NUTRIENT LOADS TO WISCONSIN LAKES: PART I. NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS EXPORT COEFFICIENTS1

ABSTRACT: Export coefficients (kg/km²/yr) for dissolved ortho-phosphate (OP), total phosphorus (TP), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), and total nitrogen (TN) were derived for watersheds in Wisconsin using data bases available for 17 basins from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — National Eutrophication Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Three general land use categories, representative of most regions in Wisconsin, were established: forest, mixed, and agricultural. Data for the 17 basins indicated greater exports of OP. TP, TIN, and TN as the percentage of forest decreased and agriculture increased. These region-specific coefficients are compared to the values reported in the literature representing much broader areas of the U.S.     

RELATION BETWEEN STREAM-WATER QUALITY AND GEOHYDROLOGY DURING BASE-FLOW CONDITIONS,ROBERTS CREEK WATERSHED,CLAYTON COUNTY,IOWA1

ABSTRACT: An investigation to determine the relation between stream water quality and geohydrology in the Roberts Creek watershed, Clayton County, Iowa, was conducted during selected base-flow periods in 1988–90. Discharge measurements were made and water samples collected for analyses of nutrients and selected herbicides in 19 subbasins along the main stem and tributaries of Roberts Creek. The areal extent of unconsolidated and bedrock units subcropping in each subbasin was quantified. The hydrologic data were correlated statistically with the geologic data to determine relations. Roberts Creek generally gained water and had larger nitrogen concentrations in subbasins in which bess and alluvial material were underlain primarily by low-permeability till and shale units. Roberts Creek generally lost water and had lower nitrate concentrations in subbasins with subcroppmg karstic units. Nitrogen concentrations decreased in streams underlain by the karstic units because the nitrogen removed by biological processes was not replaced by ground-water inflow. Seepage from Roberts Creek to ground water in areas of subcropping karstic carbonate rocks reduced the flow, which reduced the velocity, causing increased residence time of water in the stream. The additional residence time may allow additional time for biological processes to remove nitrogen from solution. There was no significant relation between dissolved orthophosphate or atrazine and the underlying geology.     

UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS OF BMP EFFECTWENESS FOR CONTROLLING NITROGEN FROM URBAN NONPOINT SOURCES1

ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of urban Best Management Practices (BMPs) in achieving the No-Net-Increase Policy (NNTP), a policy designed to limit nonpoint nitrogen loading to Long Island Sound (US), is analyzed. A unit loading model is used to simulate annual nitrogen exported from the Norwalk River watershed (Connecticut) under current and future conditions. A probabilistic uncertainty analysis is used to incorporate uncertainty in nitrogen export coefficients and BMP nitrogen removal effectiveness. The inclusion of uncertainty in BMP effectiveness and nitrogen export coefficients implies that additional BMPs, or BMPs with a greater effectiveness in nitrogen removal, will be required to achieve the NNIP. Even though including uncertainty leads to an increase in BMP implementation rates or BMP effectiveness, this type of analysis provides the decision maker with a more realistic assessment of the likelihood that implementing BMPs as a management strategy will be successful. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate that applying BMPs to new urban developments alone will not be sufficient to achieve the NNIP since BMPs are not 100 percent effective in removing the increase in nitrogen caused by urbanization. BMPs must also be applied to selected existing urban areas. BMPs with a nitrogen removal effectiveness of 40–60 percent, probably the highest level of removal that can be expected over an entire watershed, must be applied to at least 75 percent of the existing urban area to achieve the NNIP This high rate of application is not likely to be achieved in urbanized watersheds in the LIS watershed; therefore, additional point source control will be necessary to achieve the NNIP     

PREDICTION OF CHLOROPHYLL A CONCENTRATIONS IN FLORIDA LAKES: THE IMPORTANCE OF PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN1

