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ZusammenfassungZwei Untersuchungsgebiete im zentralen Münsterland (Baumberge, NRW, Deutschland) sind aufgrund der geologischen Reliefumkehr-Situation isolierte Grundwasser-Ökosysteme, welche nur von infiltrierendem Niederschlagswasser beeinflusst werden. Als sogenannte „Natur-Lysimeter“ eignen sie sich mit ihren insgesamt bis zu 200 natürlichen Quellaustritten als multidisziplinäre Bezugssysteme für wasserdurchlässige Kluftgrundwasserleitersysteme (aus Kalkmergelsteinen). Die Betrachtung der langjährigen Veränderungen des Stoffaustrags an den Quellen deuten auf zunehmende Verkarstung und raumzeitlich wechselnde Einflüsse durch die land- und forstwirtschaftlich genutzte Geländeoberfläche hin. Stabile Sulfatisotope zeigen, dass die Mehrheit der Quellen durch den Eintrag von Gülle in deren Quell-Einzugsgebiet beeinflusst wird und dass die Pyritoxidation ein wichtiger Prozess im tieferen Grundwasserkörper ist. Die Nitratkonzentrationen sind im Allgemeinen hoch (über 50 mg/l) und stammen aus Gülle und/oder Kunstdünger, wie stabile Nitratisotope zeigen. Der ökologische Zustand des Grundwassersystems wird aufgrund von Crustaceen im Grundwasser als gut bewertet. Der Stoffaustrag jedes noch so kleinen Quellaustritts zeigt mit dem Grundwasserstand sich verändernde Zumischungsanteile von tieferem Grundwasser an.

Climate change and anthropogenic activities cause multiple changes in groundwater systems. Particularly, these processes lead to an increase in groundwater temperature under densely populated urban areas. While physico-chemical effects have been widely studied, the consequences for groundwater ecosystems are scarcely understood. However, a thorough understanding of how this sensitive ecosystem responds to various stressors, such as temperature, in urban environments is critical for a sustainable resource management.Thus, the aim of this study is to provide an assessment of the groundwater fauna in and around the city of Karlsruhe, Germany. We examine the ecological status of an urban aquifer by analysing fauna and physico-chemical parameters in 39 groundwater monitoring wells between 2011 and 2022. For classification, we apply the groundwater ecosystem status index (GESI), in which a threshold of more than 70% of crustaceans and less than 20% of oligochaetes serves as an indication for very good and good ecological conditions. Our study reveals that only 35% of the wells in the residential, commercial and industrial areas, and 50% of wells in a natural forest area fulfil these criteria and can be classified as natural and unstressed groundwater habitats in 2011-2014. In 2022, however, all wells in the forest area show a very good or good ecological status, irrespective of changes in diversity and number of individuals. Repeated measurements in 2022 also show significant changes in groundwater fauna with only slight changes in the physico-chemical parameters over time. A significantly decreasing number of individuals per well together with a decreasing biodiversity both in the forest and urban areas is observed.Overall, no clear spatial patterns in the ecological status are found with respect to land use and other anthropogenic impacts, such as groundwater temperatures. Nevertheless, we observe noticeable differences in the spatial distribution of groundwater species in combination with abiotic groundwater characteristics, such as groundwater temperature and geological settings. Monitoring wells in forest areas are characterized by lower groundwater temperatures, lower nitrate concentrations, and higher dissolved oxygen concentrations, indicating a link between abiotic groundwater characteristics and land use. In addition, these monitoring wells contain larger numbers of amphipods, which are considered as indicators of healthy ecosystems.The results of our study reveal heterogeneous and time-varying conditions in urban and natural groundwater as a habitat, which do not allow a clear assessment of the ecological status with existing assessment approaches. In the future, additional indicators, such as groundwater temperature, local geology, presence of indicator species, delineation of site-specific characteristics and natural reference conditions, should be therefore also considered in ecological groundwater assessments.

Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is comparatively rarely used in Germany, in contrast to neighboring countries such as the Netherlands. This also applies to lower temperature ranges of less than 50 °C, which are mostly technically easier to handle than high-temperature storage. Since there is a lack of demonstration plants nationally, the goal of our BMBF-funded joint project “DemoSpeicher” (Development and Monitoring of Seasonal Heat and Cold Storage for the Demonstration of Aquifer Storage) is to implement and scientifically accompany a near-surface low-temperature aquifer storage system (NT-ATES). Within the scope of the project, the entire construction cycle of an NT-ATES is to be covered, which ranges from design and planning to grid integration and commissioning to thermal energy supply. An urban site in Germanys capital Berlin-Mitte was selected for the implementation of the demonstration plant, which is to be converted to climate-friendly heating and cooling concepts at an existing construction site. In addition to the necessary preliminary site investigations for the technical-economic feasibility, questions regarding legal approval requirements will also be presented.For this reason, a extensive monitoring program is planned, which provides the metrological supervision of the thermal-hydraulic underground processes. Another focus of the project will be possible changes in groundwater chemistry and temperature-sensitive groundwater ecology as a result of thermal loading. Monitoring of energy flows is also planned in order to estimate the thermal energy exchange between the aquifer reservoir and the building's systems engineering. This will include a heating and cooling demand analysis, as well as an assessment of potential synergistic use effects with other technologies that could be used, for example, for thermal loading of aquifer storage. All results will be presented in a coupled thermal-hydraulic modeling of the planned thermal energy storage. The project and the first results of the implementation of an ATES in a densely populated urban area will be presented and discussed in this presentation.

