Exploratory Analysis and a Stochastic Model for Humusdisintegration

Ulrich (1981) supposes in the hypothesis of humusdisintegrationthat the balance between polymerisation and breakdown of organicmaterial may be disturbed in chemically well buffered Europeanforest soils. This new aspect of aluminium toxicity may causenitrogen exceedance in forest ecosystems and subsequent seasonalnitrate output (Eichhorn and Hütterman, 1999).In a research program the substances in the seepage water aremonitored in a small woodland in central Germany. We explorethese multivariate data for examining possible influences on theprocess of humusdisintegration and its temporal evolution. As aresult, a regression model for carbon is developed, whichincludes covariables, i.e., other substances, as well as spatialand temporal terms describing systematic variability. Especiallyiron and aluminium turn out to be very influential in the model.So far our work is a basic step for monitoring the seepage waterdata by means of stochastic modelling.     

Gull eggs--food of high organic pollutant content?

A wide range and occasionally high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are reported in Arctic regions, especially among top predators. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and some gull species (Larus spp.) often have high levels of these fat-soluble pollutants. Gulls deposit significant levels of these contaminants in their eggs. In northern regions, gull eggs are part of the traditional human diet. In the present study we have investigated the levels of POPs in gull eggs in order to determine the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for humans. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were measured in 214 gull eggs collected in the spring of 2001-02. The eggs were collected from four gull species (herring gulls (Larus argentatus), great black-backed gulls (L. marinus), lesser black-backed gulls (L. fuscus) and glaucous gulls (L. hyperboreus)) at 12 different locations in Northern Norway, on the Faroe Islands and on Svalbard. The pollutant levels in gull eggs were found to be 65.5 +/- 26.9 pg toxic equivalent (TE) for dioxin and PCB g(-1) wet weight. Based on these findings and the TWI-value determined by the EU Scientific Committee on Food it is advised that children, young women and pregnant and nursing women should not eat gull eggs. Other people should limit their intake of eggs to an absolute minimum, considering the health risks associated with gull egg intake.     

A hybrid modeling approach to resolve pollutant concentrations in an urban area

A modeling tool that can resolve contributions from individual sources to the urban environment is critical for air-toxics exposure assessments. Air toxics are often chemically reactive and may have background concentrations originated from distant sources. Grid models are the best-suited tools to handle the regional features of these chemicals. However, these models are not designed to resolve pollutant concentrations on local scales. Moreover, for many species of interest, having reaction time scales that are longer than the travel time across an urban area, chemical reactions can be ignored in describing local dispersion from strong individual sources making Lagrangian and plume-dispersion models practical. In this study, we test the feasibility of developing an urban hybrid simulation system. In this combination, the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ) provides the regional background concentrations and urban-scale photochemistry, and local models such as Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT) and AMS/EPA Regulatory Model (AERMOD) provide the more spatially resolved concentrations due to local emission sources. In the initial application, the HYSPLIT, AERMOD, and CMAQ models are used in combination to calculate high-resolution benzene concentrations in the Houston area. The study period is from 18 August to 4 September of 2000. The Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5) is used to create meteorological fields with a horizontal resolution of 1×1 km². In another variation to this approach, multiple HYSPLIT simulations are used to create a concentration ensemble to estimate the contribution to the concentration variability from point sources. HYSPLIT simulations are used to model two sources of concentration variability; one due to variability created by different particle trajectory pathways in the turbulent atmosphere and the other due to different flow regimes that might be introduced when using gridded data to represent meteorological data fields. The ensemble mean concentrations determined by HYSPLIT plus the concentrations estimated by AERMOD are added to the CMAQ calculated background to estimate the total mean benzene concentration. These estimated hourly mean concentrations are also compared with available field measurements.     

