LCA to start and perform green public procurement for funeral products

AMNU S.p.A. is an Italian multi-utility company, whose owner are local municipalities, which operates basically in the territory of the Province of Trento in urban waste collection and transport. In the last years AMNU has started the “new” activity of funeral service that has a wide public concern and is a source of deep connection with the the territory. Funeral services and cemetery\u27s management are becoming more and more important and therefore AMNU has moved forward in the environmental path and this is the objective of this work: to integrate procurement tenders for the funeral products industry by inserting environmental purchasing criteria. To achieve this, we have performed a LCA study, because it has scientific and legal bases, focusing on sector of inhumation. The aim is to determine criteria that may characterize funerary products from an environmental point of view. Moreover, AMNU is related to the GPP (= Green Public Procurement) which is an instrument of european environmental policy and aims to encourage the market for green products and services, starting from the public administration. It is important to note that the GPP is no longer a voluntary instrument in Italy and that the cost of procurement of goods and services in Italy, operated by different Public Authorities (PA), each year is around 50 billion euro (ISTAT data): PA can push towards a more green economy and a more sustainable market. To propose an invitation to tender for the first time characterized by green criteria for funeral products, an environmental assessment has been performed for the use of three types of products: 1) coffin, 2) padding, 3) absorbent pad which is often added between the coffin and the padding to absorb the body fluids of the deceased. THE RESULTS 1) The LCA study helped to identify nine criteria (5 applied to the first product and 4 to the other two) that have allowed to identify and choose products that provide the best environmental impact. 2) Furthermore, the assessment based on the Carbon Footprint has provided interesting directions: in the case of the first product, the difference between the best possible product and the worst is about 40 times of CO2eq. while it is much smaller, with a maximum difference of impact of about 4 times, if referred to the other two products. So, in an LCA perspective, it is more important to focus on coffin rather than padding or absorbent pad. 3) The tender has been compiled with the new requirements and it has been published and now it is available to suppliers (totale value: more than 200.000 euro) who have to contend with these new criteria for the next delivery; consider that the part of the technical bid means 60% of the contract notice and environmental section is the more important

Dynamics and drivers of carbon sequestration and storage capacity in Phragmites australis-dominated wetlands

Coastal wetlands represent important ecosystems performing several functions leading to services. Out of those, the estimation of carbon sequestration and storage capacity is receiving increasing attention for emissions abatement and climate mitigation. Phragmites australis - dominated wetlands have the capacity to sequester large amounts of carbon given the large biomass formed annually, however the storage capacity depends on various factors including the environmental conditions that are site-specific. The aim of this study was to develop a method that could be used to quantify the storage capacity, from site-specific plant growth drivers (temperature, light, soil nutrients) and environmental attributes (e.g., particle size of soil). This was achieved with a combination of sampling (above- and below-ground plant biomass, nutrients and carbon content, soil nutrients and carbon at different depths) across the whole Venice Lagoon area where P. australis forms habitats under different conditions, using a PCA approach to link biotic and abiotic variables. To upscale the results, a modelling approach in two steps was used, taking first under consideration plant growth under different nutrient availabilities and then simulating the fate of carbon under different conditions (likelihood of material remaining in the area, its decomposition rate, the burial efficiency of soil). The results confirmed a positive effect of nutrient availability, mediated by soil moisture, on plant biomass and storage capacity, in alignment with the model results. Soil type was one the main driver of carbon storage. The knowledge of environmental dynamics and drivers of P. australis - dominated wetlands can be useful to support carbon management in order to mitigate climate change. Our model, with a calibration on different environmental conditions, has the potential to predict carbon sequestration and storage enabling it to be used as a management tool for different ecosystems

Assess the environmental health status of macrophyte ecosystems using an oxidative stress biomarker. Case studies: The Gulf of Aqaba and the Lagoon of Venice

Abstract The aim of this work was to evaluate the implementation of the oxidative stress biomarker (LPO) for the assessment and monitoring of the ecological status of macrophyte in relation to potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Gulf of Aqaba (Jordan) and the Lagoon of Venice (Italy). Results showed that the anthropic influences related to PTEs of the examined areas are evident. Moreover, changes in the LPO levels can precede significant changes in ecological health status of macrophyte ecosystems that can be used in the future as an early warning tool for the assessment and monitoring of polluted ecosystems worldwide

