Field scale interaction and nutrient exchange between surface water and shallow groundwater in the Baiyang Lake region, North China Plain

Fertilizer input for agricultural food production, as well as domestic and industrial surface water pollutants in the North China Plain, increases pressures on locally scarce and vulnerable water resources. In order to: (a) understand pollutant exchange between surface water and groundwater, (b) quantify nutrient loadings, and (c) identify major nutrient removal pathways by using qualitative and quantitative methods, including the geochemical model PHREEQC, a one-year study at a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) double cropping system in the Baiyang Lake area in Hebei Province, China, was undertaken. The study showed a high influence of low-quality surface water on the shallow aquifer. Major inflowing pollutants into the aquifer were ammonium and nitrate via inflow from the adjacent Fu River (up to 29.8 mg/L NH₄-N and 6.8 mg/L NO₃-N), as well as nitrate via vertical transport from the field surface (up to 134.8 mg/L NO₃-N in soil water). Results from a conceptual model show an excess nitrogen input of about 320 kg/ha/a. Nevertheless, both nitrogen species were only detected at low concentrations in shallow groundwater, averaging at 3.6 mg/L NH₄-N and 1.8 mg/L NO₃-N. Measurement results supported by PHREEQC-modeling indicated cation exchange, denitrification, and anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled with partial denitrification as major nitrogen removal pathways. Despite this current removal capacity, the excessive nitrogen fertilization may pose a future threat to groundwater quality. Surface water quality improvements are therefore recommended in conjunction with simultaneous monitoring of nitrate in the aquifer, and reduced agricultural N-inputs should be considered.     

水污染源在线设备比对监测问题与解决方案——以长沙市在线监测系统为例

总结了长沙市7年来水污染源在线监测系统开展比对监测工作的情况,对氨氮、p H、重金属比对监测存在的问题进行了剖析,分析了在线监测仪器比对不合格的原因以及目前在线监测仪器部分项目缺乏误差标准等亟待解决的问题,研究出各因子误差的合理区间,提出了切实可行的解决方案:氨氮应该按照检测浓度高低确定误差范围;p H质控样不应使用相对误差,建议采用±0.3 p H的绝对误差;重金属实际水样浓度小于一定量时,用接近水样浓度的低浓度质控样替代。     

低温等离子体治理柴油机尾气污染的研究进展

柴油发动机以其良好的燃油经济性和动力学特性得到广泛应用,但是其尾气排放中的氮氧化物有害气体和难以分解的微粒物含量较多,造成了严重环境污染。目前,研究开发中的柴油机尾气后处理技术,如还原催化转化、氧化催化转化和微粒捕集等,存在催化剂价格昂贵、催化活性低、有效温度范围小和捕集器保持清洁状态困难等不足。国内外大量的研究结果证明,基于气体放电的低温等离子体技术能有效降低柴油机尾气污染物排放,且无二次污染。本文通过低温等离子体的产生,柴油机尾气中的氮氧化物和微粒物的净化,综合介绍了低温等离子体净化柴油机尾气技术的研究进展,针对当前研究中存在的问题,论述了今后的发展趋势。     

氮钾配合施用对亚种间杂交水稻养分吸收及产量影响的研究

氮促进亚种间杂交稻的分蘖和对磷、钾的吸收,钾也能促进氮、磷的吸收,但对分蘖似有抑制的趋势。稻株各生育期氮、磷、钾含量以分蘗盛期最高。随后迅速下降,至幼穗形成期下降速率减缓。齐穗后,累积在茎、叶的氮、磷大部分向穗部转移,而钾则很少运送到穗部。每生产100kg稻谷约需吸收1.71kg N、0.77kg P_2O_5、2.30kg K_2O,三者比例为1:0.45:1.35。氮、钾配合施用的增产效果大于单施氮或钾的效果;在施用量为82.5kg N ha~(-1)和75.0kg K_2O ha~(-1)的基础上,增施氮肥或钾肥,其增产效果相近,表明在施用适量氮肥的前提下,亚种间杂交稻对钾的反应甚为敏感。     

