This paper evaluates the performance and potential of a full-scale hybrid multi-soil-layering (MSL) system for the treatment of domestic wastewater for landscape irrigation reuse. The system integrates a solar septic tank and sequential vertical flow MSL and horizontal flow MSL components with alternating layers of gravel and soil-based material. It operates at a hydraulic loading rate of 250 L/m2/day. Results show significant removal of pollutants and pathogens, including total suspended solids (TSS) (97%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (88.57%), total phosphorus (TP) (79.93%), and total nitrogen (TN) (88.49%), along with significant reductions in fecal bacteria indicators (4.21 log for fecal coliforms and 3.90 log for fecal streptococci) and the pathogen Staphylococcus sp. (2.43 log). The principal component analysis confirms the effectiveness of the system in reducing the concentrations of NH4, COD, TP, PO4, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, and fecal staphylococci, thus supporting the reliability of the study. This work highlights the promising potential of the hybrid MSL technology for the treatment of domestic wastewater, especially in arid regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, to support efforts to protect the environment and facilitate the reuse of wastewater for landscape irrigation and agriculture.

The distributions of heavy metals in paddy fields and rice along river valleys were studied to explore the key factors affecting the accumulation of heavy metals in the upstream terraces and downstream plains. Results from 975 sampling sites showed that elevation, growing season and soil organic matter (OM) had significant effects on the content of Cd and Pb in topsoil and rice. The content of Cd (0.47-0.66 mg kg-1) and Pb (49.9-68.6 mg kg-1) in paddy fields with low elevation (30-60 m) in the downstream plains was significantly higher than the content of Cd (0.29-0.38 mg kg-1) and Pb (43.9-56.3 mg kg-1) in the upstream terraces with high altitude (60-90 m). In the double-rice production area, late rice generally produced grains with higher Cd and Pb content than early rice. Soil Cd was positively increased with the content of OM, especially in the downstream plains. When elevation was used for principal component analysis, plains with low elevation were grouped together with high content of total and soluble Cd, OM and Pb in soil, as well as high content of Cd and Pb in late rice. Altitude is one of the key factors affecting Cd content in rice. Although content of Cr (93.7-138.0 mg kg-1) was significantly higher than that of Cd and Pb in soil, content of Cr was lower than that of Cd in rice. These results indicate that paddy fields with elevation of 30-60 m in the downstream plains had high risk to produce late rice with Cd and Pb content exceeding the food safety standard 0.2 mg kg-1, which may be resulted from the driving force of runoff on soil soluble Cd and Pb from terraces to alluvial plains in river valleys.

Sediment is an important carrier of evidence about environmental evolution which receives huge volumes of organic material originated from both anthropogenic and natural sources. In this study, based on sedimentary chronology, the vertical trends of particle size distribution, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and their stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) in the sediment core of the nuclear power sea in southwest Daya Bay were analyzed, and the distribution characteristics and contribution ratios of different sources of organic matter in the sedimentary environment over the past 70 years were resolved using a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR). TOC, TN, δ13C, and δ15N ranged from 0.89 to 1.56%, 0.09 to 0.2%, - 22.3 to - 20.6‰, and 4.38 to 6.51‰, respectively. The organic matter in the sediment is controlled by a mixture of terrestrial input and marine autochthonous, the proportion of organic matter from terrestrial sources increases, while that from marine sources decreases in the sediment core, which persists from 1960 to 2000, yet organic matter from marine sources still dominates. The first signs of increased primary productivity occurred in 1960, and it was primarily due to agricultural activity. After the 1980s, the rapid increase in population around Daya Bay, the construction of nuclear power plants, the rise of aquaculture, and the quick expansion of industrial bases were all major factors that changed the ecological environment of Daya Bay.

