Forest site conditions may influence both carbon accumulation and the hydroclimatic sensitivity of tree growth in mature Scots pine forests. We examined three 100–130-year-old Pinus sylvestris L. stands in the Eastern European forest-steppe representing fresh pine forest (A2), fresh mixed pine forest (B2), and moist mixed pine forest (B3). Stand inventories, biomass allometry, and tree-ring reconstruction were combined to estimate biomass carbon stocks and annual tree biomass carbon stock increment (ΔC), which was related to current- and previous-year hydroclimatic conditions and to selected dry events. Biomass carbon stocks were 99.4, 126.3, and 129.0 Mg C ha−1 in A2, B2, and B3, respectively. Mean ΔC for 1961–2025 was 3.74, 3.17, and 4.49 kg C tree−1 year−1. Hydroclimatic sensitivity differed among site types: B2 showed the strongest response to moisture-related variables, A2 an intermediate response, and B3 the weakest average linear sensitivity. Antecedent moisture conditions were also associated with subsequent ΔC. Responses to the 1972, 2010, and 2018 dry events differed among stands and did not consistently correspond to average climate–growth relationships. Overall, forest site conditions were associated with both long-term tree carbon accumulation and its sensitivity to hydroclimatic variability.
Coastal sediments integrate contaminant inputs over time and are widely used to assess anthropogenic pressure, yet baseline data remain scarce along the Peruvian coast. Metal concentrations and their associated ecological risk were assessed in nearshore marine sediments along 16 km of coast at Ilo (Moquegua, Peru), across five stations subject to contrasting anthropogenic pressures and three sampling campaigns (n = 15). Concentrations were determined by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence on the <63 µm fraction, and evaluated through contamination and ecological risk indices and comparison with sediment quality guidelines. Six of the eleven elements determined were quantified above detection limits; Ag, As and Cd fell below and were excluded. Only Cu and Ni were clearly enriched relative to background (mean Igeo 2.37 and 1.78), and both exceeded their probable effect level in most samples. Cu peaked at the station facing a copper smelter, whereas Ni was highest where no discharge occurs, a contrast also reflected in an exploratory principal component analysis. Contamination load exceeded background throughout, and the station ranking held under three independent background scenarios. Seasonal variation was significant only for Fe and Mn (Friedman, p = 0.022), the two elements without enrichment, and did not alter the spatial pattern of contamination. Cu in the area facing the smelter is therefore the main contamination concern along this coast.
Olive mill solid waste (OMSW) is a major by-product of the agro-industrial sector and can be converted into biochar through pyrolysis, with potential applications in environmental management. This study investigated the effects of pyrolysis temperature (400, 500, and 600 °C) and residence time (1, 3, and 5 h) on the physicochemical, structural, and surface properties of OMSW-derived biochar. As the temperature increased, the biochar yield decreased from 32.08% at 400 °C (1 h) to 25.18% at 500 °C (1 h) and 24.67% at 600 °C (1 h). Surface area and pore development varied considerably with the processing conditions. At 500 °C, the BET surface area increased from 6.99 m2/g at 1 h to 44.19 m2/g at 5 h, accompanied by an increase in total pore volume from 0.006 to 0.026 cm3/g. At 600 °C, the maximum Langmuir surface area (201.6 m2/g) and total pore volume (0.075 cm3/g) were obtained at 1 h, whereas the BET surface area reached 135.23 m2/g at 5 h. These differences indicate that residence time influenced the measured surface area and pore characteristics differently. Moisture content reached 4.18% at 600 °C for 5 h, while ash content reached 10.83% under the same conditions. Moisture content varied with temperature and residence time, reaching 4.18% at 600 °C for 5 h. Ash content also reached its maximum value of 10.83% under these conditions, while electrical conductivity reached 0.077 mS/cm. All biochar samples exhibited negative zeta potentials, ranging from −22.72 to −32.21 mV at 400 and 500 °C, while values at 600 °C ranged from −23.53 to −29.89 mV. Elemental analysis revealed variations in the H/C and O/C atomic ratios, with H/C values ranging from 0.2468 to 0.5984 and O/C values ranging from 0.0369 to 0.296. These variations indicate differences in elemental composition and relative carbonization characteristics among the samples. Calcium and potassium were the predominant mineral elements. Overall, the findings provide a basis for further investigating OMSW-derived biochar for potential adsorption, soil-related, and nutrient-management applications, subject to application-specific experimental validation.
