Land management impacts on dairy-derived dissolved organic carbon in ground water

Dairy operations have the potential to elevate dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels in ground water, where it may interact with organic and inorganic contaminants, fuel denitrification, and may present problems for drinking water treatment. Total and percent bioavailable DOC and total and carbon-specific trihalomethane (THM) formation potential (TTHMFP and STHMFP, respectively) were determined for shallow ground water samples from beneath a dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Sixteen wells influenced by specific land management areas were sampled over 3 yr. Measured DOC concentrations were significantly elevated over the background as measured at an upgradient monitoring well, ranging from 13 to 55 mg L(-1) in wells downgradient from wastewater ponds, 8 to 30 mg L(-1) in corral wells, 5 to 12 mg L(-1) in tile drains, and 4 to 15 mg L(-1) in wells associated with manured fields. These DOC concentrations were at the upper range or greatly exceeded concentrations in most surface water bodies used as drinking water sources in California. DOC concentrations in individual wells varied by up to a factor of two over the duration of this study, indicating a dynamic system of sources and degradation. DOC bioavailability over 21 d ranged from 3 to 10%, comparable to surface water systems and demonstrating the potential for dairy-derived DOC to influence dissolved oxygen concentrations (nearly all wells were hypoxic to anoxic) and denitrification. TTHMFP measurements across all management units ranged from 141 to 1731 microg L(-1), well in excess of the maximum contaminant level of 80 microg L(-1) established by the Environmental Protection Agency. STHMFP measurements demonstrated over twofold variation ( approximately 4 to approximately 8 mmol total THM/mol DOC) across the management areas, indicating the dependence of reactivity on DOC composition. The results indicate that land management strongly controls the quantity and quality of DOC to reach shallow ground water and hence should be considered when managing ground water resources and in any efforts to mitigate contamination of ground water with carbon-based contaminants, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals.     

Impacts of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) on Macrobenthic Assemblages on Sandy Beaches

Sandy beaches are the prime sites for human recreation and underpin many coastal economies and developments. In many coastal areas worldwide, beach recreation relies on the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) driven on the shore. Yet, the use of ORVs is not universally embraced due to social conflicts with other beach user groups and putative environmental consequences of vehicle traffic on sandy shores. Such ecological impacts of ORVs are, however, poorly understood for endobenthic invertebrates of the intertidal zone seawards of the dunes. Consequently, this study quantified the degree to which assemblages of intertidal beach invertebrates are affected by traffic. The study design comprised a series of temporally replicated spatial contrasts between two reference sites (no ORVs) and two beaches with heavy ORV traffic (in excess of 250,000 vehicles per year) located in South-East Queensland, Australia. Macrobenthic assemblages on ORV-impacted beaches had significantly fewer species at substantially reduced densities, resulting in marked shifts in community composition and structure. These shifts were particularly strong on the middle and upper shore where vehicle traffic was concentrated. Strong effects of ORVs were detectable in all seasons, but increased towards the summer months as a result of heavier traffic volumes. This study provides clear evidence that ORVs can have substantial impacts on sandy beach invertebrates that are manifested throughout the whole community. Demonstrating such an ecological impact caused by a single type of human use poses a formidable challenge to management, which needs to develop multi-faceted approaches to balance environmental, social, cultural, and economic arguments in the use of sandy shores, including management of “beach traffic.”     

Anthropogenic metal cycles in China

The flows and stocks of seven important industrial metals were characterized for mainland China for several years in the dynamically changing decade of 1994–2004. One-year snapshot cycles are provided for chromium, nickel, and silver. For copper, zinc, lead, and iron, multiple-year cycles have been completed; they demonstrate that the flows of these metals into use in China doubled between 2000 and 2004. Although the Chinese per capita flows from production to disposal are mostly shown to be below the global average rate, they are increasing or are expected to increase dramatically. The metal resource efficiency is evaluated for several indicators of material flow analysis; these metrics for China are also below the global average values. The research quantitatively illustrates that China’s metal cycles may pose significant resource and environmental challenges in terms of their magnitudes and potential for growth.     

