Ana Passuello

Ecosystem services in Mediterranean river basin: Climate change impact on water provisioning and erosion control

The Mediterranean basin is considered one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to climate change and such changes impact the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services to human society. The predicted future scenarios for this region present an increased frequency of floods and extended droughts, especially at the Iberian Peninsula. This paper evaluates the impacts of climate change on the water provisioning and erosion control services in the densely populated Mediterranean Llobregat river basin of. The assessment of ecosystem services and their mapping at the basin scale identify the current pressures on the river basin including the source area in the Pyrenees Mountains. Drinking water provisioning is expected to decrease between 3 and 49%, while total hydropower production will decrease between 5 and 43%. Erosion control will be reduced by up to 23%, indicating that costs for dredging the reservoirs as well as for treating drinking water will also increase. Based on these data, the concept for an appropriate quantification and related spatial visualization of ecosystem service is elaborated and discussed.

POP accumulation in the food chain: Integrated risk model for sewage sludge application in agricultural soils

Because of its benefits to soil and crops, sewage sludge application on agricultural soils is a managing practice of increasing use. However, this practice may lead to contamination of the food chain, especially by persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The main objective of this study was to integrate probabilistic multimedia models to predict the accumulation of POPs in the food chain and the related risks to humans, as a consequence of sludge application on soil. For that, four models were integrated: (i) soil fate, (ii) plant, (iii) food chain and (iv) exposure and risk. These models were applied for two scenarios (occupational and non-occupationally exposed populations) in a time span of 30 years. The variability of the inputs and outputs was also considered. The model was applied to a case-study of 4 POPs (2,3,7,8TCDD, PCB 180, benzo(a)pyrene, and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene) in an agricultural soil located in Catalonia (NE of Spain). Some differences in cancer risk due to POP exposure were appreciated between both evaluated scenarios. However, all values were below the threshold levels. With the exception of 2,3,7,8TCDD, all the contaminants reached steady state on soil in the first five years of the evaluation. Concentration levels in food (vegetables, meat and milk) were linearly correlated to those in soils. Air inhalation was noted to be an occupational exposure route of minor importance. Sensitivity analysis for 2,3,7,8TCDD showed that exposure parameters were responsible for most of the variability in the results.

Sensitivity analysis of ecosystem service valuation in a Mediterranean watershed

The services of natural ecosystems are clearly very important to our societies. In the last years, efforts to conserve and value ecosystem services have been fomented. By way of illustration, the Natural Capital Project integrates ecosystem services into everyday decision making around the world. This project has developed InVEST (a system for Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs). The InVEST model is a spatially integrated modelling tool that allows us to predict changes in ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation and commodity production levels. Here, InVEST model is applied to a stakeholder-defined scenario of land-use/land-cover change in a Mediterranean region basin (the Llobregat basin, Catalonia, Spain). Of all InVEST modules and sub-modules, only the behaviour of the water provisioning one is investigated in this article. The main novel aspect of this work is the sensitivity analysis (SA) carried out to the InVEST model in order to determine the variability of the model response when the values of three of its main coefficients: Z (seasonal precipitation distribution), prec (annual precipitation) and eto (annual evapotranspiration), change. The SA technique used here is a One-At-a-Time (OAT) screening method known as Morris method, applied over each one of the one hundred and fifty four sub-watersheds in which the Llobregat River basin is divided. As a result, this method provides three sensitivity indices for each one of the sub-watersheds under consideration, which are mapped to study how they are spatially distributed. From their analysis, the study shows that, in the case under consideration and between the limits considered for each factor, the effect of the Z coefficient on the model response is negligible, while the other two need to be accurately determined in order to obtain precise output variables. The results of this study will be applicable to the others watersheds assessed in the Consolider Scarce Project.

Water allocation assessment in low flow river under data scarce conditions: A study of hydrological simulation in Mediterranean basin

River Francolí is a small river in Catalonia (northeastern Spain) with an average annual low flow (~2 m(3)/s). The purpose of the River Francolí watershed assessments is to support and inform region-wide planning efforts from the perspective of water protection, climate change and water allocation. In this study, a hydrological model of the Francolí River watershed was developed for use as a tool for watershed planning, water resource assessment, and ultimately, water allocation purposes using hydrological data from 2002 to 2006 inclusive. The modeling package selected for this application is DHIs MIKE BASIN. This model is a strategic scale water resource management simulation model, which includes modeling of both land surface and subsurface hydrological processes. Topographic, land use, hydrological, rainfall, and meteorological data were used to develop the model segmentation and input. Due to the unavailability of required catchment runoff data, the NAM rainfall-runoff model was used to calculate runoff of all the sub-watersheds. The results reveal a potential pressure on the availability of groundwater and surface water in the lower part of River Francolí as was expected by the IPCC for Mediterranean river basins. The study also revealed that due to the complex hydrological regime existing in the study area and data scarcity, a comprehensive physically based method was required to better represent the interaction between groundwater and surface water. The combined ArcGIS/MIKE BASIN models appear as a useful tool to assess the hydrological cycle and to better understand water allocation to different sectors in the Francolí River watershed.

