Modelling the impacts of strategic tree plantings on salt loads and flows in the Macquarie river catchment,NSW, Australia

In Australia, problems of dryland and stream salinity have recently become the focus of a National Action Plan. In many river catchments, preliminary stream salt load and salinity targets have been set to define maximum permissible export levels in 2015. Afforestation has been proposed as a strategy for meeting these targets, although several studies suggest that widespread commercial tree plantations are likely to deliver net dis-benefits. However, the impacts on stream salt loads of more localised tree plantings in high salt yielding areas have not been quantified. In this paper we use a simple empirical model to predict the effects of various strategic and non-strategic tree planting scenarios on flows and salt loads in the mid-Macquarie catchment, New South Wales. A simple salt routing model is then used to estimate the effect of these changes on salt loads at the end-of-valley monitoring site for the Macquarie catchment. Results suggest that widespread land management interventions will be required to meet the preliminary salt load targets for this catchment. On their own, small-scale, strategic tree planting in high salt export areas of the mid-Macquarie area will not have a significant impact on salt loads at the end-of-valley monitoring site. While widespread tree plantings may reduce salt loads in the longer term, they are likely to cause streamflow losses in the shorter term. Thus, stream salinities are expected to rise initially, due to the different response times of groundwater and surface water systems to land use change.     

The multi-disciplinary evaluation of a national agri-environment scheme

With an increasing amount of public funds being spent on agri-environmental schemes effective methods have to be developed to evaluate them. As many schemes have multiple objectives there is a need for a multi-disciplinary approach to any evaluation. A method was developed to assess the degree to which ecological, landscape, historical and access objectives for the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) in England have been met. The method used a sample of 484 agreements for which data were collected from surveys, a desk study and an interview with the agreement holder. These data were then evaluated by an expert team of an ecologist, landscape architect, landscape historian, and a social scientist specializing in rural affairs. The team were subsequently brought together with a Chair to discuss their findings for each agreement, allocating scores for each of five criteria: agreement negotiation; appropriateness, environmental effectiveness, compliance and side effects. The additionality that each agreement was likely to provide was also assessed. The results of this process suggest that in the majority of cases the CSS agreements should maintain or enhance the environment in terms of ecology, landscape, and landscape history and increase public enjoyment of the countryside. Thirty-six percent of agreements showed high additionality and 38% medium additionality which demonstrates that the CSS is likely to provide a benefit to society. Agreement negotiation, predicted environmental effectiveness and predicted compliance all improved significantly over the period 1996-98. Recommendations made from this project have been implemented by the Government department to improve the CSS. The multi-disciplinary method was successful and, with further development, could be used for assessment of any agri-environment scheme, or potentially any conservation project or broader 'rural development' scheme encompassing environmental, economic and social objectives. A key to success is the need for the criteria to be tailored for the project concerned and clearly established at the beginning.     

Field testing of particulate matter continuous emission monitors at the DOE Oak Ridge TSCA incinerator. Toxic Substances Control Act

A field study to evaluate the performance of three commercially available particulate matter (PM) continuous emission monitors (CEMs) was conducted in 1999-2000 at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Incinerator. This study offers unique features that are believed to enhance the collective US experience with PM CEMs. The TSCA Incinerator is permitted to treat PCB-contaminated RCRA hazardous low-level radioactive wastes. The air pollution control system utilizes MACT control technology and is comprised of a rapid quench, venturi scrubber, packed bed scrubber, and two ionizing wet scrubbers in series, which create a saturated flue gas that must be conditioned by the CEMs prior to measurement. The incinerator routinely treats a wide variety of wastes including high and low BTU organic liquids, aqueous, and solid wastes. The various possible combinations for treating liquid and solid wastes may present a challenge in establishing a single, acceptable correlation relationship for individual CEMs. The effect of low-level radioactive material present in the waste is a unique site-specific factor not evaluated in previous tests. The three systems chosen for evaluation were two beta gauge devices and a light scattering device. The performance of the CEMs was evaluated using the requirements in draft Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Performance Specification 11 (PS11) and Procedure 2. The results of Reference Method 5i stack tests for establishing statistical correlations between the reference method data and the CEMs responses are discussed.     

Use of pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry (py-MBMS) to characterize forest soil carbon: method and preliminary results

The components of soil organic matter (SOM) and their degradation dynamics in forest soils are difficult to study and thus poorly understood, due to time-consuming sample collection, preparation, and difficulty of analyzing and identifying major components. As a result, changes in soil organic matter chemical composition as a function of age, forest type, or disturbance have not been examined. We applied pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry (py-MBMS), which provides rapid characterization of SOM of whole soil samples. to the Tionesta soil samples described by Hoover, C.M., Magrini, K.A., Evans, R.J., 2002. Soil carbon content and character in an old growth forest in northwestern Pennsylvania: a case study introducing molecular beam mass spectrometry (PY-MBMS). Environmental Pollution 116 (Supp. 1), S269-S278. Our goals in this work were to: (1) develop and demonstrate an advanced, rapid analytical method for characterizing SOM components in whole soils, and (2) provide data-based models to predict soil carbon content and residence time from py-MBMS analysis. Using py-MBMS and pattern recognition techniques we were able to statistically distinguish among four Tionesta sites and show an increase in pyrolysis products of more highly decomposed plant materials at increasing sample depth. For example, all four sites showed increasing amounts of older carbon (phenolic and aromatic species) at deeper depths and higher amounts of more recent carbon (carbohydrates and lignin products) at shallower depths. These results indicate that this type of analysis could be used to rapidly characterize SOM for the purpose of developing a model, which could be used in monitoring the effect of forest management practices on carbon uptake and storage.     

