This study examines methane (CH₄) emission factors from biogas and wastewater treatment plants, based on primary and secondary data collected from 109 facilities. Primary emission data were measured at 19 facilities representing prevalent plant configurations across Europe. Statistical analysis highlights two categorical variables, namely primary feedstock and plant size, expressed as CH₄ production (≤250 kgh^-1: small and medium-sized plants, >250 kgh^-1: large plants), each of which has a significant impact on whole-site CH₄ emissions. Additionally, digestate storage (gastight vs. not-gastight) has a meaningful effect when considering CH₄ production as a continuous variable in the statistical analysis. Our results indicate that wastewater treatment plants have the highest average CH₄ losses (7.0 % of CH₄ produced, n = 31 or 0.10 kgpopulation equivalent(PE)^-1yr^-1, n = 28), followed by manure-based plants (3.7 %, n = 49), biowaste treatment facilities (2.8 %, n = 11) and energy crop-processing plants (1.9 %, n = 14). Furthermore, small and medium-sized plants have elevated emissions (5.6 %, n = 67) compared to larger counterparts (2.2 %, n = 42), primarily attributed to the absence of gastight digestate storage. Emissions tend to be lower with gastight digestate storage (2.7 %, n = 61) than not-gastight storage options (6.2 %, n = 48). Emission factors were determined for normal operating conditions, with a further investigation into other-than-normal operating conditions revealing temporal or constant emission peaks in eight out of 19 facilities. These peaks, suggesting potential areas for targeted mitigation strategies, were attributed to pressure relief valves, flare ignition problems and major leakages.

BACKGROUND: Climate warming is considered to affect the characteristics of heat waves by increasing their duration, frequency and intensity, which can have dramatic consequences for ectothermic arthropods. However, arthropods may respond to heat waves via plastic modifications, which could differently affect a predator and its prey. We examined this assumption using prominent counterparts in biological control, the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis and its prey, the spider mite Tetranychus urticae . Individuals of both species were separately exposed to mild and extreme heat waves during their juvenile development. RESULTS: Both species developed faster during extreme heat waves, but the proportional increase of the developmental rates was higher in the prey. Independent of sex, P. persimilis reached smaller size at maturity under extreme heat waves, whereas the body size modifications were sex‐dependent in T. urticae : males became smaller, but females were able to maintain their size. CONCLUSIONS: An accelerated development may result in the reduction of the exposure time of susceptible juvenile stages to heat waves and prey stages to predators. Plastic size adjustments caused a shift in the female predator–prey body size ratio in favor of the prey, which may lead to higher heat resistance and reduced predation risk for prey females under extreme heat waves. In conclusion, our findings indicate that species‐specific shifts in age and size at maturity may result in lower suppression efficacy of the predator P. persimilis against its prey T. urticae with severe consequences for biological control of spider mites, if global warming continues.

Little is known about the non-target effects of glyphosate active ingredients (GLY) versus glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) formulations on soil organisms, and whether effects are influenced by environmental conditions. We investigated the avoidance behavior, biomass growth, and reproduction of earthworms (Eisenia fetida, E. andrei) in response to two GLYs (glyphosate ammonium and potassium salt), the corresponding GBHs (Touchdown Quattro, Roundup PowerFlex) containing these GLYs, and the “inert” co-formulant alkylpolyglycoside (APG) at two temperature (15 °C vs. 20 °C) and soil organic matter levels (3.2% vs. 4.3%). Earthworm avoidance was lower at high soil organic matter content, but remained unaffected by substances and temperature. Earthworm biomass growth and reproduction (cocoons and juveniles) were significantly affected by substances and temperature; reproduction was also affected by a substance and temperature interaction. Biomass growth was almost zero at higher temperature; reproduction was generally higher at higher temperature. More cocoons were produced under Roundup PowerFlex than under the corresponding AI, due to the impact of the co-formulant APG. No other differences were observed between GBH and the corresponding AIs. We conclude that the non-target effects of pesticides can only be fully assessed if all ingredients in a formulation are known and environmental parameters are included in environmental risk assessments.

Some members of the root endophytic Serendipitaceae were observed to frequently coexist with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), but their interactions and potential synergistic effects in plants have not yet been well elucidated. Here, we inoculated three-week-old tomato seedlings with Serendipita indica or Serendipita williamsii alone or in combination with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Funneliformis mosseae and cultivated the plants in a greenhouse until the late vegetative stage. Our data show that the simultaneous presence of Serendipita spp. did not affect root colonization by AMF, proving the feasibility of their combination for future agronomic uses. The photosynthetic performance was enhanced in AM tomato plants, although growth remained unresponsive following single or dual inoculation with Serendipita spp. and AMF. With regard to nutrient status under dual inoculation, AMF-induced phosphorus increases remained unaffected, but nitrogen and carbon dynamics were highly altered. Specifically, the application of S. williamsii to mycorrhizal tomato plants significantly enhanced nitrogen concentration in the shoots, but this effect was also compensated with a carbon cost. Our findings indicate that S. williamsii performs differently from S. indica when co-inoculated with AMF, and this suggests an unknown mechanism that needs more detailed investigation.