In Germany, 70 % of the drinking water demand is met by groundwater, for which the quality is the product of multiple physical–chemical and biological processes. As healthy groundwater ecosystems help to provide clean drinking water, it is necessary to assess their ecological conditions. This is particularly true for densely populated urban areas, where faunistic groundwater investigations are still scarce. The aim of this study is, therefore, to provide a first assessment of the groundwater fauna in an urban area. Thus, we examine the ecological status of an anthropogenically influenced aquifer by analysing fauna in 39 groundwater monitoring wells in the city of Karlsruhe (Germany). For classification, we apply the groundwater ecosystem status index (GESI), in which a threshold of more than 70 % of crustaceans and less than 20 % of oligochaetes serves as an indication for very good and good ecological conditions. Our study reveals that only 35 % of the wells in the residential, commercial and industrial areas and 50 % of wells in the forested area fulfil these criteria. However, the study did not find clear spatial patterns with respect to land use and other anthropogenic impacts, in particular with respect to groundwater temperature. Nevertheless, there are noticeable differences in the spatial distribution of species in combination with abiotic groundwater characteristics in groundwater of the different areas of the city, which indicate that a more comprehensive assessment is required to evaluate the groundwater ecological status in more detail. In particular, more indicators, such as groundwater temperature, indicator species, delineation of site-specific characteristics and natural reference conditions should be considered.

Global freshwater biodiversity is declining dramatically, and meeting the challenges of this crisis requires bold goals and the mobilisation of substantial resources. While the reasons are varied, investments in both research and conservation of freshwater biodiversity lag far behind those in the terrestrial and marine realms. Inspired by a global consultation, we identify 15 pressing priority needs, grouped into five research areas, in an effort to support informed stewardship of freshwater biodiversity. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater biodiversity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated actions towards its sustainable management and conservation. ispartof: ECOLOGY LETTERS vol:25 issue:2 pages:255-263 ispartof: location:England status: published

Groundwater is one of our most important resources, however groundwater ecosystems are among the most understudied habitats of the planet earth. Studies on groundwater organisms are hampered by the difficult accessibility of species, the lack of morphological differentiation and the limitation for laboratory cultures. One important approach to overcome these shortcomings is to provide sensitive genetic methods to unravel patterns of biodiversity, population structure and gene flow in natural populations. In this study we present five sets of microsatellite markers developed for the isopods Asellus aquaticus and Proasellus slavus, the cyclopoides Paracyclops fimbriatus and Acanthocyclops sensitivus and the harpacticoide Bryocamptus echinatus (Crustacea). Two of these species were subjected to detailed population genetic analyses: We studied 501 specimens of Asellus aquaticus from four different regions in Northern Germany using nine microsatellite markers and 70 specimens of Bryocamptus echinatus using nine microsatellite markers from three different sampling sites in South-Western Germany. Our results show that genetic diversity is high (A. aquaticus: 10 to 20 and B. echinatus: 4 to 18 alleles per locus) among populations of aquatic invertebrates, populations are highly differentiated (F

In this study, the temporal variability of the hydrological exchange between stream water (SW) and groundwater (GW), colmation, hyporheic invertebrate fauna, organic matter (OM) and physicochemical parameters were examined for the period of one year. Sampling and measuring were conducted monthly from May 2019 to April 2020 at the Guldenbach river, a second order stream in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. All hyporheic samples were extracted from a depth of 15 cm below stream bottom. Colmation was measured quantitatively in the same depth.Following the biotic and abiotic patterns found, three temporal stages of different hydrological conditions can be described:1) Strong floods, in February and March 2020 caused hydromorphological alterations of the river bed, leading to a decolmation of the hyporheic zone, a wash out of OM and hyporheic fauna. Due to high GW tables the vertical hydrological gradient (VHG) was positive indicating upwelling GW. 2) In the months of Mai to August 2019 and April 2020, precipitation and stream discharge were lowest. Predominantly exfiltrating conditions were observed, while the amount of fine sediments (clay and silt) increased as well as colmation. High densities of hyporheic fauna, dominated by fine sediment dwelling taxa, were assessed. 3) From September 2019 to January 2020 stream discharge was low. The VHG became increasingly negative, indicating downwelling SW. In accordance, colmation increased continuously, while densities of hyporheic invertebrates decreased and sediment dwellers became more dominant. Precipitation, discharge events and GW table were found to be the driving factors for the annual dynamics of the hydrological exchange as well as for colmation, fauna and hydrochemistry. Electric conductivity seems a suitable indicator for the origin of water with high values in months of low precipitation and lower values after extensive precipitation events, respectively. Hyporheic fauna displayed a significant seasonality and the community structure was correlated with colmation and changes in the VHG.This pronounced seasonality seems to be typical of many streams and should be considered for the monitoring of sediments and hyporheic habitats: Seasons with lower stream discharge are probably the most critical periods for sediment conditions.We assume that the basic patterns of the dynamics observed basically reflect the natural situation in the catchment. However, the strength of surface run-off and the amount of fine sediments are mainly the result of anthropogenic activities and land use in the catchment.These findings underline the significance of dynamical processes for the assessment and implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

