Pastoral farmland habitat diversity in south-east Ireland

In this study, habitat surveys were undertaken on 50 grass-based farms in SE Ireland and data digitised onto aerial photography. Additional data i.e. stocking rates, and participation (or otherwise) in the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) were collected and analysed as possible explanatory variables for farm habitat composition.Results indicated that approximately 14.3% of the land area of sampled farms comprised of semi-natural habitat types, a proportion substantially greater than has been reported for many other European countries. The most frequently recorded semi-natural habitats included, field boundaries, scrub, and deciduous and riparian woodlands.Multivariate analysis of farm habitat configuration showed a strong dichotomy between dairy and non-dairy farming systems. Habitats such as intensively managed grassland and built ground were closely associated with dairy-based enterprises. In contrast, the incidence of other habitat types was associated with non-dairy and/or REPS participating enterprises. The ecological quality of field boundaries as assessed by the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS) Index was significantly greater on dairy, compared with dry-stock farms.This dichotomy in farm habitat composition is not reflected within current Agri-Environment (AE) policy. Integration of locally important drivers of habitat diversity into the design and implementation of AE policy, is integral to the successful performance of AE schemes.     

A comparison of mesh-adaptive LES with wind tunnel data for flow past buildings: Mean flows and velocity fluctuations

In this paper we address two important aspects of micro-scale urban airflow model evaluation: (a) the identification of key flow features as dictated by the physics of the problem and as captured by the simulations, and (b) the comparison of important model output parameters (mean flows and fluctuations) with experimental data. A series of mesh-adaptive large eddy simulations (LES) was carried out for the study of air flows within two intersecting street canyons with varying building configurations. The novelty of the approach lies in the combination of LES with mesh adaptivity, which allows a variable-filter length and the implementation of an anisotropic eddy-viscosity model. Both coarse and fine-mesh simulations were carried out, using single and parallel-processor systems respectively. The simulations showed clearly that the expected flow patterns such as the street canyon recirculation and the street-mouth vortices, as well as the exchange of air flow at the street intersections, can readily be captured by the mesh-adaptive LES.In addition, the detailed comparisons of mean flows and fluctuations of the resolved velocity field with the measured data showed that the simulation results agreed well with the patterns and trends of the wind tunnel measurements. In most cases the finer-mesh simulations improved considerably the accuracy of the mean flows, especially for the symmetrical configuration. The improvement in the predicted fluctuations was less obvious, with several detector locations underpredicting the measured values, although the overall comparison was also satisfactory. The typical errors for the mean flows for all three building configurations were less than 30%, whilst for the velocity fluctuations less that 40%. Both the simulated means flows and turbulence levels were generally more accurate in the streets parallel to the wind (streamwise direction) than in the streets normal to the wind.     

Sustainability Assessment for Agriculture Scenarios in Europe’s Mountain Areas: Lessons from Six Study Areas

Sustainability assessment (SA) is a holistic and long-range strategic instrument capable of assisting policy-making in electing, and deciding upon, future development priorities. The outcomes of an SA process become more relevant and strengthened when conducted with multi-stakeholder engagement, which provides for multiple dialogues and perspectives. This was the object of research of the SA team in the context of BioScene (Scenarios for Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation with Declining Agriculture Use in Mountain Areas in Europe), a three-year project (2002–2005) funded by the European Union 5th Framework Program, which aimed to investigate the implications of agricultural restructuring and decline for biodiversity conservation in the mountain areas of Europe, using three distinct methodological streams: the ecological, the socio-economic, and the SA approaches. The SA approach drew on the previous two to assess the importance for biodiversity management of different scenarios of agri-environmental change and rural policy in six countries (France, Greece, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), develop causal chains, include stakeholder views, and identify potential contributions for, or conflicts with, sustainability. This article tells how SA was used, what sustainability meant in each study area through different objectives of sustainability considered, discusses the methods used in SA, and the benefits arising. The SA was conducted by a team independent of any study area, who developed and oversaw the application of the SA methodology, assisting national teams, and developing a cross-country understanding of the sustainability of proposed scenarios in the different geographical and social contexts, and their implications for policy-making. Finally, it reflects on the persistent challenges of interdisciplinary research, compounded by multi-cultural teams, and concludes on the BioScene’s lessons for the further development and application of SA.

A comparison of speciated atmospheric mercury at an urban center and an upwind rural location

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), particulate mercury (PHg) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) were measured every other hour at a rural location in south central Wisconsin (Devil's Lake State Park, WI, USA) between April 2003 and March 2004, and at a predominantly downwind urban site in southeastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI, USA) between June 2004 and May 2005. Annual averages of GEM, PHg, and RGM at the urban site were statistically higher than those measured at the rural site. Pollution roses of GEM and reactive mercury (RM; sum of PHg and RGM) at the rural and urban sites revealed the influences of point source emissions in surrounding counties that were consistent with the US EPA 1999 National Emission Inventory and the 2003-2005 US EPA Toxics Release Inventory. Source-receptor relationships at both sites were studied by quantifying the impacts of point sources on mercury concentrations. Time series of GEM, PHg, and RGM concentrations were sorted into two categories; time periods dominated by impacts from point sources, and time periods dominated by mercury from non-point sources. The analysis revealed average point source contributions to GEM, PHg, and RGM concentration measurements to be significant over the year long studies. At the rural site, contributions to annual average concentrations were: GEM (2%; 0.04 ng m(-3)); and, RM (48%; 5.7 pg m(-3)). At the urban site, contributions to annual average concentrations were: GEM (33%; 0.81 ng m(-3)); and, RM (64%; 13.8 pg m(-3)).     

