Bioaccumulation of Selenium by the Bryophyte Hygrohypnum ochraceum in the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado

Aquatic bryophytes, Hygrohypnum ochraceum, were deployed “in situ” at 14 sites in the Fountain Creek Watershed, spring and fall, 2007 to study selenium (Se) accumulation. Dissolved, total, and pore (sediment derived) water samples were collected and water quality parameters determined while plants were exposed to the water for 10?days. There was a trend showing plant tissue-Se uptake with distance downstream and we found a strong correlation between Se in the water with total hardness in both seasons. There was a modest association between Se-uptake in plants with hardness in the spring of 2007 but not the fall. Plants bioconcentrated Se from the water by a factor of 5.8?×?10³ at Green Mountain Falls and 1.5?×?10⁴ at Manitou Springs in the fall of 2007. Both are examples of the bioconcentration abilities of the plants, primarily in the upper reaches of the watershed where bioconcentration factors were highest. However, the mean minima and maxima of Se in the plants in each of the three watershed segments appeared similar during both seasons. We found direct relationships between the pore and dissolved Se in water in the spring (R ²?=?0.84) and fall (R ²?=?0.95) and dissolved Se and total hardness in the spring and fall (R ²?=?0.92). The data indicate that H. ochraceum was a suitable indicator of Se bioavailability and Se uptake in other trophic levels in the Fountain Creek Watershed based on a subsequent study of Se accumulation in fish tissues at all 14 sites.     

Relationships Between Nitrogen Transformation Rates and Gene Abundance in a Riparian Buffer Soil

Denitrification is a critical biogeochemical process that results in the conversion of nitrate to volatile products, and thus is a major route of nitrogen loss from terrestrial environments. Riparian buffers are an important management tool that is widely utilized to protect water from non-point source pollution. However, riparian buffers vary in their nitrate removal effectiveness, and thus there is a need for mechanistic studies to explore nitrate dynamics in buffer soils. The objectives of this study were to examine the influence of specific types of soluble organic matter on nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production rates, and to elucidate the relationships between these rates and the abundances of functional genes in a riparian buffer soil. Continuous-flow soil column experiments were performed to investigate the effect of three types of soluble organic matter (citric acid, alginic acid, and Suwannee River dissolved organic carbon) on rates of nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production. We found that nitrate loss rates increased as citric acid concentrations increased; however, rates of nitrate loss were weakly affected or not affected by the addition of the other types of organic matter. In all experiments, rates of nitrous oxide production mirrored nitrate loss rates. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was utilized to quantify the number of genes known to encode enzymes that catalyze nitrite reduction (i.e., nirS and nirK) in soil that was collected at the conclusion of column experiments. Nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production rates trended with copy numbers of both nir and 16s rDNA genes. The results suggest that low-molecular mass organic species are more effective at promoting nitrogen transformations than large biopolymers or humic substances, and also help to link genetic potential to chemical reactivity.     

Reforestation Strategies Amid Social Instability: Lessons from Afghanistan

Foreign and domestic government agencies and other international organizations pursue reforestation programs in rural upper watershed areas of Afghanistan over the past decade to alleviate poverty, combat the insurgency and rehabilitate a depleted forest resource base. Popular programs incorporate cash-for-work to conduct hillside terracing, check dam construction and tree-planting for nut production, fuel wood, timber, dune stabilization, and erosion abatement. Programmatic approaches have varied as a function of accessibility, security and local objectives. Uncertain land tenure and use rights, weak local environmental management capacity, and a focus on agricultural production to meet immediate needs limit interest, nationally and locally. Unreliable security, a lack of high quality tree planting stock, limited technical knowledge and coordination among government agencies, and poor security hamper program expansion. Reforestation success would be most likely where these issues are least acute. The Afghan government should focus on supporting community based natural resource management, developing and disseminating improved conservation tree nursery strategies, and promoting watershed management schemes that incorporate forestry, range management and agronomic production. Reforestation practitioners could benefit from the human and material resources now present as part of the international war effort. Successes and failures encountered in Afghanistan should be considered in order to address similar problems in insecure regions elsewhere when reforestation may help reverse environmental degradation and contribute to broader social stabilization efforts.     

