Temporal dynamics of arsenic uptake and distribution: food and water risks in the Bengal basin

Abstract

Contaminated food chain is a serious contender for arsenic (As) uptake around the globe. In Nadia, West Bengal, we trace possible means of transfer of As from multiple sources reaching different trophic levels, and associated seasonal variability leading to chronic As uptake. This work considers possible sources-pathways of As transfer through food chain in rural community. Arsenic concentration in groundwater, soil, rice, and vegetable-samples collected detected in different harvest seasons of 2014 and 2016. Arsenic level in shallow groundwater samples ranged from 0.1 to 354?µg/L, with 75% of the sites above the prescribed limit by WHO (10?µg/L) during the boro harvest season. High soil As content (～20.6?mg/kg), resulted in accumulation of As in food crops. A positive correlation in As conc. with increase over period in all sites indicating gradual As accumulation in topsoil. Unpolished rice samples showed high As content (～1.75?mg/kg), polishing reduced 80% of As. Among vegetables, the plant family Poaceae with high irrigation requirements and Solanaceae retaining high moisture, have the highest levels of As. Contaminated animal fodder (Poaceae) and turf water for cattle are shown to contaminate milk (0.06 to 0.24?µg/L) and behoves strategies, practices to minimize As exposure.     

linking various aspects of atmospheric change through a systems analysis of food

Although interdisciplinary collaboration to address a singleenvironmental problem is more common than in the past, all toooften the significant atmospheric problems of our day such asstratospheric ozone depletion, acidic deposition or climaticchange are addressed on a single issue basis. Systems analysis isa way of looking at a problem in a holistic, integrated fashionthrough including as many as practicable of the importantcomponents, and the linkages among them. Systems analysisoften begins with a conceptual model which, even if lackingquantification, is a useful means of changing ones thinking to amulti-issue approach. If possible, conceptual models areoperationalized by quantification (using the best availablescientific knowledge) of the stocks and flows of the relevantcomponents of the problem, and the processes that are involved.In this paper, a systems approach to food production is used tolink various atmospheric issues such as regional acidification andclimatic change. A spreadsheet model of food demand andproduction in various world regions examined the possible effectof atmospheric change on how much food we can grow, andwhether or not we may be able to meet the increased demand inthe year 2025. Using relatively modest changes in factors ofagricultural production, the spreadsheet model calculated globalshortfalls by the year 2025 of the order of 10 to 20% in someimportant agricultural crops, despite the improvements in cropproduction factors that are envisaged by the Food andAgricultural Organization from now until the year 2010, and thatwere extrapolated in this paper to 2025. The model alsocalculated that climatic change in combination with eithertropospheric ozone or increased UV-B radiation caused bydepletion of the stratospheric ozone layer may in general makethe situation worse than in the case of climatic change alone.Given the large uncertainties in the input data, the results in thispaper should not be viewed as predictions but rather as anexample of taking a relatively simple systems approach to foodproduction using a spreadsheet model, and calculating the effectsthat various aspects of atmospheric change might have upon it.Therefore, it is extremely important to know the effects uponcrop production factors of climatic change, tropospheric ozoneand increased UV-B radiation not only as individual issues, butalso of their combined effect since it is probable that in manyregions they will occur in combination.     

“Food Metaphors and Ethics: Towards More Attention for Bodily Experience”

Official Dutch food information apparently tries to avoid images but is implicitly shaped by the metaphor that food is fuel. The image of food as fuel and its accompanying view of the body as a machine are not maximally helpful for integrating two important human desires: health and pleasure. At the basis of the split between health and pleasure is the traditional mind–body dichotomy, in which the body is an important source of evil and bodily pleasure is sinful and dangerous. In the search for alternatives, new metaphors are proposed that integrate mind and body as well as pleasure and health. The relevance of metaphors for ethics is at least twofold. (1) Moral thought and theory are at least partly shaped by metaphors. In the light of this growing recognition, the analysis of morality needs innovation. (2) With regard to food, new metaphors, such as slow food, or the image of enjoyment as an art, enable a new search for morally responsible forms of hedonism, based on more love and respect for human as well as animal bodies. But new metaphors are specific and selective, just like old ones. I argue that a search for the best overall metaphor would be misguided, but that more diverse forms of attention to bodily aspects of life, including experiences related to food, will result in richer vocabularies of the body, the mind, and body–mind relations. This holds a promise of moral progress.     

