Scientific principles for water utilization in the U.S.S.R.

Water resources are essential for economic and cultural development of a territory. Both economic development and the health of the people depend on the provision of pure water. Scientifically founded plans of water resources use and conservation should be based on a balance approach to the assessment of available water supply sources and, on the forecast of their interconnected change in the future in a close association with the forecast of the whole economy and culture of the studied region. In the future the main threat to the normal development of the economy and life will not be water deficiency but the conversion of rivers, lakes and other water supply sources into sewers. Therefore it is proposed that there be a complete cessation of sewage discharge (even of the so-called purified) into water supply sources while drawing up long-term water management balances.     

Forest management and biomass in the U.S.A.

There are a variety of opportunities to change land and forest management and, at the same time, create a positive impact on the current use of fossil energy. To the extent that these opportunities can be captured, they address the root cause of greenhouse warming-fossil fuel emissions-while, at the same time, improving economic opportunities, ecosystem productivity, and environmental conditions over broad areas. The need for better markets to absorb biomass energy, plus research to make biomass conversion more efficient, is probably the most important deterrent to achieving these possibilities.     

Metal concentrations in the ground water of the Ouachita Mountains,Arkansas, U.S.A.

Ninety-one ground water samples (predominantly from springs) in two mineralized areas of the Ouachita Mountains in west-central Arkansas, were analyzed for Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Pb, Hg, Sb, Sr, Ba, Ca, and Li. These areas contain Mn, barite, strontianite, cinnabar, stibnite and scattered Pb-Zn mineralization, Cumulative frequency curves were used to determine the threshold and anomalous concentrations for each element in the two areas. These values were, in general, higher in the ground water from the more mineralized area for several of the base metals, but most notably for Mn and Fe, the principal metals in the Mn oxide minerals. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 1976) criteria for Fe (300 μg L ^?1) and Mn (50 μg L^?1) in drinking water were exceeded, respectively, in 34% and 30% of the springs in Area I, and 13% and 23% in Area II. One spring exceeded the EPA Hg criterion (2 μg L^?1) and 3 springs exceeded the 50 μg L^?1 criterion for Pb. In spite of the large number of anomalous Ba concentrations, the highest concentration of Ba was 930 μg L^?1 (EPA criterion 1000 μg L ^?1).     

Dedicated to the 100th birthday of Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Eduard von Boguslawski

Identifying the optimum resolution where differences in corn (Zea mays L.) grain yields are detectable could theoretically improve nitrogen (N) management, thereby resulting in economic and environmental benefits for producers and the public at large. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum resolution for prediction of corn grain yield using indirect sensor measurements. Corn rows, 15–30 m long, were randomly selected at three locations where the exact location of each plant was determined. In 2005 and 2006, four of eight rows at each location were fertilized with 150 kg N ha^?1 as urea ammonium nitrate (28% N). A GreenSeeker? optical sensor was used to determine average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) across a range of plants and over fixed distances (20, 40, 45.7, 60, 80, 91.4, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, and 240 cm). Individual corn plants were harvested and grain yield was determined. Correlation of corn grain yield versus NDVI was evaluated over both increasing distances and increasing number of corn plants. Then, the squared correlation coefficients (r_cc ²) from each plot (used as data) were fitted to a linear plateau model for each resolution treatment (fixed distance and number of corn plants). The linear-plateau model coefficient of determination (r_lp ²) was maximized when averaged over every four plants in 2004 and 2006, and over 11 plants in 2005. Likewise, r_lp ² was maximized at a fixed distance of 95, 141, and 87 cm in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. Averaged over sites and years, results from this study suggest that in order to treat spatial variability at the correct scale, the linear fixed distances should likely be <87 cm or <4 plants as an optimum resolution for detecting early-season differences in yield potential and making management decisions based on this resolution.     