Sketchable Interaction (SI) describes a concept and environment where end-users create regions by drawing on a canvas. These regions apply effects to each other on collision. Attributes of regions, e.g. position, can be linked to each other so that they change together once modified, e.g. moved on the canvas. Within Sketchable Interaction, all entities - mouse pointer, desktop icons, or windows - are implemented as interactive regions. End-users customize this environment by drawing new regions that apply certain actions e.g. tagging files, deleting other regions or automating processes.

Summary Although smoking is responsible for a huge variety of diseases which result in ~16% of the fatalities in the United States and Europe respectively, cigarettes are still being sold far and wide. Mentholated cigarettes were introduced in 1920, since then to today social recognition and the use of flavored tobacco products is still increasing especially within young people. The EU adopted as its measure to reduce tobacco use among adolescents the prohibition of tobacco products with a characteristic flavor by means of the directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and the Council. For this reason, we developed a method for the simultaneous determination of 14 tobacco flavors like menthol, menthol-like and other compounds via gas-chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) and analyzed 21 different tobacco products (mentholated and non-mentholated cigarettes, as well as electrically heated tobacco products (EHTPs)) of the German market regarding their flavoring compound patterns. The highest amounts of flavoring compounds were determined in menthol cigarettes (~10,000 μg/stick) whereas non-mentholated cigarettes and EHTPs featured only ~10 μg/stick. In total, seven flavoring compounds like menthol, L-menthone, L-linalool, isopulegol, geraniol, camphor and WS-3 (cooling agent) were available within the samples. Mentholated cigarettes could be clearly identified since > 99% of the measured flavoring compounds was represented by menthol. Although flavoring compounds in non-mentholated cigarettes and EHTPs were quite comparable, they could be differentiated due to different flavoring compound patterns. Brandspecific flavoring compound patterns were not recognized.

Das Grundwasser ist der groste und alteste kontinentale Lebensraum. Trotzdem wird in der europaischen und deutschen Rechtspraxis Grundwasser bisher als Ressource und nicht als Lebensraum behandelt. Allerdings kann der Lebensraumbezug uber die Definition des Grundwassers als Gewasser im deutschen Wasserhaushaltsgesetz bzw. als „aquatisches Okoysystem“ in der Europaischen Grundwasserrichtlinie (EG-GWRL) hergestellt werden. Die Umsetzung des Grundwasserschutzes sollte sich am okosystemaren Ansatz fur Oberflachengewasser in der Europaischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (EG-WRRL) und den Zielen der nationalen Biodiversitatsstrategie orientieren. Fur das Grundwasser wird die Einfuhrung der Begriffe „guter okologischer Zustand“ und „Grundwasserokosysteme“ in das Umweltrecht vorgeschlagen. Grundwasserlebensraume und -arten sollten durch die Eingriffsregelung berucksichtigt und in die FFH-Richtlinie, in das Bundesnaturschutzgesetz und die Bundesartenschutzverordnung aufgenommen werden. Fachlich und rechtlich ist die Diskriminierung der Grundwasserokosysteme gegenuber Oberflachengewassern nicht zu begrunden. Die Autoren argumentieren fur die „Gleichberechtigung“ von Oberflachen- und Grundwasser und machen Vorschlage fur die Anpassung des bestehenden Rechts im Sinne eines okologisch begrundeten Grundwasserschutzes.