Postgraduale Weiterbildung, Nachwuchsf?rderpreis 2005, Jahrestagung 2006 in Landau

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

斯瓦尔巴特群岛--寒冷海岸的土地

威廉·巴伦支1596年登上斯瓦尔巴特群岛时.他发现岛上没有一座现代建筑,是他开启了这个群岛的现代史。荷兰的航海家门把这个群岛称为斯匹次卑尔根群岛。他们也并不知道古代著述中提到的斯瓦尔巴特群岛——寒冷海岸的土地.可能早在1194年就已被北欧的海盗们发现了。古代冰岛的文献中讲到”洋底北部”的土地有四天的航海路程.它是格陵兰群岛的一部分。     

Pulse emissions of N2O and CO2 from an arable field depending on fertilization and tillage practice

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from soil are characterized by strong emission pulses. Although several mechanisms are known to create them, pulses are difficult to predict. Currently there is no established systematic way to identify pulses from long-term static chamber measurement results. In this study we suggest a simple algorithm for pulse identification. The algorithm was applied on time series of N₂O and carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes from a field study on the long-term impact of fertilization and tillage practice. Between 4 and 9% of N₂O values were pulse values; 20-60% of total emission was emitted as pulses. Minimum tillage resulted in more pulses than plowing. In contrast, long-term averages of N₂O losses from nitrogen (N) fertilizer were similar (3-4%) for all management practices. N₂O emissions per crop yield for increased fertilization practice were double the values for reduced fertilization practice independent of tillage practice. CO₂ emission pulses were scarce and there was no significant effect of management practice on CO₂ pulse probability.     

Bioakkumulation von Metallen und Stickstoff zwischen 1990 und 2005 in Niedersachsen

