In this study, the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) C needles (i.e. the current-year-needles) were used as bioindicators in determining the aerial distribution pattern of sulphur emissions around industrial point sources at Kemi, Northern Finland. The average sulphur concentration in the C needles was 897 mg/kg (d.w.), with a standard deviation of 118 mg/kg (d.w.) and range 740 – 1350 mg/kg (d....

The composition of nematode communities (plant-parasitic and free-living) may be used as bioindicators of soil health or condition because composition correlates well with nitrogen cycling and decomposition, two critical ecological processes in soil. Maturity and trophic diversity indices withstand statistical rigor better than do abundances, proportions, or ratios of trophic groups. Maturity i...

Submerged macrophytes respond to changes in the nutrient concentrations in their environment. In contrast to diatoms e.g., submerged macrophytes are capable of taking up nutrients from both the sediment pore water and the overlying water. Therefore, macrophytes can provide a more comprehensive assessment of river ecosystems. Two methods using submerged macrophytes to assess and monitor changes ...

Trematode communities in populations of estuarine snails can reflect surrounding animal diversity, abundance, and trophic interactions. We know less about the potential for trematodes to serve as bioindicators in other habitats. Here, we reanalyze data from 2 published studies concerning trematodes, 1 in the Chilean rocky intertidal zone and the other from the East African rift lake, Lake Tanga...

The “MGP analysis” created by Dr. J. Aoki in 1983 and the “100 oribatid species” system proposed by Aoki in 1995, both for using oribatid communities as bioindicators, are described herein and compared to some other bioindicator protocols. By using the term “naturalness”, Aoki proposed to explain human impact on a gradient of several environments ranging from urban boulevard trees to intact for...

World War II and the Cold War have left the Unites States, and other Nations, with massive cleanup and remediation tasks for radioactive and other legacy hazardous wastes. While some sites can be cleaned up to acceptable residential risk levels, others will continue to hold hazardous wastes, which must be contained and monitored to protect human health and the environment. While media (soil, se...