Rubber and pulp plantations represent a double threat to Hainan's natural tropical forests

Hainan, the largest tropical island in China, belongs to the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and harbors large areas of tropical forests, particularly in the uplands. The Changhua watershed is the cradle of Hainan's main river and a center of endemism for plants and birds. The watershed contains great habitat diversity and is an important conservation area. We analyzed the impact of rubber and pulp plantations on the distribution and area of tropical forest in the watershed, using remote sensing analysis of Landsat images from 1988, 1995 and 2005. From 1988 to 1995, natural forest increased in area (979-1040?sq?km) but decreased rapidly (763?sq?km) over the next decade. Rubber plantations increased steadily through the study period while pulp plantations appeared after 1995 but occupied 152?sq?km by 2005. Rubber and pulp plantations displace different types of natural forest and do not replace one another. Because pulp is not as profitable as rubber and existing pulp processing capacity greatly exceeds local supply, considerable pressure exists on remaining upland forests. We recommend for future management that these plantation forests be reclassified as 'industrial', making a clear policy distinction between natural and industrial forestry. Additionally, the local government should work to enforce existing laws preventing forest conversion on marginal and protected areas.     

Investigation of an Escherichia coli environmental benchmark for waterborne pathogens in agricultural watersheds in Canada

Canada's National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative sought to develop an environmental benchmark for low-level waterborne pathogen occurrence in agricultural watersheds. A field study collected 902 water samples from 27 sites in four intensive agricultural watersheds across Canada from 2005 to 2007. Four of the sites were selected as reference sites away from livestock and human fecal pollution sources in each watershed. Water samples were analyzed for Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and the water quality indicator E. coli. The annual mean number of pathogen species was higher at agricultural sites (1.54 ± 0.07 species per water sample) than at reference sites (0.75 ± 0.14 species per water sample). The annual mean concentration of E. coli was also higher at agricultural sites (491 ± 96 colony-forming units [cfu] 100 mL(-1)) than at reference sites (53 ± 18 cfu 100 mL(-1)). The feasibility of adopting existing E. coli water quality guideline values as an environmental benchmark was assessed, but waterborne pathogens were detected at agricultural sites in 80% of water samples with low E. coli concentrations (<100 cfu 100 mL(-1)). Instead, an approach was developed based on using the natural background occurrence of pathogens at reference sites in agricultural watersheds to derive provisional environmental benchmarks for pathogens at agricultural sites. The environmental benchmarks that were derived were found to represent E. coli values lower than geometric mean values typically found in recreational water quality guidelines. Additional research is needed to investigate environmental benchmarks for waterborne pathogens within the context of the "One World, One Health" perspective for protecting human, domestic animal, and wildlife health.     

In vitro methane removal by volcanic pumice soil biofilter columns over one year

Soil methane (CH(4)) biofilters, containing CH(4)-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs), are a promising technology for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. However, little is known about long-term biofilter performance. In this study, volcanic pumice topsoils (0-10 cm) and subsoils (10-50 cm) were tested for their ability to oxidize a range of CH(4) fluxes over 1 yr. The soils were sampled from an 8-yr-old and a 2-yr-old grassed landfill cover and from a nearby undisturbed pasture away from the influence of CH(4) generated by the decomposing refuse. Methane was passed through the soils in laboratory chambers with fluxes ranging from 0.5 g to 24 g CH(4) m(-3) h(-1). All topsoils efficiently oxidized CH(4). The undisturbed pasture topsoil exhibited the highest removal efficiency (24 g CH(4) m(-3) h(-1)), indicating rapid activation of the methanotroph population to the high CH(4) fluxes. The subsoils were less efficient at oxidizing CH(4) than the topsoils, achieving a maximum rate oxidation rate of 7 g CH(4) m(-3) h(-1). The topsoils exhibited higher porosities; moisture contents; surface areas; and total C, N, and available-P concentrations than the subsoils, suggesting that these characteristics strongly influence growth and activity of the CH(4)-oxidizing bacteria. Soil pH values and available-P levels gradually declined during the trial, indicating a need to monitor chemical parameters closely so that adjustments can be made when necessary. However, other key soil physicochemical parameters (moisture, total C, total N) increased over the course of the trial. This study showed that the selected topsoils were capable of continually sustaining high CH(4) removal rates over 1 yr, which is encouraging for the development of biofilters as a low-maintenance greenhouse gas mitigation technology.     

