Modeling the Hydrology of Climate Change in California’s Sierra Nevada for Subwatershed Scale Adaptation1

Young, Charles A., Marisa I. Escobar‐Arias, Martha Fernandes, Brian Joyce, Michael Kiparsky, Jeffrey F. Mount, Vishal K. Mehta, David Purkey, Joshua H. Viers, and David Yates, 2009. Modeling the Hydrology of Climate Change in California’s Sierra Nevada for Subwatershed Scale Adaptation. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1409‐1423. Abstract: The rainfall‐runoff model presented in this study represents the hydrology of 15 major watersheds of the Sierra Nevada in California as the backbone of a planning tool for water resources analysis including climate change studies. Our model implementation documents potential changes in hydrologic metrics such as snowpack and the initiation of snowmelt at a finer resolution than previous studies, in accordance with the needs of watershed‐level planning decisions. Calibration was performed with a sequence of steps focusing sequentially on parameters of land cover, snow accumulation and melt, and water capacity and hydraulic conductivity of soil horizons. An assessment of the calibrated streamflows using goodness of fit statistics indicate that the model robustly represents major features of weekly average flows of the historical 1980‐2001 time series. Runs of the model for climate warming scenarios with fixed increases of 2°C, 4°C, and 6°C for the spatial domain were used to analyze changes in snow accumulation and runoff timing. The results indicated a reduction in snowmelt volume that was largest in the 1,750‐2,750 m elevation range. In addition, the runoff center of mass shifted to earlier dates and this shift was non‐uniformly distributed throughout the Sierra Nevada. Because the hydrologic model presented here is nested within a water resources planning system, future research can focus on the management and adaptation of the water resources system in the context of climate change.     

LEHR superfund stormwater runoff and putah creek mercury issues

Stormwater runoff from the University of California, Davis/U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory for Energy‐Related Health Research (UCD/US DOE LEHR) Superfund site located on the University of California campus in Davis, California, has been found to contain over 500 ng/L of total recoverable mercury, which is about ten times the California Toxics Rule criterion. This stormwater runoff is discharged to Putah Creek, which is Clean Water Act Section 303(d) listed as impaired for excessive mercury bioaccumulation in edible fish. A discussion is presented on the potential impact of the mercury in stormwater runoff from LEHR leading to excessive bioaccumulation of mercury in Putah Creek fish. The mercury in the stormwater runoff is derived from former flooding of the soils near the creek, which contains mercury derived from abandoned upstream mercury mines located in the Coast Range Vaca Hills to the west of LEHR. The implications of this situation for implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to control mercury in stormwater runoff to Putah Creek are presented. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

2014, The “year without a summer” in Italy: news media coverage and implications for the climate change debate

In 2014, there was virtually no summer in northern and central-southern Italy. Storm after storm battered the peninsula, triggering floods and landslides from Veneto to Puglia. We studied the coverage of “the year without a summer” in Italy by analyzing the content of 171 news articles from two influential online newspapers. Our software-based analysis enabled us to observe that the two newspapers hardly ever mentioned climate change in their coverage of the weather anomaly that affected Italy in the summer of 2014. This type of coverage is in line with climate science, according to which there is no evidence of a climate change-related influence on summer precipitation patterns in Southern Europe—whereas such influence has been documented for northern Europe. We compared our results with a recent paper, which documented that the same online dailies chose to represent the particularly hot summer of 2012 in Italy as a direct consequence of climate change. We corroborated this comparison also on the basis of a preliminary analysis we performed on the media coverage of the exceptionally hot and arid summer of 2015 in Italy.     

