Using a conceptual site model for assessing the sustainability of brownfield regeneration for a soft reuse: A case study of Port Sunlight River Park (U.K.).

Brownfield regeneration to soft reuse such as recreation and amenity has become increasingly common due to the demand for the potential environmental, social and economic benefits that it can deliver. This has led in turn to an increased demand for improved tools to support decision-making for this style of regeneration: tools which are simple to use, based on robust scientific principles and preferably which can ultimately link to quantitative or semi-quantitative cost-benefit analyses. This work presents an approach to assessing and comparing different scenarios for brownfield regeneration to soft reuse and other end-points. A "sustainability linkages" approach, based on sustainability assessment criteria produced by the UK Sustainable Remediation Forum (SuRF-UK), is developed and used in a refined qualitative sustainability assessment, and applied to develop a conceptual site model of sustainability, for a specific case study site (Port Sunlight River Park, U.K., a public leisure park established and maintained on a capped and managed former landfill site). Ranking, on an ex post basis, highlighted the clear sustainability advantages that the establishment of the Port Sunlight River Park has compared with a hypothetical non-development scenario. The conceptual site model provides a clearer basis for understanding cause and effect for benefits and disbenefits and a rationale for grouping individual effects based on their ease of valuation, providing a road map for cost-benefit assessments by (1) being able to match specific linkages to the most appropriate means of valuation, and (2) transparently connecting the sustainability assessment and cost benefit assessment processes.

Challenges for tree officers to enhance the provision of regulating ecosystem services from urban forests.

Urbanisation and a changing climate are leading to more frequent and severe flood, heat and air pollution episodes in Britain's cities. Interest in nature-based solutions to these urban problems is growing, with urban forests potentially able to provide a range of regulating ecosystem services such as stormwater attenuation, heat amelioration and air purification. The extent to which these benefits are realized is largely dependent on urban forest management objectives, the availability of funding, and the understanding of ecosystem service concepts within local governments, the primary delivery agents of urban forests. This study aims to establish the extent to which British local authorities actively manage their urban forests for regulating ecosystem services, and identify which resources local authorities most need in order to enhance provision of ecosystem services by Britain's urban forests. Interviews were carried out with staff responsible for tree management decisions in fifteen major local authorities from across Britain, selected on the basis of their urban nature and high population density. Local authorities have a reactive approach to urban forest management, driven by human health and safety concerns and complaints about tree disservices. There is relatively little focus on ensuring provision of regulating ecosystem services, despite awareness by tree officers of the key role that urban forests can play in alleviating chronic air pollution, flood risk and urban heat anomalies. However, this is expected to become a greater focus in future provided that existing constraints - lack of understanding of ecosystem services amongst key stakeholders, limited political support, funding constraints - can be overcome. Our findings suggest that the adoption of a proactive urban forest strategy, underpinned by quantified and valued urban forest-based ecosystem services provision data, and innovative private sector funding mechanisms, can facilitate a change to a proactive, ecosystem services approach to urban forest management.

The role of one large greenspace in mitigating London's nocturnal urban heat island.

The term urban heat island (UHI) describes a phenomenon where cities are on average warmer than the surrounding rural area. Trees and greenspaces are recognised for their strong potential to regulate urban air temperatures and combat the UHI. Empirical data is required in the UK to inform predictions on cooling by urban greenspaces and guide planning to maximise cooling of urban populations. We describe a 5-month study to measure the temperature profile of one of central London's large greenspaces and also in an adjacent street to determine the extent to which the greenspace reduced night-time UHI intensity. Statistical modelling displayed an exponential decay in the extent of cooling with increased distance from the greenspace. The extent of cooling ranged from an estimated 20 m on some nights to 440 m on other nights. The mean temperature reduction over these distances was 1.1 °C in the summer months, with a maximum of 4 °C cooling observed on some nights. Results suggest that calculation of London's UHI using Met Stations close to urban greenspace can underestimate 'urban' heat island intensity due to the cooling effect of the greenspace and values could be in the region of 45% higher. Our results lend support to claims that urban greenspace is an important component of UHI mitigation strategies. Lack of certainty over the variables that govern the extent of the greenspace cooling influence indicates that the multifaceted roles of trees and greenspaces in the UK's urban environment merit further consideration.

Under-utilisation of organic wastes during brownfield regeneration to community woodland: tackling the barriers.