Delivering on the Promise of Agroforestry

Agroforestry – the traditional practice of growing trees on farms for the benefit of the farm family and for the environment – was brought from the realm of indigenous knowledge into the forefront of agricultural research less than two decades ago. It was promoted widely as a sustainability-enhancing practice that combines the best attributes of forestry and agriculture. Based on principles of natural resource management and process-oriented research, agroforestry is now recognized as an applied science, that is instrumental in assuring food security, reducing poverty and enhancing ecosystem resilience at the scale of thousands of smallholder farmers in the tropics.Trees on farms provide both products and services: they yield food, fuelwood, fodder, timber and medicines, which farm families can use at home or take to market to bring in much-needed cash; they replenish organic matter and nutrient levels in soils and they help control erosion and conserve water. The International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, and its partners, are working to integrate the functions of trees with policy and institutional improvements that aim at facilitating wide-scale adoption by farmers.Two examples described in this paper are replenishing soil fertility in sub-Saharan Africa using short-term improved tree and shrub fallows and the results of agroforestry research to support significant land tenure policy in southeast Asia.Although just one option in sustainable land-use, science-based agroforestry has the potential to produce economically, socially and environmentally sound results for the billions of people who depend on this ancient practice and modern science.     

Assessing the Effectiveness of Winter Cover Crops for Controlling Agricultural Nutrient Losses

A nutrient loss reduction strategy is necessary to guide the efforts of improving water quality downstream of an agricultural watershed. In this study, the effectiveness of two winter cover crops, namely cereal rye and annual ryegrass, is explored as a loss reduction strategy in a watershed that ultimately drains into a water supply reservoir. Using a coupled optimization-watershed model, optimal placements of the cover crops were identified that would result in the tradeoffs between nitrate-N losses reduction and adoption levels. Analysis of the 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% adoption levels extracted from the optimal tradeoffs showed that the cover crop placements would provide annual nitrate-N loss reductions of 3.0%–3.7%, 7.8%–8.8%, 15%–17.5%, and 20.9%–24.3%, respectively. In addition, for the same adoption levels (i.e., 10%–75%), sediment (1.8%–17.7%), and total phosphorus losses (0.8%–8.6%) could be achieved. Results also indicate that implementing each cover crop on all croplands of the watershed could cause annual water yield reduction of at least 4.8%, with greater than 28% in the months of October and November. This could potentially be detrimental to the storage volume of the downstream reservoir, especially in drought years, if cover crops are adopted in most of the reservoir's drainage area. Evaluating water yield impacts, particularly in periods of low flows, is thus critical if cover crops are to be considered as best management practices in water supply watersheds.     

依兰县绿色食品发展现状与对策初探

针对依兰县绿色食品种植面积,种植基地建设,养殖基地建设,山产品采集基地建设,加工基地建设和销售基地建设及经济效益情况,提出了目前依兰县绿色食品开发已初步形成的标准体系框架并进行论述,评价分析了依兰县绿色食品产业的有利条件和制约困素,并提出发展的对策,使之逐步走向依兰县农业经济的主导地位.     

斑鳢等鱼贝类去毒相关基因的克隆

采用RT-PCR和RACE法,克隆得到斑鳢、鲢鱼CYPlA与斑鳢HSP70基因cDNA的核心序列,序列长度分别为908 bp、902 bp、684 bp,分别编码302、300、228个氨基酸;还克隆得到斑鳢、近江牡蛎GPX基因cDNA的部分序列,长度分别为720 bp、727 bp,分别编码119、232个氨基酸.多个重要养殖水生动物的去毒相关基因的成功克隆,为水产养殖动物去毒相关基因结构、功能、表达调控研究以及今后定向筛选高食用安全保障的水产品奠定基础.     

