Linking spatio-temporal variation of crop response with sediment deposition along paddy rice terraces

In tropical mountainous regions of South East Asia, intensive cultivation of annual crops on steep slopes makes the area prone to erosion resulting in decreasing soil fertility. Sediment deposition in the valleys, however, can enhance soil fertility, depending on the quality of the sediments, and influence crop productivity. The aim of the study was to assess (i) the spatio-temporal variation in grain yield along two rice terrace cascades in the uplands of northern Viet Nam, (ii) possible linkage of sediment deposition with the observed variation in grain yield, and (iii) whether spatial variation in soil water or nitrogen availability influenced the obtained yields masking the effect of inherent soil fertility using carbon isotope (¹³C) discrimination and ¹⁵N natural abundance techniques. In order to evaluate the impact of seasonal conditions, fertilizer use and sediment quality on rice performance, ¹⁵N and ¹³C stable isotope compositions of rice leaves and grains taken after harvest were examined and combined with soil fertility information and rice performance using multivariate statistics. The observed grain yields for the non-fertilized fields, averaged over both cascades, accounted for 4.0 ± 1.4 Mg ha^?1 and 6.6 ± 2.5 Mg ha^?1 in the spring and summer crop, respectively, while for the fertilized fields, grain yields of 6.5 ± 2.1 Mg ha^?1 and 6.9 ± 2.1 Mg ha^?1 were obtained. In general, the spatial variation of rice grain yield was strongly and significantly linked to sediment induced soil fertility and textural changes, such as soil organic carbon (r 0.34/0.77 for Cascades 1 and 2, respectively) and sand fraction (r ?0.88/?0.34). However, the observed seasonal alteration in topsoil quality, due to sediment deposition over two cropping cycles, was not sufficient to fully account for spatial variability in rice productivity. Spatial variability in soil water availability, assessed through ¹³C discrimination, was mainly present in the spring crop and was linearly related to the distance from the irrigation channel, and overshadowed in Cascade 2 the expected yield trends based on sediment deposition. Although δ¹⁵N signatures in plants indicated sufficient N uptake, grain yields were not found to be always significantly influenced by fertilizer application. These results showed the importance of integrating sediment enrichment in paddy fields within soil fertility analysis. Furthermore, where the effect of inherent soil fertility on rice productivity is masked by soil water or nitrogen availability, the use of ¹³C and ¹⁵N stable isotopes and its integration with conventional techniques showed potential to enhance the understanding of the influence of erosion – sedimentation and nutrient fluxes on crop productivity, at toposequence level.     

A Cost‐Effective Laser Scanning Method for Mapping Stream Channel Geometry and Roughness

This brief pilot study implements a camera‐based laser scanning system that potentially offers a viable, cost‐effective alternative to traditional terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and LiDAR equipment. We adapted a low‐cost laser ranging system (SICK LSM111) to acquire area scans of the channel and bed for a temporarily diverted stream. The 5 m × 2 m study area was scanned at a 4 mm point spacing which resulted in a point cloud density of 5,600 points/m². A local maxima search algorithm was applied to the point cloud and a grain size distribution of the stream bed was extracted. The 84th and 90th percentiles of this distribution, which are commonly used to characterize channel roughness, were 90 mm and 109 mm, respectively. Our example shows the system can resolve both large‐scale geometry (e.g., bed slope and channel width) and small‐scale roughness elements (e.g., grain sizes between about 30 and 255 mm) in an exposed stream channel thereby providing a resolution adequate for the estimation of ecohydraulic roughness parameters such as Manning's n. While more work is necessary to refine our specific field‐deployable system's design, these initial results are promising in particular for those working on a limited or fixed budget. This opens up a realm of laser scanning applications and monitoring strategies for water resources that may not have been possible previously due to cost limitations associated with traditional TLS systems.     

The Ethics and Sustainability of Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture

The global seafood industry (capture fisheries and aquaculture) is a vital source of food, income, livelihoods, and culture. Seafood demand is steadily rising due to growth in the global human population, affluence, and per capita consumption. Seafood supply is also growing, despite declining wild fish stocks, with phenomenal advances in aquaculture, that is, the cultivation of aquatic organisms. Aquaculture supplied 42 % of the world’s fish in 2012 and is forecast to eclipse capture fisheries production by 2030. The balance between these two seafood production systems has profound implications for global food security, income distribution, and ecological sustainability. Here, a qualitative analysis of the ethics and sustainability of capture fisheries and aquaculture is presented. An innovative practical ethics approach is introduced which adapts the ethical matrix, a conceptual tool for analyzing the wellbeing, autonomy, and justice of different interest groups, and Rapfish, a rapid appraisal technique used to evaluate the sustainability of fisheries along six performance modalities, including ethics. Using case studies of global large- and small-scale capture fisheries and generalized carnivorous and omnivorous aquaculture systems, I show that human institutions and social actors interact in complex governance processes to influence seafood ethics and sustainability.     

Seasonal and spatial variation of solvent extractable organic compounds in fine suspended particulate matter in Hong Kong

The results of a 12-month study of more than 100 solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) in particulate matter (PM) less than or equal to 2.5 microm (PM2.5) collected at three air monitoring stations located at roadside, urban, and rural sites in Hong Kong are reported. The total yield of SEOC that accounts for approximately 8-18% of organic carbon (OC) determined by a thermal optical transmittance method was 125-2060 ng/m3, which included 14.6-128 ng/m3 resolved aliphatic hydrocarbons, 39.4-1380 ng/m3 unresolved complex mixtures, 0.6-17.2 ng/m3 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 41.6-520 ng/m3 fatty acids, and < 0.1-12.1 ng/m3 alkanols. Distinct seasonal variations (summer/winter differences) were observed with higher concentrations of the total and each class of SEOC in the winter and lower concentrations in the summer. Spatial variations are also obvious, with the roadside samples having the highest concentrations of SEOC and the rural samples having the lowest concentrations in all seasons. Characteristic ratios of petroleum hydrocarbons, such as carbon preference index, unresolved to resolved components, and carbon number with maximum concentration, suggest that PM2.5 carbon in Hong Kong originates from both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. The proportion of SEOC in PM2.5 from anthropogenic sources is estimated.     

