Occurrence and bioavailability of pyrethroids in a mixed land use watershed

The shift in land use patterns within many urban areas has the potential to influence the magnitude and nature of nonpoint-source pollution. The presence of pyrethroid insecticides in urban surface streams is of particular concern due to the broad spectrum toxicity of pyrethroids to aquatic organisms and the widespread use of pyrethroid products for agricultural and urban pest control. Sediment samples were collected throughout a mixed land use watershed in southern California during two sampling periods and analyzed for a suite of pyrethroids. Bifenthrin and fenpropathrin were found most frequently in the sediment samples, with the highest concentrations associated with sites adjacent to large commercial nurseries. Sediments from residential areas or residential-commercial mixed areas had fewer detections and significantly lower concentrations than the nursery runoff sediments. No apparent difference was found between wet and dry season concentrations, which may be attributed to the fact that the lack of flow under dry weather conditions rendered pyrethroid residues immobile. Organic carbon-normalized sediment concentrations were poorly correlated with the freely dissolved pore water concentrations measured by solid phase microextraction (SPME), suggesting factors other than sediment organic carbon content should be considered when relating concentrations to potential toxicities.     

Vegetation and carbon sequestration and their relation to water resources in an inland river basin of Northwest China

In the Heihe River Basin in the arid inland area of northwest China, the distribution of water resources in vegetation landscape zones controls the ecosystems. The carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation is analyzed in relation to water resources and vegetation growing conditions. During the last 20 years, the vegetation ecosystems have degenerated in the Heihe River Basin. Simulation using the C-FIX model indicates that, at present, the total amount of NPP of vegetation accounts for about 18.16 TgC, and the average value is 106 gC/m(2)/yr over the whole basin. NPP has generally the highest value in the upperstream mountain area, middlestream artificial oases area, downstream river bank area, alluvial fan and the terminal lake depression where vegetation grows relatively well. The lowest value is found in the vast downstream desert and Gobi area. Protection of vegetation ecosystems and enhancement of carbon sequestration require such inland river basins as the Heihe River Basin to be brought under management in a comprehensive way, taking water as a key, to carry out a rational and efficient allocation and utilization of water resources.     

Spatial scaling between leaf area index maps of different resolutions

We developed algorithms for spatial scaling of leaf area index (LAI) using sub-pixel information. The study area is located near Liping County, Guizhou Province, in China. Methods for LAI spatial scaling were investigated on LAI images with 960 m resolution derived in two ways. LAI from distributed calculation (LAID) was derived using Landsat ETM+ data (30 m), and LAI from lumped calculation (LAIL) was obtained from the coarse (960 m) resolution data derived through resampling the ETM+ data. We found that lumped calculations can be considerably biased compared to the distributed (ETM+) case, suggesting that global and regional LAI maps can be biased if surface heterogeneity within the mapping resolution is ignored. Based on these results, we developed algorithms for removing the biases in lumped LAI maps using sub-pixel land cover-type information, and applied these to correct one coarse resolution LAI product which greatly improved its accuracy.     

A Recourse‐Based Interval Fuzzy Programming Model for Point‐Nonpoint Source Effluent Trading under Uncertainty

In this study, a recourse‐based interval fuzzy programming (RIFP) model is developed for tackling uncertainties expressed as fuzzy, interval, and/or probabilistic forms in an effluent trading program. It can incorporate preregulated water‐pollution control policies directly into its optimization process, such that an effective linkage between environmental regulations and economic implications (i.e., penalties) caused by improper policies due to uncertainty existence can be provided. The RIFP model is applied to point‐nonpoint source effluent trading of the Xiangxi River in China. The efficiency of trading efforts between water quality improvement and net system benefit under different degrees of satisfying discharge limits is analyzed. The results are able to help support (1) formulation of water‐pollution control strategies under various economic objectives and system‐reliability constraints, (2) selection of the desired effluent trading pattern for point and nonpoint sources, and (3) generation of tradeoffs among system benefit, satisfaction degree, and pollutant mitigation under multiple uncertainties. Compared with the traditional regulatory approaches, the results demonstrate that the water‐pollution control program can be performed more cost‐effectively through trading than nontrading.     

