Cristina Monteiro | Universidade Católica Portuguesa (original) (raw)
Papers by Cristina Monteiro
IntechOpen eBooks, Oct 19, 2022
IntechOpen eBooks, Oct 19, 2022
1Cristina M. Monteiro, 1Cristina S.C. Calheiros, 2Paulo Palha, 3Sara de Freitas, 3Nuno M.M. Ramos... more 1Cristina M. Monteiro, 1Cristina S.C. Calheiros, 2Paulo Palha, 3Sara de Freitas, 3Nuno M.M. Ramos, 1Paula M.L. Castro 1CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal; cmonteiro@porto.ucp.pt ; ccalheiros@porto.ucp.pt; plcastro@porto.ucp.pt 2Neoturf Rua das Amoreiras No155, 4460-227 Senhora da Hora, Portugal; paulopalha@neoturf.pt 3CONSTRUCT-LFC, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; sarafreitas@fe.up.pt; nmmr@fe.up.pt
Water Science and Technology, 2016
Green roofs (GRs) are becoming a trend in urban areas, favouring thermal performance of buildings... more Green roofs (GRs) are becoming a trend in urban areas, favouring thermal performance of buildings, promoting removal of atmospheric pollutants, and acting as possible water collection spots. Rainwater harvesting systems in buildings can also contribute to the management of stormwater runoff reducing flood peaks. These technologies should be enhanced in Mediterranean countries where water scarcity is increasing and the occurrence of extreme events is becoming very significant, as a result of climate change. An extensive pilot GR with three aromatic plant species, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and Thymus pseudolanuginosus, designed to study several parameters affecting rainwater runoff, has been in operation for 12 months. Physico-chemical analyses of roof water runoff (turbidity, pH, conductivity, NH4+, NO3−, PO43−, chemical oxygen demand) have shown that water was of sufficient quality for non-potable uses in buildings, such as toilet flushing. An innovative approach allowed...
Frontiers in Environmental Science
Urban world population has grown rapidly over the last decades. 74% of the European population li... more Urban world population has grown rapidly over the last decades. 74% of the European population live in urban areas, and that is expected to increase to over 80% by 2050. This rapid urbanization brings several environmental problems, aggravated due to climate change. Conservation and enhancement of green infrastructures in urban areas is imperative for sustainable urban development. Green Roofs (GR), a multilayer technological construction that uses vegetation on top of buildings or structural slabs, are becoming a strong choice to promote urban greenery, using an area that accounts for ca. 50% of the impermeable urban surface area. Besides energy benefits to the building structure, water retention/runoff delay to the stormwater drainage systems is another ecosystem service provided by GR. In the present study, a GR pilot system using aromatic plants and a commercial substrate has been studied regarding its capacity of water retention. Based on a previous water runoff model, rainwate...
Ecological Engineering, 2016
Aromatic plants such as lavender are stirring the attention of many researchers due to their cont... more Aromatic plants such as lavender are stirring the attention of many researchers due to their content in bioactive secondary metabolites that can be used in traditional medicine. However, information regarding naturally occurring lavender associated bacterial endophytes (BE) is limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which aims to assess the phylogenetic diversity of the culturable endophytic bacteria of Lavandula dentata cultivated under organic management and to evaluate their potential as plant growth promoting (PGP) agents. BE were grouped by random amplified polymorphic DNA and identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Endophytes were further characterized for the ability to produce several PGP substances, like ammonia, siderophores, indol-3-acetic acid, hydrogen cyanide and for the ability to solubilize phosphate. Plant cell-wall degrading enzymes were also determined. Densities of BE were higher in roots (log 6.39 CFU g-1 fresh weight) than in shoots (log 5.56 CFU g-1 fresh weight). Phylogenetic analysis showed that BE were affiliated to two major groups: γ-Proteobacteria (50%) and Firmicutes (31.6%) and a small part belonged to α-(7.9%) and β-Proteobacteria (10.5%), being Pseudomonas and Bacillus the most highly represented genera. Higher bacterial diversity was found in the lavender roots, with endophytes belonging to 6 different genera (Pseudomonas, Variovorax, Rhizobium, Caulobacter, Bacillus and Paenibacillus), than in shoots where only 3 genera (Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas) were found. Overall, BE showed ability to produce extracellular enzymes and multiple PGP traits, suggesting their potential use as efficient bioinoculants in sustainable cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 2017
Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation i... more Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation in urban areas. Green roof studies for Mediterranean climates, where extended drought periods in summer contrast with cold and rainy periods in winter, are still scarce. The present research study assesses the use of substrates with different compositions for the growth of six aromatic plant species - Lavandula dentata, Pelargonium odoratissimum, Helichrysum italicum, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and T. pseudolanuginosus, during a 2-year period, and the monitoring of water runoff quality. Growing substrates encompassed expanded clay and granulated cork, in combination with organic matter and crushed eggshell. These combinations were adequate for the establishment of all aromatic plants, allowing their propagation in the extensive system located on the 5th storey. The substrate composed of 70% expanded clay and 30% organic matter was the most suitable, and crushed eggshell incorpo...
