Effect of fatty acids and oils on photodegradation of azadirachtin‐A

Abstract

Azadirachtin‐A on exposure to UV‐light (254 nm) as a thin film on glass surface gave a isomerised (Z)‐2‐ methylbut‐2‐enoate product. Half‐life of azadirachtin‐A as thin film under UV light was found to be 48 min. Azadirachtin ‐A was irradiated along with saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and fatty oils under ultra‐violet light as thin film. Saturated fatty acid increased the rate of photodegradation of azadirachtin‐A, whereas unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic, linoleic and elaidic acid reduced the rate of degradation. Castor, linseed and olive oil accelerated the rate of degradation, whereas neem oil showed no or little change in the rate of degradation of azadirachtin‐A. None of these fatty acids and fatty oils were effective in controlling the rate of degradation of azadirachtin‐A under UV‐light as thin film.     

Impact of redox conditions on metolachlor and metribuzin degradation in mississippi flood plain soils

Abstract

The effect of soil redox conditions on the degradation of metolachlor and metribuzin in two Mississippi soils (Forrestdale silty clay loam and Loring silt loam) were examined in the laboratory. Herbicides were added to soil in microcosms and incubated either under oxidized (aerobic) or reduced (anaerobic) conditions. Metolachlor and metribuzin degradation under aerobic condition in the Forrestdale soil proceeded at rates of 8.83 ngd^‐1 and 25 ngd^‐1, respectively. Anaerobic degradation rates for the two herbicides in the Forestdale soil were 8.44 ngd^‐1 and 32.5 ngd^‐1, respectively. Degradation rates for the Loring soil under aerobic condition were 24.8 ngd^‐1 and 12.0 ngd^‐1 for metolachlor and metribuzin, respectively. Metolachlor and metribuzin degradation rates under anaerobic conditions in the Loring soil were 20.9 ngd^‐1 and 5.35 ngd^‐1. Metribuzin degraded faster (12.0 ngd^‐1) in the Loring soil under aerobic conditions as compared to anaerobic conditions (5.35 ngd^‐1).     

System Dynamics to Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Under Water Supply Uncertainty1

Abstract: Water supply uncertainty continues to threaten the reliability of regional water resources in the western United States. Climate variability and water dispute potentials induce water managers to develop proactive adaptive management strategies to mitigate future hydroclimate impacts. The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer in the state of Idaho is also facing these challenges in the sense that population growth and economic development strongly depend on reliable water resources from underground storage. Drought and subsequent water conflict often drive scientific research and political agendas because water resources availability and aquifer management for a sustainable rural economy are of great interest. In this study, a system dynamics approach is applied to address dynamically complex problems with management of the aquifer and associated surface‐water and groundwater interactions. Recharge and discharge dynamics within the aquifer system are coded in an environmental modeling framework to identify long‐term behavior of aquifer responses to uncertain future hydrological variability. The research shows that the system dynamics approach is a promising modeling tool to develop sustainable water resources planning and management in a collaborative decision‐making framework and also to provide useful insights and alternative opportunities for operational management, policy support, and participatory strategic planning to mitigate future hydroclimate impacts in human dimensions.     

Nonideal transport of contaminants in heterogeneous porous media: 10. Impact of co-solutes on sorption by porous media with low organic-carbon contents

The impact of co-solutes on sorption of tetrachloroethene (PCE) by two porous media with low organic-carbon contents was examined by conducting batch experiments. The two media (Borden and Eustis) have similar physical properties, but significantly different organic-carbon (OC) contents. Sorption of PCE was nonlinear for both media, and well-described by the Freundlich equation. For the Borden aquifer material (OC = 0.03%), the isotherms measured with a suite of co-solutes present (1,2-dichlorobenzene, bromoform, carbon tetrachloride, and hexachloroethane) were identical to the isotherms measured for PCE alone. These results indicate that there was no measurable impact of the co-solutes on PCE sorption for this system. In contrast to the Borden results, there was a measurable reduction in sorption of PCE by the Eustis soil (OC = 0.38%) in the presence of the co-solutes. The organic-carbon fractions of both media contain hard-carbon components, which have been associated with the manifestation of nonideal sorption phenomena. The disparity in results observed for the two media may relate to relative differences in the magnitude and geochemical nature of these hard-carbon components.     

