Spatial distribution of enhanced atrazine degradation across northeastern Colorado cropping systems

Reports of enhanced atrazine degradation and reduced residual weed control have increased in recent years, sparking interest in identifying factors contributing to enhanced atrazine degradation. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the spatial distribution of enhanced atrazine degradation in 45 commercial farm fields in northeastern Colorado (Kit Carson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, and Yuma counties) where selected cultural management practices and soil bio-chemo-physical properties were quantified; (ii) utilize Classification and Regression Tree (CART) Analysis to identify cultural management practices and (or) soil bio-chemophysical attributes that are associated with enhanced atrazine degradation; and (iii) translate our CART Analysis into a model that predicts relative atrazine degradation rate (rapid, moderate, or slow) as a function of known management practices and (or) soil properties. Enhanced atrazine degradation was widespread within a 300-km radius across northeastern Colorado, with approximately 44% of the fields demonstrating rapid atrazine degradation activity (laboratory-based dissipation time halflife [DT50] < 3 d). The most rapid degradation rates occurred in fields that received the most frequent atrazine applications. Classification and Regression Tree Analysis resulted in a prediction model that correctly classified soils with rapid atrazine DT50 80% of the time and soils with slow degradation (DT50 > 8 d) 62.5% of the time. Significant factors were recent atrazine use history, soil pH, and organic matter content. The presence/absence of atzC polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product was not a significant predictor variable for atrazine DT50. In conclusion, enhanced atrazine degradation is widespread in northeastern Colorado. If producers know their atrazine use history, soil pH, and OM content, they should be able to identify fields exhibiting enhanced atrazine degradation using our CART Model.     

Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in the perched ground water under seepage-irrigated potato cropping systems

Excessive nitrogen rates for potato production in northeast Florida have been declared as a potential source of nitrate pollution in the St. Johns River watershed. This 3-yr study examined the effect of N rates (0, 168, and 280 kg ha(-1)) split between planting and 40 d after planting on the NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water under potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Atlantic) in rotation with sorghum sudan grass hybrid (Sorghum vulgare x Sorghum vulgare var. sudanese, cv. SX17), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata cv. Iron Clay), and greenbean (Phaseolus vulgare cv. Espada). Soil solution from the root zone and water from the perched ground water under potato were sampled periodically using lysimeters and wells, respectively. Fertilization at planting increased the NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water, but no effect of the legumes in rotation with potatoes on nitrate leaching was detected. Fertilization of green bean increased NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water under potato planted in the following season. The NO(3)-N concentration in the soil solution within the potato root zone followed a similar pattern to that of the perched ground water but with higher initial values. The NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water was proportional to the rainfall magnitude after potato planting. A significant increase in NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water under cowpea planted in summer after potato was detected for the side-dressing of 168 kg ha(-1) N applied to potato 40 d after planting but not at the 56 kg ha(-1) N side-dress. Elevation in NO(3)-N concentration in the perched ground water under sorghum was not significant, supporting its use as an effective N catch crop.     

EPIC tile flow and nitrate loss predictions for three Minnesota cropping systems

Subsurface tile drains are a key source of nitrate N (NO3-N) losses to streams in parts of the north central USA. In this study, the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model was evaluated by comparing measured vs. predicted tile flow, tile NO3-N loss, soil profile residual NO3-N, crop N uptake, and yield, using 4 yr of data collected at a site near Lamberton, MN, for three crop rotations: continuous corn (Zea mays L.) or CC, corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] or CS, and continuous alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) or CA. Initially, EPIC was run using standard Soil Conservation Service (SCS) runoff curve numbers (CN2) for CC and CS; monthly variations were accurately tracked for tile flow (r2 = 0.86 and 0.90) and NO3-N loss (r2 = 0.69 and 0.52). However, average annual CC and CS tile flows were underpredicted by -32 and -34%, and corresponding annual NO3-N losses were underpredicted by -11 and -52%. Predicted average annual tile flows and NO3-N losses generally improved following calibration of the CN2; tile flow underpredictions were -9 and - 12%, whereas NO3-N losses were 0.6 and -54%. Adjusting a N parameter further improved predicted CS NO3-N losses. Predicted monthly tile flows and NO3-N losses for the CA simulation compared poorly with observed values (r2 values of 0.27 and 0.19); the annual drainage volumes and N losses were of similar magnitude to those measured. Overall, EPIC replicated the relative impacts of the three cropping systems on N fate.     

