Developing a National Indicator of Soil Quality on U.S Forestlands: Methods and Initial Results

The Montreal Process was formed in 1994 to develop an internationally agreed upon set of criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests. In response to this initiative, the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) programs of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service have implemented soil measurements as part of a national monitoring program to address specific questions related to the conservation of soil and water resources. Integration of soil assessments into the national FIA program provides for systematic monitoring of soil properties across all forested regions of the U.S. using standardized collection, laboratory, and statistical procedures that are compatible with existing forest inventory data. The resulting information will provide quantitative benchmarks for regional, national, and international reporting on sustainable forest management and enhance our understanding of management effects on soil quality. This paper presents an overview of the FIA soil monitoring program, outlines the field and laboratory protocols as currently implemented, and provides examples of how these data may be used to assess indicators of sustainable management as defined by the Montreal Process.     

The use of Landsat to monitor Deep Water Dumpsite 106

Since the early 1970's, remote sensing has been used to study ocean dumping at some of the hearshore ocean dump sites off the coast of the United States, but little remote sensing had been done over the deep water ocean disposal sites. This report summarizes what has been learned from the remote sensing of ocean dumping by the Landsat satellites at Deep Water Dumpsite 106. Of the three major types of waste material discharged at Deep Water Dumpsite 106, only the titanium pigment process acid waste has been sighted. From early in 1977 to May 1979, 11 acid dumps were observed by Landsat. All five of the dumps sighted in 1977 occurred within warm core Gulf Stream eddies and the plumes moved clockwise within the eddies. Four of those dumps were seen to be located northeast of the original dump location while the fifth one was sighted south of the original dump location. The six remaining observed dumps, discharged in the absence of an eddy, were seen to be located generally south of the original dumping locations. The average speed of the dump movement was 0.68 kt with a range from 0.17 to 1.17 kts. Plume dispersion showed a tendency toward greater dispersion as the plume got older with the widest plume cross section measured on the order of 2100 m.     

A MORPHOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC EXAMINATION OF PLUNGE POOLS AS ENERGY DISSIPATERS IN URBAN STREAM CHANNELS1

ABSTRACT: Naturally formed plunge pools (scour holes) are a common morphologic feature in many urban stream systems where the transition between a pipe and a natural channel occurs. Plunge pools serve as significant stream energy dissipaters, increasing flow resistance and enhancing stream channel stability. Such features may also improve habitat diversity and serve as refugia for stream biota during low flow periods. The morphologic characteristics of several naturally formed plunge pools associated with road crossing culvert outlets in the metropolitan Charlotte, North Carolina, area are presented. Plunge pool dimensions surveyed include maximum depth, length, and width, and longitudinal and side slopes as well as bed material. Culvert outlet dimensions and hydraulic characteristics of the scouring jet for each study site are also reported. Design equations developed from flume studies generally failed to predict the naturally formed plunge pool dimensions. Pool volume was significantly correlated with drainage area, with pool depth being the least sensitive dimension to changes in the magnitude of the scouring flow. The excavation costs for designed plunge pools compare favorably to initial construction costs of traditional culvert outlet riprap aprons.     

An ecological approach to environmental impact assessment

Carbon cycling analysis is presented as a means for assessing anthropogenic perturbations in an ecosystem. Data from oligotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic (bog) lakes are used to show general trends in the lacustrine carbon cycle. The oligotrophic lake is an unstressed system and the eutrophic lake is under nutrient enrichment with high algal standing crops and productivity. The bog lake is a pH-stressed environment that is primarily a grazing ecosystem. It is hoped that a more effective environmental impact assessment will result from the use of carbon cycling as a unifying concept in ecosystem analysis.     

EFFECT OF WOODY DEBRIS ENTRAPMENT ON FLOW RESISTANCE1

ABSTRACT: Recent environmental concerns in floodplain management have stimulated research of the effect vegetation and debris have on flow conveyance, and their function in a productive riparian ecosystem. Although the effect of stable, in-channel woody debris formations on flow resistance has been noted by several authors, studies concerning entrapment of detrital debris in vegetation are lacking. Logs, limbs, branches, leaves and other debris transported during flooding often become lodged against bridges, hydraulic structures, trees and vegetation, and other obstacles, particularly in and near the overbank areas. Hydraulic measurements obtained in a channel prior to and following the removal of woody debris indicated that the average Manning's n value was 39 percent greater when woody debris was present. An examination of the drag-velocity relation for vegetation indicated that an increase in the frontal area of debris and/or vegetation results in a nearly proportional increase in Manning's n. The influence of debris on flow resistance decreased as flow depth increased.     

