SIMULATING THE IMPACT OF DRAINAGE DESIGN IN A COLD CLIMATE WITH ADAPT1

ABSTRACT: Surface and subsurface drainage make crop production economically viable in much of southern Minnesota because drainage allows timely field operations and protects field crops from extended periods of flooded soil conditions. However, subsurface drainage has been shown to increase nitrate/nitrogen losses to receiving waters. When engaging in drainage activities, farmers are increasingly being asked to consider, apart from the economic profit, the environmental impact of drainage. The Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport model (ADAPT) was used in this study to evaluate the impact of subsurface drainage design on the soil water balance over a two‐year period during which observed drainage discharge data were available. Twelve modeling scenarios incorporated four drainage coefficients (DC), 0.64 cm/d, 0.95 cm/d, 1.27 cm/d, and 1.91 cm/d, and three drain depths, 0.84 m, 1.15 m, and 1.45 m. The baseline condition corresponded to the drainage system specifications at the field site: a drain depth and spacing of 1.45 m and 28 m, respectively (DC of 0.64 cm/d). The results of the two‐year simulation suggested that for a given drainage coefficient, soils with the shallower drains (but equal DC) generally have less subsurface drainage and can produce more runoff (but reduced total discharge) and evapotranspiration. The results also suggested that it may be possible to design for both water/nitrate/nitrogen reduction and crop water needs.     

农用改性硝酸铵拒爆机理及工业化可行性研究

对农用硝铵作改性处理,通过筛选和优化实验确定了改性硝酸铵配方。结果表明,当硝酸铵中添加3%的改性剂GXJ1,10%的改性剂GXJ2时,产品在1mm铁皮管约束下的雷管感度试验条件下具有拒爆特性。改性硝酸铵总养分与普通硝酸铵相当,并且颗粒强度高,不易粉化、结块和吸潮,具有优良的肥料品质。同时还利用X射线衍射分析、扫描电子显微镜分析对改性硝铵的拒爆机理作初步探讨。最终,建立了改性硝酸铵的脱水性能、流动性能、凝固性能、颗粒强度的评价方法,并进行了工业化可行性研究。     

Sustainability of Current Agricultural Practices in The Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Cameron Highlands is a mountainous region with steep slopes. Gradients exceeding 20^∘ are common. The climate is favourable to the cultivation of tea, sub-tropical vegetables and flowers (under rain-shelter). Crop production is sustained by high fertiliser and manure applications. However, agriculture in this environment is characterised by high levels of soil erosion and environmental pollution. A study on the sustainability of these agro-ecosystems was conducted. Results indicated that soil loss was in the range of 24–42 ton/ha/yr under vegetables and 1.3 ton under rain-shelter. Sediment load in the vegetable sub-catchment reached 3.5 g/L, 50 times higher than that associated with flowers under rain-shelter and tea. The sediments contained high nutrient loads of up to 470 kg N/ha/yr. The N, P and K lost in runoff from cabbage farms was 154 kg/season/ha, whereas in chrysanthemum farms it was 5 kg. In cabbage farms, the N, P, and K lost through leaching was 193 kg/season/ha. The NO₃–N concentration in the runoff from the cabbage farms reached 25 ppm but less than 10 ppm in runoff from rain-shelters. Inorganic pollution in the rivers was within the acceptable limit of 10 ppm. The sustainability of the agro-ecosystems is in the order of tea { > } rain–shelter ≫ vegetables.     

The Ethics of Constrained Choice: How the Industrialization of Agriculture Impacts Farming and Farmer Behavior

The industrialization of agriculture not only alters the ways in which agricultural production occurs, but it also impacts the decisions farmers make in important ways. First, constraints created by the economic environment of farming limit what options a farmer has available to him. Second, because of the industrialization of agriculture and the resulting economic pressures it creates for farmers, the fact that decisions are constrained creates new ethical challenges for farmers. Having fewer options when faced with severe economic pressures is a very different situation for farmers than having many options available. We discuss the implications of constrained choice and show that it increases the likelihood that farmers will consider unethical behavior.     

ORIGIN AND TRANSPORT OF DISSOLVED CHEMICALS IN A KARST WATERSHED,SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: An extensive base of water quality information emphasizing the effects of land use and hydrology was obtained in the karstified Fountain Creek watershed of southwestern Illinois to help resolve local water quality issues. Agrichemicals dominate the loads of most water quality constituents in the streams and shallow karstic ground water. Only calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Aluminum (A1), and sulfate (SO₄) ions are predominantly derived from bedrock or soils, while agrichemicals contribute most of the sodium (Na), potassium (K), chlorine (Cl), nitrate (NO₃), fluorine (F), phosphorus (P), and atrazine. Concentrations of individual ions correlate with discharge variations in karst springs and surface streams; highly soluble ions supplied by diffuse ground water are diluted by high flows, while less soluble ions increase with flow as they are mobilized from fields to karst conduits under storm conditions. Treated wastewater containing detergent residues dominates the boron load of streams and provides important subordinate loads of several other constituents, including atrazine derived from the Mississippi River via the public water supply. Average surface water concentrations at the watershed outlet closely approximate a 92:8 mixture of karst ground water and treated wastewater, demonstrating the dominance of ground water contributions to streams. Therefore the karst aquifer and watershed streams form a single water quality system that is also affected by wastewater effluent.     