Water Management Applications for Satellite Precipitation Products: Synthesis and Recommendations

This article is an assessment of the current state of the art and relative utility of satellite precipitation products (SPPs) for hydrologic applications to support water management decisions. We present a review of SPPs, their accuracy in diverse settings including the influence of geography, topography, and weather systems, as well as the pros and cons of their use for different water management applications. At the end of this broad synthesizing effort, recommendations are proposed for: (1) SPP developers to improve the quality, usability, and relevance of precipitation products; and (2) SPP users to improve the reliability of their predictions and hydrologic applications to better support water management.     

Constitutional tolerance to heavy metals of a fiber crop, ramie (Boehmeria nivea), and its potential usage

It is observed that ramie (Boehmeria nivea), an economic fiber crop, can establish and colonize metal-contaminated sites in China. Metal tolerance and accumulation by ramie originating from 13 metal-contaminated and 4 “clean” sites in China were compared under field and hydroponic conditions. All selected populations and germplasms displayed good growth performance under diverse metal-contaminated habitats; while growth responses, metal accumulation and tolerance were similar among the 8 populations and 2 germplasms when exposed to solutions containing elevated As, Cd, Pb, or Zn in the laboratory. These revealed that ramie possesses a certain degree of constitutional metal tolerance. To our knowledge, this is the first report of constitutional metal tolerance possessed by a fiber crop. Ramie can be considered as a good candidate for both fiber production and phytoremediation of sites contaminated by multi-metals, as it accumulates relative low metal concentrations, but possesses both high biomass and high economic value.     

Valuation of Irrigation Water by the Hedonic Price Method: A Case Study in Chalkidiki,Greece

The design of efficient water allocation systems depends, among other factors, on economic issues and, above all, on a reliable estimate of the economic value of water. In this paper the hedonic price method is utilized to reveal the implicit value of irrigation water by analyzing agricultural land values in Chalkidiki, a typical rural area in Greece. The method was applied to a sample of both irrigated and nonirrigated properties and the value of irrigation water was estimated by disaggregating the total price of each parcel of land, obtained through a local survey. Results show that, apart from typical value attributes, the agricultural characteristics of the land, including irrigation water availability, have a significant influence on land prices.     

Assessment of Soil Cover Degradation and Desertification in Northern Lowland Dagestan

New principles of the assessment of soil cover degradation and desertification, the scale and intensity of destructive processes manifestation are determined.     

Evaluation of solubility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ethyl lactate/water versus ethanol/water mixtures for contaminated soil remediation applications

Solubility data of recalcitrant contaminants in cosolvents is essential to determine their potential applications in enhanced soil remediation. The solubilities of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene in ethyl lactate/water and ethanol/water mixtures were measured using equilibrium techniques. The cosolvency powers derived from solubility data were then applied to the model developed from the solvophobic approach to predict the capability of ethyl lactate and ethanol in enhancing the desorption of contaminants from soils. Both ethyl lactate and ethanol cosolvents were shown to be able to enhance the solubilisation of the tested four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by > 4 orders of magnitude above the levels obtained with water alone. However, ethyl lactate demonstrated a greater capacity to enhance PAH solubility than ethanol. The cosolvency powers of ethyl lactate/water system obtained from the end-to-end slope (σ) and the end-to-half slope (σ_0.5) of the solubilisation curve were 1.0--1.5 and 2.0--2.9 higher than ethanol/water system respectively. In line with this, ethyl lactate/water was demonstrated to enhance the desorption of contaminants from soil by 20%--37% and 18%--61% higher compared to ethanol/water system in low organic content and high organic content soils respectively, with a 2:1 (V/W) ratio of solution:soil and with cosolvent fraction as low as 0.4. With the exception of benzo[a]pyrene, the experimental desorption results agreed fairly with the predicted values, under an applied solution:soil ratio that was enough to hold the capacity of released contaminants.