Effects of glyphosate and foliar amendments on activity of microorganisms in the soybean rhizosphere

A field study was conducted to determine the effects of glyphosate on microbial activity in the rhizosphere of glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean and to evaluate interactions with foliar amendments. Glyphosate at 0.84 kg ae ha^{? 1} was applied GR soybean at the V4–V5 development stages. Check treatments included a conventional herbicide tank mix (2003 study only) and no herbicides (hand-weeded). Ten days after herbicide application, a commercially available biostimulant and a urea solution (21.0% N) were applied to soybean foliage at 33.5 mL ha^{? 1} and 9.2 kg ha^{? 1}, respectively. Soil and plant samples were taken 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 days after herbicide application then assayed for enzyme and respiration activities. Soil respiration and enzyme activity increased with glyphosate and foliar amendment applications during the 2002 growing season; however, similar increases were not observed in 2003. Contrasting cumulative rainfall between 2002 and 2003 likely accounted for differences in soil microbial activities. Increases in soil microbial activity in 2002 suggest that adequate soil water and glyphosate application acted together to increase microbial activity. Our study suggests that general soil microbial properties including those involving C and N transformations are not sensitive enough to detect effects of glyphosate on rhizosphere microbial activity. Measurements of soil-plant-microbe relationships including specific microbial groups (i.e., root-associated Fusarium spp.) are likely better indicators of impacts of glyphosate on soil microbial ecology.     

Alternative carbon dioxide modelling approaches accounting for high residual gases in LandGEM

High Canadian waste disposal rates necessitate landfill gas monitoring and accurate forecasting. CO₂ estimates in LandGEM version 3.02 currently rest on the assumptions that CO₂ is a function of CH₄, where the two gases make up nearly 100% of landfill gas content, leading to overestimated CO₂ collection estimates. A total of 25 cases (five formulas, five approaches) compared annual CO₂ collection at four western Canadian landfills. Despite common use in literature, the 1:1 ratio of CH₄ to CO₂ was not recommended to forecast landfill gas collection in cold climates. The existing modelling approach significantly overestimated CO₂ production in three of four sites, resulting in the highest residual sum of squares. Optimization resulted in the most accurate results for all formulas and approaches, which had the greatest reduction in residual sums of squares (RSS) over the default approach (60.1 to 97.7%). The 1.4 Ratio approach for L _o:L _o-CO2 yielded the second most accurate results for CO₂ flow (mean RSS reduction of 50.2% for all sites and subsection models). The annual k-modified LandGEM calculated k’s via two empirical formulas (based on precipitation) and yielded the lowest accuracy in 12 of 20 approaches. Unlike other studies, strong relationships between optimized annual k’s and precipitation were not observed.

     

Remote sampling of a CO2 point source in an urban setting

High frequency CO₂ and wind speed measurements were used to examine the urban baseline eddy covariance CO₂ flux and analyse the CO₂ rich plume from a local power station. A reliable relationship between high frequency CO₂ maxima and the rate of CO₂ emission at the power station was established. This relationship was shown to be highly dependant on wind speed. The ensemble mean plume was found to be Gaussian in horizontal profile with a width dependant on wind speed. The relationship between peak CO₂ mixing ratio and averaging time was shown to be a simple power law with a time exponent of approximately 0.5. The large, short pulses in CO₂ mixing ratio in the power plant plume were found to have an approximately Lorentzian shape. These pulses generated negative vertical eddy flux measurements so data from the plume sector were necessarily excluded from the flux baseline results. The plume-excluded flux had a similar magnitude and variability to those reported in other urban CO₂ flux studies despite this site not being ideal due to the proximity of roughness elements to the measurement point.     

Behavioural responses and changes in biology of rice leaffolder following treatment with a combination of bacterial toxins and botanical insecticides

Ingestion of the bacterial toxins Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) sub sp kurstaki, neem seed kernel extract and Vitex negundo L. (Lamiales:Verbenaceae) leaf extract to the rice leaffolder (RLF), Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), resulted in altered leaf-folding behaviour and biology. In laboratory experiments, treatment with plant extracts and bacterial toxins suppressed leaf folding behaviour of C. medinalis. Larvae fed lower doses moulted into progressive instars, but in the late fourth to early fifth instars, spinning behaviour completely stopped, feeding was reduced and larvae regurgitated a sticky, semisolid substance that occluded the tunnel in which the pupae were formed. With the combination of Btk and botanicals, average leaf consumption was decreased by a factor of two even at reduced concentrations when compared with controls. Duration of larval and pupal stages, adult longevity and fecundity were more affected by treatment with the combination of bacterial toxins and both botanicals than by the treatment with the bacterial toxins or botanicals individually. All larvae died in the treatment of bacterial toxins and both botanicals combined.     