Emerging trends in mining industry partnerships

The article analyzes mining company partnerships in terms of four main counterparts, namely: the sovereign, owners and financial backers, the workforce, and local communities. The main characteristics of mining partnerships under the four aspects are discussed. Taxation and financial aspects are also considered. Case studies from the British coal industry and examples from Latin America are part of the article. Downsizing and labour relations are also discussed, as well as indigenous peoples' issues. The article concludes that, successful minerals companies in the future will be those that work with communities, applying the highest standards of social responsibility. This includes safety, environmental management and good business ethics.     

Life-cycle assessment of 11 kV electrical overhead lines and underground cables

The life-cycle impacts of five different 11 kV electrical power cables (three overhead lines and two underground cables) were analysed. These were compared by their embodied impacts in production and total lifetime operational impacts. The life-cycle results revealed there to be three key issues, the impacts of climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and particulate matter formation (PMF). The former two were of particular significance. The embodied impacts, which are those associated with the materials, were generally determined to be insignificant. The exception was for underground cables at low operating loads. Under these conditions PMF was more significant as a result of the high embodied impacts of the cables. Further analysis revealed that these impacts could be mitigated with an end of life material recovery program. At present the underground cables are not recovered, but if they were the recycling benefits would give rise to a notable improvement in PMF. For the other impact categories operational conductor losses were the dominant cause of impacts. In summary it was concluded that to minimise the life-cycle impacts of 11 kV cables the system with the lowest conductor resistance should be selected.     

Kelp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Laminaria digitata</Emphasis>) increases germination and affects rooting and plant vigour in crops and native plants from an arable grassland in the Outer Hebrides,Scotland

Kelp and other seaweeds are traditionally used in many parts of the world as a soil amendment on arable fields. Seaweeds contain biochemical compounds that can act as plant growth regulators in terrestrial plants. In a low-intensity arable grassland in northwest Scotland an organic fertilizer, kelp (Laminaria digitata) has been used for hundreds of years, due to its anticipated positive effect as a soil conditioner and provider of plant nutrients. In this study the effects of kelp on germination and rooting of crops and native plants from this area were investigated in soil-free media. Germination was studied by incubation in the presence of kelp solutions. Rooting of plant cuttings was assessed after a pulse treatment with kelp solutions, and indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) as a reference plant growth regulator. Germination percentage of Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium repens and Avena strigosa seeds increased significantly when incubated with 0.05% kelp solutions. Total root weight and the individual weight of roots produced in cuttings of Vigna radiata and P. lanceolata were significantly increased when exposed to a 0.5% solution of kelp. Plant vigour, assessed visually, decreased significantly for P. lanceolata exposed to kelp at concentrations of 0.5 and 5.0% indicating the presence of a threshold level for an inhibitory effect of kelp at these concentrations, which may be due to high salinity. The results confirmed the presence of plant growth regulators in kelp, and indicates that amendment with kelp may potentially affect plant community composition. The threshold levels where some plants responded negatively to kelp amendment were close to or lower than the theoretical concentrations of kelp in soil water at field conditions with the current doses used on the machair, indicating that care should be taken in either administering kelp at the appropriate dose or leaching out salt before application.     

Assessment of two thermally treated drill mud wastes for landfill containment applications.

Offshore oil and gas drilling operations generate significant amounts of drill mud waste, some of which is transported onshore for subsequent thermal treatment (i.e. via thermal remediation). This treatment process results in a mineral waste by-product (referred to as thermally treated drill mud waste; TTDMW). Bentonites are originally present in many of the drill mud products and it is hypothesized that TTDMW can be utilized in landfill containment applications (i.e. cover or base liner). The objective of this paper is to examine the feasibility of this application by performing various physical and chemical tests on two TTDMW samples. It is shown that the two TTDMW samples contained relatively small amounts of clay-sized minerals although hydraulic conductivity values are found to be less than 10(-8) m/s. Organic carbon contents of the samples were approximately 2%. Mineralogy characterization of the samples confirmed varying amounts of smectite, however, peak friction angles for a TTDMW sample was greater than 36 degrees. Chemical characterization of the TTDMW samples show potential leaching of barium and small amounts of other heavy metals. Discussion is provided in the paper on suggestions to assist in overcoming regulatory issues associated with utilization of TTDMW in landfill containment applications.