Wildlife vulnerability and risk maps for combined pollutants.
Ecological risk and vulnerability maps can be used to improve the analysis of pollutant risks and communication to stakeholders. Often, such maps are made for one pollutant at the time. We used the results of wildlife vulnerability analysis, a novel trait-based risk assessment approach, to map overall vulnerability of habitats in Denmark to various metals and one insecticide. These maps were combined with maps of estimated soil concentrations for the same compounds divided by their Maximum Permissible Concentrations. This combination yielded relative risk maps that can be used to assess where the highest risk conditions to wildlife from these individual pollutants in Denmark occur (hot spot identification). In order to show how cumulative risk maps can be made, the maps of the individual pollutants were combined assuming different mechanisms of joint toxicity: no addition, concentration addition, antagonism and synergism. The study demonstrated that with an accurate set of geographical and ecological data one can use the results of vulnerability analysis to make relevant ecological risk maps that show hot spot areas for risks of single or cumulative risks from soil pollutants.
Lahr
Joost
J
Alterra, Wageningen UR, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. joost.lahr@wur.nl
Münier
Bernd
B
De Lange
Hendrika J
HJ
Faber
Jack F
JF
Sørensen
Peter Borgen
PB
D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D004390:Chlorpyrifos / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D003718:Denmark; D017753:Ecosystem; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D005843:Geography; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D008670:Metals; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D015032:Zinc; D004390:Chlorpyrifos