Relationships between soil and runoff phosphorus in small Alberta watersheds

Field-scale relationships between soil test phosphorus (STP) and flow-weighted mean concentrations (FWMCs) of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total phosphorus (TP) in runoff are essential for modeling phosphorus losses, but are lacking. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the relationships between soil phosphorus (STP and degree of phosphorus saturation (DPS)) and runoff phosphorus (TP and DRP) from field-sized catchments under spring snowmelt and summer rainfall conditions, and (ii) to determine whether a variety of depths and spatial representations of STP improved the prediction of phosphorus losses. Runoff was monitored from eight field-scale microwatersheds (2 to 248 ha) for 3 yr. Soil test phosphorus was determined for three layers (0 to 2.5 cm, 0 to 5 cm, and 0 to 15 cm) in spring and fall and the DPS was determined for the surface layer. Average STP (0 to 15 cm) ranged from 3 to 512 mg kg(-1), and DPS (0 to 2.5 cm) ranged from 5 to 91%. Seasonal FWMCs ranged from 0.01 to 7.4 mg L(-1) DRP and from 0.1 to 8.0 mg L(-1) TP. Strong linear relationships (r2=0.87 to 0.89) were found between the site mean STP and the FWMCs of DRP and TP. The relationships had similar extraction coefficients, intercepts, and predictive power among all three soil layers. Extraction coefficients (0.013 to 0.014) were similar to those reported for other Alberta studies, but were greater than those reported for rainfall simulation studies. The curvilinear DPS relationship showed similar predictive ability to STP. The field-scale STP relationships derived from natural conditions in this study should provide the basis for modeling phosphorus in Alberta.     

SNOW: NATURE'S RESERVOIR1

ABSTRACT: Snow, one of Nature's greatest reservoirs, supplies most of the usable water in the Western United States. Reliable predictions of the quantity and timing of the release of this water are used in making management decisions involving irrigation, stock water and municipal water supplies, hydro-power generation, recreation, navigation, and pollution control Practically oriented research is vital for the proper development and management of this resource. In southwestern Idaho, the Northwest Watershed Research Center, ARS, USDA, is conducting intensive investigations for assessing snow Volumes, snow water content, and snow-melt over a watershed. Application of these research findings will result in better development and management of the water stored as snow in Nature's reservoir.     

Types of narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lasiopodomys gregalis</Emphasis>) colonies in Northern Kulunda and seasonal dynamics of their demographic composition

Demographic structure and its seasonal dynamics have been studied in colonies of narrow-skulled voles (Lasiopodomys gregalis Pall.) in Northern Kulunda. Three types of colonies have been distinguished: (I) true colonies (large, complex families), (II) simple families (nuclear or incomplete), and (III) all-male colonies. Changes in their sex, age, and functional composition (based on animal migration activity) during the breeding season have been analyzed.     

Analytic framework for assessing participation processes and outcomes of climate change adaptation tools

The assumptions and empirical evidence linking climate change adaptation to development cooperation have led to the emergence of a range of climate change adaptation tools aiming at improving the quality of development cooperation initiatives in times of global change. In order to assess the quality of these tools, we develop an analytic framework to critically assess the social learning and sustainable development outcomes of climate change adaptation tools. The analytic framework defines project objectives, participation typology, participation tools, participation stages, scenarios development, modelling exercises, stakeholder analysis and risk communication strategies that support quality participation outcomes.     

A pilot survey of blood lead levels in various types of workers in the United Arab Emirates.

The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of blood lead on the health of industrial workers in United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is a cross-sectional pilot survey of blood lead levels (BLL) of 100 industrial workers (exposed) and 100 non-industrial workers (nonexposed), matched for age, sex and nationality selected from Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi Emirate. Industrial workers had significantly higher mean of BLL (77.5+/-42.8 microg/dl and median 80.9 microg/dl) than non-industrial workers (19.8+/-12.3 microg/dl and median 11.0 microg/dl). In the present study, reported symptoms among industrial workers were strongly associated with BLL nausea/vomiting, muscular symptoms, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, memory disturbances, insomnia and allergic conjuctivitis, rhinitis and dermatitis. Furthermore, the present study revealed that industrial workers had higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms for phlegm, shortness of breath and diagnosed asthma. In conclusion, this study determined that occurrence of certain symptoms might be associated with lead exposure among industrial workers.     

Determination of causes of death in animal survival experiments

Life-span studies, using the laboratory mouse, are an efficient means for determining potential chronic toxicity of various materials. However, difficulties that affect the analysis of the data include (1) incomplete and missing observations due to canabilism or autolysis, (b) possible differences in overall mortality rate between treated and control populations that preclude assessments based upon observed final incidence, and (c) potential interaction between specific pathological states. Being aware of these difficulties does not eliminate their consequence, but careful attention to ascertaining the presence or absence of a disease state coupled with an assessment of its significance for each individual can allow greater confidence to be placed in data obtained from survival studies. The question of possible interaction between disease states is better approached experimentally by judicious use of serial killing to define age-specific disease prevalence.Many diseases are difficult to identify in animals as small as the mouse. At the other extreme, too much importance may be attributed to some disease states, not because of their lethality, but because of their ease of detection. One way to minimize the uncertainties introduced by conscious and unconscious observational bias is to adhere to a highly systematic tissue examination of every animal, regardless of condition of apparent cause of death. Through application of well-defined and stable diagnostic criteria a better appreciation can be obtained of the full spectrum of lethal and incidental pathologies observed in animals dying throughout the survival study.