NUTGRANJA 2.0: a simple mass balance model to explore the effects of different management strategies on nitrogen and greenhouse gases losses and soil phosphorus changes in dairy farms

Farm nutrient management has been identified as one of the most important factors determining the economic and environmental performance of dairy cattle (Bos taurus) farming systems. Given the environmental problems associated with dairy farms, such as emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), and the complex interaction between farm management, environment and genetics, there is a need to develop robust tools which enable scientists and policy makers to study all these interactions. This paper describes the development of a simple model called NUTGRANJA 2.0 to evaluate GHG emissions and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from dairy farms. NUTGRANJA 2.0 is an empirical mass-balance model developed in order to simulate the main transfers and flows of N and P through the different stages of the dairy farm management. A model sensitivity test was carried out to explore some of the sensitivities of the model in relation to the simulation of GHG and N emissions. This test indicated that both management (e.g. milk yield per cow, annual fertiliser N rate) and site-specific factors (e.g. % clover (Trifolium) in the sward, soil type, and % land slope) had a large effect on most of the model state variables studied (e.g. GHG and N losses).     

Trends of air pollution in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains, Bavaria

We analyzed 13 years of hourly measurements of SO₂, NO_x, and O₃, at forest ecosystem research sites in SE Germany. A quasi-continuous data record was obtained by combining data sets from two locations. Before interpreting trends in the combined data set, we analyzed if the change of location introduced a systematic bias. We employed autocorrelation functions, Hurst statistics, complexity analysis, and recurrence quantification and found that the partial data sets exhibited no indication of the presence of any bias. For SO₂, we also compared the data from the forest sites with data obtained in nearby cities and also found no indications for any systematic effects. Applying nonparametric trend statistics we found a significant decrease of the SO₂. Most of the observed decrease is due to the reductions of SO₂ emissions in eastern Germany, but reductions in western Germany and the Czech Republic also played important roles. For O₃, we observed a significant increase, the causes of which are unclear from our data alone. No trend was identified for NO_x.     

Die Fungizide Hexachlorbenzol und Pentachlornitrobenzol und ihre Stoffwechselwege

Die Kenntnis biochemischer Veränderungen von lipophilen körperfremden Stoffen ist hinsichtlich deren Elimination aus dem Organismus, sowie bei Überlegungen zur Voraussage toxischer, insbesondere carcinogener Wirkungen von vorrangiger Bedeutung     

Mechanistic aspects of the thermal formation of halogenated organic compounds including polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins. Part V†: Hypotheses and summary

The hypotheses on the de novo syntheses of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs), based on known literature, are presented. Polychlorinated benzenes and polychlorinated phenols are probably key intermediates.

In the present article, hypotheses that may account for the presence of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs) in the effluents from municipal and industrial incinerators are put forward. These hypotheses are based on the previously surveyed literature (Ref. 203–206) and experimental results on laboratory scale and thermodynamic calculations are considered. The interconnections of various reaction steps are speculative and no technological information was added to account for conditions in real incinerators. Conclusion of the discussions on the related subject matter, presented in the Parts I‐IV (Ref. 203–206), are also described in this paper.