The regeneration of brownfield land to greenspace is a governmental policy objective of many European countries. Healthy vegetation establishment and growth is an essential component of successful greenspace establishment, and research has shown that a planting medium of an appropriate standard for supporting vegetation can be created through amendment of soil-forming materials with organic wastes. However, failed regeneration projects suggest that barriers may exist that prevent the use of suitable quality soil materials. The aim of this research was to identify barriers to the use of organic wastes for improving soil materials for brownfield regeneration to community woodland. We conducted interviews with a range of professionals experienced in regeneration to greenspace, and used content analysis on interview transcripts. A diverse set of barriers was revealed, including a low technical awareness among some professional groups of how to improve soil quality, coupled with a low awareness of the published technical guidance. Other barriers include regulatory and project management issues, which influence the timings and economics of raising brownfield soil quality. We highlight areas in which future efforts may be focused to improve the quality of planting media used in land regeneration. Such effort will improve the sustainability of greenspaces created and complement effective management of organic waste streams.

Chemical measures of bioavailability/bioaccessibility of PAHs in soil: fundamentals to application.

Risk assessment and remediation of contaminated land is inherently dependent on the contaminants present and their availability for interaction with soil biota. An ever-growing body of evidence suggests that current regulatory procedures over-estimate the 'true' fraction available to biota. Thus, a procedure that predicts the 'bioavailable fraction' would be useful for predicting 'actual' exposure limits and provide a more relevant basis for risk assessment. The aim of this paper is to address several important questions: "How should bioavailability be defined?" "What factors affect bioavailability measurement?" "To what extent have existing protocols measured bioavailability?" "What is actually measured by chemical techniques purported to determine bioavailability?" We offer two definitions (namely 'bioavailability' and 'bioaccessibility') and review commonly employed chemical extraction techniques to measure putative bioavailability. Relative advantages and disadvantages of the techniques are highlighted to elucidate underlying factors for the wide range of conclusions observed in the literature. Although the concept of bioavailability is implicit to contaminated land risk assessment and remediation, explicit reference to and use of adjustment factors is rare amongst regulatory bodies and remediators. Use of chemical determinants for bioavailability, applicable within current legislation and due consideration to inherent variability, are proposed and barriers to their implementation discussed.

Microbial interactions with organic contaminants in soil: definitions, processes and measurement.

There has been and continues to be considerable scientific interest in predicting bioremediation rates and endpoints. This requires the development of chemical techniques capable of reliably predicting the bioavailability of organic compounds to catabolically active soil microbes. A major issue in understanding the link between chemical extraction and bioavailability is the problem of definition; there are numerous definitions, of varying degrees of complexity and relevance, to the interaction between organic contaminants and microorganisms in soil. The aim of this review is to consider the bioavailability as a descriptor for the rate and extent of biodegradation and, in an applied sense, bioremediation of organic contaminants in soil. To address this, the review will (i) consider and clarify the numerous definitions of bioavailability and discuss the usefulness of the term 'bioaccessibility'; (ii) relate definition to the microbiological and chemical measurement of organic contaminants' bioavailability in soil, and (iii) explore the mechanisms employed by soil microorganisms to attack organic contaminants in soil.

Further validation of the HPCD-technique for the evaluation of PAH microbial availability in soil.

There is currently considerable scientific interest in finding a chemical technique capable of predicting bioavailability; non-exhaustive extraction techniques (NEETs) offer such potential. Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD), a NEET, is further validated through the investigation of concentration ranges, differing soil types, and the presence of co-contaminants. This is the first study to demonstrate the utility of the HPCD-extraction technique to predict the microbial availability to phenanthrene across a wide concentration range and independent of soil-contaminant contact time (123 d). The efficacy of the HPCD-extraction technique for the estimation of PAH microbial availability in soil is demonstrated in the presence of co-contaminants that have been aged for the duration of the experiment together in the soil. Desorption dynamics are compared in co-contaminant and single-PAH contaminated spiked soils to demonstrate the occurrence of competitive displacement. Overall, a single HPCD-extraction technique proved accurate and reproducible for the estimation of PAH bioavailability from soil.

Can microbial mineralization be used to estimate microbial availability of organic contaminants in soil?

The aim of this study was to characterize the behaviour of a PAH-degrading bacterium to determine whether mineralization plateaus as a result of substrate removal, a decrease in microbial activity or nutrient availability in sterile soils over time. To investigate this, the mineralization of 14C-phenanthrene was measured until it plateaued; subsequently, additional 14C-phenanthrene, catabolic inocula or nutrients were introduced and mineralization was measured for a further 10 d. Cell numbers were also measured together with 14C-uptake into microbial biomass. Freshly added 14C-phenanthrene was rapidly metabolised by the microorganisms. Neither the addition of a catabolic inoculum nor nutrients affected the extent of 14C-phenanthrene mineralization. Cell numbers remained constant over time, with only a small amount of the 14C-activity incorporated into the microbial biomass. This study indicated that the termination of mineralization was due to the removal of available phenanthrene and not decreasing cellular activity or cell death. The mineralization values also correlated with 14C-phenanthrene extractability using beta-cyclodextrin.