Nitrogen dynamics in the sediments of a wetland coastal ecosystem of southern India

The study area, Kuttanad Waters is a part of the Cochin estuarine system on the west coast of India. Kuttanad is well known for its agricultural activity and so the major contribution to the inorganic ions of nitrogen will be from fertilisers applied in agriculture. Based on observed salinity the stations have been divided into three zones. The fresh water zones had higher quantities of silt and clay whereas the estuarine zone was more sandy. The chemical speciation scheme applied here distinguishes three forms of ammoniacal nitrogen species: exchangeable, fixed, and organic ammoniacal nitrogen. No significant trends were observed in the seasonal distribution of total, exchangeable, fixed and organic nitrogen. A significant concentration of exchangeable ammonia was observed in the sediment due to their predominantly reducing environment, which restricts nitrification. High NH₄-N concentrations in the pore waters, along with the sedimentary composition leads to a significantly high quantity of fixed NH₄-N. The low values for N org is due to high mineralisation or deamination of organic nitrogen     

SPACSYS: Integration of a 3D root architecture component to carbon, nitrogen and water cycling—Model description

It is an ongoing challenge to develop and demonstrate management practices that increase the sustainability of agricultural systems. Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics directly affect soil quality, crop productivity and environmental impacts. Root systems are central to the acquisition of water and nutrients by plants, but are also a major pathway for the inputs of carbon and nutrients to soil. The complexity of both biotic and abiotic interactions, combined with stochastic changes in root architecture, makes it difficult to understand below-ground dynamics on the basis of experimentation alone. The integration of dynamic models of above-ground growth, three-dimensional root system demography, and interactions between plants and the environment, into one single model is a major challenge because of the complexity of the systems.In order to understand the interaction between a plant and the environment, it is advantageous to develop a model framework to integrate submodels that simulate various plant and environmental components. The objective of this paper is to outline a mechanistic and process-based model, which is capable of simulating interactions among environmental conditions around plants, plant growth and development, nitrogen and carbon cycles, with a three-dimensional root system submodel as an interface.The model presented in this paper is a mixed dimensional, multi-layer, field scale, weather-driven and daily time-step dynamic simulation model. The current version includes a plant growth and development component, a nitrogen cycling component, a carbon cycling component, plus a soil water component that includes representation of water flow to field drains as well as downwards through the soil layers, together with a heat transfer component. The components themselves and linkage among components are designed using object-oriented techniques, which makes the model robust, understandable and reusable. The components are implemented in the C++ programming language, and inputs and outputs of all components are organised as a database in either Microsoft^® SQL Server 2000, Access 2000 or MySQL5.0. Root architecture is visualised by using the OpenGL graphics system. Preliminary validation with two separate experimental datasets shows that the model can reasonably simulate root systems, nitrogen cycling, water movement and plant growth.     