Evidence for struvite in poultry litter: effect of storage and drying

The use of spectroscopic techniques (especially phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance [(31)P-NMR] and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy) has recently advanced the analysis of the speciation of P in poultry litter (PL) and greatly enhanced our understanding of changes in P pools in PL that receive alum (aluminum sulfate) to reduce water-soluble P and control ammonia emissions from poultry houses. Questions remain concerning changes of P species during long-term storage, drying, or after application of PL to cropland or for other uses, such as turfgrass. In this study, we investigated a set of six PL samples (of which three were alum-amended and three were unamended) that had been characterized previously. The P speciation was analyzed using solid-state (31)P-NMR spectroscopy, and the mineralogy was analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) after storing the samples moist and dried for up to 5 yr under controlled conditions. The magnesium ammonium phosphate mineral struvite was identified in all but one PL samples. Struvite concentrations were generally lower in dried samples (< or = 14%) than in samples stored moist (23 and 26%). The moist samples also had higher concentrations of phosphate bound to aluminum hydroxides. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy was in general more sensitive than XRD in detecting and quantifying P species. Although phosphate associated with calcium and aluminum made up a large proportion of P species, they were not detected by XRD.     

On the value of large predators in Sweden: a regional stratified contingent valuation analysis

This paper contributes with an applied policy analysis of the predator preservation policy in Sweden. We estimate the overall mean willingness to pay (WTP) for preserving the four large predators in the Swedish fauna by applying the contingent valuation method. Using survey data from 2004 we find that 50 percent of the Swedish population is willing to contribute financially toward implementation of the predator policy package, and that the estimated overall mean WTP is approximately SEK 290. Further, we test for spatial differences in attitudes and WTP and find that respondents in Stockholm have the highest overall mean WTP, while respondents living in wolf-territories have the lowest. Our mean WTP measure is flawed with upward bias, since we cannot estimate the willingness to accept for those with clearly negative preferences regarding the predator policy package (e.g. hunters). In this paper, we set their WTP equal to zero. Thus, we cannot rule out the possibility that the mean willingness to pay is, in fact, negative, i.e. the social-value of implementing the predator policy is negative. Finally, the estimates of the overall WTP are sensitive to response-uncertainty. When the respondents indicate uncertainty about their valuation, they tend to state higher values.     

Impacts of Climate Variability and Land Use Alterations on Frequency Distributions of Terrestrial Runoff Loading to Coastal Waters in Southern California1

Abstract: The transport of water, sediment, dissolved and particulate chemicals, and bacteria from coastal watersheds affects the nearshore marine and estuarine waters. In southern California, coastal watersheds deliver water and associated constituents to the nearshore system in discrete pulses. To better understand the pulsed nature of these watersheds, frequency distributions of simulated runoff events are presented for: (1) three land use conditions (1929, 1998, 2050); (2) three time periods (all water years 1989‐2002), only El Nino years (1992, 1993, 1995, 1998); and only non‐El Nino years; and (3) three regions (watershed, uplands, and lowlands). At the watershed scale, there was a significant increase (>200%) in mean event runoff from 1929 to 2050 (0.4‐1.3 cm) due to localized urbanization, which shifted the dominant sources of runoff from the mountains in 1929 (78% of watershed runoff) to the coastal plane for 2050 conditions (51% of watershed runoff). Inter‐annual climate variability was strong in the rainfall and runoff frequency distributions, with mean event rainfall and runoff 66 and 60% larger in El Nino relative to non‐El Nino years. Combining urbanization and climate variability, 2050 land conditions resulted in El Nino years being five times more likely to produce large (>3.0 cm) runoff events relative to non‐El Nino years. Combining frequency distributions of event runoff with regional nutrient export relationships, we show that in El Nino years, one in five events produced runoff ≥2.5 cm and temporary nearshore nitrate and phosphate concentrations of 12 and 1.4 μM, respectively, or approximately 5‐10 times above ambient conditions.     