Linking catabolism to cyclodextrin extractability: determination of the microbial availability of PAHs in soil.

When assessing the potential of a contaminated site for bioremediation, it is desirable to know how much of the contaminant(s) is available for microbial degradation, thus allowing the likelihood of successful bioremediation to be predicted. The aims of this study were to investigate the degradation of PAHs in two soils by a catabolic inoculum and indigenous soil microflora and link this to the cyclodextrin extractable fraction in the presence of transformer oil (0.05, 0.01, or 0.005%). This study showed very little difference between indigenous and inoculum-derived degradation for phenanthrene in laboratory-aged soil, and strong relationships were also observed between both of the microbial degradative conditions and the amount of phenanthrene extracted by cyclodextrin. Furthermore, the indigenous degradation of PAHs in a field-contaminated soil showed significant linear correlations with the cyclodextrin extractable fraction, with gradients approximating to 1. There are several novel facets to this study. First, in aged, contaminated soils, indigenous microflora gave an equally sensitive determination of degradative availability as that measured by the catabolic inoculum. Second, this is the first time intrinsic biodegradation of PAHs has been predicted by the cyclodextrin extraction in laboratory-spiked and field-contaminated soils. The cyclodextrin extraction technique represents a powerful tool for predicting the extent of intrinsic and augmented microbial degradation and will be useful in the assessment of contaminated land prior to bioremediation.

Effect of cyclodextrin and transformer oil amendments on the chemical extractability of aged [14C]polychlorinated biphenyl and [14C]polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon residues in soil.

Sequestration of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in soils limits chemical and biological availability. Concerns exist regarding the long-term stability of sequestered contaminants in the environment, and stability needs to be demonstrated if bioavailability considerations are to be adopted into the risk assessment and remediation of contaminated land. The aim of the present study was to test the short-term influence of two organic amendments on the chemical extractability of HOC residues that had been present in soils for more than 12 years. The amendments investigated were cyclodextrin and transformer oil (a light, nonaqueous phase liquid [LNAPL]). The contaminants investigated were fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene in one soil and the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 28 and 52 in a second soil. The addition of cyclodextrin to the soils did not result in a significant increase in chemical extractability of the residues after a 36-d contact time. The addition of transformer oil resulted in an increase in chemical extractability of the PCBs after a 14-d soil-LNAPL contact time and a further increase after a 36-d contact time. The present study demonstrates that the chemical availability of aged HOCs in soil may be influenced by the presence of other chemicals and has implications for the long-term management of contaminated land.

Distribution of aged 14C-PCB and 14C-PAH residues in particle-size and humic fractions of an agricultural soil.

Organic matter is considered to be the single most importantfactor limiting availability and mobility of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in soil. This study aimed to characterize the distribution of 14C-PCB (congeners 28 and 52) and 14C-PAH (fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene) residues in an Orthic Luvisol soil obtained from two lysimeter studies initiated in 1990 at the Agrosphere Institute (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany). The lysimeter soils contained a low-density OM fraction, isolated during soil washing, which contained a significant fraction (3-12%) of the total 14C-activity. Soils were also fractionated according to three particle sizes: >20, 20-2, and <2 microm. Relative affinity values of 14C-activity for the different particle sizes varied in the order 20-2 microm > (<2 microm) approximately (>20 microm) for the PCBs. Relative affinity values of 14C-activity for the different particle sizes varied in the order 20-2 microm > (<2 microm) > (>20 microm) for the PAHs. The distribution of 14C-PCB or 14C-PAH residues in the organic and inorganic matrixes of the particle-size fractions was determined using methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). 14C-PCB and 14C-PAH-associated activities were primarily located in the humin fraction of the 20-2 and <2 microm particle-size fractions of the soil. A small fraction was associated with the fulvic and humic acid fractions; these were quantitatively more important for the PAHs than the PCBs. There appeared to be a high degree of association of 14C-activity with the mineral fraction following MIBK separation of the humic fractions, ranging between 8 and 52% for 14C-PCBs and 57-80% for 14C-PAHs. The mineral (inorganic) component of the soils apparently played a significant (previously unreported) role in the sequestration of both PCBs 28 and 52 and the PAHs fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene.

