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Soil pollution with potentially toxic elements (PTE) from incipient basic sanitation, dumps and industrial activities developed in the Amazon has been of international interest due to health and environmental issues. This study aimed to evaluate the concentration of PTE in five adjacent land occupations (a dump, a alumina refinery area and three residential centers) in the municipality of Barcarena, Amazon Region, Brazil. In a total area of 912 ha, 274 soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-0.2 m. Afterwards, the concentrations of As, Ba, Pb, Co, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni and Zn were determined. The results were explored using descriptive and multivariate statistics, as well as geostatistical. Considering the data by location, maximum concentrations exceeding the prevention values of Brazilian soils were found for Cu, Ni and Zn in Dump (148; 42.8 and 356 mg kg-1), for Cu and Hg in Bom Futuro (333 and 1.99 mg kg-1) and for Cu in Itupanema (91.2 mg kg-1). Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn were grouped in the same principal component and showed the highest similarity measure in the cluster analysis. The interpolation point maps of the two principal components and of the individual concentrations of the PTEs showed the area of influence of the dump as the main reason for the increase in soil contamination. These results show the need for public policies aimed at the proper disposal of solid waste, in order to promote the reduction of pollutants in the soil, health and well-being for the local population, and also the environmental quality of the study area.
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Mangroves are one of the most important but threatened blue carbon ecosystems globally. Rapid urban growth has resulted in nutrient inputs and subsequent coastal eutrophication, associated with an enrichment in organic matter (OM) from algal and sewage sources and substantial changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment on mangrove soil OM composition and GHG emissions, such as methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), are still poorly understood. Here, we aim to evaluate the relationships between CO2 and CH4 efflux with OM composition in exposed soils from three mangrove areas along watersheds with different urbanization levels (Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil). To assess spatial (lower vs. upper intertidal zones) and seasonal (summer vs. winter) variability, we measured soil-air CO2 and CH4 fluxes at low spring tide, analyzing elementary (C, N, and P), isotopic (δ13C and δ15N), and the molecular (n-alkanes and sterols) composition of surface soil OM. A general trend of OM composition was found with increasing urban influence, with higher δ15N (proxy of anthropogenic N enrichment), less negative δ13C, more short-chain n-alkanes, lower C:N ratio (proxies of algal biomass), and higher epicoprostanol content (proxies of sewage-derived OM). The CO2 efflux from exposed soils increased greatly in median (25/75 % interquartile range) from 4.6 (2.9/8.3) to 24.0 (21.5/32.7) mmol m-2 h-1 from more pristine to more urbanized watersheds, independent of intertidal zone and seasonality. The CO2 fluxes at the most eutrophicated site were among the highest reported worldwide for mangrove soils. Conversely, CH4 emissions were relatively low (three orders of magnitude lower than CO2 fluxes), with high peaks in the lower intertidal zone during the rainy summer. Thus, our findings demonstrate the influence of coastal eutrophication on global warming potentials related to enhanced heterotrophic remineralization of blue carbon within mangrove soils.
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Gases de Efeito Estufa , Metano , Brasil , Dióxido de Carbono/análise , Ecossistema , Monitoramento Ambiental , Eutrofização , Metano/análise , Nitrogênio , Óxido Nitroso/análise , Fósforo , Esgotos , Solo , Esteróis , Áreas AlagadasRESUMO
In the present study, in situ lichens (Flavoparmelia caperata) were used to assess the deposition of atmospheric trace elements in the metropolitan area of Huancayo (Junín, Peru). In total, ten sampling sites were chosen and categorized as urban, peri-urban (rural-urban) and rural areas according to land use. In addition, samples were also collected from a non-contaminated area categorized as a control site. The concentrations of 16 trace elements were measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and examined by enrichment factor (EF), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Twelve of the 16 trace elements in urban and peri-urban sites present concentration higher than those at the rural and control sites (pâ¯<â¯0.05). The EF results revealed significant enrichment (at least twice that of the control site) of Ba, Cr, Cd, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn at most sites. PCA and HCA showed that more elements were derived from vehicular sources and fewer from agricultural and natural sources.