Tropical Peatlands accumulate organic matter (OM) and a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) under anoxic conditions. However, it is still ambiguous where in the peat profile these OM and gases are produced. The composition of organic macromolecules that are present in peatland ecosystems are mainly lignin and polysaccharides. As greater concentrations of lignin are found to be strongly related to the high CO2 and CH4 concentrations under anoxic conditions in the surface peat, the need to study the degradation of lignin under anoxic and oxic conditions has emerged. In this study, we found that the \"Wet Chemical Degradation\" approach is the most preferable and qualified to evaluate the lignin degradation in soils accurately. Then, we applied PCA for the molecular fingerprint consisting of 11 major phenolic sub-units produced by alkaline oxidation using cupric oxide (II) along with alkaline hydrolysis of the lignin sample presented in the investigated peat column called \"Sagnes\". The development of various characteristic indicators for lignin degradation state on the basis of the relative distribution of lignin phenols was measured by chromatography after CuO-NaOH oxidation. In order to achieve this aim, the so-called Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been applied for the molecular fingerprint composed of the phenolic sub-units, yielded by CuO-NaOH oxidation. This approach aims to seek the efficiency of the already available proxies and potentially create new ones for the investigation of lignin burial along a peatland. Lignin phenol vegetation index (LPVI) is used for comparison. LPVI showed a higher correlation with PC1 rather than PC2. This confirms the potential of the application of LPVI to decipher vegetation change, even in a dynamic system as the peatland. The population is composed of the depth peat samples, and the variables are the proxies and relative contributions of the 11 yielded phenolic sub-units.

Groundwater biota are crucial for the ecological functioning of subterranean ecosystems. However, while knowledge of the taxonomic diversity of groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) is increasing, functional ecological information is still limited. Here, we investigate seldom empirically tested assumptions around stygofaunal trophic plasticity in coping with oligotrophic habitats. We focus on Barrow Island (Western Australia), an ideal natural laboratory due to the occurrence of natural oil seeps in association with aquifers. The trophic position and food source use of the endemic atyid shrimp Stygiocaris stylifera (Holthuis, 1960) were assessed via δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis (SIA). Background information on the environmental conditions was gathered through hydrochemical data and δ13C SIA combined with 14C data from dissolved inorganic/organic carbon and particulate organic carbon from groundwater samples. Our results indicate carbon enrichment in proximity to the natural oil seepage coupled with changes in trophic positions of S. stylifera from higher consumers/predators to biofilm grazers/decomposers. These results are consistent with an increased involvement of hydrocarbon seeps and associated microbial communities in the carbon flows and confirm potential for the trophic flexibility in stygofauna. Further investigations involving other trophic groups will help elucidate the functioning of the ecosystems at a community level.

The work presented here provides a complex environmental impact of sediments in vicinity to the area of the former Lazy coal mine site in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Czech Republic). The main aim of this work has been to determine the degree of contamination, to describe the organic matter, and to carry out sorption isotherms to see the size and distribution of pores in the monitored sediments that are the crucial parameters to assumption of removal mechanisms of elements carried in mine water. The results show that the greatest enrichment of Mn, Sr, Ba, and was in sediments of the first tens of meters from the mine water discharge sediments. Ba and Sr were precipitated as mineral barite and thus formed a dominant insoluble component in the river sediments, which were further carried by water flow towards the water reservoirs. Predominant amounts of fossil material and smaller quantities of carbonized and recent organic matter were altered by weathering and erosion processes. The coal materials have a relatively beneficial sorption capacity, which increases with the carbon content. The overburden waste should be considered for use in removing heavy metals in-situ.

Proximal sensing offers a novel means for determination of the heavy metal concentration in soil, facilitating low cost and rapid analysis over large areas. In this respect, spectral data and model variables play an important role. Thus far, no attempts have been made to estimate soil heavy metal content using continuum-removal (CR), different preprocessing and statistical methods, and different modeling variables. Considering the adsorption and retention of heavy metals in spectrally active constituents in soil, this study proposes a method for determining low heavy metal concentrations in soil using spectral bands associated with soil organic matter (SOM) and visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR). To rapidly determine the concentration of heavy metals using hyperspectral data, partial least squares regression (PLSR), principal component regression (PCR), and support vector machine regression (SVMR) statistical methods and 16 preprocessing combinations were developed and explored to determine an optimal combination. The results showed that the multiplicative scatter correction and standard normal variate preprocessing methods evaluated with the second derivative spectral transformation method could accurately determine soil Cr and Ni concentrations. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) values of Vis-NIR model combinations with PLSR, PCR, and SVMR were 0.34, 3.42, and 2.15 for Cr, and 0.07, 1.78, and 1.14 for Ni, respectively. Soil Cr and Ni showed strong spectral responses to the Vis-NIR spectral band. The R2 value of the Vis-NIR-based PLSR model was higher than 0.99, and the RMSE value was 0.07-0.34, suggesting higher stability and accuracy. The results were more accurate for Ni than Cr, and PLSR showed the best performance, followed by SVMR and PCR. This perspective has critical implications for guiding quantitative biogeochemical analysis using proximal sensing data.