Net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity in irrigated cropping systems in northeastern Colorado

The impact of management on global warming potential (GWP), crop production, and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) in irrigated agriculture is not well documented. A no-till (NT) cropping systems study initiated in 1999 to evaluate soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential in irrigated agriculture was used in this study to make trace gas flux measurements for 3 yr to facilitate a complete greenhouse gas accounting of GWP and GHGI. Fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O were measured using static, vented chambers, one to three times per week, year round, from April 2002 through October 2004 within conventional-till continuous corn (CT-CC) and NT continuous corn (NT-CC) plots and in NT corn-soybean rotation (NT-CB) plots. Nitrogen fertilizer rates ranged from 0 to 224 kg N ha(-1). Methane fluxes were small and did not differ between tillage systems. Nitrous oxide fluxes increased linearly with increasing N fertilizer rate each year, but emission rates varied with years. Carbon dioxide efflux was higher in CT compared to NT in 2002 but was not different by tillage in 2003 or 2004. Based on soil respiration and residue C inputs, NT soils were net sinks of GWP when adequate fertilizer was added to maintain crop production. The CT soils were smaller net sinks for GWP than NT soils. The determinant for the net GWP relationship was a balance between soil respiration and N2O emissions. Based on soil C sequestration, only NT soils were net sinks for GWP. Both estimates of GWP and GHGI indicate that when appropriate crop production levels are achieved, net CO2 emissions are reduced. The results suggest that economic viability and environmental conservation can be achieved by minimizing tillage and utilizing appropriate levels of fertilizer.     

Regional industrial ecology: examples from regional economic systems of forest industry and energy supply in Finland

Industrial ecology (IE) promotes the development of industrial systems based on recycling of matter and cascading of energy through cooperation. In this paper, the local/regional industrial ecosystem approach is reflected in two examples from Finland. The local forest industry system is based on renewable resources, waste materials and energy utilisation between forestry companies, a saw-mill, a pulp mill, a paper mill and a forest industry power plant. Waste energy from electricity production is used for production of heat and process steam. Regional city energy supply systems in Finland are also to a large extent arranged around power plants that utilise waste energy. The potential of combining the forest industry system with the energy supply systems of cities is considered and the conditions for success in the Finnish case are discussed.     

Tropical forests: The policy challenge

Summary Tropical forests are being destroyed faster than ever, the rate having almost doubled during the 1980s. The main agent of deforestation now turns out to be the displaced peasant or landless farmer, sometimes known as the shifted cultivator; that group accounts for more forest loss than the combined impacts of the commercial logger, the cattle rancher and all other better known sources of deforestation. Yet, the over-riding target of conservation efforts remains the minor players in the forest's decline. All too little attention is directed towards the shifted cultivator, and next to nothing is done to address the problem which this group represents. Policy purviews need to be expanded to include the key factor of the shifted cultivator. In turn, it must determined what impels these people to abandon established farming areas in the countries concerned and to migrate into the forests. It appears that these people are driven by an array of forces: population growth, maldistribution of arable lands, inadequate rural infrastructure and lack of government attention to subsistence agriculture. In other words, the source problem is an amalgam of non-forestry factors, and conservationists will not achieve success in safeguarding the remaining forests unless they direct much more emphasis towards these root causes of deforestation.Dr Norman Myers is a consultant in environment and development, a member of this journal's Advisory Board and a regular contributor to the journal (seeThe Environmentalist,8(3), 187–208 and10(4), 243–256).     

Nitrogen, tillage, and crop rotation effects on nitrous oxide emissions from irrigated cropping systems

We evaluated the effects of irrigated crop management practices on nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from soil. Emissions were monitored from several irrigated cropping systems receiving N fertilizer rates ranging from 0 to 246 kg N ha(-1) during the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons. Cropping systems included conventional-till (CT) continuous corn (Zea mays L.), no-till (NT) continuous corn, NT corn-dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (NT-CDb), and NT corn-barley (Hordeum distichon L.) (NT-CB). In 2005, half the N was subsurface band applied as urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) at planting to all corn plots, with the rest of the N applied surface broadcast as a polymer-coated urea (PCU) in mid-June. The entire N rate was applied as UAN at barley and dry bean planting in the NT-CB and NT-CDb plots in 2005. All plots were in corn in 2006, with PCU being applied at half the N rate at corn emergence and a second N application as dry urea in mid-June followed by irrigation, both banded on the soil surface in the corn row. Nitrous oxide fluxes were measured during the growing season using static, vented chambers (1-3 times wk(-1)) and a gas chromatograph analyzer. Linear increases in N(2)O emissions were observed with increasing N-fertilizer rate, but emission amounts varied with growing season. Growing season N(2)O emissions were greater from the NT-CDb system during the corn phase of the rotation than from the other cropping systems. Crop rotation and N rate had more effect than tillage system on N(2)O emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions from N application ranged from 0.30 to 0.75% of N applied. Spikes in N(2)O emissions after N fertilizer application were greater with UAN and urea than with PCU fertilizer. The PCU showed potential for reducing N(2)O emissions from irrigated cropping systems.     

