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Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for rainwater harvesting and stormwater management in temporary humanitarian settlements
Get PDFEffective management of stormwater runoff is crucial in refugee camps and temporary shelters. Across the Africa, this is vital especially with the intense rainfalls due to the climate effect. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can be implemented to provide potential sources of water resources across refugee camps and internally displaced people (IDPs). The performance of two SuDS (engineered wetlands and biofilters) was evaluated to assess their effectiveness at reducing levels of pollutants in harvested rainwater and stormwater under simulated environmental conditions of an IDP camp. The SuDS comprised a matrix of sub-surface bedding materials and filter media. Stormwater quality analysis aligned with the WHO and CIRIA standards was carried out over 61 weeks simulating environmental conditions. The SuDS significantly reduced nutrients and organics loading from the influent stormwater. The Constructed Stormwater Treatment System S1-a had an overall high performance in removing impurities (BOD – 60 %, COD – 70 %, Turbidity – 70 %, Colour – 72 %, Phosphates – 63 %, Ammonium – 57 % and Nitrates – 57 %). In addition, the Refugee Camp Engineered Stormwater Treatment System S2-d has overall well-performed impurities removal (TDS – 52 %, COD – 100 %, Turbidity – 100 %, Colour – 41 %, Phosphates – 96 %, Ammonium – 98 % and Nitrates – 88 %). The outflow samples from these SuDS found the concentrations are with high standards. However, it is recommended that the treated stormwater be reused for non-potable sources in these conditions. The implementations of this research findings can be further incorporated into the United Nations sustainable developmental goals of good health and wellbeing (SDG 3) clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), and Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16)
How a decade of different tillage intensity influences yield response to seasonal weather variations
No full textVariability in weather conditions represents a growing challenge to crop yield stability and performance. This long-term field experiment aimed to evaluate how weather conditions affect arable yields under contrasting cultivation practices: plough-based tillage (P), minimum tillage (MT) and direct drill (DD), over a 10-year period. Our results showed that ploughing provided the greatest yield stability in all crops across the seasons. Although DD produced lower yields in the first 4-years, DD can preserve soil moisture making more efficient use of the available precipitation resulting in similar or higher yields than plough based systems in drier and warmer years. This is especially important as we observed an upward trend in the seasonal maximum temperatures (TMax). For wheat crops, our results showed that yield variability was in part explained by cultivations and temperature variables, with spring wheat being more sensitive to variations in weather conditions in comparison to winter crops. When mean seasonal temperatures were <12.3°C, spring wheat had lower yields under DD compared to MT and P. For winter wheat, yields were lower when the TMax in February was <9.9°C regardless of the cultivation system. This study can conclude that cultivation systems can affect arable yields, but weather conditions can have both positively and negatively impact crop yields depending on the tillage systems. Climatic variables measured during different crop growth stages were better predictors of yield variability than those averaged over the entire growing season. These results highlight the importance of crop management for optimising production in response to weather variability
Enhanced rock weathering - evidence on potential environmental impacts and social implications
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A new direction for tackling phosphorus inefficiency in the UK food system
No full textThe UK food system is reliant on imported phosphorus (P) to meet food production demand, though inefficient
use and poor stewardship means P is currently accumulating in agricultural soils, wasted or lost with detrimental
impacts on aquatic environments. This study presents the results of a detailed P Substance Flow Analysis for the
UK food system in 2018, developed in collaboration with industry and government, with the key objective of
highlighting priority areas for system interventions to improve the sustainability and resilience of P use in the UK
food system. In 2018 the UK food system imported 174.6 Gg P, producing food and exportable commodities
containing 74.3 Gg P, a P efficiency of only 43%. Three key system hotspots for P inefficiency were identified:
Agricultural soil surplus and accumulation (89.2 Gg P), loss to aquatic environments (26.2 Gg P), and waste
disposal to landfill and construction (21.8 Gg P). Greatest soil P accumulation occurred in grassland agriculture
(85% of total accumulation), driven by loadings of livestock manures. Waste water treatment (12.5 Gg P) and
agriculture (8.38 Gg P) account for most P lost to water, and incineration ashes from food system waste (20.3 Gg
P) accounted for nearly all P lost to landfill and construction. New strategies and policy to improve the handling and recovery of P from manures, biosolids and food system waste are therefore necessary to improve system P
efficiency and reduce P accumulation and losses, though critically, only if they effectively replace imported
mineral P fertilisers
Diagnosis of Low-Carbon Permeable Pavements: Bearing Capacity and Long-Term Clogging Behaviour