ABSTRACT: Models for the prediction of chlorophyll a concentrations were developed and tested using data on 223 Florida lakes. A statistical analysis showed that the best model was log (Chl a) =?2.49 + 0.269 log (TP) + 1.06 log (TN) or log (Chl a) =?2.49 + 1.06 log (TN/TP) + 1.33 log (TP) where Chl a is the chlorophyll a concentration (mg m^-3), TP is the total phosphorus concentration (mg m^-3) and TN is the total nitrogen concentration (mg m^-3). The model yields unbiased estimates of chlorophyll a concentrations over a wide range of lake types and has a 95 percent confidence interval of 29–319 percent of the calculated chlorophyll a concentrations. Other models, especially the published Dillon-Rigler and Jones-Bachmann phosphorus-chlorophyll models, are less precise when applied to Florida lakes. The data support the hypothesis that nitrogen is an important limiting nutrient in hypereutrophic lakes.     

石化废水脱氮技术现状分析

针对石化废水脱氮的现有技术进行归纳,并对各种方法的优缺点进行了对比分析,探讨了目前石化废水的脱氮技术现状和发展趋势。结论是:目前还没有一种通用的方法能处理所有氨氮废水,必须针对不同废水选择不同的技术及工艺。为了更有效地处理废水,应联合使用多种方法和工艺,这已是目前废水处理的一种趋势。     

EFFECTS OF SLUDGE AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZER APPLICATION ON RUNOFF WATER QUALITY1

ABSTRACT: Simulated rainfall was used on experimental field plots to compare the effect of chemical fertilizer and sludge application on sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus in runoff from no-till and conventional tillage systems. Chemical fertilizer application under the no-till system resulted in the least amount of total N and P in surface runoff. However, sludge application under the no-till system resulted in the least amount of NO₃-N and sediment in surface runoff. The worst water quality scenarios were observed when either sludge or chemical fertilizer were surface-applied under a conventional tillage system. Nitrogen losses from the conventional tillage system were minimized when sludge was incorporated into the soil. However, phosphorus and sediment yield from such a system were significantly higher when compared to phosphorus and sediment yield from the no-till system. The results from this study indicate that the use of sludge on agricultural land under a no-till system can be a viable alternative to chemical fertilizer for nitrogen and phosphorus control in runoff. A more cautious approach is recommended when the sludge is incorporated into the soil in a conventional tillage system because of potential for high sediment and phosphorus yield in surface runoff.     

INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES ON WATER QUALITY IN NEBRASKA: A SURVEY OF STREAMS,GROUNDWATER, AND PRECIPITATION1

ABSTRACT Rainfall, stream flow and groundwater have been sampled systematically throughout Nebraska since 1970 and analyzed for mineral N and P and the character of any sediments contained. Fallout N and P in rainfall ranges from 5–14 pounds N and 1 pounds P/A/yr, increasing from west to east across the state with increasing rainfall. The amount of NH4-N is essentially double that of NO₃-N. The mean concentration of 2ppm N in rainfall is four times the mean N concentration of streams, demonstrating a substantial depolluting action of soils and growing crops. Where nutrient levels of streams are elevated, cause can usually be traced especially to industrial, sewage or livestock waste intrusion and not to crop production practices. The only significant quantity of nutrient N and P induced by cultivation is that accompanying sediments from eroded fields. The P content of Nebraska groundwater has remained essentially constant during the past 10 years while average NO₃-N has increased slightly, a period during which farmer fertilizer use quadrupled. During the same time, irrigation acreage has increased by 50%, livestock numbers by 30%, with corresponding growth in human population and attendant industries. Indications are that irrigation practice has contributed more than any other factor to the small increase in groundwater NO3-N recorded. Individual cases do exist where groundwater NO₃-N has increased substantially, especially in areas of intensive irrigation agriculture on very sandy soils and elsewhere with irrigation development in the proximity of ancient NO₃-N deposits in mantlerock above the water table.     