Tillage, cropping systems, and nitrogen fertilizer source effects on soil carbon sequestration and fractions

Quantification of soil carbon (C) cycling as influenced by management practices is needed for C sequestration and soil quality improvement. We evaluated the 10-yr effects of tillage, cropping system, and N source on crop residue and soil C fractions at 0- to 20-cm depth in Decatur silt loam (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic, Typic Paleudults) in northern Alabama, USA. Treatments were incomplete factorial combinations of three tillage practices (no-till [NT], mulch till [MT], and conventional till [CT]), two cropping systems (cotton [Gossypium hirsutum L.]-cotton-corn [Zea mays L.] and rye [Secale cereale L.]/cotton-rye/cotton-corn), and two N fertilization sources and rates (0 and 100 kg N ha(-1) from NH(4)NO(3) and 100 and 200 kg N ha(-1) from poultry litter). Carbon fractions were soil organic C (SOC), particulate organic C (POC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and potential C mineralization (PCM). Crop residue varied among treatments and years and total residue from 1997 to 2005 was greater in rye/cotton-rye/cotton-corn than in cotton-cotton-corn and greater with NH(4)NO(3) than with poultry litter at 100 kg N ha(-1). The SOC content at 0 to 20 cm after 10 yr was greater with poultry litter than with NH(4)NO(3) in NT and CT, resulting in a C sequestration rate of 510 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1) with poultry litter compared with -120 to 147 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1) with NH(4)NO(3). Poultry litter also increased PCM and MBC compared with NH(4)NO(3). Cropping increased SOC, POC, and PCM compared with fallow in NT. Long-term poultry litter application or continuous cropping increased soil C storage and microbial biomass and activity compared with inorganic N fertilization or fallow, indicating that these management practices can sequester C, offset atmospheric CO(2) levels, and improve soil and environmental quality.     

Nitrous oxide emissions from a Northern Great Plains soil as influenced by nitrogen management and cropping systems

Field measurements of N2O emissions from soils are limited for cropping systems in the semiarid northern Great Plains (NGP). The objectives were to develop N2O emission-time profiles for cropping systems in the semiarid NGP, define important periods of loss, determine the impact of best management practices on N2O losses, and estimate direct N fertilizer-induced emissions (FIE). No-till (NT) wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)-fallow, wheat-wheat, and wheat-pea (Pisum sativum), and conventional till (CT) wheat-fallow, all with three N regimes (200 and 100 kg N ha(-1) available N, unfertilized control); plus a perennial grass-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) system were sampled over 2 yr using vented chambers. Cumulative 2-yr N2O emissions were modest in contrast to reports from more humid regions. Greatest N2O flux activity occurred following urea-N fertilization (10-wk) and during freeze-thaw cycles. Together these periods comprised up to 84% of the 2-yr total. Nitrification was probably the dominant process responsible for N2O emissions during the post-N fertilization period, while denitrification was more important during freeze-thaw cycles. Cumulative 2-yr N2O-N losses from fertilized regimes were greater for wheat-wheat (1.31 kg N ha(-1)) than wheat-fallow (CT and NT) (0.48 kg N ha(-1)), and wheat-pea (0.71 kg N ha(-1)) due to an additional N fertilization event. Cumulative losses from unfertilized cropping systems were not different from perennial grass-alfalfa (0.28 kg N ha(-1)). Tillage did not affect N2O losses for the wheat-fallow systems. Mean FIE level was equivalent to 0.26% of applied N, and considerably below the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mean default value (1.25%).     

Long-term trends in nitrous oxide emissions, soil nitrogen, and crop yields of till and no-till cropping systems

No-till cropping can increase soil C stocks and aggregation but patterns of long-term changes in N2O emissions, soil N availability, and crop yields still need to be resolved. We measured soil C accumulation, aggregation, soil water, N2O emissions, soil inorganic N, and crop yields in till and no-till corn-soybean-wheat rotations between 1989 and 2002 in southwestern Michigan and investigated whether tillage effects varied over time or by crop. Mean annual NO3- concentrations in no-till were significantly less than in conventional till in three of six corn years and during one year of wheat production. Yields were similar in each system for all 14 years but three, during which yields were higher in no-till, indicating that lower soil NO3- concentrations did not result in lower yields. Carbon accumulated in no-till soils at a rate of 26 g C m(-2) yr(-1) over 12 years at the 0- to 5-cm soil depth. Average nitrous oxide emissions were similar in till (3.27 +/- 0.52 g N ha d(-1)) and no-till (3.63 +/- 0.53 g N ha d(-1)) systems and were sufficient to offset 56 to 61% of the reduction in CO2 equivalents associated with no-till C sequestration. After controlling for rotation and environmental effects by normalizing treatment differences between till and no-till systems we found no significant trends in soil N, N2O emissions, or yields through time. In our sandy loam soils, no-till cropping enhances C storage, aggregation, and associated environmental processes with no significant ecological or yield tradeoffs.     