Background, aim, and scope Since 1990 the UN ECE Heavy Metals in Mosses Surveys provide data inventories of the atmospheric heavy metal bioaccumulation across Europe. In the survey 2005 the nitrogen accumulation was measured for the first time in most of the participating countries. In Germany, the surveys were conducted in close cooperation of the relevant authorities of both the Federal Republic and the sixteen states. Therefore, statistical evaluations of the moss survey data with regard to the whole German territory and single federal states are of interest. This article concentrates on Lower Saxony, dealing with the mapping of the spatiotemporal trends of metal accumulation from 1990 to 2005, the spatial patterns of nitrogen accumulation in 2005, and the spatial variability of bioaccumulation due to characteristics of the sampling sites and their surroundings. Materials and methods The bioaccumulation of up to 40 trace elements and nitrogen in mosses was determined according to a Europe-wide harmonised methodology. The according experimental protocol regulates the selection of sampling sites and moss species, the chemical analysis and quality control and the classification of the measured values for mapping spatial patterns. In Lower Saxony all sampling sites were described with regard to topographical and ecological characteristics and several criteria to be fulfilled according to the guideline. Together with the measurements this metadata was combined with other information regarding land use in the surroundings of the sampling sites in the WebGIS MossMet. The spatial structure of the metal bioaccumulation was analysed and modelled by variogram analyses and then mapped by applying different Kriging techniques. Furthermore, multi metal indices (MMI) were derived for both the sampling sites and raster maps with help of percentile statistics: The MMI_1990–2005 was calculated for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ti, V and Zn. The statistical association of the metal and nitrogen bioaccumulation, site specific characteristics as well as information on land use and emissions was analysed by bivariate nonparametric correlation analysis, contingency tables and Classification and Regression Trees (CART). Results The results of the quality controlled chemical analyses shows a significant decrease of the metal bioaccumulation in Germany from 1990 to 2000 for all elements but Zn. From 2000 to 2005 a further significant decrease can be stated for Cd, Hg and Pb, to most parts non significant increases can be observed for Cr, Cu, Fe, Sb and Zn. Cr thereby exhibits the highest accumulation in 2005 when compared to the results of 1990, 1995 and 2000. The MMI illustrates the temporal trend of the metal bioaccumulation as a whole: From 1990 to 2000 a continuous significant decrease can be observed. From 2000 to 2005 the median of the MMI increases, again significantly, from 3.4 to 4. The N concentration in mosses in Lower Saxony reaches from 1.1 to 1.9?% in dry mass. High N concentrations were detected in agriculturally intensively used areas. Highly significant bivariate correlations between the metal bioaccumulation and land use in the surroundings of the sampling sites were found reaching from 0.3 to 0.5. Other location criteria with similar correlation coefficients/Cramér’s V are moss species, altitude, distance to the North and Baltic Sea and the distance of the sampling site to the nearest tree crown. N only shows negative correlations to urban land use and the distance to the nearest tree. Exemplified for Sb multivariate correlations were furthermore detected by CART. It could be shown that the Sb bioaccumulation interacts with the moss species and the ratio of agriculture, forests and urban areas around the sampling site. Discussion The decrease of the continuously decrease of heavy metals reflects the improving air quality in the past 15 years. Compared to other environmental monitoring and modelling programmes the moss surveys registered increasing concentrations of toxic metal elements between 1990 and 2005, e.?g. Cr. High Cr loads in mosses were also registered in other European countries like in Switzerland. Further investigations are therefore necessary to investigate whether this is due to different emission conditions or biogenic effects (e.?g. as a result of increasing nitrogen depositions). Contrary to deposition measurements that exhibit a higher temporal resolution the moss surveys provide measurement data on a wide range of elements. Some of these elements are important with regard to human-toxicological aspects (e.?g. As, Al, Hg, Sb, V). Due to its ecotoxicological relevance nitrogen was monitored in the European moss survey 2005 for the first time. Compared to the metals regionally high emissions of nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere can be detected in Lower Saxony. The standardised biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution with mosses is an important link between the technical acquisition of depositions and the accumulation in biological material. To claim that the element concentrations in mosses should correlate to a high degree with measured or modelled depositions is not appropriate since these approaches are considering different biological or physical receptors. Nevertheless, the accumulation of air pollutants in terricolous mosses reflects the degree of air pollution which is permanently deposited and affects the system of plants and soils. The degree of correlation thereby depends on the boundary conditions of the physical processes, like regional and site-specific meteorological conditions within the accumulation period, the vertical and horizontal vegetation structure or land use conditions. Conclusions The moss surveys contribute to the heavy metal and the multi-component-model of CLRTAP because they prove on different spatial scales how air pollution control influences the accumulation of emitted substances in environmental subjects of protection like vegetation incl. arable crops. If environmental monitoring is seen as a continuous task and the applied methodology works well as an early warning system then environmental policy is enabled to act in preventative sense and to pursue unexpected developments. No other environmental monitoring programme provides such a wide range of ecotoxicologically relevant elements measured as spatially dense as the case for the moss surveys. The spatial distribution of environmental information is an essential criterion for their usability in terms of political measures for the federal states and the federation. Recommendations and perspectives Heavy Metals in Mosses Surveys are a positive example for environmental monitoring activities reaching across three spatial and administrative levels: regional (e.?g. federal state or natural landscape), nation wide (e.?g. Germany) and continental (e.?g. Europe). In Germany the harmonised and quality controlled moss data are made available via a WebGIS portal. Therefore the moss data may easily be accessed for environmental monitoring purposes and the control of environmental political actions. Hence, the continuous task of environmental monitoring can be met and carried on in the future.     

Miniaturisierung des Wachstumshemmtestes mit der Grünalge Desmodesmus subspicatus nach DIN 38412 Teil 33