Occurrence and fate of pesticides in four contrasting agricultural settings in the United States

Occurrence and fate of 45 pesticides and 40 pesticide degradates were investigated in four contrasting agricultural settings--in Maryland, Nebraska, California, and Washington. Primary crops included corn at all sites, soybeans in Maryland, orchards in California and Washington, and vineyards in Washington. Pesticides and pesticide degradates detected in water samples from all four areas were predominantly from two classes of herbicides--triazines and chloroacetanilides; insecticides and fungicides were not present in the shallow ground water. In most samples, pesticide degradates greatly exceeded the concentrations of parent pesticide. In samples from Nebraska, the parent pesticide atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine] was about the same concentration as the degradate, but in samples from Maryland and California atrazine concentrations were substantially smaller than its degradate. Simazine [6-chloro-N,N'-diethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], the second most detected triazine, was detected in ground water from Maryland, California, and Washington. Metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] rarely was detected without its degradates, and when they were detected in the same sample metolachlor always had smaller concentrations. The Root-Zone Water-Quality Model was used to examine the occurrence and fate of metolachlor at the Maryland site. Simulations accurately predicted which metolachlor degradate would be predominant in the unsaturated zone. In analyses of relations among redox indicators and pesticide variance, apparent age, concentrations of dissolved oxygen, and excess nitrogen gas (from denitrification) were important indicators of the presence and concentration of pesticides in these ground water systems.     

A framework for valuing the health benefits of improved bathing water quality in the River Irvine catchment

A simple model predicting bathing water concentrations of Escherichia coli from livestock in the Irvine catchment in SW Scotland has been adapted for intestinal enterococci (IE). This has been used to predict risk of bather illness by extrapolation of published data on bather IE exposure vs incidence of gastro-enteritis. Simulated reduction in the risk of illness by reduced faecal loading was multiplied by a willingness to pay for risk reduction to estimate the annual benefits of mitigation. Health benefits of reducing loading by 75% at Irvine Beach were estimated by a willingness to pay method to be about pound 276k pa. Estimated annualised costs of diffuse pollution mitigation measures across the catchment were higher (> pound 1m), and it is very unlikely that 75% mitigation is achievable with current stocking rates. Further work should explore the influence of uncertainty of model parameters, and use emerging epidemiological information on specific zoonotic pathogens such as E. coli O157 and Cryptosporidium. Other components of the value of clean water should also be included to obtain a complete estimate of the cost:benefit of mitigation.     

Efficient and Practical Approaches to Ground‐Water Right Transfers Under the Prior Appropriation Doctrine and the Snake River Example1

Abstract: Water right transfers are one of the basic means of implementing changes in water use in the highly appropriated water resource systems of the western United States. Many of these systems are governed by the Prior Appropriation Doctrine, which was not originally intended for application to ground‐water pumping and the conjunctive management of ground water and surface water, and thus creates an administrative challenge. That challenge results from the fact that ground‐water pumping can affect all interconnected surface‐water bodies and the effects may be immeasurably small relative to surface water discharge and greatly attenuated in time. Although we may have the ability to calculate the effects of ground‐water pumping and transfers of pumping location on surface‐water bodies, mitigating for all the impacts of each individual transfer is sufficiently inefficient that it impedes the transfer process, frustrates water users, and consequently inhibits economic development. A more holistic approach to ground‐water right transfers, such as a ground‐water accounting or banking scheme, may adequately control transfer third‐party effects while reducing mitigation requirements on individual transfers. Acceptance of an accounting scheme can accelerate the transfer process, and possibly reduce the administrative burden.     

Effects of Riparian Vegetation and Watershed Urbanization on Fishes in Streams of the Mid‐Atlantic Piedmont (USA)1

Abstract: The joint influences of riparian vegetation and urbanization on fish assemblages were analyzed by depletion sampling in paired forested and nonforested reaches of 25 small streams along an urbanization gradient. Nonforested reaches were narrower than their forested counterparts, so densities based on surface area differ from linear densities (based on reach length). Linear densities (based on number or biomass of fish) of American eel, white sucker and tesselated darter, and the proportion of biomass of benthic invertivores were significantly higher in nonforested reaches, while linear densities of margined madtom and the number of pool species were significantly higher in forested reaches. Observed riparian effects may reflect differences in habitat and algal productivity between forested and nonforested reaches. These results suggest that relatively small‐scale riparian restoration projects can affect local geomorphology and the abundance of fish. Dense vegetative cover in riparian zones and similar or analogous habitats in both forested and nonforested reaches, the relatively small scale of the nonforested reaches, and the low statistical power to detect differences in abundance of rare species may have limited the observed differences between forested and nonforested reaches. There was a strong urbanization gradient, with reductions of intolerant species and increases of tolerant species and omnivores with increasing urbanization. Interactions between riparian vegetation type and urbanization were found for blacknose dace, creek chub, tesselated darter, and the proportion of biomass of lithophilic spawners. The study did not provide consistent support for the hypotheses that responses of fish to riparian vegetation would be overwhelmed by urban degradation or insignificant at low urbanization.