Description:    Pesticides are widely used in modern agriculture to minimize financial losses and maintain food supplies. In southeast Asia, where agriculture is the principal economic activity, pesticides are considered essential, particularly in tropical regions seeking to enter the global economy by providing off-season fresh fruits and vegetables. The absence of a strong legal framework for pesticides facilitated a significant increase in the use of low-quality pesticides. Farmers ignore the risks, safety instructions, and protective directives when using pesticides. They are only concerned about the effectiveness of the pesticides for killing pests, without paying attention to the effects on their health and the environment. The improper usage of pesticides and the incorrect disposal of pesticide wastes contributed to the pollution of groundwater, surface water, and soil, and induced health problems in local communities. This paper describes the impact of the exposure of pesticides on human health and water resources in connection with the usage of pesticides and their management. Because of availability, the data are mainly taken for Northern Vietnam, and applied to the water quality in the delta; nevertheless, the problem relates to all countries in the delta, and similar situations may be found in other regions, particularly in Asia. Content Type Journal Article Category ORIGINAL ARTICLE Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s10163-012-0081-x Authors Pham Thi Thuy, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Steven Van Geluwe, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Viet-Anh Nguyen, Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hanoi, Vietnam Bart Van der Bruggen, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry and Environmental Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, K.U. Leuven, W. de Croylaan 46, 3001 Leuven, Belgium Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957

Description:    Reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) policies form the basis of waste management and global warming countermeasures globally, so we conducted a comparative study of 3R and waste management policies in the European Union (EU), USA, Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. An international workshop for 3R and waste management policymakers was held in Kyoto, Japan, and a bibliographic survey was also conducted to collect data. 3R policies are clearly given priority in the hierarchy of waste management in every country studied. Thermal recovery, which includes power generation from waste heat and methane gas collected from organic waste, is also a priority; this is consistent with the increased use of countermeasures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the EU, waste management is characterized by practical and effective 3R policies through the development of realistic regulations and by the policymakers’ desire to simplify management systems. The policy ideal in China, however, is the development of a circular economy that targets reductions in the amount and hazardousness of waste. Limits on the number of final disposal sites, strategies for procuring resources, and GHG emission countermeasures are closely linked with 3R policies, and further development of 3R policies in parallel with such issues is expected. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-17 DOI 10.1007/s10163-011-0009-x Authors Shin-ichi Sakai, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Hideto Yoshida, Japan Environmental Safety Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Yasuhiro Hirai, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Misuzu Asari, Environment Preservation Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Hidetaka Takigami, Research Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan Shin Takahashi, Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan Keijirou Tomoda, Towa Technology, Hiroshima, Japan Maria Victoria Peeler, Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction, Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA Jakub Wejchert, Sector in Unit G.4, Sustainable Production and Consumption, DG Environment, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium Thomas Schmid-Unterseh, Division of Product Responsibility, Avoidance, Recovery and Utilization of Product Waste, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Berlin, Germany Aldo Ravazzi Douvan, Italian Environmental Authority for EU Structural Funds, Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea, Rome, Italy Roy Hathaway, Waste Management Division, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK Lars D. Hylander, Department of Earth Sciences, Air and Water Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden Christian Fischer, European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, Copenhagen, Denmark Gil Jong Oh, Resource Recirculation Center, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea Li Jinhui, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Ngo Kim Chi, Union for Scientific Research and Production on Chemical Engineering, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), Hanoi, Vietnam Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957

Description:    Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from grazed grasslands are estimated to be approximately 28% of global anthropogenic N 2 O emissions. Estimating the N 2 O flux from grassland soils is difficult because of its episodic nature. This study aimed to quantify the N 2 O emissions, the annual N 2 O flux and the emission factor (EF), and also to investigate the influence of environmental and soil variables controlling N 2 O emissions from grazed grassland. Nitrous oxide emissions were measured using static chambers at eight different grasslands in the South of Ireland from September 2007 to August 2009. The instantaneous N 2 O flux values ranged from -186 to 885.6 μg N 2 O-N m −2  h −1 and the annual sum ranged from 2 ± 3.51 to 12.55 ± 2.83 kg N 2 O-N ha −1  y −1 for managed sites. The emission factor ranged from 1.3 to 3.4%. The overall EF of 1.81% is about 69% higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default EF value of 1.25% which is currently used by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to estimate N 2 O emission in Ireland. At an N applied of approximately 300 kg ha −1  y −1 , the N 2 O emissions are approximately 5.0 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 y −1 , whereas the N 2 O emissions double to approximately 10 kg N ha −1 for an N applied of 400 kg N ha −1  y −1 . The sites with higher fluxes were associated with intensive N-input and frequent cattle grazing. The N 2 O flux at 17°C was five times greater than that at 5°C. Similarly, the N 2 O emissions increased with increasing water filled pore space (WFPS) with maximum N 2 O emissions occurring at 60–80% WFPS. We conclude that N application below 300 kg ha −1  y −1 and restricted grazing on seasonally wet soils will reduce N 2 O emissions. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s10021-011-9434-x Authors Rashad Rafique, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Centre for Hydrology, Micrometeorology and Climate Change, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland Deirdre Hennessy, Department of Animals &, Grassland Science Research, Teagasc-Moorpark, Fermoy, Ireland Gerard Kiely, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Centre for Hydrology, Micrometeorology and Climate Change, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland Journal Ecosystems Online ISSN 1435-0629 Print ISSN 1432-9840

