Long-term trends in nitrous oxide emissions, soil nitrogen, and crop yields of till and no-till cropping systems

No-till cropping can increase soil C stocks and aggregation but patterns of long-term changes in N2O emissions, soil N availability, and crop yields still need to be resolved. We measured soil C accumulation, aggregation, soil water, N2O emissions, soil inorganic N, and crop yields in till and no-till corn-soybean-wheat rotations between 1989 and 2002 in southwestern Michigan and investigated whether tillage effects varied over time or by crop. Mean annual NO3- concentrations in no-till were significantly less than in conventional till in three of six corn years and during one year of wheat production. Yields were similar in each system for all 14 years but three, during which yields were higher in no-till, indicating that lower soil NO3- concentrations did not result in lower yields. Carbon accumulated in no-till soils at a rate of 26 g C m(-2) yr(-1) over 12 years at the 0- to 5-cm soil depth. Average nitrous oxide emissions were similar in till (3.27 +/- 0.52 g N ha d(-1)) and no-till (3.63 +/- 0.53 g N ha d(-1)) systems and were sufficient to offset 56 to 61% of the reduction in CO2 equivalents associated with no-till C sequestration. After controlling for rotation and environmental effects by normalizing treatment differences between till and no-till systems we found no significant trends in soil N, N2O emissions, or yields through time. In our sandy loam soils, no-till cropping enhances C storage, aggregation, and associated environmental processes with no significant ecological or yield tradeoffs.     

Removal of dyes from water using crosslinked aminomethane sulfonic acid based resin

A new polymeric resin with amino sulfonic acid pendant functions has been prepared for the extraction of acidic and basic dyes from water. Beaded polymer supports were prepared by suspension polymerization of vinyl benzyl chloride (0.9 mol) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (0.1 mol). The resulting copolymer beads were modified with amino methane sulfonic acid. The dye adsorption capacity of the resin was found as 0.16 g dye/g resin for ramazol black and 0.15 g dye/g resin for crystal violet. The pH depending measurements and dye sorption kinetics of the resin were also investigated.     

Neurotoxicity of diallate and triallate when administered orally or topically to hens

Two allylthiocarbamate herbicides, diallate and triallate, were evaluated for neurotoxicity by oral and topical dosing studies with mature white leghorn hens. Diallate was tolerated for 90 days at topical doses of 40 mg/kg/day and oral doses of 20 mg/kg/day. Reversible ataxia and narcosis occurred at diallate doses of 80 mg/kg/day and higher by either route of administration. Triallate did not elicit signs of neurotoxicity at 300 mg/kg/day topically or 400 mg/kg/day orally. The oral dose, however, resulted in gastrointestinal irritation and severe weight loss, such that dosing was terminated after 25 days. Triallate was tolerated at oral dosages of 90 mg/kg/day and topical doses up to 330 mg/kg/day.     

Viruses on shellfish-growing waters

The conversion of the bivalve shellfish to a virus carriage status is the most important consequence of the virus pollution of shellfish-growing waters. Virus carriage has public health implications of significance for consumers of raw or inadequately cooked shellfish, as well as general biological implications of significance for shellfish themselves. The nonculturable human enteric viruses are responsible for most if not all of the illness transmitted by virus-carrying shellfish. Use of feces-associated natural virus in numbers comparable to those found in grossly polluted waters has been instrumental in developing new perspectives of virus carriage and its biological significance. The feasibility of developing a virus standard for virus surveillance of shellfish and its use for assessment of health risks which aris as a consequence of shellfish virus carriage is discussed.     

Mercury photoreduction and photooxidation in lakes: Effects of filtration and dissolved organic carbon concentration

Mercury is a globally distributed, environmental contaminant. Quantifying the retention and loss of mercury is integral for predicting mercury-sensitive ecosystems. There is little information on how dissolved organic carbon(DOC) concentrations and particulates affect mercury photoreaction kinetics in freshwater lakes. To address this knowledge gap,samples were collected from ten lakes in Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia(DOC: 2.6–15.4 mg/L). Filtered(0.2 μm) and unfiltered samples were analysed for gross photoreduction, gross photooxidation, and net reduction rates of mercury using pseudo first-order curves. Unfiltered samples had higher concentrations(p = 0.04) of photoreducible divalent mercury(Hg(II)RED)(mean of 754 ± 253 pg/L) than filtered samples(mean of 482 ± 206 pg/L);however, gross photoreduction and photooxidation rate constants were not significantly different in filtered or unfiltered samples in early summer. DOC was not significantly related to gross photoreduction rate constants in filtered(R~2= 0.43; p = 0.08) and unfiltered(R~2= 0.02; p = 0.71) samples; DOC was also not significantly related to gross photooxidation rate constants in filtered or unfiltered samples. However, DOC was significantly negatively related with Hg(Ⅱ)_(RED) in unfiltered(R2= 0.53; p = 0.04), but not in filtered samples(R~2= 0.04;p = 0.60). These trends indicate that DOC is a factor in determining dissolved mercury photoreduction rates and particles partially control available Hg(Ⅱ)_(RED) in lake water. This research also demonstrates that within these lakes gross photoreduction and photooxidation processes are close to being in balance. Changes to catchment inputs of particulate matter and DOC may alter mercury retention in these lakes and could partially explain observed increases of mercury accumulation in biota.     