When experts disagree: the need to rethink indicator selection for assessing sustainability of agriculture

Sustainability indicators are well recognized for their potential to assess and monitor sustainable development of agricultural systems. A large number of indicators are proposed in various sustainability assessment frameworks, which raises concerns regarding the validity of approaches, usefulness and trust in such frameworks. Selecting indicators requires transparent and well-defined procedures to ensure the relevance and validity of sustainability assessments. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine whether experts agree on which criteria are most important in the selection of indicators and indicator sets for robust sustainability assessments. Two groups of experts (Temperate Agriculture Research Network and New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard) were asked to rank the relative importance of eleven criteria for selecting individual indicators and of nine criteria for balancing a collective set of indicators. Both ranking surveys reveal a startling lack of consensus amongst experts about how best to measure agricultural sustainability and call for a radical rethink about how complementary approaches to sustainability assessments are used alongside each other to ensure a plurality of views and maximum collaboration and trust amongst stakeholders. To improve the transparency, relevance and robustness of sustainable assessments, the context of the sustainability assessment, including prioritizations of selection criteria for indicator selection, must be accounted for. A collaborative design process will enhance the acceptance of diverse values and prioritizations embedded in sustainability assessments. The process by which indicators and sustainability frameworks are established may be a much more important determinant of their success than the final shape of the assessment tools. Such an emphasis on process would make assessments more transparent, transformative and enduring.     

Pesticide residue removal in classic domestic processing of tomato and its effects on product quality

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of several household practices (washing with water or acidic, alkaline, and oxidizing solutions, and peeling) in minimizing pesticide residue contamination of tomatoes, as well as the impact on the quality of the treated fruit. Tests were performed using two systemic fungicides (azoxystrobin and difenoconazole) and one contact fungicide (chlorothalonil). Solid-liquid extraction with low temperature partition (SLE/LTP) and liquid-liquid extraction with low temperature partition (LLE/LTP) were used to prepare the samples for pesticides determination by gas chromatography. Washing the tomatoes with water removed approximately 44% of chlorothalonil, 26% of difenoconazole, and 17% of azoxystrobin. Sodium bicarbonate (5%) and acetic acid (5%) solutions were more efficient, removing between 32 and 83% of the residues, while peeling removed from 68 to 88% of the pesticides. The washing solutions altered some fruit quality parameters, including acidity and chroma, and also caused weight loss. Acetic acid (0.15 and 5%) and hypochlorite (1%) solutions had the greatest effect on these parameters.     

Earthworm ecotoxicological assessments of pesticides used to treat seeds under tropical conditions

Ecotoxicological laboratory tests (lower-tier tests) are fundamental tools for assessing the toxicity of pesticides to soil organisms. In this study, using these tests under tropical conditions, we quantified the impact of the insecticides imidacloprid, fipronil, and thiametoxam, and the fungicides captan and carboxin + thiram, all of which are used in the chemical treatment of crop seeds, on the survival, reproduction, and behavior of Eisenia andrei (Oligochaeta). With the exception of imidacloprid, none of the pesticides tested caused mortality in E. andrei in artificial soils. The LC₅₀ of imidacloprid was estimated as 25.53 mg active ingredient kg^?1 of dry soil. Earthworm reproduction rates were reduced by imidacloprid (EC₅₀ = 4.07 mg kg^?1), fipronil (EC₂₀ = 23.16 mg kg^?1), carboxin + thiram (EC₅₀ = 56.38 mg kg^?1), captan (EC₅₀ = 334.84 mg kg^?1), and thiametoxam (EC₅₀ = 791.99 mg kg^?1). Avoidance behavior was observed in the presence of imidacloprid (AC₅₀ = 0.11 mg kg^?1), captan (AC₅₀ = 33.54 mg kg^?1), carboxin + thiram (AC₅₀ = 60.32 mg kg^?1), and thiametoxam (AC₅₀ = >20 mg kg^?1). Earthworms showed a preference for soils with the insecticide fipronil. Imidacloprid was the most toxic of the substances tested for E. andrei. The avoidance test was the most sensitive test for most pesticides studied, but results varied between pesticides. These results offer new insights on the toxicity of pesticides used to treat seeds in tropical regions. However, they should be complemented with higher-tier tests in order to reduce the uncertainties in risk assessment.     