Description:    The conversion of biomass waste into resources as a recycling process is receiving increased interest due to the perceived need for a sustainable global carbon cycle and environmental considerations. Several treatment processes are being developed. Hydrothermal treatment is one of the most effective approaches, because water at high temperatures and high pressures behaves as a reaction medium with remarkable properties. In this work, the reaction behavior of guaiacol as a biomass model compound was studied in subcritical water at 483–563 K and in supercritical water at 653–673 K using a batch reactor. Guaiacol can be considered representative of the aromatic ring structures present in lignin, a major component of woody biomass. The chemical species formed in aqueous products were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. The effect of pressure and reaction time on the conversion process of guaiacol is discussed. The results obtained indicate that this method has potential for efficient organic waste conversion. Content Type Journal Article Pages 68-79 DOI 10.1007/s10163-010-0309-6 Authors Wahyudiono, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto, 860-8555 Japan Mitsuru Sasaki, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto, 860-8555 Japan Motonobu Goto, Bioelectrics Research Center, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957 Journal Volume Volume 13 Journal Issue Volume 13, Number 1

Description:    This study uses a bibliometric approach in identifying global research trends related to the anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production using related literature in the Science Citation Index Expanded database, retrieved from the ISI Web of Science. The data used covers the period 1994–2011. The articles acquired from such literature were concentrated on the general analysis by scientific output, the research performances by countries, institutes, and collaborations, and the research trends by the frequency of author keywords, words in title, words in abstract, and ‘KeyWords plus’. The research outputs of anaerobic digestion for methane had notably increased in the field of environmental sciences, biotechnology and applied microbiology, environmental engineering, energy and fuels, and microbiology, while increased slightly in water resources. The USA with most publications and China with the highest growth rate were compared. Finally, author keywords, words in title and ‘KeyWords plus’ were analyzed contrastively, with the recent hotspots provided. Content Type Journal Article Category REVIEW Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s10163-012-0094-5 Authors Li-Hong Wang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Qunhui Wang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Xiao Zhang, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Weiwei Cai, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083 People’s Republic of China Xiaohong Sun, Beijing Agro-Biotechnology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100089 People’s Republic of China Journal Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management Online ISSN 1611-8227 Print ISSN 1438-4957

Description:    Agricultural drainage is thought to alter greenhouse gas emissions from temperate peatlands, with CH 4 emissions reduced in favor of greater CO 2 losses. Attention has largely focussed on C trace gases, and less is known about the impacts of agricultural conversion on N 2 O or global warming potential. We report greenhouse gas fluxes (CH 4 , CO 2 , N 2 O) from a drained peatland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California, USA currently managed as a rangeland (that is, pasture). This ecosystem was a net source of CH 4 (25.8 ± 1.4 mg CH 4 -C m −2  d −1 ) and N 2 O (6.4 ± 0.4 mg N 2 O-N m −2  d −1 ). Methane fluxes were comparable to those of other managed temperate peatlands, whereas N 2 O fluxes were very high; equivalent to fluxes from heavily fertilized agroecosystems and tropical forests. Ecosystem scale CH 4 fluxes were driven by “hotspots” (drainage ditches) that accounted for less than 5% of the land area but more than 84% of emissions. Methane fluxes were unresponsive to seasonal fluctuations in climate and showed minimal temporal variability. Nitrous oxide fluxes were more homogeneously distributed throughout the landscape and responded to fluctuations in environmental variables, especially soil moisture. Elevated CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes contributed to a high overall ecosystem global warming potential (531 g CO 2 -C equivalents m −2  y −1 ), with non-CO 2 trace gas fluxes offsetting the atmospheric “cooling” effects of photoassimilation. These data suggest that managed Delta peatlands are potentially large regional sources of greenhouse gases, with spatial heterogeneity in soil moisture modulating the relative importance of each gas for ecosystem global warming potential. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s10021-011-9411-4 Authors Yit Arn Teh, Environmental Change Research Group, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9 AL Scotland, UK Whendee L. Silver, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94702, USA Oliver Sonnentag, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94702, USA Matteo Detto, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94702, USA Maggi Kelly, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94702, USA Dennis D. Baldocchi, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94702, USA Journal Ecosystems Online ISSN 1435-0629 Print ISSN 1432-9840