Suchergebnisse

AbstractGlobally, waste disposal options such as landfill, incineration, and discharge to water, are not preferred long-term solutions due to their social, environmental, political, and economic implications. However, there is potential for increasing the sustainability of industrial processes by considering land application of industrial wastes. Applying waste to land can have beneficial outcomes including reducing waste sent to landfill and providing alternative nutrient sources for agriculture and other primary production. However, there are also potential hazards, including environmental contamination. This article reviewed the literature on industrial waste applications to soils and assessed the associated hazards and benefits. The review investigated wastes in relation to soil characteristics, dynamics between soils and waste constituents, and possible impacts on plants, animals, and humans. The current body of literature demonstrates the potential for the application of industrial waste into agricultural soils. The main challenge for applying industrial wastes to land is the presence of contaminants in some wastes and managing these to enhance positive effects and reduce negative outcomes to within acceptable limits. Examination of the literature also revealed several gaps in the research and opportunities for further investigation: specifically, a lack of long-term experiments and mass balance assessments, variable waste composition, and negative public opinion.

AbstractTerrestrial microinvertebrates provide important carbon and nutrient cycling roles in soil environments, particularly in Antarctica where larger macroinvertebrates are absent. The environmental preferences and ecology of rotifers and tardigrades in terrestrial environments, including in Antarctica, are not as well understood as their temperate aquatic counterparts. Developing laboratory cultures is critical to provide adequate numbers of individuals for controlled laboratory experimentation. In this study, we explore aspects of optimising laboratory culturing for two terrestrially sourced Antarctic microinvertebrates, a rotifer (Habrotrocha sp.) and a tardigrade (Acutuncus antarcticus). We tested a soil elutriate and a balanced salt solution (BSS) to determine their suitability as culturing media. Substantial population growth of rotifers and tardigrades was observed in both media, with mean rotifer population size increasing from 5 to 448 ± 95 (soil elutriate) and 274 ± 78 (BSS) individuals over 60 days and mean tardigrade population size increasing from 5 to 187 ± 65 (soil elutriate) and 138 ± 37 (BSS) over 160 days. We also tested for optimal dilution of soil elutriate in rotifer cultures, with 20–80% dilutions producing the largest population growth with the least variation in the 40% dilution after 36 days. Culturing methods developed in this study are recommended for use with Antarctica microinvertebrates and may be suitable for similar limno-terrestrial microinvertebrates from other regions.