THE SUSPENDED SEDIMENT REGIME OF AN OREGON COAST RANGE STREAM1

ABSTRACT: Armored stream segments may affect the suspended sediment regime of small mountain streams in western Oregon by the release of fine sediments stored in the bed gravels. Sieve analysis of bed materials indicated that at least 30 percent of the suspended sediment yield for the 1975–76 winter had been stored in the streambed. Suspended sediment concentrations during storm-generated runoff were influenced by stream discharge and hydrograph characteristics. Sediment-discharge relations for individual storms were characterized by hysteresis loops. A seasonal flushing of fines was shown by a progressive decrease in the ratio of suspended sediment to stream discharge during the winter runoff period.     

Gender and career success: A typology and analysis of dual paradigms

Despite women's advancements in the workplace, gender inequality persists. We classify and test two frameworks used to explain gender differences in career success: unequal attributes and unequal effects. The unequal attributes framework suggests that gender is related to other attributes, which result in unequal career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a mediated effect). The unequal effects framework suggests that even when men and women share the same attribute or circumstances, they are rewarded differently, such that individual attributes have unequal effects on career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a moderated effect). We collected survey data from a gender‐balanced sample of 394 business school alumni. Using structural equation modeling to test the unequal attributes framework, we found that work hours, career orientation, having a nonemployed spouse, and working in a predominantly female job were unequal attributes that explained gender differences in career success. Using multigroup path analysis to examine unequal effects, we found that being agentic, married, having children at home, and working in a predominantly female workplace had unequal effects in relation to career success for men and women. We find support for both models across three categories of career success antecedents (i.e., personal, family, and job attributes).     

Managing the nitrogen cycle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from crop production and biofuel expansion

Public policies are promoting biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuel consumption in order to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the mitigation benefit can be at least partially compromised by emissions occurring during feedstock production. One of the key sources of GHG emissions from biofuel feedstock production, as well as conventional crops, is soil nitrous oxide (N₂O), which is largely driven by nitrogen (N) management. Our objective was to determine how much GHG emissions could be reduced by encouraging alternative N management practices through application of nitrification inhibitors and a cap on N fertilization. We used the US Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS2) as the basis for a case study to evaluate technical and economic drivers influencing the N management mitigation strategies. We estimated soil N₂O emissions using the DayCent ecosystem model and applied the US Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model with Greenhouse Gases (FASOMGHG) to project GHG emissions for the agricultural sector, as influenced by biofuel scenarios and N management options. Relative to the current RSF2 policy with no N management interventions, results show decreases in N₂O emissions ranging from 3 to 4 % for the agricultural sector (5.5–6.5 million metric tonnes CO₂?eq.?year^?1; 1 million metric tonnes is equivalent to a Teragram) in response to a cap that reduces N fertilizer application and even larger reductions with application of nitrification inhibitors, ranging from 9 to 10 % (15.5–16.6 million tonnes CO₂?eq.?year^?1). The results demonstrate that climate and energy policies promoting biofuel production could consider options to manage the N cycle with alternative fertilization practices for the agricultural sector and likely enhance the mitigation of GHG emissions associated with biofuels.     

Spatial variability of soil carbon in forested and cultivated sites: implications for change detection

The potential to sequester atmospheric carbon in agricultural and forest soils to offset greenhouse gas emissions has generated interest in measuring changes in soil carbon resulting from changes in land management. However, inherent spatial variability of soil carbon limits the precision of measurement of changes in soil carbon and hence, the ability to detect changes. We analyzed variability of soil carbon by intensively sampling sites under different land management as a step toward developing efficient soil sampling designs. Sites were tilled cropland and a mixed deciduous forest in Tennessee, and old-growth and second-growth coniferous forest in western Washington, USA. Six soil cores within each of three microplots were taken as an initial sample and an additional six cores were taken to simulate resampling. Soil C variability was greater in Washington than in Tennessee, and greater in less disturbed than in more disturbed sites. Using this protocol, our data suggest that differences on the order of 2.0 Mg C ha(-1) could be detected by collection and analysis of cores from at least five (tilled) or two (forest) microplots in Tennessee. More spatial variability in the forested sites in Washington increased the minimum detectable difference, but these systems, consisting of low C content sandy soil with irregularly distributed pockets of organic C in buried logs, are likely to rank among the most spatially heterogeneous of systems. Our results clearly indicate that consistent intramicroplot differences at all sites will enable detection of much more modest changes if the same microplots are resampled.     

Agricultural soil greenhouse gas emissions: a review of national inventory methods

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are required to submit national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, together with information on methods used in estimating their emissions. Currently agricultural activities contribute a significant portion (approximately 20%) of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, and agricultural soils have been identified as one of the main GHG source categories within the agricultural sector. However, compared to many other GHG sources, inventory methods for soils are relatively more complex and have been implemented only to varying degrees among member countries. This review summarizes and evaluates the methods used by Annex 1 countries in estimating CO2 and N2O emissions in agricultural soils. While most countries utilize the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default methodology, several Annex 1 countries are developing more advanced methods that are tailored for specific country circumstances. Based on the latest national inventory reporting, about 56% of the Annex 1 countries use IPCC Tier 1 methods, about 26% use Tier 2 methods, and about 18% do not estimate or report N2O emissions from agricultural soils. More than 65% of the countries do not report CO2 emissions from the cultivation of mineral soils, organic soils, or liming, and only a handful of countries have used country-specific, Tier 3 methods. Tier 3 methods usually involve process-based models and detailed, geographically specific activity data. Such methods can provide more robust, accurate estimates of emissions and removals but require greater diligence in documentation, transparency, and uncertainty assessment to ensure comparability between countries. Availability of detailed, spatially explicit activity data is a major constraint to implementing higher tiered methods in many countries.     

