Using Relative Risk to Compare the Effects of Aquatic Stressors at a Regional Scale

The regional-scale importance of an aquatic stressor depends both on its regional extent (i.e., how widespread it is) and on the severity of its effects in ecosystems where it is found. Sample surveys, such as those developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), are designed to estimate and compare the extents, throughout a large region, of elevated conditions for various aquatic stressors. In this article, we propose relative risk as a complementary measure of the severity of each stressor’s effect on a response variable that characterizes aquatic ecological condition. Specifically, relative risk measures the strength of association between stressor and response variables that can be classified as either “good” (i.e., reference) or “poor” (i.e., different from reference). We present formulae for estimating relative risk and its confidence interval, adapted for the unequal sample inclusion probabilities employed in EMAP surveys. For a recent EMAP survey of streams in five Mid-Atlantic states, we estimated the relative extents of eight stressors as well as their relative risks to aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages, with assemblage condition measured by an index of biotic integrity (IBI). For example, a measure of excess sedimentation had a relative risk of 1.60 for macroinvertebrate IBI, with the meaning that poor IBI conditions were 1.6 times more likely to be found in streams having poor conditions of sedimentation than in streams having good sedimentation conditions. We show how stressor extent and relative risk estimates, viewed together, offer a compact and comprehensive assessment of the relative importances of multiple stressors.     

Changes in soil characteristics and plant species composition along a moisture gradient in a Mediterranean pasture

Soil physicochemical characteristics, total aboveground biomass, number of species and relative abundance of groups and individual species were measured along a moisture gradient in a pasture, flooded in part during winter through early summer, adjacent to Pamvotis lake in Ioannina, Greece. Soil and vegetation measurements were conducted in 39 quadrats arranged in four zones perpendicular to the moisture gradient. The zone closest to the lake, recently separated from the lake, became part of the pasture and its soil texture was quite different from that of the other zones with a substrate containing 91% sand. Except for pH, this zone had the lowest values in the other five soil physicochemical characteristics measured (organic matter, total and extracted inorganic nitrogen, Olsen extracted phosphorus and extractable potassium); in the other zones organic matter, total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium tended to increase from the driest to the wettest zone. Total aboveground biomass, ranging from 280 to 840 gm-2, is high for herbaceous pastures in the conditions of Mediterranean climate and it was not related to distance from the lake's shoreline, although the highest values were measured at intermediate distances, or to any of the various soil characteristics measured. Also, the number of species/0.25 m2 was not related to any of the various soil characteristics, but it was highest at the intermediate distances from the lake's shoreline. Species composition varied along the moisture gradient. Forbs as well as annual grasses and legumes declined in abundance from the driest to the wettest places; the reverse was the case for sedges and perennial grasses and legumes. These results indicate that the soil moisture gradient was the principal factor affecting soil characteristics and plant species composition. Since most species were recorded in all the four zones of the pasture, indicating that these can tolerate all variations in abiotic conditions of pasture, the vegetation zonation seems to be influenced by competition. Each functional group of species tends to dominate in a particular range of the soil moisture gradient where it is better suited and tends to exclude competitively other species. Management practices (mowing and grazing) affect the kinds of processes which maintain the observed community structure either by preventing the establishment of later successional species, like reeds and woody species, or by moderating the shoot competition, especially in the wetter zones, and thus permitting the creeping species to grow successfully.     

Incompatible Land Uses and the Topology of Cumulative Risk

The extensive literature on environmental justice has, by now, well defined the essential ingredients of cumulative risk, namely, incompatible land uses and vulnerability. Most problematic is the case when risk is produced by a large aggregation of small sources of air toxics. In this article, we test these notions in an area of Southern California, Southeast Los Angeles (SELA), which has come to be known as Asthmatown. Developing a rapid risk mapping protocol, we scan the neighborhood for small potential sources of air toxics and find, literally, hundreds of small point sources within a 2-mile radius, interspersed with residences. We also map the estimated cancer risks and noncancer hazard indices across the landscape. We find that, indeed, such large aggregations of even small, nondominant sources of air toxics can produce markedly elevated levels of risk. In this study, the risk profiles show additional cancer risks of up to 800 in a million and noncancer hazard indices of up to 200 in SELA due to the agglomeration of small point sources. This is significant (for example, estimates of the average regional point-source-related cancer risk range from 125 to 200 in a million). Most importantly, if we were to talk about the risk contour as if they were geological structures, we would observe not only a handful of distinct peaks, but a general “mountain range” running all throughout the study area, which underscores the ubiquity of risk in SELA. Just as cumulative risk has deeply embedded itself into the fabric of the place, so, too, must intervention seek to embed strategies into the institutions and practices of SELA. This has implications for advocacy, as seen in a recently initiated participatory action research project aimed at building health research capacities into the community in keeping with an ethic of care.     