Water
There has been a rapid development in studies of nature-based solutions (NbS) worldwide, which re... more There has been a rapid development in studies of nature-based solutions (NbS) worldwide, which reveals the potential of this type of solution and the high level of interest in its implementation to improve the resilience of cities. Much relevant information and many important results are being published, and it is now possible to see their diverse benefits and complexity. Several authors highlight their role in urban areas not just in temperature control, but also in human health, ecosystem development and water management. However, in the current reality of cities, where water use is being (and will be) constantly challenged, analyzing NbS advantages for the urban water cycle is crucial. This study performed an intense review of the NbS literature from 2000 to 2021, to identify their contributions to the improvement of urban water cycle management and thus provide a solid information base for distinct entities (public institutions, private investors and the urban population in gene...
Water
Stormwater runoff in green roofs (GRs) is represented by the runoff coefficient, which is fundame... more Stormwater runoff in green roofs (GRs) is represented by the runoff coefficient, which is fundamental to assess their hydraulic performance and to design the drainage systems downstream. Runoff coefficient values in newly installed GR systems should be estimated by models that must be feasible and reproduce the retention behavior as realistically as possible, being thus adjusted to each season and climate region. In this study, the suitability of a previously developed model for runoff coefficient determination is assessed using experimental data, and registered over a 1 year period. Results showed that the previously developed model does not quite fit the experimental data obtained in the present study, which was developed in a distinct year with different climate conditions, revealing the need to develop a new model with a better adjustment, and taking into consideration other variables besides temperature and precipitation (e.g., early-stage moisture conditions of the GR matrix a...
not undergo any type of breakdown, accumulation in the sediments is an unavoidable consequence; t... more not undergo any type of breakdown, accumulation in the sediments is an unavoidable consequence; they are then slowly released into the surrounding water, and will eventually become available to the higher levels of the food chain hence posing a serious threat to human health. Microalgae have attracted the attention of several investigators, aiming at heavy metal removal because of their tolerance to high levels and high binding affinity; some species are able to grow in sites contaminated with those elements, and have developed the capacity to uptake them from the environment. The major aim of this study was to test the ability of the green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus – previously isolated from a polluted location in Northern Portugal, to remove zinc from culture media.
The presence of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is of major environmental concern, because the... more The presence of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is of major environmental concern, because they are essentially cumulative in body tissues and hard to remove. Microalgae – the basic step of the aquatic food chain, can absorb those metal; hence, their application in environmental heavy metal removal has been increasingly studied in recent years, owing to such a demonstrated high biosorption capacity of toxic metals from polluted waters, even at low levels. The aim of this study was to test the ability for removing Cd, from contaminated aqueous media, by Desmodesmus pleiomorphus, a wild strain isolated from a heavily polluted environment in Northern Portugal.
Journal of Applied Phycology, 2011
Aquatic environments often contain toxic heavy metals that may enter the food web via uptake by m... more Aquatic environments often contain toxic heavy metals that may enter the food web via uptake by microalgae and eventually cause severe poisoning problems at higher trophic levels. The effects of Cd and Zn cations upon growth of two native green microalgal species, Scenedesmus obliquus and Desmodesmus pleiomorphus (previously isolated from a polluted site in Northern Portugal), were accordingly evaluated. Growth inhibition of the microalgal cells was determined following exposure for 96 h to several initial concentrations of aqueous solutions of either of those two metals. At the higher end of Cd and Zn experimental concentration ranges, a significant reduction in cell density was observed in the cultures; EC 50 values, calculated after fitting a Weibull model to the experimental data, were 0.058 and 1.92 mg L −1 for Cd and 16.99 and 4.87 mg L −1 for Zn in the case of S. obliquus and D. pleiomorphus, respectively. One observed that S. obliquus can tolerate higher Zn concentrations than D. pleiomorphus, but the reverse holds regarding exposure to Cd.