Consumers of combustible cigarettes are exposed to many different toxicologically relevant substances associated with negative health effects. Newly developed “heat not burn” (HNB) devices are able to contain lower levels of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHCs) in their emissions compared to tobacco cigarettes. However, to develop toxicological risk assessment strategies, further independent and standardized investigations addressing HPHC reduction need to be done. Therefore, we generated emissions of a commercially available HNB product following the Health Canada Intense smoking regimen and analyzed total particulate matter (TPM), nicotine, water, aldehydes, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are major contributors to health risk. We show that nicotine yield is comparable to typical combustible cigarettes, and observe substantially reduced levels of aldehydes (approximately 80–95%) and VOCs (approximately 97–99%). Emissions of TPM and nicotine were found to be inconsistent during the smoking procedure. Our study confirms that levels of major carcinogens are markedly reduced in the emissions of the analyzed HNB product in relation to the conventional tobacco cigarettes and that monitoring these emissions using standardized machine smoking procedures generates reliable and reproducible data which provide a useful basis to assess exposure and human health risks. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00204-018-2215-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The popularity and the high nicotine content of the American pod e-cigarette JUUL have raised many concerns. To comply with European law, the nicotine concentration in the liquids of the European version, which has been recently released on the market, is limited to below 20 mg/mL. This limit can possibly be circumvented by technological adjustments that increase vaporization and consequently, elevate nicotine delivery. In this study, we compare vapor generation and nicotine delivery of the initial European version, a modified European version, and the original American high-nicotine variant using a machine vaping set-up. Additionally, benzoic acid and carbonyl compounds are quantified in the aerosol. Further, concentrations of nicotine, benzoic acid, propylene glycol, and glycerol, along with the density and pH value of JUUL e-liquids have been assessed. Whereas the initial European version did not compensate for the low nicotine content in the liquid, we provide evidence for an increased vaporization by the modified European version. As a consequence, nicotine delivery per puff approximates the American original. Notably, this is not associated with an increased generation of carbonyl compounds. Our data suggest a similar addictiveness of the enhanced European version and the original American product. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00204-020-02716-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We discuss a first version of a extensible study design for a generic image-sorting task. It allows for comparing qualitative and quantitative properties of different interaction styles (e.g., direct manipulation, CLI, tangible interaction), input modalities (e.g., mouse vs. touch screen), output modalities, and UI implementations. Therefore, the study design may be of use for designing reproducible and replicable studies. Study participants are asked to sort a set of 27 photos into five categories where each of the photos depict one distinct topic belonging to only one of the categories. We conducted a first pilot study using this design, comparing a desktop GUI, an interactive tabletop, and physical photos. Task completion time was significantly lower when sorting physical photos than in the other two conditions. The study results may serve as a baseline and show limitations of the preliminary design.

Functioning, healthy groundwater ecosystems are essential for high quality drinking water, and they minimize costs of processing groundwater for drinking purposes. GroundCare is a multidisciplinary project, which is led by the Helmholz Institute in Munich, Germany and funded by the BMBF (German federal Ministry of education and Research). The aim is to parametrize and to quantify groundwater ecosystem services as a basis for sustainable water management and water pollution control by biomonitoring. In other words: the development of biological assessment techniques. Multiple parameters are evaluated (physico-chemical parameters, microbial and fauna community composition, ecotoxicological effects). Invertebrate fauna is investigated at five sites all across Germany. During the project, molecular identification through DNA Barcoding and Metabarcoding of groundwater invertebrates is being implemented and compared to traditional morphological bio-assessment. The subterranean fauna can be used as bio-indicators to validate groundwater conditions, in particular surface water intrusion. For the water suppliers, surface water intrusion means an increased risk of contamination. The discrimination of epigean from stygobiotic fauna is the simple and basic idea of this approach. A very specific kind of water treatment is used by the water works in Würzburg (Bavaria), one of the fife study sites, which is located directly along the Main river bank. Uncommonly, they use part time river bank filtration if land-side groundwater levels are low. Another possibility is the extraction of Main River water by near-bank wells, followed by intensive water treatment and then the water is infiltrated again. The question asked was, whether the fauna indicates this specific situation or not. In the area, three types of subsurface waters can be distinguished, which are land-side groundwater, riverbank water and artificially infiltrated Main river water. Representative bores were sampled four times over one year for invertebrates. First results clearly show that the faunal patterns reflect these different hydrological situations.

Quality is an essential attribute of agricultural products and production processes. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) quality is primarily classified according to protein concentration and sub-classified depending on additional parameters, such as moisture content, sedimentation value and Hagberg falling number (HFN). Real-time sensing of grain protein concentration by means of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is an established method of assessing cereal grain quality during harvest. The objective of this study was to obtain NIRS calibration models for determining α-amylase activity of wheat and to identify changes of wheat quality. Performance characteristics were obtained during field trials in 2011 and 2012. HFN predictions correlated with reference measurements (R2 = 0.70). The standard deviation of differences between the NIR-predicted and reference values denoted as standard error of prediction was 37 s. Processed data were classified using principal component analysis, the prediction range of HFN and Hotelling T2-statistics. The average difference of NIR HFN estimation and HFN laboratory analysis was 34 s. The results obtained indicated that the use of near-infrared reflectance inline spectroscopy on combine harvesters can provide information for grain growers to optimize grain processing and marketing.