Spatial Distribution of Water Supply in the Coterminous United States1

Abstract: Available water supply across the contiguous 48 states was estimated as precipitation minus evapotranspiration using data for the period 1953‐1994. Precipitation estimates were taken from the Parameter‐Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM). Evapotranspiration was estimated using two models, the Advection‐Aridity model and the Zhang model. The evapotranspiration models were calibrated using precipitation and runoff data for 655 hydrologically undisturbed basins, and then tested using estimates of natural runoff for the 18 water resource regions (WRR) of the 48 contiguous states. The final water supply coverage reflects a mixture of outputs from the two evapotranspiration models. Political, administrative, and land cover boundaries were mapped over the coverage of mean annual water supply. Across the entire study area, we find that 53% of the water supply originates on forested land, which covers only 29% of the surface area, and that 24% originates on federal lands, including 18% on national forests and grasslands alone. Forests and federal lands are even more important in the West (the 11 western contiguous states), where 65% of the water supply originates on forested land and 66% on federal lands, with national forests and grasslands contributing 51%.     

Assessment of aliphatic-aromatic copolyester biodegradable mulch films. Part I: field study

The objective of this work was to study the use of new biodegradable films in agriculture under open field conditions. Three biodegradable mulch films made from modified biodegradable polyester of different thicknesses and colors (black and white) and a conventional low density polyethylene (LDPE) mulch film were used to cover the beds of tomato plants. Changes in physical appearance of the films were recorded as well as changes in their mechanical, optical, and physical properties. Once tomato harvest was completed, the conventional LDPE mulch film was removed and all the tomato plants were cut using a mower. The biodegradable mulch films were plowed into the soil. The change in the appearance of the film was recorded and samples of each film after plowing were characterized according to the properties mentioned above. After the biodegradable films photodegraded, cross-link formation occurred within the films which promoted brittleness. Titanium dioxide, an additive used to produce white color in the films, catalyzed the photodegradation, while carbon black used for black color stabilized the photodegradation. The white films started to degrade after two weeks while it took about eight weeks for the black films to significantly degrade. The black biodegradable film seems to be a more promising alternative as a mulch film because of the comparable yields and weed suppression ability to conventional mulch film.     

Behaviour and redox sensitivity of pharmaceutical residues during bank filtration - Investigation of residues of phenazone-type analgesics

The behaviour of residues of phenazone-type pharmaceuticals during bank filtration was investigated at a field site in Berlin, Germany, where bank-filtered water is used for drinking water production. The concentrations of the pharmaceutical residues in the shallow, young bank filtrate (travel times相似文献   

Assessment of aliphatic-aromatic copolyester biodegradable mulch films. Part II: laboratory simulated conditions

In a previous paper, we demonstrated that the main mechanism of degradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) biodegradable mulch films when exposed to field conditions was crosslinking due to the photodegradation from solar radiation. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of crosslinking on the biodegradability of PBAT samples. PBAT films were subjected to UV photodegradation in laboratory simulated conditions to investigate the effects of crosslinking and other major changes in the structure and mechanical properties of the films. Crosslinking caused the films to become more brittle and produced a reduction of the tensile strength and percent elongation. Besides the crosslinking degradation mechanism, chain scission also occurred in the samples. After 45d of biodegradation test, the non-crosslinked PBAT sample reached 60% of mineralization. However, the percent mineralization was reduced when samples were crosslinked. The percent mineralization of samples with 10%, 30%, 50%, and 70% gel content was 36%, 43%, 21%, and 24%, respectively. Our results indicate that crosslinking is a key process underlying the degradation of the PBAT film and did affect the biodegradability of the films, since the samples with greater amount of gel content generally showed less percent mineralization in the biodegradation tests.