Microalga: Desmodesmus pleiomorphus 1 L batch cultures OHM medium pH = 6.9 (in the beginning of e... more Microalga: Desmodesmus pleiomorphus 1 L batch cultures OHM medium pH = 6.9 (in the beginning of each experiment) Biomass: 0.02 g/L Temperature: 25ºC 24 h continuous light [Zn 2+ ]= 0, 1, 5, 15 and 30 ppm
IntechOpen eBooks, Oct 19, 2022
IntechOpen eBooks, Oct 19, 2022
1Cristina M. Monteiro, 1Cristina S.C. Calheiros, 2Paulo Palha, 3Sara de Freitas, 3Nuno M.M. Ramos... more 1Cristina M. Monteiro, 1Cristina S.C. Calheiros, 2Paulo Palha, 3Sara de Freitas, 3Nuno M.M. Ramos, 1Paula M.L. Castro 1CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal; cmonteiro@porto.ucp.pt ; ccalheiros@porto.ucp.pt; plcastro@porto.ucp.pt 2Neoturf Rua das Amoreiras No155, 4460-227 Senhora da Hora, Portugal; paulopalha@neoturf.pt 3CONSTRUCT-LFC, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; sarafreitas@fe.up.pt; nmmr@fe.up.pt
Water Science and Technology, 2016
Green roofs (GRs) are becoming a trend in urban areas, favouring thermal performance of buildings... more Green roofs (GRs) are becoming a trend in urban areas, favouring thermal performance of buildings, promoting removal of atmospheric pollutants, and acting as possible water collection spots. Rainwater harvesting systems in buildings can also contribute to the management of stormwater runoff reducing flood peaks. These technologies should be enhanced in Mediterranean countries where water scarcity is increasing and the occurrence of extreme events is becoming very significant, as a result of climate change. An extensive pilot GR with three aromatic plant species, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and Thymus pseudolanuginosus, designed to study several parameters affecting rainwater runoff, has been in operation for 12 months. Physico-chemical analyses of roof water runoff (turbidity, pH, conductivity, NH4+, NO3−, PO43−, chemical oxygen demand) have shown that water was of sufficient quality for non-potable uses in buildings, such as toilet flushing. An innovative approach allowed...
Frontiers in Environmental Science
Urban world population has grown rapidly over the last decades. 74% of the European population li... more Urban world population has grown rapidly over the last decades. 74% of the European population live in urban areas, and that is expected to increase to over 80% by 2050. This rapid urbanization brings several environmental problems, aggravated due to climate change. Conservation and enhancement of green infrastructures in urban areas is imperative for sustainable urban development. Green Roofs (GR), a multilayer technological construction that uses vegetation on top of buildings or structural slabs, are becoming a strong choice to promote urban greenery, using an area that accounts for ca. 50% of the impermeable urban surface area. Besides energy benefits to the building structure, water retention/runoff delay to the stormwater drainage systems is another ecosystem service provided by GR. In the present study, a GR pilot system using aromatic plants and a commercial substrate has been studied regarding its capacity of water retention. Based on a previous water runoff model, rainwate...
Ecological Engineering, 2016
Aromatic plants such as lavender are stirring the attention of many researchers due to their cont... more Aromatic plants such as lavender are stirring the attention of many researchers due to their content in bioactive secondary metabolites that can be used in traditional medicine. However, information regarding naturally occurring lavender associated bacterial endophytes (BE) is limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which aims to assess the phylogenetic diversity of the culturable endophytic bacteria of Lavandula dentata cultivated under organic management and to evaluate their potential as plant growth promoting (PGP) agents. BE were grouped by random amplified polymorphic DNA and identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Endophytes were further characterized for the ability to produce several PGP substances, like ammonia, siderophores, indol-3-acetic acid, hydrogen cyanide and for the ability to solubilize phosphate. Plant cell-wall degrading enzymes were also determined. Densities of BE were higher in roots (log 6.39 CFU g-1 fresh weight) than in shoots (log 5.56 CFU g-1 fresh weight). Phylogenetic analysis showed that BE were affiliated to two major groups: γ-Proteobacteria (50%) and Firmicutes (31.6%) and a small part belonged to α-(7.9%) and β-Proteobacteria (10.5%), being Pseudomonas and Bacillus the most highly represented genera. Higher bacterial diversity was found in the lavender roots, with endophytes belonging to 6 different genera (Pseudomonas, Variovorax, Rhizobium, Caulobacter, Bacillus and Paenibacillus), than in shoots where only 3 genera (Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas) were found. Overall, BE showed ability to produce extracellular enzymes and multiple PGP traits, suggesting their potential use as efficient bioinoculants in sustainable cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 2017
Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation i... more Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation in urban areas. Green roof studies for Mediterranean climates, where extended drought periods in summer contrast with cold and rainy periods in winter, are still scarce. The present research study assesses the use of substrates with different compositions for the growth of six aromatic plant species - Lavandula dentata, Pelargonium odoratissimum, Helichrysum italicum, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and T. pseudolanuginosus, during a 2-year period, and the monitoring of water runoff quality. Growing substrates encompassed expanded clay and granulated cork, in combination with organic matter and crushed eggshell. These combinations were adequate for the establishment of all aromatic plants, allowing their propagation in the extensive system located on the 5th storey. The substrate composed of 70% expanded clay and 30% organic matter was the most suitable, and crushed eggshell incorpo...