不同作物对土壤中Cd的富集特征及低累积品种筛选

为探究镉(Cd)污染土壤中农作物的食用安全性,以上海市常见农作物(青椒、黄瓜、豇豆、菠菜、花菜、西红柿、水稻和小麦)为实验材料,采用温室盆栽土培实验方法研究了不同土壤Cd含量梯级(0. 23、0. 6、1. 2、1. 8、2. 4和3. 0 mg·kg-1)下不同作物生物量变化以及可食部分Cd富集特征,建立不同种类作物与土壤Cd含量相关关系,探讨不同作物对应的土壤Cd安全限量值,筛选Cd低累积作物品种.结果表明:①随着土壤中Cd含量增加,作物地上生物量表现为先增加后减少,青椒耐受性最强,西红柿、菠菜耐受性最差.②不同作物可食部位Cd的富集系数由大到小依次为小麦菠菜水稻青椒花菜西红柿黄瓜豇豆.③作物可食部分Cd含量与土壤中Cd含量都呈显著正相关(P 0. 05),相关系数大小依次为菠菜小麦西红柿黄瓜青椒水稻花菜豇豆.④不同作物对应的土壤Cd安全限量值大小依次为:豇豆黄瓜花菜青椒西红柿水稻菠菜小麦.依据作物对土壤中Cd的耐受性、富集能力及食用安全限量值,筛选出黄瓜、豇豆、花菜为Cd低累积品种.     

餐厨垃圾的黑水虻处理中含钙矿物及微生物对油脂转化效率的影响

黑水虻处理是近年来发展起来的一种餐厨垃圾的有效资源化方法,但由于黑水虻的生理特性,油脂类物质经常不能被彻底降解和去除,残渣仍有酸败气味,需堆肥化二次处理.为了提高油脂类成分的降解效率,提升黑水虻富集油脂的资源化能力,本研究拟以含钙矿物和微生物为主要辅助手段,通过向餐厨垃圾中添加湿重比例为0~10%的CaCO₃、0~10%的Ca(OH)₂、5%CaCO₃和菌液的混合物及6种不同菌液,研究含钙矿物和微生物对于油脂减量化和虫油转化效率的影响.结果发现,向餐厨垃圾中添加含钙矿物,能够显著调节和缓冲黑水虻处理过程中的环境pH值,但对增加油脂的去除效率和黑水虻油脂的转化能力没有显著作用.而且添加7%~10% 的CaCO₃对于餐厨垃圾的减量化率和黑水虻的虫产率有负作用,添加5%~10%的Ca(OH)₂会导致显著的幼虫死亡率.同时添加CaCO₃和菌液对于油脂的去除不利.仅添加微生物菌液是提高垃圾油脂减量化率和黑水虻油脂富集率的最有效方法.枯草芽孢杆菌NJZ菌株、地衣芽孢杆菌NY菌株、植物乳酸杆菌RS72菌株和粪肠球菌L102菌株,是提高黑水虻油脂转化效率的有效菌株.添加微生物后,黑水虻的虫油产率由对照组的10.4%提升至12.8%~14.4%,虫油富集率由对照组的93.9%提升至116%~130%.虫油富集率超过100%,说明餐厨垃圾中碳水化合物、蛋白质等非油脂成分的一部分转化为黑水虻的体脂,而微生物的辅助降解可能是强化这一过程的主要因素.但即使在接种微生物以后,虫沙中仍然有29%~44%的油脂在处理结束时剩余,说明餐厨垃圾中的油脂较难被彻底降解和利用.未来研究中,可以继续筛选高效降解油脂的微生物,与黑水虻共同处理餐厨垃圾,实现油脂成分的资源化全利用.     

Toxic metals in sewage sludge-amended soils: has promotion of beneficial use discounted the risks?

Land application of contaminated waste products has been defended as beneficial use by some scientists and regulators, based on the premise that the behavior of any toxins accumulated in soils from this practice is reasonably well understood and will not have detrimental agronomic or environmental impacts into the foreseeable future. In this review, I use the case of toxic metals in sewage sludges applied to agricultural land to illustrate that metal behavior in soils and plant uptake is difficult to generalize because it is strongly dependent on the nature of the metal, sludge, soil properties and crop. Nevertheless, permitted agricultural loadings of toxic metals from sewage sludges are typically regulated using the sole criterion of total metal loading or concentrations in soils. Several critical generalizing assumptions about the behavior of sludge-borne metals in soil-crop systems, built into the US EPA risk assessment for metals, have tended to underestimate risks and are shown not to be well justified by published research. It is argued that, in the absence of a basic understanding of metal behavior in each specific situation, a more precautionary approach to toxic metal additions to soils is warranted.