Reclamation of Derelict and Contaminated Land: Studies are currently underway, funded by Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Greenbelt Foundation and the European Union, and in collaboration with Water Research Centre, on the use of trees and fibre plants to detoxify land contaminated by heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn) - so-called phytoremediation. Measurements are being made of the uptake of heavy metals from industrial land and sewage sludge treated soils and their distribution within the plant. Willow clones tested in a field trial showed certain clones took up Cu and Ni preferentially, while others took up Cd and Zn. Trees can provide a long-term cover for contaminated land, and may produce an economic return if coppiced. The work funded by the EU (the BIORENEW Project) is in collaboration with 6 other partners in Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden and the UK and is studying the overall environmental implications of growing biomass for energy production on contaminated soil. Over the last 20 years, work has been carried out on the reclamation of coal mine wastes. Methods have been devised for inhibiting acid production in pyritic waste based on the complexation of iron by organic additions, or precipitation by phosphate and silicate. The cycling and supply of nitrogen and phosphorus have also been studied.

Chemistry of Heavy Metals and Radionuclides in Soils and Sediments: A programme of work in conjunction with the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, and funded by NERC, has examined the chemistry and behaviour of radionuclides such as 137Cs and 210Pb and heavy metals in peat and organic soils. The pattern of distribution of these elements has been studied at specific sites giving information about their mobility in the natural environment. Results suggest that Pb may be more mobile than previously thought in peat soils, with implications for the use of 210Pb for dating sediments. The role of humic materials in modifying the adsorption-desorption behaviour of Cs in soil has been shown, and stability constants for humic complexes for Cs, Pb and Cu have been measured. Another joint project with SURRC has studied the onshore transfer of Sellafield derived radionuclides (137 Cs, 239+240 Pu and 241 Am) and their distribution and geochemical behaviour in floodplain deposits on the Solway Firth in south west Scotland. Work over a number of years has examined the adsorption-desorption characteristics for Zn, Cu and Cd on a range of soil types, giving information on the ability of soil to act as a sink for such heavy metals in the environment.

Reclamation and Utilisation of Desert Soils in Egypt: This work is continuing under a newly-funded Department for International Development Link with South Valley University, Aswan Egypt, looking at sustainable development in arid environments. The focus of the work is Wadi Allaqi, where initial analysis of the soils is complete, examining risks to the sustainable use of soils due to salinization and nutrient supply.

Soil and Water Chemistry in Wetland and Aquatic Ecosystems: Projects in this area have been undertaken over recent years with Dr K.J. Murphy of IBLS. A multicentre, EU funded programme has identified vegetation traits of riverine marginal wetland plants which could give indications of ecosystem change. This study has measured redox change and Mn and Fe chemistry in wetlands and related this to vegetation changes. New funding from NERC from April 1997 has allowed this work to be extended to vegetation in the river channel itself. The 1997 field work has resulted in analysis of waters from over 70 rivers throughout the UK.

Agricultural, Food and Environmental Chemistry (AFEC) is a section within the Chemistry Department, but has a separate honours school distinctive in content and purpose teaching degrees in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry and Environmental Biogeochemistry. AFEC is active in the general areas of soil, water, food and pesticide chemistry, with the focus on such environmental issues as heavy metals and organics in contaminated land and water systems, the fate of agrochemicals in foods and the environment, and measures of food quality. Emphasis in all cases is placed on method development and accurate analysis using a variety of analytical techniques from the simple to the complex, taking in most forms of chromatographic and spectroscopic procedures.

A major focus of the research over many years has been the remediation and reclamation of contaminated land. Recent funding from Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Greenbelt Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council and the Scottish Crop Research Institute has extended this work into the important new area of bioremediation. In particular, the use of new clones of willow for use as short rotation coppice on heavy metal contaminated soils and industrial land is being studied. Studies of synthetic and natural biocides, and their metabolites, in the food chain have enabled their environmental impact to be minimised. Identification and quantification of plant growth regulators have been followed by improvements to the efficiency of their uptake by target species and their selective removal from waste waters. Studies on the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals and radionuclides in the soil-water environment have been applied to contaminated soils, peats and arid desert soils and involve measurements of adsorption/desorption processes, distribution coefficients, metal-humic complex stability constants and plant uptake. Work on riverine marginal wetlands, in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, is now being extended to river channels following funding from NERC. The application of solid state 13 C NMR spectroscopy to plant cell walls has been pioneered in Glasgow, enabling a structural proposal to be made for pectin gels and producing new insights into cellulose structure.

As the research is of an applied nature, close contacts are maintained with industry, who assist with facilities and funding. Currently there is collaboration with Water Research Centre (WRc), United Biscuits, ICI and Scottish Greenbelt Company. There is close liaison and collaboration with environmentally active groups based at the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre (SURRC), Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC). AFEC is a major contributor to environmental initiatives within the University of Glasgow and the west of Scotland.