Long Term Effects of Acid Irrigation at the Höglwald on Seepage Water Chemistry and Nutrient Cycling

In order to test the hypothesis of aluminium toxicity induced by acid deposition, an experimental acid irrigation was carried out in a mature Norway spruce stand in Southern Germany (Höglwald). The experiment comprised three plots: no irrigation, irrigation (170 mm a^?1), and acid irrigation with diluted sulphuric acid (pH of 2.6–2.8). During the seven years of acid irrigation (1984–1990) water containing 0.43 mol_c m^?2 a^?1 of protons and sulphate was added with a mean pH of 3.2 (throughfall?+?acid irrigation water) compared to 4.9 (throughfall) on both control plots. Most of the additional proton input was consumed in the organic layer and the upper mineral soil. Acid irrigation resulted in a long lasting elevation of sulphate concentrations in the seepage water. Together with sulphate both aluminium and appreciable amounts of base cations were leached from the main rooting zone. The ratio between base cations (Ca?+?Mg?+?K) and aluminium was 0.79 during acid irrigation and 0.92 on the control. Neither tree growth and nutrition nor the pool of exchangeable cations were affected significantly. We conclude that at this site protection mechanisms against aluminium toxicity exist and that additional base cation runoff can still be compensated without further reduction of the supply of exchangeable base cations in the upper mineral soil.     

Are Bavarian Forests (southern Germany) at risk from ground-level ozone? Assessment using exposure and flux based ozone indices

Exposure and flux-based indices of O₃ risk were compared, at 19 forest locations across Bavaria in southern Germany from 2002 to 2005; leaf symptoms on mature beech trees found at these locations were also examined for O₃ injury. O₃ flux modelling was performed using continuously recorded O₃ concentrations in combination with meteorological and soil moisture data collected from Level II forest sites. O₃ measurements at nearby rural open-field sites proved appropriate as surrogates in cases where O₃ data were lacking at forest sites (with altitude-dependent average differences of about 10% between O₃ concentrations). Operational thresholds of biomass loss for both O₃ indices were exceeded at the majority of the forest locations, suggesting similar risk under long-term average climate conditions. However, exposure-based indices estimated higher O₃ risk during dry years as compared to the flux-based approach. In comparison, minor O₃-like leaf injury symptoms were detected only at a few of the forest sites investigated. Relationships between flux-based risk thresholds and tree response need to be established for mature forest stands for validation of predicted growth reductions under the prevailing O₃ regimes.     

The formation and maintenance of crayfish hierarchies: behavioral and self-structuring properties

Behavioral changes in fighting and the development of dominance relationships were analyzed in groups of juvenile crayfish (Astacus astacus) using quantitative behavioral techniques. When individuals were placed into an aquarium, the number of agonistic challenges, their mean duration, and maximum intensity reached were high initially but then decreased steadily as the hierarchy developed. In all groups, linear hierarchies emerged which became increasingly stable over time. Winning influenced subsequent fighting behavior on two distinct time scales. In the short term, recent winners became progressively less likely to retreat. Second, individuals occupying dominant positions for days became increasingly likely to escalate to higher intensities early in the encounter. Both effects biased the outcome of future interactions such that winning enhanced further success and losing decreased an individual’s subsequent chances for dominance. Received: 11 November 1999 / Revised: 1 March 2000 / Accepted: 3 May 2000     

Pollution of surface waters with pesticides in Germany: modeling non-point source inputs

Pesticide pollution of surface waters represents a considerable hazard for the aquatic environment. However, the mean amount of pesticides reaching the water resources varies considerably between regions and depends highly upon application rates, chemical characteristics of pesticides and natural conditions during application. In this study a model was developed which estimates loss of 42 active ingredients applied to 11 field crops, vineyards and orchards along each non-point source path of entry (subsurface drains, runoff and spray drift). A spatially and temporally differentiated data set of application rates and periods was compiled for each active ingredient and target culture to enable the modeling of pesticide transport. The model results are provided in digital raster format (100 m×100 m) within a geographic information system (GIS). The calculated pesticide loads in surface waters were compared with measured loads from different catchments in Germany. Both data sets agreed as to the order of magnitude, nevertheless due to the scale of the study the estimated loads cannot be interpreted as absolute values and only differences between active ingredients, regions and application periods should be assessed.