Environmental logistics engineering: A new approach to industrial ecology

Industrial Ecology is, thus far, the most plausible model for realizing the ideal of sustainability. It dispels the notion that the flow of resources can continue along a one-way street from nature to mankind. Today, it is fairly well-understood that economies and ecosystems are structured and operate in strikingly similar ways. Healthy economies and healthy ecosystems depend on elemental diversity and unencumbered interchanges. Yet, maintaining and sustaining both healthy economies and healthy ecosystems continue to be viewed as disparate goals. How can this unfortunate mind-set be changed? The authors show how logistics engineering could be the best approach to implementing a two-part solution to this environmental business conundrum.     

Improving food security in Swaziland: The transition from subsistence to communally managed cash cropping

The Komati Downstream Development Project (KDDP), based upon the Maguga Dam has enabled 6,000 hectares of semi‐arid lowveld, in a region with low and highly variable rainfall to be converted from subsistence to irrigated commercial farming, mainly of sugar cane. This has transformed the Swazi sugar industry from one dominated by a small number of large‐scale commercial estates to one where more than 1,500 previously impoverished small‐scale Swazi farmers have been able to enter the industry by joining farmers’ associations and creating communally managed farms. Recent changes to the EU's Sugar Protocol have undermined the financial viability of the KDDP farms and undermined food security, especially for the poorest, due to the cut in sugar prices. However, some farmers’ associations have opted to keep some of their land as irrigated home gardens, rather than convert all their land to sugar cane. This model has improved food security at a time of low sugar prices and points to a more sustainable way of using water from large scale dams than the conventional model. It is argued that the EU should target support to members of the KDDP who have taken out large‐scale loans to pay for the in‐field infrastructure and encourage all farmers’ associations to adopt the food garden model. This would enable them to continue to benefit from the irrigation through improved production of subsistence crops, whilst they diversify their commercial production into novel markets.     

Urban reconciliation ecology: the potential of living roofs and walls

Reconciling human and non-human use of urban regions to support biological conservation represents a major challenge for the 21st century. The concept of reconciliation ecology, by which the anthropogenic environment may be modified to encourage non-human use and biodiversity preservation without compromising societal utilization, potentially represents an appropriate paradigm for urban conservation given the generally poor opportunities that exist for reserve establishment and ecological restoration in urban areas. Two habitat improvement techniques with great potential for reconciliation ecology in urban areas are the installation of living roofs and walls, which have been shown to support a range of taxa at local scales. This paper evaluates the reconciliation potential of living roofs and walls, in particular highlighting both ecological and societal limitations that need to be overcome for application at the landscape scale. We further consider that successful utilization of living roofs and walls for urban reconciliation ecology will rely heavily on the participation of urban citizens, and that a 'citizen science' model is needed to facilitate public participation and support and to create an evidence base to determine their effectiveness. Living roofs and walls are just one aspect of urban reconciliation ecology, but are particularly important 'bottom-up' techniques for improving urban biodiversity that can be performed directly by the citizenry.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus exports from high rainfall zone cropping in Australia: issues and opportunities for research

Cropping is one of the many industries contributing to the excessive loading of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to rivers and lakes in Australia. Nitrogen and P exports from cropping systems have not been systematically investigated to the same extent as those from other agricultural sectors, such as dairy pastures. Therefore, this review relies heavily on information derived from agronomy and other fundamental studies on soil-nutrient interactions to determine the potential for nutrient export from high rainfall zone (HRZ) cropping. There is a great deal of variation in environmental and management strategies across cropping in the HRZ, which suggests that nutrient exports could occur under a range of scenarios. The potential for exports is therefore discussed within a conceptual framework of nutrient sources, mechanisms for mobilization, and transport pathways in HRZ cropping. Transport refers to nutrient movement by flowing water after it has been mobilized, and export refers to the transfer of nutrients from one landscape compartment (e.g., a soil) to another (e.g., a stream or lake). The transport of nutrients from HRZ cropping can occur through surface and/or subsurface pathways depending on factors such as landform and infiltration and nutrient sorption characteristics of the soil profile. Surface pathways are likely to be more significant for phosphorus. For N, subsurface movement is likely to be as significant as surface movement because nitrates are generally not bound by most soils. Information about mechanisms of nutrient mobilization is essential for developing management strategies to control nutrient exports from HRZ cropping.