Cautioning against overemphasis of normative constructs in conservation decision making

Questions around how to conserve nature are increasingly leading to dissonance in conservation planning and action. While science can assist in unraveling the nature of conservation challenges, conservation responses rely heavily on normative positions and constructs to order actions, aid interpretations, and provide motivation. However, problems can arise when norms are mistaken for science or when they stymy scientific rigor. To highlight these potential pitfalls, we used the ethics-based tool of argument analysis to assess a controversial conservation intervention, the Pelorus Island Goat Control Program. The program proponents' argument for restorative justice was unsound because it relied on weak logical construction overly entrenched in normative assumptions. Overreliance on normative constructs, particularly the invocation of tragedy, creates a sense of urgency that can subvert scientific and ethical integrity, obscure values and assumptions, and increase the propensity for flawed logic. This example demonstrates how the same constructs that drive biodiversity conservation can also drive poor decision making, spur public backlash, and justify poor animal welfare outcomes. To provide clarity, a decision-making flowchart we devised demonstrates how values, norms, and ethics influence one another. We recommend practitioners follow 3 key points to improve decision making: be aware of values, as well as normative constructs and ethical theories that those values inform; be mindful of overreliance on either normative constructs or ethics when deciding action is justified; and be logically sound and transparent when building justifications. We also recommend 5 key attributes that practitioners should be attentive to when making conservation decisions: clarity, transparency, scientific integrity, adaptiveness, and compassion. Greater attention to the role of norms in decision making will improve conservation outcomes and garner greater public support for actions.     

Humanitarians' ethics: the role of face-to-face experiences in humanitarian aid workers' motivation

This paper analyses the significance of specific ethical experiences for humanitarian aid workers' motivation. Following Emmanuel Levinas's understanding of ethics as arising from intersubjective face-to-face encounters, the study illuminates the experiential origins of the humanitarian commitment by analysing James Orbinski's memoir entitled An Imperfect Offering: Dispatches from the Medical Frontline. Orbinski, a former International Council President at Médecins Sans Frontières, was directly involved in humanitarian responses to several major crises during the 1990s, including those in Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and what was then Zaire. This paper explores three formative experiences from Orbinski's childhood and teenage years to analyse the personal ethics of humanitarian aid workers and to illuminate the intersection of the personal and professional level of humanitarian aid work. Illustrating that Orbinski's humanitarian commitment is a surrendering to the other's call, the paper argues for stronger inclusion of aid workers' lives and experiences to achieve a comprehensive understanding of humanitarian work.     

坡岸截留强化处理设施在不同运行条件下对农业面源污染物去除效果

对坡岸截留强化处理设施在不同温度、不同雨强、不同降雨间隔条件下处理农业面源污染进行中试试验研究.结果表明,水温从20℃下降至4.3℃,COD、TN、NH+4-N、TP去除率下降了15.58%、48.93%、42.26%、57.75%;降雨强度由0.65mm·min-1增加1倍至1.30 mm·min-1,COD的平均去除率低了15.19%,TN、NH+4-N的去除效率相当,TP的去除效率提高了11.21%,但COD、TN、NH+4-N、TP单位面积去除的总量却提高了26.27%、68.3%、32.6%、104.2%;降雨间隔从2 d增加到4 d时对COD去除的影响不大,但使NH+4-N、TN的处理效率提高19.31%、13.95%,对TP的单位面积去除量提高71.43%,但去除总量有限.     

中国村镇生活垃圾的养分与重金属含量特征及其农用潜力分析

对全国12个省份72个典型村镇进行了生活垃圾采样调查,系统分析了我国农村生活垃圾的基本理化特性、养分含量与重金属特征及其农用潜力。研究表明:我国典型村镇生活垃圾含水率为(53.68±8.84)%,p H为7.11±0.56,有机质含量为(49.04±10.49)%,C/N约为43∶1,C/P约为144∶1。除C/N略高外,其余特性均适合进行堆肥化处置。我国典型村镇生活垃圾中重金属As、Hg、Pb、Cd、Cr,Cu和Zn含量分别为(7.645±8.729),(0.737±0.480),(21.798±17.606),(3.356±11.012),(108.632±84.011),(36.834±10.905),(80.093±42.237)mg/kg。与国内相关标准相比,只有Hg、Cd超标,最大超标率分别为29.17%、43.75%;与欧美相关标准相比,仅有Cd、Cr超标,最大超标率分别为25.69%、37.50%。     

基于AnnAGNPS模型四岭水库小流域氮磷流失特征的模拟研究

采用流域尺度的农业非点源污染模型——AnnAGNPS模拟预测苕溪流域四岭水库小流域氮磷流失情况,分析氮磷流失空间分布特征.结果表明,单位面积总氮、总磷流失量在空间分布上有一定的相似性,均呈现出南部大于北部,西部高于东部的特点.以竹林地为主的林地是氮磷输出的最主要来源,其对氮、磷流失总量的贡献率在90%以上.设定不施肥处理(CK)、适地养分管理(SSNM)、当地高产竹农普遍采用的施肥方法(FFP)这3种施肥方式对林地主要植被类型竹林进行情景分析,模拟结果表明,与FFP相比,SSNM在一定程度上减少了氮磷输出,其中溶解性氮和颗粒态氮流失量分别削减8.17%、4.33%,溶性磷和颗粒态磷流失量依次减少9.08%、1.02%.