Long-term fate of polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an agricultural soil.

Laboratory studies are useful for understanding the behavior of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in soil, although such investigations do not always relate directly to field conditions. Outdoor lysimeter studies may be used to overcome this problem. This work aimed to investigate the behavior of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene) and two polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; congeners 28 and 52) in soil, using lysimeters established in 1990 atthe Agrosphere Institute (Forschungszentrum Julich GmbH, Germany). The two PAHs were in one lysimeter, and the PCBs were in a second lysimeter. Afurther aim of the study was to determine soil half-lives for each of the contaminants. The overall decline in PAH concentrations was considerably greater than forthe PCBs over the 152 month study. The PCBs exhibited greater chemical extractability than the PAHs and were demonstrated to have migrated through the soil column to a greater extent than the PAHs. Loss of PCBs from surface soil was not considered to have been congener specific for the two PCB congeners in this study. The two PAHs varied in their extents of total loss and movement through the soil column. Soil half-lives were determined as 10.9 y for [12C]PCB 28, 11.2 yr for [12C]PCB 52, 2.7 yr for benzoqpyrene, and 32 d (phase 1) to 38 yr (phase 2) for fluoranthene. These are shown to disagree with some previous estimates of POP half-lives in soil, suggesting that previous studies underestimated persistence by 10-fold or more.

The development of phenanthrene catabolism in soil amended with transformer oil.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants frequently associated with light non-aqueous-phase liquids (LNAPLs) in soil. Microbial degradation comprises a major loss process for PAHs in the environment. Various laboratory studies, using known degraders, have shown reduced or enhanced mineralisation of PAHs when dissolved in different LNAPLs. Effects due to the presence of LNAPLs on indigenous micro-organisms, however, are not fully understood. A pristine pasture soil was spiked with [14C]phenanthrene and transformer oil to 0, 0.01 and 0.1%, and incubated for 180 days. The catabolic potential of the soil towards phenanthrene was assessed periodically during ageing. The extent of the lag phase (prior to >5% mineralisation), maximum rates and overall extents of mineralisation observed during the course of a 14-day bioassay appeared to be dependent upon phenanthrene concentration, the presence of transformer oil, and soil-contaminant contact time. Putatively, transformer oil enhanced acclimation and facilitated the development of measurable catabolic activity towards phenanthrene in a previously uncontaminated pasture soil. Exact mechanisms for the observed enhancement, longer-term fate/degradation of the oil and residual phenanthrene, and effects of the presence of the oil on the indigenous microbes over extended time frames warrant further investigation.

Assessment of spiking procedures for the introduction of a phenanthrene-LNAPL mixture into field-wet soil.

Laboratory based studies on the fate of organic contaminants in soil typically requires the test compound(s) to be spiked into the test medium. Consequently, such studies are inherently dependent on the homogeneity of the contaminant within the spiked soil. Three blending methods were compared for the addition of a phenanthrene-transformer oil mixture into field-wet soil. Spiking homogeneity, reproducibility and artefacts were assessed based on dichloromethane and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin chemical extractability, and bacterial mineralization. Spiking using a stainless-steel spoon, consistently produced good spike homogeneity as determined by sample oxidation, chemical extraction and mineralization, and was consistently more reliable than either the Waring blender or modified bench drill. Overall, neither transformer oil-concentration nor blending method influenced chemical extractability or mineralization of the PAH following 1 day equilibration. In general, spiking procedures require validation prior to use, as homogeneity cannot be assured.

The effect of soil: water ratios on the mineralisation of phenanthrene: LNAPL mixtures in soil.

Contamination of soil by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is frequently associated with non-aqueous-phase liquids. Measurement of the catabolic potential of a soil or determination of the biodegradable fraction of a contaminant can be done using a slurried soil respirometric system. This work assessed the impact of increasing the concentration of transformer oil and soil:water ratio on the microbial catabolism of [(14)C]phenanthrene to (14)CO(2) by a phenanthrene-degrading inoculum. Slurrying (1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:5 soil:water ratios) consistently resulted in statistically higher rates and extents of mineralisation than the non-slurried system (2:1 soil:water ratio; P<0.01). The maximum extents of mineralisation observed occurred in the 1:2-1:5 soil:water ratio microcosms irrespective of transformer oil concentration. Transformer oil concentrations investigated displayed no statistically significant effect on total mineralisation (P>0.05). Soil slurries 1:2 or greater, but less than 1:5 (soil:water), are recommended for bioassay determinations of total contaminant bioavailability due to greater overall mineralisation and improved reproducibility.