Oberflachennahes Grundwasser unterliegt unterschiedlich starken Einflussen durch Oberflachengewasser. Dies konnen z. B. Fliesgewasser oder naturliche und kunstliche Seen wie etwa Baggerseen sein. Die Starke dieser Einflusse kann haufig mittels hydrologischer oder hydrochemischer Methoden aufgezeigt werden. Bislang ist unklar, ob im Bereich von Baggerseen – an denen die Grundwasseroberflache ungeschutzt frei liegt – eine Beeinflussung des Grundwassers auch anhand der Zusammensetzung der Lebensgemeinschaften sowie ihrer Besiedlungsdichten im Untergrund nachgewiesen werden kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden im Jahr 2009 am Burkheimer Baggersee, zwischen Kaiserstuhl und Rhein gelegen, insgesamt 14 Grundwassermessstellen drei- bis viermal hydrochemisch und faunistisch untersucht. Mithilfe der Grundwasserfauna konnten hydrogeologische Muster im Umfeld des Baggersees nachgewiesen werden. Uber vier verschiedenartige faunistische Gruppen spiegelt sich die komplexe Hydrogeologie im Untersuchungsgebiet wider. Allerdings uberlagern die ortlichen hydrologischen Austauschprozesse mogliche Effekte des Baggersees auf das Grundwasser im Seeabstrombereich. Die faunistischen Gruppen umfassen „Gestresste Messstellen“ mit einer sehr verarmten Fauna, „Alluviale Messstellen“ mit einer artenreichen Oberflachenwassereinfluss anzeigenden Fauna, „Aufsteigendes Grundwasser“ mit einer individuen- und artenreichen Grundwasserfauna und „Rhein“, eine einzelne in Rheinnahe gelegene Messstelle, mit einer sehr stabilen, arten- und individuenarmen Grundwasserfauna. Ahnliche Einteilungen wurden auch in anderen Studien gefunden. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass hydrologische Austauschprozesse anhand der Fauna indiziert werden konnen. Ein direkter Nachweis von Baggerseeeffekten auf die Grundwasserfauna konnte in diesem Fall nicht erbracht werden.

Sampling efficiency is directly linked to (faunistic) stability issues of any sampled site. It is more probable to sample a high proportion of the species occurring at a certain site, if communities remain constant in species composition with time. For this study 64 groundwater monitoring wells in Southwestern Germany were sampled six times to determine sampling efficiency. False-Negative (FN) rates and SIMPER values, two independent models expressing Faunistic values of the sampled bores, were calculated and three groups of faunistic stability could be identified based on calculated SIMPER-values. FN-rates as well as SIMPER values proved to be a valuable approach for the estimation of faunistic stability/instability, as these methods showed a highly negative correlation with each other. To collect 95% of species a number of 1.7–16.4 samples was calculated to be necessary depending on faunistic stability of the sampled habitat. On the six sampling occasions the sites harbouring a stable groundwater meiofauna resulted in 98.2% of occurring species, whereas the percentage decreased over intermediate sites (94.9%) and stressed sites (79.5%). A consequence of the data presented may be to view surveys using only two samples as campaign with orienting character, with further studies of stability issues of groundwater communities which would provide efficient and effective sampling for various kinds of sites.

Many subsurface waters are considered groundwater but are influenced in shallow depths by hyporheic, parafluvial and/or soil interception water to such a degree that groundwater fauna (stygofauna) communities may be significantly altered. Recharge, even if spatially and temporally distinct, delivers input of dissolved oxygen, organic matter (OM), and nutrients that caters sustainably for ubiquists such as stygophiles and hyporheic fauna, but renders the life of uncompetitive stygobites difficult or impossible. The impact of recharge at shallow groundwater thus needs to be taken into account when determining groundwater fauna reference communities and when evaluating monitoring studies. One of the main characteristics of groundwater is low OM concentration. In contrast, high OM concentrations are typical of hyporheic or parafluvial waters, which are enriched by OM from the river, the riparian soils and from interflow, and which contribute significantly to river OM balance. Consequently, for ecological studies on subsurface waters, both the origin of the water and OM, and the intensity of surface water interactions should be considered. Here, we discuss how groundwater spatial and temporal heterogeneity translates into faunal distribution patterns. In terms of the origin of water and OM, and from an ecological point of view, we need to distinguish between (i) shallow groundwater characterized by infiltrating precipitation and soil recharge, (ii) shallow groundwater interacting with surface water bodies such as continuously flowing and ephemeral streams and rivers, and (iii) “old” groundwater which has no recent connections to the surface and is thus largely secluded from input of nutrients and carbon. Water in the first two groups is characterized by high amounts of OM of varying quality, while water in the third group is characterized by low amounts of low quality OM. Consequently, stygophiles dominate in groups 1 and 2, with hyporheic fauna taking up a considerable proportion in group 2, while stygobites only dominate in group 3. Thus, for studies aiming to assess impacts on groundwater, only sampling sites of the third group should be used for reference sites as these are the most likely sites to have little surface impact and a stygofauna representative of the deeper aquifer.

In recent years the number of waterpipe smokers has increased substantially worldwide. Here we report on the concentrations of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in waterpipe smoke and the analysis of selected biomarkers indicative for the body burden in waterpipe users. We further identify high amounts of unburned humectants (glycerol and propylene glycol) in the waterpipe smoke as main part of the so-called "tar" fraction. These results give cause for serious concern. For standardization we applied a machine smoking protocol. Smoke was collected on glass fiber filters and analyzed for nicotine, water, humectants, TSNAs, and PAHs. In addition, we determined carbon monoxide and found high amounts in the smoke being causative for high levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in the blood of smokers. In comparison to the reference cigarette 3R4F, the nicotine contents were 10-times higher, but TSNA levels were found lower in waterpipe smoke. This finding explained the low levels of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol detected in the urine of waterpipe smokers. Finally, the levels of benzo[a]pyrene were three times higher in waterpipe smoke compared to the reference cigarette. Altogether, the data presented in this study point to the health hazards associated with the consumption of waterpipes.