Large-Scale Survey of Human Enteroviruses in Wastewater Treatment Plants of a Metropolitan Area of Southern Italy

Human enteroviruses (HEVs) occur in high concentrations in wastewater and can contaminate receiving environmental waters, constituting a major cause of acute waterborne disease worldwide. In this study, we investigated the relative abundance, occurrence, and seasonal distribution of polio and other enteroviruses at three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Naples, Southern Italy, from January 2010 to December 2014. Influent and effluent samples from the three WWTPs were collected monthly. One hundred and sixty-one of the 731 wastewater samples collected (22.0%) before and after water treatment were CPE positive on RD cells; while no samples were positive on L20B cells from any WWTPs. Among the 140 non-polio enterovirus isolated from inlet sewage, 69.3% were Coxsackieviruses type B and 30.7% were Echoviruses. Among these, CVB3 and CVB5 were most prevalent, followed by CVB4 and Echo6. The twenty-one samples tested after treatment contained 6 CVB4, 5 CVB3, 3 Echo11, and 2 Echo6; while other serotypes were isolated less frequently. Data on viral detection in treated effluents of WWTPs confirmed the potential environmental contamination by HEVs and could be useful to establish standards for policies on wastewater management.     

A Daily Time Series Analysis of StreamWater Phosphorus Concentrations Along an Urban to Forest Gradient

During a 1-year period, we sampled stream water total phosphorus (TP) concentrations daily and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations weekly in four Seattle area streams spanning a gradient of forested to urban-dominated land cover. The objective of this study was to develop time series models describing stream water phosphorus concentration dependence on seasonal variation in stream base flows, short-term flow fluctuations, antecedent flow conditions, and rainfall. Stream water SRP concentrations varied on average by ±18% or ±5.7 μg/L from one week to another, whereas TP varied ±48% or ±32.5 μg/L from one week to another. On average, SRP constituted about 47% of TP. Stream water SRP concentrations followed a simple sine-wave annual cycle with high concentrations during the low-flow summer period and low concentrations during the high-flow winter period in three of the four study sites. These trends are probably due to seasonal variation in the relative contributions of groundwater and subsurface flows to stream flow. In forested Issaquah Creek, SRP concentrations were relatively constant throughout the year except during the fall, when a major salmon spawning run occurred in the stream and SRP concentrations increased markedly. Stream water SRP concentrations were statistically unrelated to short-term flow fluctuations, antecedent flow conditions, or rainfall in each of the study streams. Stream water TP concentrations are highly variable and strongly influenced by short-term flow fluctuations. Each of the processes assessed had statistically significant correlations with TP concentrations, with seasonal base flow being the strongest, followed by antecedent flow conditions, short-term flow fluctuations, and rainfall. Times series models for each individual stream were able to predict ∼70% of the variability in the SRP annual cycle in three of the four streams (r² = 0.57–0.81), whereas individual TP models explained ∼50% of the annual cycle in all streams (r² = 0.39–0.59). Overall, time series models for SRP and TP dynamics explained 82% and 76% of the variability for these variables, respectively. Our results indicate that SRP, the most biologically available and therefore most important phosphorus fraction, has simpler and easier-to-predict seasonal and weekly dynamics.     

Rainfall variability and household coping strategies in northern Tanzania: a motivation for district-level strategies

Climate variability is an important stress factor for rural livelihoods in most developing countries where households have been adapting to environmental shocks for decades. Climate change results in increased variability and poses new challenges for rural livelihoods, as well as for policymakers in adjusting policies to changing conditions. This paper examines the potential relationships between rainfall data and household self-reported harvest shocks and local (spatial) variability of harvest shocks and coping strategies based on a survey of 2,700 rural households in the Kagera region of northern Tanzania. The results show that rainfall patterns in the region are very location-specific and that the distribution of household reported harvest shocks differs significantly between districts and correspond to the observed variability in local climate patterns. Coping strategies are focused on spreading risks and include reduced consumption, casual employment, new crops, external support and the selling of assets. There are no large differences in applied coping strategies across the region, but district-level data demonstrate how local strategies differ between localities within the districts. The results emphasize that in order to target rural policies and make them efficient, it is important to take into account the local conditions that rural households face when experiencing climate-related shocks. Finally, shocks reported by households appear to correspond well with observed variability in rainfall patterns.