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Poluição do Ar/efeitos adversos , Monitoramento Ambiental/métodos , Líquens/química , Oligoelementos/química , Peru , Oligoelementos/análiseRESUMO
Se tiene como propósito evidenciar en qué medida el desarrollo sostenible es fundamental en la agenda de las nuevas políticas públicas que buscan un amplio alcance a largo plazo. La problemática global no es capaz de resolver los problemas a nivel local de un contexto altamente moderno y cambiante. La tendencia actual de "pérdida de calidad de vida" orilla a las ciudades a cambiar su perspectiva de progreso y así el bienestar dependerá directamente del desarrollo social que exista. Mediante un análisis de contexto se comparte una política de calidad de vida exitosa, pies la estética debe ser concientizada sin menospreciar su potencial al recuperar la zona. El resultado es que la percepción de crisis es inminente debido a los problemas asociados al crecimiento, para lo cual se han adoptado soluciones rápidas consistentes en el uso de los instrumentos de planificación física que solo convierten quejas en problemáticas especializadas. Se concluye que la ciudad moderna, como la conocemos, se encuentra en grave peligro de extinción gracias a su modus operandi, para lo cual la variable principal local debe solucionar el bienestar de la población sin menospreciar su entorno.
The main purpose is to show the extent to which the sustainable development is critical in the agenda of new public policies that seek a wide scope, in the long run. The overall issue is unable to solve local problems within a modern and changing context. The current tendency of "loss of quality of life" forces cities to change their perspective of progress, and in that way, well-being will directly depend on the existing social development. Through a context analysis, a successful policy of quality of life is shared, since aesthetics must be made aware without underestimating their potential when it comes to recovering the zone. The result is that the perception of crisis is imminent due to the problems associated with growth. For this purpose, fast and consistent solutions in the use of instruments of physical planning have been adopted, which only turn complaints into specialized issues. It is concluded that the modern city, as we know it, is in serious danger, threatened with extinction thanks to its modus operandi, and in that regard, the local main variable must solve people's well-being, without underestimating their environment.
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RESUMO: O crescimento urbano e o decorrente surgimento de ilhas de calor são fatores responsáveis não apenas por mudanças nos padrões de conforto e desconforto térmico urbanos mas também por possíveis impactos no aumento da demanda de energia (em climatização artificial) das edificações urbanas. Países em desenvolvimento, a maior parte deles localizada em regiões tropicais, apresentam taxas de crescimento urbano mais elevadas relativamente aos países desenvolvidos; segundo dados da ONU, no período de 2005 - 2010, a taxa de urbanização dos primeiros foi cerca de cinco vezes mais alta que a dos últimos. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar a atual ilha de calor urbana de Curitiba, decorrente de seu considerável crescimento urbano nas últimas décadas, a partir de um monitoramento climático contínuo entre dezembro de 2011 e fevereiro de 2013 por meio de estações meteorológicas localizadas na mancha urbana. Adicionalmente à análise de diferenças na temperatura local, quantificaram-se níveis de conforto/desconforto térmico a fim de se verificar o efeito integrado das diversas variáveis meteorológicas em termos de percentuais de horas em frio, conforto e calor, e suas variações dentro e fora da área urbana. Complementarmente são analisadas implicações da ilha de calor urbana em níveis de conforto em ambientes internos. Verificou-se que a presença de uma ilha de calor na área urbana para combater o frio no inverno acarreta aumento desproporcional do calor em situação de verão, não havendo benefício térmico de maneira geral.
ABSTRACT: Urban growth and the resulting urban heat island effect are not only responsible for variations in thermal comfort and discomfort levels within the city but also for increases in building energy demand for air conditioning. In tropical regions, urbanization rates tend to be the highest: the average annual rate of change of the urban population for the five-year period 2005 - 2010 was just over five times higher in the less developed regions than in the more developed part of the world, following a rising trend. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the urban heat island of Curitiba, which results from its considerable urban growth over the last decades, by means of a long-term climate monitoring between December 2011 and February 2013 with a pair of weather stations within the urban area. Additionally, an analysis was performed with regard to outdoor comfort, so that the combined effect of relevant meteorological variables could be assessed in terms of percentages of cold, comfortable and hot hours and variations in and outside the urban area. Finally, implications of the urban heat island effect on indoor conditions are analyzed. It is concluded that the heat island effect with reductions of cold stress in winter does not offset the occurrence of excess heat in summer, with an overall not advantageous effect.
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Developing the Amazon into a major provider of internationally traded mineral and food commodities has dramatically transformed broad expanses of tropical forests to farm and pasturelands, and to mining sites. The environmental impacts of this transformation, as well as the drivers underlying the process, have already been well documented. In this article we turn our analytical lenses to another, less examined effect of Amazon land use and environmental change, namely the creation and development of new urban areas. Here we argue that urban growth in the Amazon is a direct residual of international interest in the production of traded commodities, and of the capacity of local urban residents to capture capital and value before it is extracted from the region. Specifically, we suggest that urban growth is occurring fastest where cities have access to both rural export commodities and export corridors. We also show correlations between urban growth and lower rural population density, and cities' capacities to draw migrants from beyond their immediate rural surroundings. More broadly, we argue that urbanization in the Amazon is better interpreted as a symptom rather than a driver of the region's land use and land cover change.