Les additifs utilises dans la fabrication des produits a base de tabac font actuellement l'objet de discussions publiques relatives a l'augmentation eventuelle des risques pour la sante des consommateurs lies a certains additifs. D'autre part, on soupconne certains additifs d'augmenter la dependance aux tabacs manufactures. En 2006, le Ministere federal allemand de l'alimentation, de l'agriculture et de la protection des consommateurs (Bundesministerium fur Ernahrung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, BMELV) a commande un projet de recherche visant a fournir un soutien pour l'evaluation des additifs et de leur influence sur la composition et les proprietes de la fumee principale de cigarettes. Ce document presente les resultats de cette etude. Differentes quantites de glycerine, de poudre de cacao et de saccharose ont ete ajoutees au tabac de deux sortes de cigarettes tests avec filtres ventilees King size avec des niveaux de goudron de 6mg et 10mg par cigarette. Le tabac des cigarettes tests etait constitue d'un melange de tabacs Virginia, Burley et Oriental disponibles dans le commerce. La machine a fumer a ete utilisee conformement au regime de fumage ISO en vigueur. Differents composants de la fumee, soupconnes d'etre nuisibles pour la sante, ont ete determines dans la fumee principale. Des niveaux accrus de saccharose ont ete mis en correlation avec une augmentation de la quantite de formaldehyde, mais pas d'acetaldehyde, dans la fumee principale des cigarettes de test. Dans les cigarettes ayant des niveaux differents de glycerine ajoute aucun changement substantiel dans la composition de la fumee n'a ete observe. L'ajout de poudre de cacao a entraine une diminution des N-nitrosamines specifiques au tabac dans la fumee principale. Les resultats obtenus lors cette etude peuvent servir de preuve pour l'evaluation toxicologique visant a ameliorer ou a interdire certains additifs lors de la fabrication de produits a base de tabac.

Environmental policy and in particular the European water legislation, in the framework of the EU Groundwater Directive, has started to consider groundwater not only as a resource but as a living ecosystem. A precondition for comprehensive groundwater protection is thus the assessment of the biological and ecological state. The assessment of ecosystems requires consideration of ecological criteria, which so far are not available for groundwater systems. In the framework of a national project, the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) supports a consortium of scientists and stakeholders from water boards and regional environmental authorities to develop a first concept for an ecological assessment scheme for groundwater ecosystems. The attempts towards an integrative concept include the following steps: (i) selection of appropriate biological and ecological parameters, (ii) typology of groundwater ecosystems, (iii) derivation of a reference status (Leitbild) and natural background values for biological variables, (iv) identification of potential bioindicators and definition of threshold values, and (v) development of an assessment model. These proposed steps are discussed on the basis of a data set from two groundwater landscapes in Southern Germany. Investigations considered three different spatial units, i.e. the habitat unit at the local scale, and the aquifer type unit as well as the landscape unit at the regional scale. Fauna as well as bacterial communities could provide valuable ecological information on the ecosystems status. The paper reviews ‘state of the art’ knowledge and evaluates the near future perspectives for the development and implementation of groundwater ecosystems assessment programmes.

Summary 1. Classification of groundwater habitats and communities at different spatial scales is emphasised as a basic requirement for the implementation of groundwater ecology into legislation. Such a classification would also facilitate prediction of groundwater biodiversity, abundance and community structure, but is not currently available. 2. To identify the factors influencing the distribution of stygofauna at the landscape scale, the groundwater fauna of Baden–Wurttemberg in South-western Germany was sampled from November 2001 to December 2002. A total of 304 boreholes were sampled twice with a phreatic net. Boreholes were originally selected to represent the full range of geographic, geological and hydrographic variation within the sampling area. However, bores in porous aquifers were overrepresented because the monitoring networks that could be used in this study were originally designed for hydrogeological purposes. 3. In total, 105 taxa (including 60 stygobionts) were found. Most of the stygobionts were rare, with 52% of them occurring in less than 1% of the boreholes. Stygobiotic taxonomic richness in a region or so-called geological unit was directly correlated with the number of bores sampled. Species richness accumulation curves indicated that the real taxonomic richness of Baden–Wurttemberg is considerably higher than the recorded number of 60 stygobiotic taxa. This finding is in accordance with studies from other regions and suggests that groundwater biodiversity generally is strongly underestimated, probably resulting mainly from huge heterogeneity of groundwater systems and reliance on broad-scale hydrological monitoring networks. 4. To identify regional distribution patterns, the sampling area was separated into regional geological units, each comprising all aquifers of identical geology in a particular region (size: hundred to several thousand square kilometres). Distribution patterns of the aquatic subterranean fauna (including non-stygobionts) were found to be influenced to some degree by the geographical position of the bores, and to a large extent by hydrogeological aquifer type rather than by affiliation of aquifers to a given geological unit. Four types of aquifers could be distinguished: Compact aquifers (aquitards) with reduced pore spaces, and porous, fractured and karstic aquifers. 5. Communities of porous and karstic aquifers were found to be more similar to each other than the communities of compact and fractured aquifers. Therefore, for the purpose of recording groundwater biodiversity and defining undisturbed groundwater habitats, we suggest focusing more strongly than in the past on aquifer hydraulic conductivity and, in particular, on compact and fractured aquifers.