Tree Leaf Biomarkers for Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on tree N cycling and identify potential biomarkers forNdeposition. Between April and October 2002 extensive fieldwork was undertaken at Mardley Heath in Hertfordshire. This woodland, located adjacent to the A1(M) motorway, is exposed to high levels of atmospheric nitrogen oxides from the traffic. Measurements of ¹⁵N, in vivo nitrate reductase (NR) activity, tissue, xylem and surface nitrate concentrations as well as N concentration and growth were made along a 700-m transect at 90° to the motorway. The ¹⁵N data show that oxidised N from the road traffic is taken up by nearby trees and is incorporated into plant tissues. Our measurements of NR activities suggest elevated rates close to the motorway. However, xylem sap, leaf tissue and leaf surface nitrate concentrations showed no differences between the roadside location and the most distant sampling point from the motorway. Taken together the ¹⁵N and nitrate reductase data suggest uptake and assimilation of N through the foliage.We conclude that for this lowland deciduouswoodland, tissue, xylem and surface measurements of nitrate are unreliable biomarkers for N deposition whereas ¹⁵N, growth measurements and integrated seasonal NR might be useful. The results also point to the benefit of roadside tree planting to screen pollution from motor vehicles.     

Response of Organic and Inorganic Carbon and Nitrogen to Long-Term Grazing of the Shortgrass Steppe

We investigated the influence of long-term (56 years) grazing on organic and inorganic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of the plant–soil system (to 90 cm depth) in shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. Grazing treatments included continuous season-long (May–October) grazing by yearling heifers at heavy (60–75% utilization) and light (20–35% utilization) stocking rates, and nongrazed exclosures. The heavy stocking rate resulted in a plant community that was dominated (75% of biomass production) by the C₄ grass blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), whereas excluding livestock grazing increased the production of C₃ grasses and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia polycantha). Soil organic C (SOC) and organic N were not significantly different between the light grazing and nongrazed treatments, whereas the heavy grazing treatment was 7.5 Mg ha^–1 higher in SOC than the nongrazed treatment. Lower ratios of net mineralized N to total organic N in both grazed compared to nongrazed treatments suggest that long-term grazing decreased the readily mineralizable fraction of soil organic matter. Heavy grazing affected soil inorganic C (SIC) more than the SOC. The heavy grazing treatment was 23.8 Mg ha^–1 higher in total soil C (0–90 cm) than the nongrazed treatment, with 68% (16.3 Mg ha^–1) attributable to higher SIC, and 32% (7.5 Mg ha^–1) to higher SOC. These results emphasize the importance in semiarid and arid ecosystems of including inorganic C in assessments of the mass and distribution of plant–soil C and in evaluations of the impacts of grazing management on C sequestration.     

EMMC process for combined removal of organics, nitrogen and an odor producing substance

In order to improve the process performance regarding the removal of organics, nitrogen, and an odor-causing compound (sulfide) contained in domestic wastewater, an entrapped-mixed-microbial cell (EMMC) with and without humic substances for both fixed and moving carrier reactors and conventional suspended growth culture (i.e. conventional activated sludge process) were investigated simultaneously. Both synthetic (simulated to the organics concentration of general domestic sewage) and actual domestic wastewater were investigated under operational conditions of 12 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT) with 1 h of aeration and 1 h of non-aeration, and 6 h of HRT with continuous aeration, at a room temperature of 25 +/- 2 degrees C. It was found that entrapping humic substances in the EMMC carriers had no impact on the removal of organics, nitrogen, and the odor-producing compound. Additionally, the performance of the EMMC moving carrier system for the removal of these pollutants is similar to that of the EMMC fixed carrier system. In general, the EMMC associated systems which provide high solids retention time achieve a better removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, and the odor-producing substance than the suspended growth system for both HRTs of 6 h (continuous aeration) and 12 h (1 h of aeration and 1 h of non-aeration). Both the fixed and moving carrier EMMC processes, therefore, have the potential for improvement or replacement of the existing conventional activated sludge process with regard to improving the effluent qualities (such as COD, nitrogen and odor-producing compound) for reuse/disposal.