Persistence of fermentative process to phenolic toxicity in groundwater

The fermentation process is an important component in the biodegradation of organic compounds in natural and contaminated systems. Comparing with terminal electron-accepting processes (TEAPs), however, research on fermentation processes has to some extent been ignored in the past decades, particularly on the persistence of fermentation process in the presence of toxic organic pollutants. Both field and laboratory studies, presented here, showed that microbial processes in a groundwater-based system exhibited a differential inhibitory response to toxicity of phenolic compounds from coal tar distillation, thus resulting in the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and hydrogen. This indicated that fermentation processes could be more resistant to phenol toxicity than the subsequent TEAPs such as methanogenesis and sulfate reduction, thus providing us with more options for enhancing bioremediation processes.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus leaching from growing season versus year-round application of wastewater on seasonally frozen lands

Land application of wastewater has become an important disposal option for food-processing plants operating year-round. However, there are concerns about nutrient leaching from winter wastewater application on frozen soils. In this study, P and N leaching were compared between nongrowing season application of tertiary-treated wastewater plus growing season application of partially treated wastewater (NGS) vs. growing season application of partially treated wastewater (GS) containing high levels of soil P. As required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the wastewater applied to the NGS fields during October through March was treated such that it contained < or =6 mg L(-1) total phosphorus (TP), < or =10 mg L(-1) NO3-N, and < or =20 mg L(-1) total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN). The only regulation for wastewater application during the growing season (April through September) was that cumulatively it did not exceed the agronomic N requirements of the crop in any sprayfield. Application of tertiary-treated wastewater during the nongrowing season plus partially treated wastewater during the growing season did not significantly increase NO3-N leaching compared with growing season application of nonregulated wastewater. However, median TP concentration in leachate was significantly higher from the NGS (3.56 mg L(-1)) than from the GS sprayfields (0.52 mg L(-1)) or nonirrigated sites (0.52 mg L(-1)). Median TP leaching loss was also significantly higher from the NGS sprayfields (57 kg ha(-1)) than from the GS (7.4 kg ha(-1)) or control sites (6.9 kg ha(-1)). This was mainly due to higher hydraulic loading from winter wastewater application and limited or no crop P uptake during winter. Results from this study indicate that winter application of even low P potato-processing wastewater to high P soils can accelerate P leaching. We conclude that the regulation of winter wastewater application on frozen soils should be based on wastewater P concentration and permissible loading. We also recommend that winter irrigation should take soil P saturation into consideration.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus status of soils and trophic state of lakes associated with forage-based beef cattle operations in Florida

Forage-based livestock systems have been implicated as major contributors to deteriorating water quality, particularly for phosphorus (P) from commercial fertilizers and manures affecting surface and ground water quality. Little information exists regarding possible magnitudes of nutrient losses from pastures that are managed for both grazing and hay production and how these might impact adjacent bodies of water. We examined the changes that have occurred in soil fertility levels of rhizoma peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.)-based beef cattle pastures (n = 4) in Florida from 1988 to 2002. These pastures were managed for grazing in spring followed by haying in late summer and were fertilized annually with P (39 kg P2O5 ha(-1)) and K (68 kg K2O ha(-1)). Additionally, we investigated trends in water quality parameters and trophic state index (TSI) of lakes (n = 3) associated with beef cattle operations from 1993 to 2002. Overall, there was no spatial or temporal buildup of soil P and other crop nutrients despite the annual application of fertilizers and daily in-field loading of animal waste. In fact, soil fertility levels showed a declining trend for crop nutrient levels, especially soil P (y = 146.57 - 8.14 x year; r2= 0.75), even though the fields had a history of P fertilization and the cattle were rotated into the legume fields. Our results indicate that when nutrients are not applied in excess, cow-calf systems are slight exporters of P, K, Ca, and Mg through removal of cut hay. Water quality in lakes associated with cattle production was "good" (30-46 TSI) based on the Florida Water Quality Standard. These findings indicate that properly managed livestock operations may not be major contributors to excess loads of nutrients (especially P) in surface water.     