Hydrological interactions between surface water and groundwater (GW) can be described using hydrochemical and biological methods. Surface water–groundwater interactions and their effects on groundwater invertebrate communities were studied in the Nakdong River floodplain in South Korea. Furthermore, the GW-Fauna-Index, a promising new index for assessing the strength of surface-water influence on groundwater, was tested. The influence of surface water on groundwater decreased with increasing depth and distance from the river. While hydrochemistry prevailingly reflected the origin of the waters in the study area (i.e. whether alluvial or from adjacent rock), faunal communities seemed to display an affinity to surface-water intrusion. Fauna reacted quickly to changes in hydrology, and temporal changes in faunal community structure were significantly linked to the hydrological situation in the floodplain. The metazoan faunal community and the GW-Fauna-Index allow a distinction between surface and subsurface waters with varying degrees of exchange. The results indicate that hydrological conditions are reflected by faunal assemblages on a high spatiotemporal resolution, and that surface-water intrusion can be estimated using the GW-Fauna-Index.

Many governments now require the ecological condition of groundwater ecosystems to be considered when making policy decisions. However, groundwater habitats and communities occur at different spatial scales to those at which aquifers are managed, making their inclusion in policy decisions difficult. A system of classifying groundwater ecosystems is needed to aid this, yet such a typology is currently not available. Here, a hierarchical model for a typology of groundwater habitats is suggested, which considers three spatial scales: macro, meso, and local. On a macroscale, communities are influenced by biogeographic characteristics; at a mesoscale they are influenced by the hydrogeological type of the aquifer; and on local scale by the hydrological exchange with surface water and hence the oxygen and nutrient supply. Consequently, groundwater habitats are assumed to be defined by biogeographic particularities, the hydrogeological aquifer type and by localized hydrological exchange with surface water. By adopting a ‘groundwater habitat typology’, groundwater biologists may be able to work with hydrogeologists to assist in the sustainable management of groundwater by predicting groundwater biodiversity and the distribution of important or endangered species. The typology proposed here is a first step towards achieving this goal.

Unbaited phreatic traps are a promising new method for sampling subterranean limnofauna. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether such trap systems are suitable to gather representative samples of the physico-chemical parameters and the invertebrate fauna of the aquifer. Fifteen traps, installed in five groundwater bores, and four traps located in the hyporheic zone, were sampled twice monthly over a 1 year period (June 2003–June 2004). Water samples were removed in three separated fractions (hose, trap and aquifer water), analysed for physico-chemical and faunal characteristics and compared with one another. The study was carried out in the Nakdong River floodplain, Korea. Physico-chemical characteristics of trap and aquifer were similar, but differed greatly from the hose samples. Abundances of fauna inside the traps were higher than in the aquifer, whereas there were no differences in taxonomic composition of the trap and aquifer samples. Biases of abundances suspected due to the use of traps were negligible in the groundwater, though it is recommended that comparisons between groundwater and hyporheic abundances ascertained by traps be handled cautiously.

The exchange of water with groundwater is a key determinant of water quality and faunal assemblage. Water exchange not only occurs with running waters, but also through percolation, interception (soil, porous alluvium), and evaporation. The aim of this study was to identify how different types of exchange were related to the groundwater faunal assemblage of an alluvial aquifer. Hydrological exchange is largely governed by pore space and thus ultimately by geological formation. In the Marbling Brook catchment of Western Australia the different geological formations did not eventuate in hydrochemically distinct groundwater zones. The cluster analysis of faunal assemblages revealed five groups within the faunal samples which did not reflect spatial patterns such as geological, chemical or topographic features. Discriminant analysis showed that these five groups were best characterized by a range of abiotic features including dissolved oxygen, land-use, and temperature. These variables signal different types and intensities of exchange with the surface.