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Descreve as relações entre produção de saúde, crescimento urbano e degradação ambiental no povoado da "Zona de Expansão Urbana" de Aracaju (SE) e os impactos na saúde da população, em virtude do turismo e da especulação imobiliária, aliados à ausência de serviços básicos. Partindo da hipótese de que o adoecimento gerado por essas mudanças apareceriam na rede de saúde pública apenas como agravamento de sintomas, negligenciando-se a complexidade da relação saúde-ambiente, o trabalho aponta a possibilidade de pensarmos em que bases se dá o crescimento urbano, às expensas da degradação ambiental. Adotando a etnografia como método, entre março de 2010 e junho de 2011, acompanhamos as ações de agentes comunitários de saúde, a maneira como estes e os demais profissionais da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) lidam com os problemas trazidos pelos moradores, relacionando-os ao crescimento da região e à degradação ambiental. Outros meios de inserção na comunidade foram mapeados: contato com moradores mais antigos, lideranças religiosas, pessoas que exercem profissões tradicionais, etc. Os resultados traduzem as mudanças pelas quais passa a região, especialmente naquilo que se refere à extinção de práticas tradicionais, aumento da violência, desemprego, perda de vínculos comunitários e adoecimentos.
The scope of this paper is to describe the relationship between health production, urban growth and environmental degradation in the community of the "Urban Expansion Zone" of Aracaju in the State of Sergipe. It also touches on the impacts on the health of the population due to tourism and real estate speculation associated with the absence of basic services. Based on the assumption that illnesses caused by such changes only appear on the public health care system as a worsening of symptoms, neglecting the complex health-environment relationship, this paper highlights the possibility of pondering the bases upon which urban growth occurs in the light of imminent environmental degradation. The activities of health community agents were monitored duly connecting them to regional growth and environmental degradation. This was done from March 2010 and June 2011 adopting the ethnographic perspective as the method of choice. Other ways of inclusion in the community were mapped: contact with older residents, religious leaderships and the members of the traditional professions, etc. The results show the changes that have been occurring in the region, especially with respect to the extinction of traditional practices, increase in violence, unemployment, loss of community ties and illness.
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Humanos , Saúde Ambiental , Urbanização , Brasil , Narração , Fatores SociológicosRESUMO
Este artigo procura abordar a urbanização brasileira sob uma perspectiva comparativa, a partir da construção de um Indicador de Dispersão Urbana, visando contribuir na análise dos desafios para uma urbanização sustentável. Trata-se da busca de evidências que confirmem as proposições teóricas de uma nova etapa do desenvolvimento da sociedade moderna (riscos socioambientais) e os desafios para análise da relação população-ambiente nos contextos urbanos. Para compor um indicador sintético de dispersão urbana para as aglomerações urbanas brasileiras, foram consideradas as seguintes dimensões sociais e espaciais: densidade, fragmentação, orientação e centralidade. Os resultados obtidos foram compatíveis com as evidências apontadas pela literatura internacional, expondo os novos desafios para planejamento urbano e ambiental.
The goal of this paper is to further our understanding of the challenges for sustainable urbanization. This objective required both theoretical and methodological investments in the search for evidence which could confirm the theoretical proposal of a new stage of the development of modern society (social and environmental risks) and the challenges involved in analyzing the population-environment relationship in urban contexts. The index that was developed considered four social and spatial dimensions in order to compose a synthetic index of urban dispersion for Brazilian urban agglomerations: Density, Fragmentation, Linearity and Centrality. Results are compatible with the evidence presented in the international literature and suggest new challenges for urban and environmental planning.
Este artículo pretende abordar la urbanización brasileña bajo una perspectiva comparativa, a partir de la construcción de un Indicador de Dispersión Urbana, con el objetivo de contribuir con el análisis de los desafíos para una urbanización sustentable. Se trata de la búsqueda de evidencias que confirmen las proposiciones teóricas de una nueva etapa del desarrollo de la sociedad moderna (riesgos socioambientales) y los desafíos para el análisis de la relación población-ambiente en los contextos urbanos. Para componer un indicador sintético de dispersión urbana para las aglomeraciones urbanas brasileñas, fueron consideradas las siguientes dimensiones sociales y espaciales: densidad, fragmentación, orientación y centralidad. Los resultados obtenidos fueron compatibles con las evidencias apuntadas por la literatura internacional, exponiendo los nuevos desafíos para la planificación urbana y ambiental.