Climate change and forests of the future: managing in the face of uncertainty.

We offer a conceptual framework for managing forested ecosystems under an assumption that future environments will be different from present but that we cannot be certain about the specifics of change. We encourage flexible approaches that promote reversible and incremental steps, and that favor ongoing learning and capacity to modify direction as situations change. We suggest that no single solution fits all future challenges, especially in the context of changing climates, and that the best strategy is to mix different approaches for different situations. Resources managers will be challenged to integrate adaptation strategies (actions that help ecosystems accommodate changes adaptively) and mitigation strategies (actions that enable ecosystems to reduce anthropogenic influences on global climate) into overall plans. Adaptive strategies include resistance options (forestall impacts and protect highly valued resources), resilience options (improve the capacity of ecosystems to return to desired conditions after disturbance), and response options (facilitate transition of ecosystems from current to new conditions). Mitigation strategies include options to sequester carbon and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. Priority-setting approaches (e.g., triage), appropriate for rapidly changing conditions and for situations where needs are greater than available capacity to respond, will become increasingly important in the future.     

Mercury in fish from the Pinchi Lake Region, British Columbia, Canada

Water, surface sediments, and <40 cm rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) were collected from Pinchi Lake, British Columbia, and from several nearby reference lakes. Hg concentrations in sediment samples from Pinchi L. were highly elevated compared to sediments from reference lakes, especially in sites adjacent to and downstream of a former Hg mine. In both fish species examined, Hg concentration was positively related to age and/or fork length. In northern pikeminnow, Hg concentrations were also positively related to trophic level (deltaN). Hg concentrations in both fish species were highest in Pinchi L., and were higher in pikeminnow than in rainbow trout of similar size. Average Hg concentrations in small rainbow trout from all lakes, including Pinchi L., were lower than dietary levels reported to cause reproductive impairment in common loons (Gavia immer); however, Hg levels in small pikeminnow from Pinchi L. were sufficiently high to be of concern. The risk for Hg toxicity in the study area is greatest for animals that consume larger piscivorous fish such as larger northern pikeminnow or lake trout, which are known from previous studies to contain higher Hg concentrations.     

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in eggs of red-legged frogs (Rana aurora) and northwestern salamanders (Ambystoma gracile) in an agricultural landscape

Organochlorine pesticides were widely used in the past in Sumas Prairie, British Columbia, Canada. In the 1990s, the hatching success of amphibians from agricultural sites was significantly depressed in the Sumas Prairie compared to reference sites. Therefore, in this study, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in eggs of red-legged frogs (Rana aurora) and northwestern salamanders (Ambystoma gracile) from the Sumas Prairie. Egg masses were sampled from three agricultural sites that were exposed to agricultural runoff, and three reference sites that had lower agricultural runoff exposures. Not only was there little difference in contamination between agricultural and reference sites, but the levels of pesticides and PCBs found were lower than the concentrations reported to cause developmental or behavioural problems in amphibians.     

Environmental contaminants and reproductive success of great blue herons Ardea herodias in British Columbia, 1986-1987

In 1986, eggs were collected and productivity estimated at four great blue heron (Ardea herodias) colonies on the coast of British Columbia. Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were present in all eggs in a qualitatively similar pattern among colonies. PCDD levels were significantly elevated at a colony near a kraft pulp mill at Crofton on Vancouver Island, although there was no correlation between the number of young raised in a nest and levels of either PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs, organochlorine pesticides or mercury. In 1987, heron productivity was normal at three colonies, while the colony at Crofton failed to raise any young. A normal complement of eggs were apparently laid in about 57 nests, but during incubation they were destroyed and the broken eggshells were found in and beneath the nests. Analysis of eggs salvaged from nests showed that 2378-TCDD levels were about three times higher in 1987 than in 1986. At a colony in Vancouver, 2378-TCDF levels were significantly higher in 1987 than 1986 eggs. Levels of organochlorine pesticides and total mercury in eggs were generally low; highest residue levels were found in two mainland colonies, particularly at one adjacent to an agricultural area. Total PCB levels were low and did not differ significantly among locations. Analysis of PCB congener ratios indicated different sources of PCBs. Regurgitated prey samples collected in 1986 from four locations had generally low levels of PCDD, PCDF, mercury, lead and cadmium contamination.