National-scale estimation of changes in soil carbon stocks on agricultural lands

Average annual net change in soil carbon stocks under past and current management is needed as part of national reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and to evaluate the potential for soils as sinks to mitigate increasing atmospheric CO2. We estimated net soil C stock changes for US agricultural soils during the period from 1982 to 1997 using the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) method for greenhouse gas inventories. Land use data from the NRI (National Resources Inventory; USDA-NRCS) were used as input along with ancillary data sets on climate, soils, and agricultural management. Our results show that, overall, changes in land use and agricultural management have resulted in a net gain of 21.2 MMT C year(-1) in US agricultural soils during this period. Cropped lands account for 15.1 MMT C year(-1), while grazing land soil C increased 6.1 MMT C year(-1). The land use and management changes that have contributed the most to increasing soil C during this period are (1) adoption of conservation tillage practices on cropland, (2) enrollment of cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program, and (3) cropping intensification that has resulted in reduced use of bare fallow.     

Sensitivity of carbon sequestration costs to soil carbon rates

Modifying current agricultural management practices as a means of sequestering carbon has been shown to be a relatively low cost way to offset greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper we examine the sensitivity of the estimates of the amount of soil carbon sequestered and the implied costs of sequestering a tonne of carbon to changes in the rates of soil carbon sequestered for alternative production practices. An application is made to the dryland grain production systems of the US Northern Plains where the marginal costs of soil C range from $20 to $100 per MT. We show that the resulting changes in the marginal costs quantities of C sequestered are not a monotonic transformation of the changes in the soil carbon rates. These results underscore the importance of using a linked economic and biophysical simulation model to assess the economic potential for sequestering carbon in agricultural soils.     

Modelling soil organic carbon dynamics in two long-term experiments of north-eastern Italy

Simulation models are widely used to assess the impacts of management and environmental variables on soil organic matter dynamics, to address questions on ecosystem sustainability and carbon cycling under global change. We tested the Century ecosystem model for two long-term experiments in north-eastern Italy: one (SF) comparing nutrient management treatments in small confined plots containing widely contrasting soil types (i.e., sandy, clay and peat) and the other (CR) involving a field study with crop rotation, nutrient, and management intensity variables. The organic matter changes in the SF experiment, showed a strong, linear relationship with C inputs from crop residues and added manures in the sand and clay soils, which was closely mimicked by the model. There was a net loss of soil C for all treatments in the peat soil, but the rate and overall magnitude of C losses were accurately simulated by the model, which suggested that treatment effects on soil C inputs was the major determinant of SOC dynamics in all three soils. In the CR experiment the model reasonably simulated the large initial decline (averaging about 30% of initial levels) in SOC observed in all treatments, as well as mean treatment effects over the course of the experiment. The model predicted a general pattern of higher SOC in the high management intensity, high fertility treatment combinations and lower SOC in the low management intensity, low fertility treatments; however, observed soil C did not show a clear pattern related to the treatments. Simulated soil C contents were linearly related to C input levels in the different treatments while there was no significant relationship between measured soil C and C inputs based on observed data.     

Examining the influence of climate,supervisor guidance,and behavioral integrity on work–family conflict: A demands and resources approach

In this study, we assess a multilevel approach to work interference with family (WIF) by examining the influence of unit‐level work–family climate, as well as the importance of supervisors' spoken guidance and their behavioral integrity in helping employees process social information about work–family issues. We propose that there are two important ways in which supervisors may influence their subordinates' WIF—through their spoken guidance regarding managing work–family conflict and through their behavioral integrity—employee perceptions of the degree to which supervisors' spoken work–family guidance aligns with their behaviors to help employees manage work and family on the job. Results from a sample of 628 employees of a health system, using path analytic tests of moderated mediation, provide support for the mediated effect of family‐supportive climate on employee work–family conflict (through supervisory work–family guidance) and for a second‐stage moderation in which the effect of guidance on WIF is stronger (weaker) when employees perceive high (low) levels of supervisor work–family behavioral integrity. We discuss the implications of these findings for the study of family‐supportive work environments and work–family conflict. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are also presented. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metabolism of DDT in Different Tissues of Young Rats

The bioconcentration and distribution pattern of p,p′-DDT 1,1,1-1trichloro-2,2-bis(2-chlorophenyl-4-chlorophenyl)-ethane] and its main metabolites (p,p′-DDD [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane] and p,p′-DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) in adipose tissue, liver, brain, kidney, thymus, and testis were examined in young rats after 10 days of intraperitoneal injection of 50 and 100 mg of p,p′-DDT/kg of body weight. Analyses were performed by high-resolution gas chromatography. p,p′-DDT was found to be accumulated in a dose-dependent manner with the highest concentration in adipose tissue. However, in brain, the accumulation of pesticide was low and remained unchanged at the higher dose. This difference may relate to the protective role of the blood-brain barrier, which limits the access of the xenobiotic in the cerebral compartment, and to the differential tissue lipid composition. Although tissues concentration of p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDD correlated positively to total p,p′-DDT levels, the active role in detoxification of pollutants may explain why p,p′-DDD is more abundant in liver than in the rest of organs. On the contrary, in brain, the concentration of p,p′-DDE is higher than that of p,p′-DDD, suggesting that the metabolism of the parent insecticide proceeds via more than one pathway.