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This study was conducted to estimate the level of some heavy metals, mainly Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and cobalt (Co) in the soil and wheat leaves of some wheat fields in Basra and Maysan province; the sampling areas were Al-Qurna, Al-Madinah, Al-Amara, Kumit, Ali Al-Sharqi, and Ali Al-Gharbi. It was performed the analysis using the Flame Atomic Spectrophotometer. The results indicated an increase in the concentrations of above mentioned these heavy metals in all examined areas; the levels in agricultural soils were found to be exceeding the internationally permissible limits according to EU-2000 standards, the highest levels of pollution were observed at Al-Qurna site with significant differences than other sites for both available and total HMs concentrations in soils. Indicating that the arrangement of the metals according to their available concentrations in the analyzed soil was as follows: lead (21.32)˃ cobalt (14.63) ˃ chromium (11.06) ˃ cadmium (1.15) as mg/Kg of soil. Additionally, results showed that the highest lead content in the wheat leaves was examined in the Qurna fields (0.175 mg/kg), followed by Amara with a concentration of 0.136 mg/kg. The lowest concentration of lead was observed in wheat leaves in the Kumit fields (0.007 mg/kg). In terms of Cd concentration in wheat leaves, the highest level was observed in Al-Qurna, with a significant difference from other fields, reaching 0.009 mg/kg. The lowest concentration of this HM was recorded in Ali Al-Gharbi, which reached 0.002 mg/kg. The results of the correlation between the available concentration of heavy metals elements and soil characteristics revealed a significant correlation between the soil pH and lead, cadmium, and chromium available concentrations, whereas no correlation with cobalt and a significant correlation between soil EC and lead was observed and a highly significant negative correlation with the cobalt. Results proved the high levels of pollution in all examined areas in Basra and Maysan provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of an urban ecological environment is a local trend of the current time. It is necessary to solve the problems of city landscaping since, at the present stage, the deterioration of the state of green spaces and a decrease in the area that they occupy are observed. The article presents data on the state of tree vegetation in the largest park in Vologda (Vologda Region, Russia). According to the dendrometric assessment results in Mira Park, the number of drawback types in each tree species at a specific diameter of the trunk was revealed. It is worth noting that the most common types of drawbacks in linden trees in Mira Park are mechanical damage and frost cleft. The investigation was carried out based on the "Inventory Survey Procedure for Urban Plantations." Most often, wood drawbacks in this species occur on the trunk diameters in the range from 40 to 52 cm. Based on the bioecological assessment performed in Mira Park, it can be stated that the highest percentage of good tree health status was found in pine -- 67.3%, the highest percentage of satisfactory tree health status was found in elm -- 35.7% and the highest percentage of poor tree health status was found in oak -- 16.1%. According to the results of the investigation, it can be said that most of the tree plants are in good and satisfactory condition. The highest percentage of poor health status was found in tree species such as oak and poplar. There are such common flaws on tree plantations as mechanical damage, a frozen slot, and a curved trunk. The current situation in the biggest park in the city of Vologda is stable. However, to improve the systematic condition, it is necessary to hold some activities that should preserve and diversify the tree and shrub plantations, as well as help to solve existing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthropogenic impact on ecosystems around developed oil fields has caused environmental issues that affect all habitats of living organisms. The sorption method is considered the most efficient and environmentally acceptable for the removal of petroleum substances from the soil. The advantages of polymeric sorbents are the ability to remove various contaminants to almost any residual concentration, absence of secondary contaminants, and sorption process controllability. The enzymatic activity of soil is an indicator of its ecological state and it can be used to assess the degree of contamination, the intensity of exposure, and efficiency of remediation. The enzymic analysis is performed by studying the activity levels of enzymes involved in different biochemical processes in soil. This can give more reliable information on changes in the state of the soil. In this research, the bioecological diagnostics of oil-contaminated soil was carried out by studying oxidative enzyme (catalase) and hydrolytic enzymes (urease, protease, and invertase) before and after application of sorbents. Based on a comparison of data obtained in study of enzyme and cellulolytic activity of the soil with a change in the total microbial count, morphological and biological properties of soil microorganisms and hematological, biochemical changes in biological models