Sediment remediation and circular management can reduce ecological risk and recover resources, but may shift burdens to energy, materials, transport, and residual-stream management. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can reveal these trade-offs, yet published sediment LCAs often model non-equivalent functions and use inconsistent functional units, counterfactuals, boundaries, databases, allocation rules, and circularity credits. This systematic methodological review examines how these choices restrict comparison. A predefined Scopus search and PRISMA-based selection identified 53 studies and 185 management pathways nested within studies. Reporting completeness was assessed across six domains: functional unit and boundaries, foreground-data provenance, background database and version, LCIA reporting, allocation and cut-off rules, and interpretation robustness. Product-oriented cradle-to-gate and remediation-oriented cradle-to-grave studies frequently addressed different functions; contribution, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses were inconsistently reported. Climate change and resource or energy use were the most frequently decision-relevant categories, but outcomes depended on energy supply, transport, binders, chemicals, water management, substitution assumptions, and residue fate. Circular pathways were widespread, whereas explicit avoided-burden modeling was less frequent. No universal technology ranking was supported. A proposed methodological framework links sediment management function to reference flows, counterfactuals, complete management-chain boundaries, traceable inventories, auditable allocation and substitution, and targeted robustness analyses.
Sulfate is a soluble and chemically stable anion that cannot be destroyed, only separated, concentrated or transformed, and its removal from mine water and industrial effluents is increasingly driven by site-specific discharge limits, commonly of 250–1000 mg L−1. This systematic review critically evaluates chemical precipitation, membrane, sorptive, biological and electrochemical technologies in terms of removal mechanism, achievable residual sulfate and unit treatment cost. Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus were searched on 20 June 2026 (publications 1999 to May 2026) and supplemented by citation searching, publisher platforms and regulatory sources. Eligible sources reported sulfate as an explicit target species with a removal mechanism, performance, operating or cost figure, whereas sources in which sulfate was only a background electrolyte, or which studied sulfide or sulfite without a sulfate figure, were excluded. Evidence was appraised by scale, water matrix and cost basis, without a formal risk of bias tool, and synthesized narratively. Search reproducibility, identification routes, screening and a random 20% sample of the data extraction were cross-checked by a second reviewer. A broadened sensitivity search indicated that relevant studies on matrices other than mine water and wastewater were under-retrieved. Reported and stoichiometrically derived costs were normalized per cubic metre and per kilogram of sulfate removed. Ninety-three sources were included (59 from the database searches and 34 from other sources), mostly journal articles, with evidence ranging from laboratory to full scale. Under representative mine water conditions, gypsum solubility limits inexpensive lime and limestone treatment to residuals of approximately 1200–1800 mg L−1. Unit costs span nearly three orders of magnitude, from about 0.02 USD m−3 for constructed wetlands to about 18 USD m−3 for single-pass barium chloride precipitation and the heterogeneous evidence indicates an apparent tradeoff between cost and achievable residual. No technology combines low cost with low residual. Crossing the gypsum ceiling raises cost roughly three- to tenfold for mainstream polishing routes. In four common reference scenarios, treating concentrated water to 250 mg L−1 costs about two to five times as much as partial treatment to about 1500 mg L−1 for mainstream treatment trains at the range midpoints, with widely overlapping ranges. The evidence is limited by heterogeneous matrices, scarce standardized cost reporting and, for several technologies, laboratory-scale data. Hybrid trains pairing low-cost bulk removal with selective polishing and resource recovery emerge as the most defensible strategy. This review was not registered. Funding: European Union—NextGenerationEU.