Sampling stygofauna is both time consuming and labour intensive. The challenge is to get samples from as many bores as possible within a limited time. The essential assumption for this is that faunal communities inside bores are comparable and representative of the communities outside. To compare relative abundance, taxonomic richness and community composition of the fauna inside groundwater bores to the fauna of the surrounding aquifer, 20 monitoring bores in Palatinate, southwestern Germany, were sampled twice in 1 month. Initially, a sample of 4 l of water was collected from the bottom of each bore. A further sample of 51 l was collected from the groundwater surrounding the bore using a pneumatic piston pump with double packer sampler. Water chemistry inside and outside the bore was similar, but the relative amounts of sediments within the bores were higher compared to those from outside. Relative abundances of fauna inside the bores were higher than in the aquifer, but taxonomic composition was similar with the exception of the proportions of nematodes and amphipods, which were higher inside. As a result, the proportions of cyclopoids were lower inside. Higher nematode proportions are explained partially by the nearly complete extraction of bore sediment. A “habitat heterogeneity effect” states that in heterogeneous aquifers with few suitable habitats, faunal distribution is supposed to be extremely patchy. Thus, detritus accumulates in bores, attracting animals and providing “habitat islands” in the groundwater. This effect could explain the higher amphipode proportions inside the bores, which were generally more frequently populated than the surrounding groundwater. As a consequence, fauna is thought to be nearly absent from groundwater, where suitable habitats are lacking. In those sparsely populated aquifers, samples representative of the aquifer taxonomic richness and composition can only be collected by removing large volumes of water, or by sampling the bottom of bores. These findings also suggest that the use of unbaited colonisation chambers or traps in the groundwater, which are comparable with bores, would seem to be a promising approach.

Im Rahmen eines Pilotprogramms wurden in Rheinland-Pfalz funf Standorte mit Altlasten unterschiedlicher Herkunft auf das Auftreten und die Verteilung von Grundwassermeiofauna untersucht. Ziel dieser Vorstudie war es, erste Daten zur Verteilung der Grundwassermeiofauna in Altlaststandorten zu sammeln. Die Ergebnisse eines Standortes, hier bezeichnet als militarische Altlastflache C, werden im Detail vorgestellt. Trotz des vorlaufigen Charakters der Ergebnisse konnten fur einzelne Organismengruppen deutliche Verteilungsmuster gefunden werden. Wahrend die Crustacea (Krebstiere) mit LCKW (leichtfluchtige chlorierte Kohlenwasserstoffe) belastete Bereiche mieden, traten v. a. Nematoda und Oligochaeta flachendeckend und teilweise in hohen Abundanzen in allen untersuchten Bereichen auf. Diese beobachteten Verteilungen scheinen nicht nur arten- oder taxaabhangig zu sein, sondern moglicherweise auch abhangig von der Art des Schadstoffs. Langfristig ist anzustreben, die Grundwassermeiofauna auf ihre Eignung als Bioindikator zu testen. Bisher praktizierten physikochemischen Analysemethoden soll damit ein kostengunstiges, faunistisch begrundetes Monitoringsystem beigestellt werden, wie es sich in Oberflachengewassern seit Jahrzehnten bewahrt hat.

Groundwater bores act as traps. Net samplers are regularly used for sampling this type of trap for fauna. To enable direct comparisons of faunal communities in groundwater bores and stream sediments, stream sediment tubes were built similar to groundwater bores and were sampled with net samplers for fauna. These stream sediment tubes consisted of a tube anchored in the stream sediment, also called interstitial space. To test the efficacy of this trap method in stream sediments, it was compared to another type of trap, Hahn's trap. Faunal communities sampled by a net in the stream sediment tubes did not differ hugely from fauna in Hahn's trap samples. Physical and chemical factors of sampled water in both the stream sediment tubes, the surrounding interstitial sediments and the second type of traps, Hahn's traps, showed that water in both the tubes and Hahn's traps was closely related to interstitial water. The net sampler is inexpensive and easy to handle. It is suggested that sampling stream tubes with nets may be an appropriate method for long-term monitoring studies. Entnahme von Bachsediment- und Grundwasserfauna mit demselben Netzsammler Grundwasserpegelrohre wirken als Fallen. Netzsammler werden regelmasig zur Entnahme von Fauna aus dieser Art Falle verwendet. Um den direkten Vergleich von Grundwasserfauna und Bachsedimentfauna zu ermoglichen, wurde die Netzsammler-Methode fur die Entnahme von Bachsedimentfauna modifiziert. Diese Bachsedimentrohre war genauso aufgebaut wie Grundwasserpegelrohre und bestand aus einem Rohr, das im Bachsediment, auch Interstitial genannt, verankert war. Um die Wirksamkeit dieser Bachsedimentrohren zu testen, wurden sie mit einer anderen Art Fallen (Falle nach Hahn) verglichen. Die Faunengemeinschaften aus Netzsammlerproben der Bachsedimentrohren waren von den Gemeinschaften in den Fallen nach Hahn nicht deutlich zu unterscheiden. Der Vergleich physikalischer und chemischer Faktoren im Wasser der Bachsedimentrohren, des zweiten Fallentypes nach Hahn und des umgebenden Sedimentes zeigte, dass das Wasser in beiden Typen von Fallen dem Interstitialwasser ahnlich war. Der Netzsammler ist preiswert und einfach in der Handhabung. Netzsammler in Verbindung mit Bachsedimentrohren konnen eine angemessene Methode fur Langzeitmonitoring sein.