This paper aims to compare two foraminiferal based biotic indices generally used to evaluate the ecological quality status (EcoQS): the Foram-AMBI and the Foram Stress Index (FSI). For this purpose, we report the distribution and diversity of living foraminiferal assemblages and the environmental variables from a bathymetric transect in the Southern Adriatic Sea. The two indices agree well with the detected organic enrichment but indicate conflicting EcoQS as the Foram-AMBI detects good environmental conditions, whereas the FSI describes a poor-moderate quality. Many species not assigned (including soft-shelled foraminifera) are to blame for the different results. Also, both foraminiferal-based indices neglect the heavy metal increase encountered in the deepest stations. These findings suggest the need for a more in-depth analysis to improve the ecological status evaluation of marine benthic systems, including other descriptors as chemical pollutants in combination with biotic indices sensitive to organic matter enrichment.

Membranes used for water treatment are subject to organic fouling, caused by organic matter in source water. Characterizing organic matter has the potential to improve fouling prediction since the development of an organic fouling layer on the membrane is dependent on the specific characteristics of the organic matter. A field study was performed at a full-scale reverse osmosis water treatment plant that treats secondary wastewater effluent for industrial reuse at a power plant. Samples were collected at various points within the treatment process and were analyzed for turbidity, total organic carbon (TOC), conductivity, and fluorescence Excitation Emission Matrices (EEM). Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was used to generate representative fluorescence measurements of the organic matter. Results indicate that TOC and fluorescence measurements were effective in differentiating between two observed fouling periods at multiple locations within the treatment plant. However, none of the water quality measurements were effective in tracking treatability of organic matter throughout pretreatment. The results of this case study provide important information about the relationship between fluorescence NOM signals and membrane fouling that can be used in future online detection systems. PRACTITIONER POINTS: TOC and fluorescence measurements were effective in differentiating between the high fouling and low fouling periods. Water quality measurements were not effective in tracking changes in organic matter throughout pretreatment. Implementation of online fluorescence monitoring of fouling potential could be used for real-time process control.

The Haihe River Basin, which is one of the most water-scarce and polluted river basins in China, has abnormally high nitrogen levels. In this study, total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAAs) were measured in surface sediment and sediment core samples in the Haihe River Basin to determine if amino acids were potential sources of ammonium, organic nitrogen, and organic carbon. The rivers were found to be in a state of hypoxia and contain abnormally high levels of ammonium and organic nitrogen. Additionally, NH₃-N was the predominant form of inorganic nitrogen in the surface sediments, while organic nitrogen accounted for 92.53% of sedimentary nitrogen. THAAs-C accounted for 14.92% of the total organic carbon, while THAAs-N accounted for more than 49.59% of organic nitrogen and 45.68% of total nitrogen. The major fraction of THAAs were protein amino acids. Three sediment cores of the most heavily polluted rivers also showed high levels of THAAs. Evaluation of the degradation index (DI) of sedimentary organic matter in sediments evaluated based on the THAAs revealed that most positive DI values were found in the downstream portion of the Ziya River Watershed. Additionally, the DI of surface sediment was correlated with THAAs (r² = 0.763, p < 0.001), as was the DI of sediment cores (r² = 0.773, p < 0.001). Overall, amino acids in sediments were found to be an important potential source of ammonium, organic nitrogen, and organic carbon.