WATER SUPPLY AS A LIMITING FACTOR IN WESTERN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the consumptive water needs of the various energy conversion processes including oil shale retorting, coal gasification and liquefaction, electric power generation, and slurry pipelines. Projected energy development water needs in the upper Colorado River and Upper Missouri River basins are compared with projected agricultural needs and water available. The comparative cost and values of water to energy and agricultural development are discussed to emphasize this as well as the political and social factors entering into the picture.     

BACTERIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN STORMWATERS1

ABSTRACT: Data were developed within a three-year period for indicator bacteria and three species of bacterial pathogens following rural storm event hydrographs. The first flush concept was confirmed in all hydrographs. Bacterial density peaking occurred at or before the hydrograph peaks. FC and FS values were higher in more developed areas than the primary rural test site and their numerical ratios followed similar trends. Chlorine demand of storm waters varied between 8 and 16 mg/l and, the ozone requirement was greater than 32 mg/l in the same waters. Aftergrowth of total coliform bacteria occurred following chlorine and ozone doses of 16 mg/l and 32 mg/l respectively. Fecal coliform, fecal streptococci, Salmonella sp., and Pseudomonas sp. all were reduced to near detectable limits by the disinfectants up to 8 days. Staphylococcus sp. demonstrated a propensity to restablish their populations. Multiple regression analysis of the bacterial groups and species in storm waters suggested the fecal streptococci to have been the most useful group in evaluating bacterial storm water quality, with staphylocci have been closely related insofar as their statistical significance was concerned.     

DETERMINATION OF SEDIMENT YIELD BY TRANSFERRING RAINFALL DATA1

ABSTRACT: A methodology for obtaining the optimal design value to allow for sediment storage in a reservoir is presented for the situation where no data on sediment loads in the incoming streams are available. Information concerning the amount of sediment delivered to the reservoir over its life-time is obtained by a sediment yield model which uses data on rainfall amount and duration obtained from a nearby experimental watershed. Bayesian Decision Theory is used to obtain the optimal storage requirements in order to consider the natural variation of rainfall and the sampling error due to the short rainfall record available. The normally difficult calculations involved were made tractable by the use of simplifications and approximations valid in the context of the problem. Results show that sediment storage requirements can be calculated in this manner and that consideration of the uncertainties involved leads to a storage requirement substantially larger than that calculated without such consideration.     

Air pollution in California: Manufacturing vs. services

Relative to manufacturing, service activities are often considered by planners and officials to generate considerably less environmental pollution. This hypothesis is tested by means of an examination of the economic linkages of both manufacturing and service activities and of the resulting direct and indirect emissions of five air pollutants per dollar of output in the California statewide air basin and in four regional basins within the state. Overall acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis depends in part on the particular pollutant and air basin considered but, most importantly, on the judgement as to what activities are to be considered as service activities.This paper is based on research sponsored by the California Air Resources Board under Agreement A7-143-30.     

Product: Guide/1981

Abstract

The impact of weather on air pollution was examined and evaluated for the city of Athens, Greece. We used an objectively defined synoptic classification scheme consisting of six summer and eight winter circulation types. This scheme was established using a combination of both factor and cluster analysis during 1954–1999. Surface and isobaric levels of 850 hPa data were used. Factor analysis combined with cluster analysis was used to derive circulation types based on surface meteorological data for the period 1954–1999 in Athens and on surface pressure grid data. The city was divided into three sectors according to the financial and social activities of the residents. To examine the spatial characteristics of pollutant concentrations over Athens for each synoptic type, the synoptic circulation types were then correlated with both gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations measured in each sector between 1983 and 1999. Finally, extreme and severe episodic events were studied in terms of their meteorological and synoptic characteristics.     

Interspecific differences in fouling of two congeneric ascidians (Eudistoma olivaceum and E. capsulatum): is surface acidity an effective defense?

Ascidian specimens were collected from the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA, in November 1987. Eudistoma olivaceum (Van Name) was fouled by only two species of epifaunal invertebrates and the percent cover of epibionts was negligible. Colonies of E. capsulatum (Van Name) were fouled by up to 17 species of epifaunal invertebrates, epibionts covered an average of 12.5% of the surface area of these colonies. Extracts of E. olivaceum exhibited potent cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antiviral activity in laboratory bioassays, while the activity of extracts of E. capsulatum was insignificant. The toxicity of extracts of each ascidian was negatively related to the percent cover of fouling organisms. Surface acidity of each ascidian was positively related to the percent cover of epibionts: E. olivaceum was nearly neutral (pH=6), while E. capsulatum was highly acidic (pH=1 to 2). Larval settlement and growth of ancestrulae of the cheilostome bryozoan Bugula neritina (Linnaeus) were inhibited at very low concentrations of crude extract of E. olivaceum. Crude extracts of E. capsulatum inhibited settlement and growth of B. neritina only at concentrations of approximately an order of magnitude greater than those of E. olivaceum. Differences in the degree to which these congeneric ascidians are fouled is related to differences in the chemical defenses they possess. Acidity is not an effective inhibitor of settlement by epifaunal invertebrates.