Phosphorus sequestration by chemical amendments to reduce leaching from wastewater applications

Phosphorus-immobilizing amendments can be useful in minimizing P leaching from high P soils that may be irrigated with wastewater. This study tested the P-binding ability of various amendment materials in a laboratory incubation experiment and then tested the best amendment in a field setup using drainage lysimeters. The laboratory experiment involved incubating 100-g samples of soil (72 mg kg(-1) water-extractable phosphorus, WEP) with various amendments at different rates for 63 d at field moisture capacity and 25 degrees C. The amendments tested were alum [Al2SO4)3.14H2O], ferric chloride (FeCl3), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), water treatment residual (WTR), and sugarbeet lime (SBL). Ferric chloride and alum at rates of 1.5 and 3.9 g kg(-1), respectively, were the most effective amendments that decreased WEP to 20 mg kg(-1), below which leaching has previously been shown to be low. Alum (1.3 kg m(-2)), which is less sensitive to redox conditions, was subsequently tested under field conditions, where it reduced WEP concentration in the 0- to 0.15-m layer from 119 mg kg(-1) on Day 0 to 36.1 mg kg(-1) (85% decrease) on Day 41. Lysimeter breakthrough tests using tertiary-treated potato-processing wastewater (mean total phosphorus [TP] = 3.4 mg L(-1)) showed that alum application reduced leachate TP and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations by 27 and 25%, respectively. These results indicate that alum application may be an effective strategy to immobilize P in high P coarse-textured soils. The relatively smaller decreases in TP and SRP in the leachate compared to WEP suggest some of the P may be coming from depths below 0.2 m. Thus, to achieve higher P sequestration, deeper incorporation of the alum may be necessary.     

Carbon and nitrogen mineralization rates after application of organic amendments to soil

The objective of this study was to quantify C and N mineralization rates from a range of organic amendments that differed in their total C and N contents and C quality, to gain a better understanding of their influence on the soil N cycle. A pelletized poultry manure (PP), two green waste-based composts (GWCa, GWCb), a straw-based compost (SBC), and a vermi-cast (VER) were incubated in a coarse-textured soil at 15 degrees C for 142 d. The C quality of each amendment was determined by chemical analysis and by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Carbon dioxide (CO2-C) evolution was determined using alkali traps. Gross N mineralization rates were calculated by 15N isotopic pool dilution. The CO2-C evolution rates and gross N mineralization rates were generally higher in amended soils than in the control soil. With the exception of GWCb all amendments released inorganic N at concentrations that would be high enough to warrant a reduction in inorganic N fertilizer application rates. The amount of N released from PP was high indicating that application rates should be reduced, or alternative amendments used, to minimize leaching losses in regions where ground water quality is of concern. There was a highly significant relationship between CO2-C evolution and gross N mineralization (R2= 0.95). Some of the chemically determined C quality parameters had significant relationships (p < 0.05) with both the cumulative amounts of C and N evolved. However, we found no significant relationships between 13C NMR spectral groupings, or their ratios, and either the CO2-C evolved or gross N mineralized from the amendments.     

Environmental and production consequences of using alum-amended poultry litter as a nutrient source for corn

Field trials were established to compare alum-treated poultry litter (ATPL), normal poultry litter (NPL), and triple superphosphate (TSP) as fertilizer sources for corn (Zea mays L.) when applied at rates based on current litter management strategies in Virginia. Trials were established in the Costal Plain and Piedmont physiographic regions near Painter and Orange, VA, respectively. Nitrogen-based applications of ATPL or NPL applied at rates estimated to supply 173 kg of plant-available nitrogen (PAN) ha(-1) resulted in significantly lower grain yields than treatments receiving commercial fertilizer at the same rate in 2000 and 2001 at Painter. These decreases in grain yield at the N-based application rates were attributed to inadequate N availability, resulting from overestimates of PAN as demonstrated by tissue N concentrations. However, at Orange no treatment effects on grain yield were observed. Applications of ATPL did not affect Al concentrations in corn ear-leaves at either location. Exchangeable soil Al concentrations were most elevated in treatments receiving only NH4NO3 as an N source. At N-based application rates, the ATPL resulted in lower Mehlich 1-extractable P (M1-P) and water-extractable soil phosphorus (H2O-P) concentrations compared to the application of NPL. A portion of this reduction could be attributed to lower rates of P applied in the N-based ATPL treatments. Runoff collected from treatments which received ATPL 2 d before conducting rainfall simulations contained 61 to 71% less dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) than treatments receiving NPL. These results show that ATPL may be used as a nutrient source for corn production without significant management alterations. Alum-treated poultry litter can also reduce the environmental impact of litter applications, primarily through minimizing the P status of soils receiving long-term applications of litter and reductions in runoff DRP losses shortly after application.