Impacts of groundwater metal loads from bedrock fractures on water quality of a mountain stream

Acid mine drainage and metal loads from hardrock mines to surface waters is a significant problem in the western USA and many parts of the world. Mines often occur in mountain environments with fractured bedrock aquifers that serve as pathways for metals transport to streams. This study evaluates impacts from current and potential future groundwater metal (Cd, Cu, and Zn) loads from fractures underlying the Gilt Edge Mine, South Dakota, on concentrations in Strawberry Creek using existing flow and water quality data and simple mixing/dilution mass balance models. Results showed that metal loads from bedrock fractures to the creek currently contribute <1% of total loads. Even if background water quality is achieved upstream in Strawberry Creek, fracture metal loads would be <5%. Fracture loads could increase substantially and cause stream water quality standards exceedances once groundwater with elevated metals concentrations in the aquifer matrix migrates to the fractures and discharges to the stream. Potential future metal loads from an upstream fracture would contribute a small proportion of the total load relative to current loads in the stream. Cd has the highest stream concentrations relative to standards. Even if all stream water was treated to remove 90% of the Cd, the standard would still not be achieved. At a fracture farther downstream, the Cd standard can only be met if the upstream water is treated achieving a 90% reduction in Cd concentrations and the median stream flow is maintained.     

How Do River Nitrate Concentrations Respond to Changes in Land-use? A Modelling Case Study of Headwaters in the River Derwent Catchment,North Yorkshire,UK

A combined semi-distributed hydrological model (CASCADE/QUESTOR) is used to evaluate the steady-state that may be achieved after changes in land-use or management and to explore what additional factors need to be considered in representing catchment processes. Two rural headwater catchments of the River Derwent (North Yorkshire, UK) were studied where significant change in land-use occurred in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Much larger increases in mean nitrate concentration (55%) were observed in the catchment with significant groundwater influence (Pickering Beck) compared with the surface water-dominated catchment (13% increase). The increases in Pickering Beck were considerably greater than could be explained by the model in terms of land-use change. Consequently, the study serves to focus attention on the long-term increases in nitrate concentration reported in major UK aquifers and the ongoing and chronic impact this trend is likely to be having on surface water concentrations. For river environments, where groundwater is a source, such trends will mask the impact of measures proposed to reduce the risk of nitrate leaching from agricultural land. Model estimates of within-channel losses account for 15–40% of nitrate entering rivers.     

Handling the phosphorus paradox in agriculture and natural ecosystems: Scarcity,necessity, and burden of P

This special issue of Ambio compiles a series of contributions made at the 8th International Phosphorus Workshop (IPW8), held in September 2016 in Rostock, Germany. The introducing overview article summarizes major published scientific findings in the time period from IPW7 (2015) until recently, including presentations from IPW8. The P issue was subdivided into four themes along the logical sequence of P utilization in production, environmental, and societal systems: (1) Sufficiency and efficiency of P utilization, especially in animal husbandry and crop production; (2) P recycling: technologies and product applications; (3) P fluxes and cycling in the environment; and (4) P governance. The latter two themes had separate sessions for the first time in the International Phosphorus Workshops series; thus, this overview presents a scene-setting rather than an overview of the latest research for these themes. In summary, this paper details new findings in agricultural and environmental P research, which indicate reduced P inputs, improved management options, and provide translations into governance options for a more sustainable P use.     

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food,energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.     

Occurrence and distribution of trifluralin,ethalfluralin, and pendimethalin in soils used for long-term intensive cotton cultivation in central Greece

In the present study, a soil monitoring program was undertaken in Greek cotton cultivated areas in 2012. Twenty-seven soil samples were collected from the entire Thessaly plain in early summer of 2012, corresponding to approximately three months (current use of pendimethalin), up to one year (for the banned ethalfluralin), and three years (for the also banned trifluralin), after the last dinitroaniline application. Low but not negligible levels of dinitroanilines were detected, ranging from 0.01 to 0.21 μg g^?1 d.w. for trifluralin and 0.01–0.048 μg g^?1 d.w. for pendimethalin, respectively. Trifluralin was the herbicide most frequently detected (44.4%). The high historic application of trifluralin and its high persistence and accumulation potential is in line with the abundance of the detected residues. The present data indicate that soil samples contain extractable residues of banned trifluralin, but based on the comparison of the theoretical PECplateau for trifluralin (0.277 µg g^?1) and the maximum Measured Environmental Concentration, it was concluded that the detected residues should be attributed to previous years’ application. The latter suggested the need for continual monitoring of the dinitroaniline family of pesticides, including the banned substances, aiming thus to an improved environmental profile for agricultural areas.