might remain the preferable route to supply phosphors to future lighting systems.

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 57: Global Lithium Sources—Industrial Use and Future in the Electric Vehicle Industry: A Review Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7030057 Authors: Laurence Kavanagh Jerome Keohane Guiomar Garcia Cabellos Andrew Lloyd John Cleary Lithium is a key component in green energy storage technologies and is rapidly becoming a metal of crucial importance to the European Union. The different industrial uses of lithium are discussed in this review along with a compilation of the locations of the main geological sources of lithium. An emphasis is placed on lithium’s use in lithium ion batteries and their use in the electric vehicle industry. The electric vehicle market is driving new demand for lithium resources. The expected scale-up in this sector will put pressure on current lithium supplies. The European Union has a burgeoning demand for lithium and is the second largest consumer of lithium resources. Currently, only 1–2% of worldwide lithium is produced in the European Union (Portugal). There are several lithium mineralisations scattered across Europe, the majority of which are currently undergoing mining feasibility studies. The increasing cost of lithium is driving a new global mining boom and should see many of Europe’s mineralisation’s becoming economic. The information given in this paper is a source of contextual information that can be used to support the European Union’s drive towards a low carbon economy and to develop the field of research.

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 58: Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7030058 Authors: David Lin Laurel Hanscom Adeline Murthy Alessandro Galli Mikel Evans Evan Neill Maria Serena Mancini Jon Martindill Fatime-Zahra Medouar Shiyu Huang Mathis Wackernagel Ecological Footprint accounting quantifies the supply and demand of Earth’s biocapacity. The National Footprint Accounts (NFA) are the most widely used Ecological Footprint (EF) dataset, and provide results for most countries and the world from 1961 to 2014, based primarily on publicly available UN datasets. Here, we review the evolution of the NFA, describe and quantify the effects of improvements that have been implemented into the accounts since the 2012 edition, and review the latest global trends. Comparing results over six editions of NFAs, we find that time-series trends in world results remain stable, and that the world Ecological Footprint for the latest common year (2008) has increased six percent after four major accounting improvements and more than thirty minor improvements. The latest results from the NFA 2018 Edition for the year 2014 indicate that humanity’s Ecological Footprint is 1.7 Earths, and that global ecological overshoot continues to grow. While improved management practices and increased agricultural yields have assisted in a steady increase of Earth’s biocapacity since 1961, humanity’s Ecological Footprint continues to increase at a faster pace than global biocapacity, particularly in Asia, where the total and per capita Ecological Footprint are increasing faster than all other regions.

Description: Resources, Vol. 7, Pages 56: Saving Raw Materials for Cement Manufacture and Reusing an Untreated Waste from the Petrochemical Industry Resources doi: 10.3390/resources7030056 Authors: Bruno Sena da Fonseca António Castela Rui Neves Raquel Duarte Carlos Galhano Maria de Fátima Montemor This research addresses the replacement of cement by an untreated waste from the petrochemical industry. The effects of partial replacement of cement by spent fluid cracking catalyst (SFCC) on properties of mortar were determined. In this study, a series of mortar mixes was prepared with replacement ratios of 0%, 3%, 6%, and 12%. Furthermore, performance enhancing factors such as SFCC treatment or use of plasticizers were avoided. Workability, compressive strength, and durability related properties were assessed. An improvement regarding resistance to chloride penetration was observed, as well as that, when curing in salt water, the use of SFCC may be advantageous regarding compressive strength.

Description: Environments, Vol. 5, Pages 105: How Inter-Basin Transfer of Water Alters Basin Water Stress Used for Water Footprint Characterization Environments doi: 10.3390/environments5090105 Authors: Shinjiro Yano Toshio Okazumi Yoshihisa Iwasaki Masahiro Yamaguchi Kenichi Nakamura Takuhiro Kanayama Daikichi Ogawada Akiko Matsumura Martin Gomez-Garcia Taikan Oki Water footprint assessments contribute to a better understanding of potential environmental impacts related to water and have become essential in water management. The methodologies for characterizing such assessments, however, usually fail to reflect temporal and spatial variations at local scales. In this paper, we employ four widely-used characterization factors, which were originally developed with global estimates of water demand and availability, to evaluate the impact that inter-basin transfer (IBT) of water has on water risk assessments and, consequently, on the evaluation of the soundness of water cycle. The study was conducted for two major river basins in Japan, where diversion channels were built to move water from the Tone river basin to the Arakawa river basin. Considering IBT, the available water in the Arakawa river basin increases a 45%, reducing the characterization factors a 44% on average and denoting their tendency to overestimate the risk in this basin, while the Tone river basin increased the characterization factors a 28% on average by IBT. Moreover, with a simple example we show how ambiguity in the definition of some characterization factors may cause significant changes in the result of the assessments. Finally, we concluded that local water footprint characterization can be more helpful in local assessment of water resources if the results are unanimous, Targetable, Replicable, Ameliorable, Comparable, and Engageable (uTRACE).