Impact of long‐term pesticide applications on some soil biological parameters

Abstract

The soil oxidative and anaerobic processes, as well as, the microbial biomass were followed during three years in a cotton farm (Tatuí) where the recommended pesticides have been used for several years, and in an experimental field (São Paulo) treated first time with the same pesticides. The oxidative process was monitored by the dehydrogenase (DHA)‐activity using triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) as substrate. The anaerobic process was followed by the iron‐oxide reduction, and the microbial biomass was estimated by the substrate (glucose)‐indiced respiration. Increases in DHA‐activity and in the microbial biomass occurred only in the farm soil, with concomitant decreases in iron‐reduction. In the experimental field soil, the increases in DHA‐activity were followed only by decreases in iron‐reduction. Soil characteristics were the determining factor for different biological parameters after pesticide inputs. All the pesticides produced at least one clear but transient effect.     

Phytoavailability and extractability of potassium,magnesium and manganese in calcareous soil amended with olive oil wastewater

Abstract

Land disposal of olive oil wastewater using it as a soil amendment requires a knowledge of the effects that its application may produce on the status of the mineral nutrients in the plant‐soil system. A pot experiment using calcareous soil was performed in a growth chamber to examine the effects of olive oil wastewater on the availability and postharvest soil extractability of K, Mg and Mn. The experiment included 6 treatments: two rates of olive oil wastewater, two mineral fertilizer treatments containing K (which supplied K in amounts equivalent to the K supplied by the olive oil wastewater treatments), a K‐free mineral fertilizer treatment, and a control. The pots were sown with ryegrass as the test plant, harvesting 3 times at intervals of one month. Olive oil wastewater has demonstrated a considerable capacity for supplying K that can be assimilated by the plant, tending in fact to surpass the mineral potassium fertilizer tested. The application of olive oil wastewater tends to reduce the concentration of Mg in the plant, similarly to the effect of adding mineral potassium fertilizer. An enhancement of Mn availability takes place in the soil amended with olive oil wastewater, which on occasion has produced Mn concentrations in plant that could be considered phytotoxic or at least excessive. After harvesting, we observed an increase in the amount of exchangeable K in soil with added industrial wastewater. However, these increases are lower than those in soil treated with mineral potassium fertilizer. The levels of exchangeable, carbonate‐bound, organic‐bound and residual Mg in soil were higher in treatments incorporating olive oil wastewater than in those with added mineral K, with the opposite tendency occurring in the amount of Fe‐Mn oxides‐bound Mg in soil. Treatments based on olive oil wastewater, especially in high doses, increased the amount of exchangeable and carbonate‐bound Mn in soil, in comparison with treatments adding mineral fertilizers with or without K. In contrast, the addition of industrial wastewater caused a drop in the amount of Fe‐Mn oxides‐bound and organic‐bound Mn in soil.     

Use of cholinesterase activity in monitoring chlorpyrifos exposure of steer cattle after topical administration

The aim of this work was to study the pharmacokinetic behavior and the inhibitory effect of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities of chlorpyrifos (CPF) in steer cattle after pour-on administration. Determination of cholinesterase activity in plasma and erythrocyte was carried out according to Ellman kinetic method. CPF was analyzed by gas chromatography. AChE was the predominant form of cholinesterase analyzed, with low levels of BChE in plasma. Following the treatment with CPF, the maximum inhibitory effect on AChE or BChE were 50.88 ± 11.57 and 42.66 ± 12.01%, respectively. The chlorpyrifos plasma concentrations observed were low and they presented a high variability. Chlorpyrifos peak plasma concentration (10.42 ± 4.76 μ g/L) was reached at 8.42 ± 13.97 h. The pesticide was not detected in plasma after 48 h post treatment. The values of area under the curve (AUC) were 118.48 ± 87.46 μ g· h/L and mean resistance time (MRT) were 13.38 ± 10.41 h. The pour-on exposure to the organophosphate chlorpyrifos significantly reduced AChE and BChE activity in steer cattle and the recovery was not reached on 50 days post-treatment.