Strontium isotope study of coal utilization by-products interacting with environmental waters

Sequential leaching experiments on coal utilization by-products (CUB) were coupled with chemical and strontium (Sr) isotopic analyses to better understand the influence of coal type and combustion processes on CUB properties and the release of elements during interaction with environmental waters during disposal. Class C fly ash tended to release the highest quantity of minor and trace elements-including alkaline earth elements, sodium, chromium, copper, manganese, lead, titanium, and zinc-during sequential extraction, with bottom ash yielding the lowest. Strontium isotope ratios ((87)Sr/(86)Sr) in bulk-CUB samples (total dissolution of CUB) are generally higher in class F ash than in class C ash. Bulk-CUB ratios appear to be controlled by the geologic source of the mineral matter in the feed coal, and by Sr added during desulfurization treatments. Leachates of the CUB generally have Sr isotope ratios that are different than the bulk value, demonstrating that Sr was not isotopically homogenized during combustion. Variations in the Sr isotopic composition of CUB leachates were correlated with mobility of several major and trace elements; the data suggest that arsenic and lead are held in phases that contain the more radiogenic (high-(87)Sr/(86)Sr) component. A changing Sr isotope ratio of CUB-interacting waters in a disposal environment could forecast the release of certain strongly bound elements of environmental concern. This study lays the groundwork for the application of Sr isotopes as an environmental tracer for CUB-water interaction.     

Prediction of Streamflow Regime and Annual Runoff for Ungauged Basins Using a Distributed Monthly Water Balance Model1

Moore, R.D. (Dan), J.W. Trubilowicz, and J.M. Buttle, 2011. Prediction of Streamflow Regime and Annual Runoff for Ungauged Basins Using a Distributed Monthly Water Balance Model. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 32‐42. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00595.x Abstract: Prediction of streamflow in ungauged basins is a global challenge, but is particularly an issue in physiographically complex regions like British Columbia (BC), Canada. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of a simple water balance model that can be run using existing spatial datasets. The model was developed by modifying an existing monthly water balance model to account for interception loss from forest canopy, glacier melt, and evaporation from lakes. The model was run using monthly climate normals from the ClimateBC application, which have a horizontal resolution of 400 m. Each ClimateBC grid cell was classified as forest, open land, glacier or water surface based on provincial scale digital maps of biogeoclimatic zones, glaciers, and water. The output was monthly mean runoff from each grid cell. These values were integrated within the catchment boundaries for streams gauged by the Water Survey of Canada. Annual runoff was predicted with modest accuracy: after updating the predicted runoff by interpolating errors from neighboring gauged streams, the mean absolute error was 25.4% of the gauged value, and 52% of the streams had errors less than 20%. However, the model appears to be quite robust in distinguishing between pluvial, hybrid, and melt‐dominated hydroclimatic regimes, and therefore has promise as a tool for catchment classification.     

Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (warp) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams1

Stone, Wesley W. and Robert J. Gilliom, 2012. Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 970‐986. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00661.x Abstract: Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models, previously developed for atrazine at the national scale, are improved for application to the United States (U.S.) Corn Belt region by developing region‐specific models that include watershed characteristics that are influential in predicting atrazine concentration statistics within the Corn Belt. WARP models for the Corn Belt (WARP‐CB) were developed for annual maximum moving‐average (14‐, 21‐, 30‐, 60‐, and 90‐day durations) and annual 95th‐percentile atrazine concentrations in streams of the Corn Belt region. The WARP‐CB models accounted for 53 to 62% of the variability in the various concentration statistics among the model‐development sites. Model predictions were within a factor of 5 of the observed concentration statistic for over 90% of the model‐development sites. The WARP‐CB residuals and uncertainty are lower than those of the National WARP model for the same sites. Although atrazine‐use intensity is the most important explanatory variable in the National WARP models, it is not a significant variable in the WARP‐CB models. The WARP‐CB models provide improved predictions for Corn Belt streams draining watersheds with atrazine‐use intensities of 17 kg/km² of watershed area or greater.