Get PDFThe need to encourage sustainable construction practices to conserve the rapidly diminishing natural resources increases. Moreover, increases in impermeable areas in urban regions increase flood risk and impose significant stresses on stakeholders. The research presented here was conducted on using recycled low-carbon materials in permeable pavement systems (PPS) to address this issue. Despite the worldwide usage of PPS, uncertainty and a knowledge gap remain regarding the impact of recycled materials on their structural and long-term clogging performance. To this end, the load-bearing capacity and long-term clogging behaviour of four 0.2 m2 permeable pavement rigs made up of varying natural and recycled sub-base materials were evaluated in the laboratory. The recycled materials selected were crushed concrete aggregates (CCA) and cement-bounded expanded polystyrene beads (C-EPS), and the natural materials were basalt and quartzite aggregates. Accelerated 10-year clogging simulation with yearly hydraulic conductivity measurements was used to evaluate the long-term clogging behaviour of the rigs, whilst portable falling weight deflectometer (PFWD) testing was used to evaluate the load-bearing capacity. The results of the clogging simulation found that the hydraulic conductivity of all rigs declined exponentially and were of a similar pattern. This confirmed that the sub-base materials had little influence on the clogging behaviour of permeable pavements. The PFWD test, however, demonstrated that the sub-base materials impacted the load-bearing capacity of the rigs, but both CCA and C-EPS were suitable to be used in permeable pavements under different loading restrictions
A Review of CABI Digital Tools for Plant Health and Pest Risk Management
Get PDFThe contribution of CABI digital tools in enhancing plant health
and pest risk management is examined. Six key digital tools are
reviewed to draw themes on their benefits and challenges to
users and assessed using the Principles for Digital Development as
a guiding framework. CABI digital tools provide quick access to
relevant information, support informed decision-making, and are
open access and scalable. Enhancing user accessibility and considering diverse local contexts, especially in remote areas with poor
internet connectivity, can extend their impact. Addressing financial
and social sustainability, including gender barriers to mobile ownership, can also increase their contribution
The Appetite for Risk: Submission to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s call on ‘Animal and Plant Health
Get PDFA submission on biosecurity harmonization
Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health
Get PDFToxic metal pollution is ubiquitous in soils, yet its worldwide distribution is unknown. Here we analyze a global database of soil pollution by arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead at 796,084 sampling points from 1493 regional studies and used machine learning techniques to map areas with exceedance of agricultural and human health thresholds. We reveal a previously unrecognized high risk, metal-enriched zone in low-latitude Eurasia, which is attributed to influential climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic conditions. This feature can be regarded as a signpost for the Anthropocene era. We show that 14% to 17% of cropland is affected by toxic metal pollution globally and estimate that between 0.9 and 1.4 billion people live in regions of heightened public health and ecological risk
Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus)
Get PDFModern horse husbandry involves significant time spent indoors, often in suboptimal lighting conditions and with frequent night-time disturbances by humans for management purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a customised light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system and a standard fluorescent lighting fixture on equine sleep behaviours, circadian rhythmicity and spontaneous blink rates in horses. Ten riding school horses experienced two stable lighting conditions for four weeks each in a cross-over study running from January to March, 2023. The treatment lighting consisted of an LED system that provided timed, blue-enriched white polychromatic light by day and dim red light at night, and control lighting was a fluorescent tube that was turned on and off manually morning and evening. During week 4 of each experimental period, spontaneous blink rate was recorded twice for 30 min, behaviour of horses in their stables was recorded continuously for 72 h, and hair samples for circadian clock gene analysis were collected at 4-h intervals for 52 h. No differences were detected for total sleep, lateral or sternal recumbency, wakefulness, standing, standing sleep, or spontaneous blink rate (P > 0.05), between lighting conditions. The lighting period (Day versus Night) influenced total sleep (P < 0.01), total recumbency (P < 0.01), wakefulness (P < 0.01), and standing sleep (P < 0.05) in both conditions. For the treatment condition only, higher wakefulness was recorded during Day (P < 0.05). An overall effect of time for clock genes PER2 and DBP was detected (P < 0.01), but there was no effect of treatment, or time by treatment interaction. Cosinor analysis detected significant 24-h rhythmicity for PER2 and DBP (P < 0.01) in both lighting conditions. Results imply that dim red light at night does not negatively impact normal sleep patterns or circadian rhythmicity, and provide evidence supporting further research to better understand the role of blue-enriched LED light at promoting increased wakefulness during daytime in stabled horses