with regard to application rates of sorbent, it was revealed a correlation between the indices of biological activity of the soil, quantitative and specific composition of microorganisms. Chemical reactions occurring in the soil, associated with metabolism, decomposition, and synthesis of organic substances, migration of chemical compounds, mobilization of nutrients, are carried out with the help of enzymes. High sensitivity, accuracy, relative simplicity and easy operation of methods for determining the activity of soil enzymes allowed them to be used in studies in assessing the intensity and direction of biochemical processes that are essential for soil life and fertility. The activity of soil served an integral indicator of the environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing preoccupation about drinking water quality available on earth, a new order of emergent pollutants in rivers and lakes has called the attention of the scientific community, the micropollutants. These compounds come from the irregular or involuntary ejectment of substances such as pesticides, drugs, insecticides and other into the nature. By having a complex structure, the micropollutants have high resistance over the traditional water treatment to human consume. Thus, alternatives methodologies to their degradation have been studied, such as advanced oxidation process (AOPs). The AOPs are based in the formation of hydroxyls radicals (OH-) highly reactive that degrade complexes substances into lesser aggressive products as CO2 and water. Even though many methods to generate hydroxyls radicals from advanced oxidation processes exist, they differentiate on the application and viability. This review shows different methodologies using AOPs and their respective application characteristics, also some works already made in complexes substances treatment, which prove their efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water is one human fundamental rights, however, the simple access the water doesn't guarantee the health of who consumes it, considering that if the water is not inside of the established quality patterns it can bring serious damages so much to the human, as the fauna and the flora of an area. The accomplishment of that study is justified like this for the importance of the water for the human survival, once that resource being contaminated in some way it can bring irreversible damages to the population health. The objective constituted in monitoring the water quality of the groundwater in a division into lots, Residential Shangri-Lá located in the north area of Goiânia, through analyses of environmental control. The hypothesis that orientated of this work constituted in to show that the population uses cisterns as alternative for the obtaining of water, because the population has no access to conventional water supply. For the realization of this study samples of water were collected in the residential and it was made analyses physical-chemistries (dissolved oxygen, turbidity, true color, pH and total phosphorus) and microbiological heterotrophic contamination, escherichia coli and total coliforms). It was verified with the monitoring and analyses that the underground water used Shangri-Lá in the Residential it is not in alarming levels of contamination not even for industrial activities, septic sewages or other factors, the people's health can be committed for the failures of potability of the water consumed by residents of the condominium, demonstrating like this the need of frequent accompaniment and the reevaluation of the measures of hygienic handling in these places, due to the possibilities of contamination of several orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of the water is a term that doesn't only concern the determination of the purity of the same, but the characteristics also wished for your use. The teaching of Environmental Chemistry using the thematic water quality, linked to the experimental activities it can contribute to global formation of high school students giving them conditions for construction, reconstruction and production of knowledge. This way this work had as objective the construction of a mini-course for high school students, in order to these can relate the chemistry studied with some parameters related to the water quality through experimental activities. In the development of this mini-course a potability kit was used (Alfakit) for analysis of the following parameters: alkalinity, chloride, free chlorine, pH, total hardness, turbidity, color, total iron, consumed oxygen, ammonia, total coliforms, faecal coliforms and salmonella (salmonella typhi). The analyses were accomplished as standard methods for the water and wastewater. It was also made a plan and class procedure and a questionnaire given to the participant students. The results obtained starting from the determination of the parameters, already mentioned, they allowed to collaborate for the students to observe subjects related to the consumption, quality and preservation of the water. We believed that with the student participation activates in a situation of real investigation, proposal in the challenge form will be able instigate the students in the search of an answer more consolidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]