Preference assessment for the management of sewage sludge application on agricultural soils

In this paper, the problem of managing sewage sludge disposal on agricultural soils is addressed. Sewage sludge application on agricultural soils is recommended by governments in order to recycle nutrients and organic matter. However, this managing practice may lead to ecological and human risks. In this work, we propose the use of a multi-attribute preference approach to rate and rank a set of possible soils where some defined sewage sludge could be applied. The paper is focused on the assessment of the preference value functions. The variables involved in this problem are carefully explained and different preference assessment methods are proposed according to the different nature of the variables involved. In particular, the paper explains how fuzzy expert systems could be used for modelling the interactions between sludge and soil properties.

A Support Tool for Air Pollution Health Risk Management in Emerging Countries: A Case in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the health risk due to air pollution in São Paulo State, Brazil, comparing Brazils standards and the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. New methodology was applied considering, as hazard parameters, the maximum average concentrations of SO2, NO2, O3, CO, and PM10 from 2007 to 2011. As exposure parameters, population density and location sensitivity were considered. A health risk index based on fuzzy logic was performed to integrate the selected parameters, giving the likelihood of reaching different risk levels. Data gathering and spatial representation of parameters and risk scores were performed by means of geographic information system (GIS). Highest values of risk were observed in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo and near the cities of Cubatão and Piracicaba, associated to vehicular and industrial emissions and sugar cane burning. Discussions about the need to revise national air quality standards have intensified over the past years. Generally, indices used for air quality do not consider the population exposed. This study showed the integration of GIS with fuzzy logic methodology to be a useful tool for health risk assessment. When evaluating the risk, exposure parameters must be intrinsically considered to enhance the importance of population vulnerability when assessing environmental problems, especially in emerging economies.

Aplicação da Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida na análise de impactos ambientais de materiais de construção inovadores: estudo de caso da pegada de carbono de clínqueres alternativos

O setor da construcao civil e reconhecido como um grande consumidor de recursos, e responsavel por diversas emissoes que causam impactos substanciais ao ambiente. Muitos destes impactos estao diretamente relacionados a producao de materiais de construcao. Por isso, mundialmente cresce a tendencia de se propor o uso de materiais de construcao inovadores, que considerem a mitigacao de seus impactos ambientais no processo produtivo. Para avaliar todos os impactos ambientais relacionados a estes materiais, e necessario que se avalie todas as fases de seu ciclo de vida. Para isso, propoe-se a aplicacao da Avaliacao do Ciclo de Vida (ACV), metodologia internacionalmente consagrada na avaliacao ambiental de produtos, processos e servicos, sendo tambem normatizada para o calculo de declaracoes ambientais de produtos da construcao civil. Sabe-se que a producao cimento emite quantidade pronunciadas de gases do efeito estufa. Por isso, neste trabalho, a ACV e aplicada para o calculo da pegada de carbono de clinqueres alternativos produzidos em laboratorio. Os resultados obtidos demonstram uma reducao em 22% da pegada de carbono do clinquer alternativo em relacao ao clinquer Portland, indicando as etapas do processo produtivo que mais colaboram para estes valores. Ainda, evidencia-se a ampla aplicabilidade da ferramenta ACV ao setor da construcao.

Bayesian Network Application to Land Suitability Classification in the Sewage Sludge Amendment of Agricultural Soils

ABSTRACT Sewage sludge (SS) amendment of agricultural soils has recently become an issue of great interest because improvements in wastewater treatment systems have increased production of this type of waste. This practice is known to benefit soil and crops. However, the potential contamination of the environmental matrices has been rarely assessed because suitable models and data regarding the diffuse contamination of SS in agricultural fields are limited. By using land classification tools, we can evaluate the suitability of each soil parcel, the nature of the local soil, and the landscape parameters, and thus take more confident decisions regarding the management of this waste. In this study, we describe the development of a land classification tool to determine whether SS is suitable for organically amending a given agricultural soil. Bayesian networks (BNs) were used to assess the suitability of agricultural soils located in Catalonia (northeastern Spain). The case study includes a description of the area and the procedure used to develop the BN model. The results of this evaluation are presented in innovative ways, with spatial representation of the probability results to give a broader understanding of the classification problem.

Evaluating long-term contamination in soils amended with sewage sludge

Sewage sludge application on agricultural fields is a managing practice of increasing use because of its benefits to soil and crops. However, if not well controlled, sludge application may lead to soil contamination. In Europe, threshold values for sewage sludge amendment have only been derived for heavy metals; and there is not any legal limitation for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) concentration in sewage sludge. In order to evaluate the fate of these contaminants in the soil matrix, a multimedia model was developed and executed for a case-study. The model, which was applied to different POPs, was used to predict the transport between soil phases (air, water, organic matter and mineral matter) based on fugacity values.