Management and Exploitation of Macroalgal Biomass as a Tool for the Recovery of Transitional Water Systems

Aquatic angiosperms favor the development of ecosystems services, the welfare of marine organisms and people. Generally, the presence of angiosperms in transitional water systems (TWS) are indicators of good ecosystem status. Presently, these environments are densely populated and often are so highly degraded that angiosperms have almost disappeared, replaced by tionitrophilic macroalgae responsible of anoxic events that deteriorate the environment furtherly. Although this trend is hardly reversible because the anthropogenic impact is increasing and the restoring of damaged environments within a reasonable time is difficult, recent studies have shown that by managing the harvesting of the natural algal species of commercial interest a progressive environmental recovery is achievable. Biomass-harvesting can contribute both to the removal of high amounts of nutrients and the generation of economic revenues for a sustainable, self-financed environmental restoration. In fact, unlike clam-farming which destroys the seabed and re-suspends large amounts of sediments, the proper management of the macroalgal biomass, can favor the nutrient abatement and the recolonization of aquatic angiosperms which help restore the conditions necessary for the conservation of the benthic and fish fauna and birds, and produce valuable economic resources

Long-term changes of the trophic status in transitional ecosystems of the northern Adriatic Sea, key parameters and future expectations: The lagoon of Venice as a study case.

The determination of the trophic status of transitional ecosystems from the physico-chemical and biological point of view is one of the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC). In Italy, its determination is implemented by the Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection (ARPAs) that have activated multi-annual monitoring programs. However, as the availability of funds is increasingly scarce, the number of environmental parameters to detect environmental changes should be conveniently managed. The high number of environmental parameters, nutrient and macrophyte datasets available for the LTER-Italia site “Venice lagoon” can be an useful tool to analyze the trophic changes over recent years and to foresee environmental evolutions. Nutrient data on a spatial basis have been available since 1948, whereas macroalgal maps date back to 1980. The aim of this paper is to highlight the changes of the trophic status of the lagoon since the middle of the 20th century by considering the concentrations of nutrients in the surface sediments and in the water column, the variation of some physico-chemical parameters and the biomass of macroalgae and also to foresee the way it will possibly evolve. In fact, after many anthropogenic impacts that in the second half of the 20th century affected the lagoon, starting fromthe year 2010, the ecological status is progressively improving. Nutrients show a significant reduction both in the water column and in surface sediments, and the macrophytes are represented by species of higher ecological value while the opportunistic species such as the Ulvaceae are in strong regression

Macrophytes and ecological status assessment in the Po delta transitional systems, Adriatic Sea (Italy). Application of Macrophyte Quality Index (MaQI)

The paper provides the first checklist and information on the macrophytes of the Po Delta (Italy), a complex of small lagoons and ponds among the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, until now little studied in spite of the water surface of approx. 200 km². The abundance and assemblage composition of macrophytes that colonize these environments and their ecological status have been studied taking into account the most common physico-chemical parameters and the concentration of nutrients in the water column and in the surface sediment. Sampling was carried out in 17 sites, placed at Marinetta, Vallona, Caleri, Canarin, Barbamarco and Scardovari lagoons, during two surveys on 13-15 May and 13-15 October 2008. The ecological status was assessed by applying the Macrophyte Quality Index (MaQI) which was adopted by the Italian Ministry of the Environment for the ecological classification of the Italian transitional environments, in agreement with the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) requirements.The paper provides the first checklist and information on the macrophytes of the Po Delta (Italy), a complex of small lagoons and ponds among the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, until now little studied in spite of the water surface of approx. 200 km(2). The abundance and assemblage composition of macrophytes that colonize these environments and their ecological status have been studied taking into account the most common physico-chemical parameters and the concentration of nutrients in the water column and in the surface sediment.Sampling was carried out in 17 sites, placed at Marinetta, Vallona, Caleri, Canarin, Barbamarco and Scardovari lagoons, during two surveys on 13-15 May and 13-15 October 2008. The ecological status was assessed by applying the Macrophyte Quality Index (MaQI) which was adopted by the Italian Ministry of the Environment for the ecological classification of the Italian transitional environments, in agreement with the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) requirements

Dasysiphonia adriatica sp. nov. (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta), a new red algal species from the North Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