Shallow groundwater quality on dairy farms with irrigated forage crops

California's dairies are the largest confined animal industry in the state. A major portion of these dairies, which have an average herd size of nearly 1000 animal units, are located in low-relief valleys and basins. Large amounts of liquid manure are generated and stored in these dairies. In the semi-arid climate, liquid manure is frequently applied via flood or furrow irrigation to forage crops that are grown almost year-round. Little is known about the impact of manure management practices on water quality of the extensive alluvial aquifers underlying these basins. The objective of this work is to assess nitrate and salt leaching to shallow groundwater in a relatively vulnerable hydrogeologic region and to quantify the impact from individual sources on dairies. The complex array of potential point and nonpoint sources was divided into three major source areas representing farm management units: (1) manure water lagoons (ponds); (2) feedlot or exercise yard, dry manure, and feed storage areas (corrals); and (3) manure irrigated forage fields (fields). An extensive shallow groundwater-monitoring network (44 wells) was installed in five representative dairy operations in the northeastern San Joaquin Valley, CA. Water quality (electrical conductivity, nitrate-nitrogen, total Kjehldahl nitrogen) was observed over a 4-year period. Nitrate-N, reduced nitrogen and electrical conductivity (EC, salinity) were subject to large spatial and temporal variability. The range of observed nitrate-N and salinity levels was similar on all five dairies. Average shallow groundwater nitrate-N concentrations within the dairies were 64 mg/l compared to 24 mg/l in shallow wells immediately upgradient of these dairies. Average EC levels were 1.9 mS/cm within the dairies and 0.8 mS/cm immediately upgradient. Within the dairies, nitrate-N levels did not significantly vary across dairy management units. However, EC levels were significantly higher in corral and pond areas (2.3 mS/cm) than in field areas (1.6 mS/cm) indicating leaching from those management units. Pond leaching was further inferred from the presence of reduced nitrogen in three of four wells located immediately downgradient of pond berms. The estimated minimum average annual groundwater nitrate-N and salt loading from manure-treated forage fields were 280 and 4300 kg/ha, respectively. Leaching rates for ponds are estimated to be on the order of 0.8 m/year, at least locally. Since manure-treated fields represent by far the largest land area of the dairy, proper nutrient management will be a key to protecting groundwater quality in dairy regions overlying alluvial aquifers.     

Nutrient and mercury variations in soils from family farms of the Tapajós region (Brazilian Amazon): Recommendations for better farming

In the Brazilian Amazon, colonization is modifying the landscape at an exceedingly fast pace. Recently established households practice slash-and-burn agriculture and participate in the overall deforestation of the Amazon. Near the Transamazon highway, these family agricultural practices are the main cause of deforestation. The study presented here is oriented toward a better understanding of the impacts of farming practices on soil chemical composition. This study used a sampling design based on soil samples taken on farm plots, which had been submitted to a wide range of spatial and temporal sequential land-uses, including soils that were only recently denuded. The data shows that soil responses (organic matter (OM) content, fertility and mercury (Hg) retention) to these varied land-uses were relatively similar, suggesting that the most important event determining the responses was deforestation itself. This is well illustrated by the Hg content of soils, which changed immediately after deforestation and then only slightly thereafter. This phenomenon could also be seen in the base cation (calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg)) content which rose drastically after deforestation and tended to stay high for a period up to 10 years of cropping and pasture. This lasting cation rise is reflected by ammonium (NH₄) displacement from surface soils. Indeed, inorganic nitrogen (N) is the most important nutrient loss upon deforestation. Nonetheless, when time spent in fallow was greater than 15 years, base cations (Ca, Mg, K), available N and phosphorus (P) contents tended to go back to initial forest soil values and in some cases to exceed them. Soil type was seen to mediate responses to land-use. Clay-sandy soils showed a lower content of available N and carbon (C) than clayey soils at the soil surface, a difference that was accentuated by deforestation. Conversely, the higher initial content of Hg in clayey soils was associated with a more important Hg loss from the soil's surface. By shedding light on the consequences of family practices for OM, nutrient status and Hg depletion, this paper gives a new perspective on soil responses to agricultural practices. These conclusions need to be addressed in a strategy plan to limit family land-use impacts on soils and the surrounding ecosystems. Recommendations for more sustainable land uses are proposed based on what has been learned about soil responses to local agricultural practices.     

三种水生植物在不同季节去污能力的对比研究

在实验室人工模拟太湖地区春季和冬季不同气候条件下,对三种抗寒去污性能较强的水生植物伊乐藻、石菖蒲和水芹菜在不同营养状态下和不同季节温度条件下去除氮磷的效果进行了系统地对比研究。结果表明:这三种植物均能较好地吸收水中的营养物质,其中以水芹菜脱氮除磷效果最好;总体上植物在春季吸收氮的效果要好于冬季,但对磷的季节吸收差异没有氮明显。可利用沉水植物和挺水植物对氮磷去除的各自优势分别筛选吸收效果较好的植物品种,构成双层次群落结构(FAMS)用以修复太湖地区富营养化水体。