Water
There has been a rapid development in studies of nature-based solutions (NbS) worldwide, which re... more There has been a rapid development in studies of nature-based solutions (NbS) worldwide, which reveals the potential of this type of solution and the high level of interest in its implementation to improve the resilience of cities. Much relevant information and many important results are being published, and it is now possible to see their diverse benefits and complexity. Several authors highlight their role in urban areas not just in temperature control, but also in human health, ecosystem development and water management. However, in the current reality of cities, where water use is being (and will be) constantly challenged, analyzing NbS advantages for the urban water cycle is crucial. This study performed an intense review of the NbS literature from 2000 to 2021, to identify their contributions to the improvement of urban water cycle management and thus provide a solid information base for distinct entities (public institutions, private investors and the urban population in gene...
Water
Stormwater runoff in green roofs (GRs) is represented by the runoff coefficient, which is fundame... more Stormwater runoff in green roofs (GRs) is represented by the runoff coefficient, which is fundamental to assess their hydraulic performance and to design the drainage systems downstream. Runoff coefficient values in newly installed GR systems should be estimated by models that must be feasible and reproduce the retention behavior as realistically as possible, being thus adjusted to each season and climate region. In this study, the suitability of a previously developed model for runoff coefficient determination is assessed using experimental data, and registered over a 1 year period. Results showed that the previously developed model does not quite fit the experimental data obtained in the present study, which was developed in a distinct year with different climate conditions, revealing the need to develop a new model with a better adjustment, and taking into consideration other variables besides temperature and precipitation (e.g., early-stage moisture conditions of the GR matrix a...
not undergo any type of breakdown, accumulation in the sediments is an unavoidable consequence; t... more not undergo any type of breakdown, accumulation in the sediments is an unavoidable consequence; they are then slowly released into the surrounding water, and will eventually become available to the higher levels of the food chain hence posing a serious threat to human health. Microalgae have attracted the attention of several investigators, aiming at heavy metal removal because of their tolerance to high levels and high binding affinity; some species are able to grow in sites contaminated with those elements, and have developed the capacity to uptake them from the environment. The major aim of this study was to test the ability of the green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus – previously isolated from a polluted location in Northern Portugal, to remove zinc from culture media.
The presence of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is of major environmental concern, because the... more The presence of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is of major environmental concern, because they are essentially cumulative in body tissues and hard to remove. Microalgae – the basic step of the aquatic food chain, can absorb those metal; hence, their application in environmental heavy metal removal has been increasingly studied in recent years, owing to such a demonstrated high biosorption capacity of toxic metals from polluted waters, even at low levels. The aim of this study was to test the ability for removing Cd, from contaminated aqueous media, by Desmodesmus pleiomorphus, a wild strain isolated from a heavily polluted environment in Northern Portugal.
Journal of Applied Phycology, 2011
Aquatic environments often contain toxic heavy metals that may enter the food web via uptake by m... more Aquatic environments often contain toxic heavy metals that may enter the food web via uptake by microalgae and eventually cause severe poisoning problems at higher trophic levels. The effects of Cd and Zn cations upon growth of two native green microalgal species, Scenedesmus obliquus and Desmodesmus pleiomorphus (previously isolated from a polluted site in Northern Portugal), were accordingly evaluated. Growth inhibition of the microalgal cells was determined following exposure for 96 h to several initial concentrations of aqueous solutions of either of those two metals. At the higher end of Cd and Zn experimental concentration ranges, a significant reduction in cell density was observed in the cultures; EC 50 values, calculated after fitting a Weibull model to the experimental data, were 0.058 and 1.92 mg L −1 for Cd and 16.99 and 4.87 mg L −1 for Zn in the case of S. obliquus and D. pleiomorphus, respectively. One observed that S. obliquus can tolerate higher Zn concentrations than D. pleiomorphus, but the reverse holds regarding exposure to Cd.
Microalga: Desmodesmus pleiomorphus 1 L batch cultures OHM medium pH = 6.9 (in the beginning of e... more Microalga: Desmodesmus pleiomorphus 1 L batch cultures OHM medium pH = 6.9 (in the beginning of each experiment) Biomass: 0.02 g/L Temperature: 25ºC 24 h continuous light [Zn 2+ ]= 0, 1, 5, 15 and 30 ppm