Background, aim, and scope Biological test systems have been successfully used to analyse and assess the ecotoxicological potentials of sediments and dredged materials. In compliance with the German directive for dredged-material management (HABAB-WSV, BfG 2000) standardised bioassays with organisms of different trophic levels are applied to limnic sediments. The growth-inhibition test with the green alga Desmodesmus subspicatus according to DIN 38412 part 33 is one of three mandatory bioassays (Guidance paper “Ökotoxikologische Baggergutuntersuchungen”, BfG 2007). The laboratories of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) conduct this algal test in agreement with the DIN standard in test tubes of 10?ml volume. In the following, this method is called the “conventional method” or “DIN-method”. The research described below was conducted in the BfG in a diploma-thesis aiming to develop a miniaturized algae test procedure that uses microtiter plates, but yields comparable results. Automation and miniaturization should increase the throughput capacity and reduce the time and labour requirements. Materials and methods The growth-inhibition test with the green alga Desmodesmus subspicatus according to DIN standard 38412 part 33 was taken as the starting point for the miniaturization. The testing method in microtiter plates was optimised by systematic examination of the cultivation conditions, coverages of the wells, and settings of the measuring instruments. To verify the results of the miniaturized test procedure, 25 environmental samples (20 pore waters and five single substances) were tested with the conventional and the miniaturized procedure. The results of both test procedures were compared using statistical analyses. Results The comparison of the growth inhibition test results from the microtiter plates with those from the conventional procedure indicated an average deviation of about 20?%-points. In approximately 30?% of the cases, a statistical verification with the Mann-Whitney-U-Test showed agreement of the inhibition values obtained with both methods. A method to express the ecotoxicological potential of a sample is the pT-value (Krebs 1988). The pT-values were determined based on the toxicities obtained using serial dilution. (Krebs 1988). When comparing both methods 10 out of 20 environmental samples had the same pT-value (50?%). In 40?% of the samples, the deviation was one pT-value, in 10?% it was more than one pT-value. Discussion During the optimization of the method, different parameters of the algal growth inhibition test were examined and adapted to the miniaturized system, so that all criteria required after DIN 38412 part 33 should be met. However, the miniaturized test did not reliably achieve these validity criteria, namely the increase in the biomass by a factor of 30 in the controls. This criterion was only fulfilled in two out of 31 test runs. The validation of the miniaturized growth inhibition test on the basis of a statistical comparison with the conventional method showed partially highly significant differences. Overall, significantly different inhibition values were found in about 60?% of the cases. Conclusions Without further adjustments and optimization it is not possible to substitute the conventional method by the miniaturized system. Recommendations and perspectives Further research is required to miniaturize the test procedure and to perform the algae test on microtiter plates. The validity criteria of the DIN standard, such as the increase of biomass production in the controls, should be reliably met. Basically, the aim of miniaturizing the algae test procedure is the increase in throughput capacity and, at the same time, reduced work efforts by automation. However, the test results of the miniaturized method should be comparable to those of the conventional method.     

Simulating the yields of bioenergy and food crops with the crop modeling software BioSTAR: the carbon-based growth engine and the BioSTAR ET0 method

Background

With a growing production and use of agricultural substrates in biogas facilities, the competition between food and energy production, environmental issues, and sustainability goals has seen an increase in the last decade and poses a challenge to policy makers. Statistical yield data has a low spatial resolution and only covers standard crops and makes no statement in regard to yields under climate change. To support policy makers and regional planners in an improved allocation of agricultural land use, a new crop model (BioSTAR) has been developed.

Results

Simulations with weather and yield data from 7 years and four regions in Lower Saxony have rendered overall good modeling results with prediction errors (RMSE and percentage) ranging from 1.6 t and 9.8% for winter wheat to 2.1 t and 11.9% for maize. The model-generated ET₀ and ET_a values (mean of four locations) are lower than ET₀/ET_a values calculated with the Penman-Monteith method but appear more realistic when compared to field trial data from northern and eastern Germany.

Conclusions

The model has proven to be a functioning tool for modeling site-specific biomass potentials at the farm level, and because of its Access® database interface, the model can also be used for calculating biomass yields of larger areas, like administration districts or states. Out of the seven crops modeled in this study, only limited yield and test site data was available for winter barley, winter rye, sorghum, and sunflower. For further improvement of model performance and model calibration, more trial data and data testing are required for these crops.