Dasysiphonia is a genus of the family Delesseriaceae (Rhodophyta) including 9 taxonomically accepted species, among which only the non-indigenous Dasysiphonia japonica has been documented from the Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean). This invasive species is native to Hokkaido Island (Japan) and was introduced to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea through imports of the commercial Pacific oyster Magallana gigas. In this study, we describe a new species belonging to the genus Dasysiphonia, collected in the Mediterranean Sea. This new taxon was sampled in Slovenian coastal waters; its thalli were analysed using both molecular and morphological approaches and it was compared with the other known species. Moreover, samples of the invasive D. japonica were collected from different Venice Lagoon (Italy) sites and used for comparison with the new taxon. The phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the plastid rbcL gene, clearly distinguished the new Slovenian entity from all the known Dasysiphonia species, including the ones recently transferred from the sister genus Dasya. These results indicate that the Slovenian samples represent a new species, hereby named Dasysiphonia adriatica sp. nov

Makrofiti i procjena ekološkog stanja u prijelaznim vodama delte rijeke Po, Jadransko more (Italija). Primjena Indeksa kvalitete makrofita (MaQI)

The paper provides the first checklist and information on the macrophytes of the Po Delta (Italy), a complex of small lagoons and ponds among the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, until now little studied in spite of the water surface of approx. 200 km². The abundance and assemblage composition of macrophytes that colonize these environments and their ecological status have been studied taking into account the most common physico-chemical parameters and the concentration of nutrients in the water column and in the surface sediment. Sampling was carried out in 17 sites, placed at Marinetta, Vallona, Caleri, Canarin, Barbamarco and Scardovari lagoons, during two surveys on 13-15 May and 13-15 October 2008. The ecological status was assessed by applying the Macrophyte Quality Index (MaQI) which was adopted by the Italian Ministry of the Environment for the ecological classification of the Italian transitional environments, in agreement with the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) requirements.U radu se iznose prvi popis i informacije o makrofitima u delti rijeke Po (Italija) koja se sastoji od brojnih malih laguna i ribnjaka i koja je jedna od najvećih u Sredozemnom moru, koja je do sada slabo istraživana unatoč činjenici što obuhvaća površinu vode od cca. 200 km². Istraživan je ekološki status, brojnost i skupni sastav makrofita koji naseljavaju ovo okruženje uzimajući u obzir najuobičajenije fizikalno-kemijske parametre i koncentraciju nutrijenata u vodenom stupcu i površinskom sloju sedimenta. Tijekom dva ispitivanja obavljena između 13. i 15. svibnja i 13. i 15. listopada 2008. provedeno je uzorkovanje na 17 mjesta raspoređenih u lagunama Marinetta, Vallona, Caleri, Canarin, Barbamarco i Scardovari. Ekološko stanje procijenjeno je primjenom Indeksa kvalitete makrofita (MaQI) kojeg je usvojilo Ministarstvo zaštite okoliša za ekološku klasifikaciju talijanskih prijelaznih područja u skladu sa zahtjevima Okvirne direktive o vodama (2000/60 EC)

Trends of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Surface Sediments of the Lagoons of the Northern Adriatic Sea

The analysis of nutrient concentrations in surface sediments is a reliable tool for assessing the trophic status of a water body. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations are strongly related to the sediment characteristics but are mainly driven by anthropogenic impacts. The results of the determination of total nitrogen and total inorganic and organic phosphorus in surface sediments of the lagoons and ponds of the northwestern Adriatic Sea (Marano-Grado, Venice, Po Delta, Comacchio Valleys, Pialassa della Baiona) show the merit of this approach. Indeed, when previous data are available, the ratio between the actual and background values can provide useful information on the trophic changes that have occurred in the most recent times, and the results can also explain the conditions present in less studied environments. In this context, numerous studies performed in the Venice lagoon since the second half of the 20th century during different environmental scenarios provide mean concentration ranges and propose the main causes of changes. The results of single datasets available for the other lagoons fall into scenarios that occurred in the Venice lagoon. At present, the most eutrophic basins are Pialassa della Baiona, the Po Delta lagoons and ponds and the Comacchio valleys due to industrial effluents, fish farming and clam harvesting, respectively, whereas the Venice lagoon is now experiencing environmental recovery