Production of reactive oxygen species and 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine in KB cells co-exposed to benzo[a]pyrene and UV-A radiation

Previous studies have shown that ultraviolet (UV) A light and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) can synergistically enhance the formation of 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in living cells. It has been postulated that the underlying mechanism is production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via photosensitization, but direct evidence supporting this hypothesis has been lacking. This study examined intracellular ROS production in living cells co-exposed to UV-A and BaP as well as the relationship between intracellular production of ROS and formation of 8-OHdG. KB cells were exposed to BaP for 24 h, followed by exposure to UV-A (365 nm) or UV-B (312 nm). The levels of intracellular ROS were directly measured by use of the fluorescent probe dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR-123) in flow cytometry. Levels of 8-OHdG were measured by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD). The results demonstrated that UV-B itself induced a much greater level of intracellular ROS than did UV-A alone under the same dose of energy (0.10 mW/cm(2), 20 min). The presence of BaP (13.3 microM) substantially increased ROS production in UV-A-treated cells (2.9-fold), but only slightly enhanced ROS production in UV-B-treated cells (1.3-fold). These results show that BaP acts mainly as a photosensitizer of UV-A, but not UV-B. Furthermore, greater intracellular ROS production was proportional to both BaP concentration and UV-A dosage. There was a linear relationship between ROS production and 8-OHdG formation in cells co-exposed to BaP and UV-A. Results of this study suggest that UV-A and BaP act synergistically to enhance ROS production and formation of 8-OHdG, resulting in increased DNA damage.     

Interpopulation differences in acute response of Brotia hainanensis (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) to cadmium: genetic or environmental variance?

Adolescent Brotia hainanensis collected from two separate sites along the same river showed markedly different acute responses to cadmium even after laboratory acclimation for one week. Similar interpopulation differences persisted in the F(1) juveniles (< two-day old) which were descendants of laboratory-cultured snails. Although these results could imply that the inter-site differences in cadmium tolerance for the two populations may have a genetic basis, these differences in metal tolerance in the F(1) juveniles disappeared after the juveniles had been cultured under identical laboratory conditions for one week. Quantitative genetical analyses revealed that variance of initial shell length and survival time of F(1) juveniles exposed to 10 mg/litre cadmium was significantly smaller for juveniles that were offspring of the same female as compared with animals that were descendants of different females. Moreover, the survival time was positively correlated with the initial size of the juveniles. Common environmental and maternal effects have an overwhelming influence on cadmium tolerance in these ovoviviparous snails.     

Application of a variable-speed ground-coupled liquid desiccant air-conditioner to multi-story office buildings in temperate regions

A new variable-speed ground-coupled liquid desiccant air-conditioner was proposed and applied to a multi-storey office building in a temperate city of Kunming in China. Dynamic system simulations were performed to compare its performance with a constant-speed ground-source heat pump system. It was found that the use of the new system for a single-floor office reduced the annual unbalanced load to the ground heat exchanger borefield by nearly 70% together with a borehole depth reduction of up to 30%. For the case of a multi-storey office building, the number of floors served could be increased by 144% together with a reduction of CO₂ emission by 43%. The results highlighted the merit of the new hybrid system with enhanced applicability when it was applied to a multi-storey office building in a temperate city.     

Assessment of air quality benefits from national air pollution control policies in China. Part I: Background,emission scenarios and evaluation of meteorological predictions

Under the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP, 2006–2010) for national environmental protection by the Chinese government, the overarching goal for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) controls is to achieve a total national emissions level of SO₂ in 2010 10% lower than the level in 2005. A similar nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions control plan is currently under development and could be enforced during the 12th FYP (2011–2015). In this study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA)’s Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (Models-3/CMAQ) modeling system was applied to assess the air quality improvement that would result from the targeted SO₂ and NO_x emission controls in China. Four emission scenarios — the base year 2005, the 2010 Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, the 2010 SO₂ control scenario, and the 2010 NO_x control scenario—were constructed and simulated to assess the air quality change from the national control plan. The Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) was applied to generate the meteorological fields for the CMAQ simulations. In this Part I paper, the model performance for the simulated meteorology was evaluated against observations for the base case in terms of temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation. It is shown that MM5 model gives an overall good performance for these meteorological variables. The generated meteorological fields are acceptable for using in the CMAQ modeling.     

Public perception of locally unwanted facilities in Hong Kong: implications for conflict resolution

This paper aims to investigate factors affecting public attitude towards the siting of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) and to explore the possible strategies to resolve such conflicts. Three questionnaire surveys were undertaken in communities with different siting experiences and socio-economic profiles. Over 750 individuals were successfully interviewed in each study district. The three communities were found to share similar risk beliefs but show variations in the level of awareness of and response to LULUs. In communities with a disproportionate share of LULUs, many residents did not trust the government in handling LULU issues and thought that the siting process was unfair. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis show that people are likely to oppose the siting of a LULU in their community if they have a negative siting experience, do not perceive the need, accord a high risk to the facility and have a low level of trust in government. The resolution strategies preferred by the public are greater public participation and effective mitigation of risks and impacts, rather than provision of compensation and incentives. All these call for policy-makers to be sensitive to local concerns, engage the public in the process, communicate risks effectively and foster trust building.