湖南省水田机械化路子的研究

湖南省经过三十多年探索和实践,已初步找到了一条初级可行的水田机械化路子,这条路子以水田耕整机和手扶拖拉机两个小动力为主要动力,配套相应的育秧、耕整、栽插、排灌、植保、收割、脱粒和运输等八种主要作业机械。两个小动力各有特点,水田耕整机能完成耕整、栽插和收割分堆作业,其动力还可带动水泵,植保和脱粒机作业;手扶拖拉机主要是解决田间和短途运输,两小动力互相配合,互相补充。一套能担负120亩水田机械化作业的机械,总投资1.5—2万元,据调查和有关材料反映,使用这套水田机械进行水田作业,每年可增收稻谷1万斤以上,增加收入5000元以上。这套水田机械有两个特征:一是初级的,是机械化和半机械化并存和结合;二是可行的,受到农户的欢迎,但不完全配套;如育秧工厂和收割分堆机械等都正在下力气研究和试验,当前已经有了很好的进展。     

Using the CERES-Maize model to estimate production for the U.S. Cornbelt

The ability of the CERES-Maize model to estimate annual fluctuations in maize (Zea mays L.) production for the U.S. Cornbelt was tested for the years 1982–1985. The model was run for 51 weather stations in the 14 states of the Cornbelt, which account for 85% of U.S. maize production. The model was calibrated for the region by deriving varietal coefficients for each station based on minimal growth stage data and yields for the 1982 season. Eight sets of varietal coefficients were derived for the 51 stations and should be interpreted as representing all the hybrids grown in an area, rather than a specific hybrid. For 1982 (the calibration year), 1983, 1984, and 1985, model production estimates were 92, 97, 98, and 101%, respectively, of the official U.S. government estimates. The results indicate that the model may be used for large area yield and production estimation in the U.S.A. with minimal regional calibration. The model has the potential for large area yield estimation in other parts of the world where daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and solar radiation data are available.     

Assessment of the stability of pesticides during cryogenic sample processing. 1. Apples.

An assessment of the stability of a large number (106) of pesticides and related compounds during the cryogenic sample processing of apples has been undertaken. For the first time the procedure included an assessment of the losses during the freezing of the fruits, prior to processing. The stability of each pesticide during processing was assessed by comparing the mean recovery for the laboratory-spiked samples with the mean "survival" of the pesticides in cryogenically processed samples. The results clearly demonstrate that the vast majority, 94 of 106, of pesticides were stable during cryogenic processing. Of particular importance was that losses of several pesticides [bitertanol (95%), heptenophos (50%), isofephos (40%), and tolylfluanid (48%)] reported to occur during ambient processing of apples did not occur during cryogenic processing. Losses of dichlofluanid (54%), chlozolinate (22%), and etridiazole (40%), previously reported to occur during ambient processing of apples, were reduced to barely significant levels (10, 17, and 14%, respectively) by cryogenic processing. Small apparent losses for a few of the compounds were attributable to analytical and sample handling difficulties, rather than to losses during processing, and need further investigation.     

Clean Technology and the Environment,edited by R. C. Kirkwood and A. J. Longley

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution -     

Numerical taxonomic studies in the generaTriticum L. andPisum L.

Summary Up till now numerical taxonomy has been applied to cultivated plants only to a limited extent though this method seems to be especially suitable for handling the great diversity of these plants. Moreover the theory of numerical taxonomy has not been studied sufficiently.Therefore studies with cultivated plants were begun with the aim to investigate the fitness of different numerical taxonomic techniques for their classification. Materials used: 1) 24 species ofTriticum and additionally 24 species ofAegilops 2) 1225Triticum taxa from Iran (mostlyT. aestivum) 3) 312 taxa ofPisum (mostlyP. sativum).Using 10 coefficients and 7 clustering methods inTriticum andAegilops in most cases a clear separation of both genera resulted as well as a species arrangement withinTriticum according to the genomes.The main aim when dealing with the wheat from Iran was the investigation of the influence of different character sets. At this the coefficient ofGower and the unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) were applied. The separation of the different species is satisfying clear while the representatives of the different varieties ofT. aestivum could not always be found in one cluster. This effect increased when adding further characters sets.InPisum the influence of 11 similarity coefficients to the dendrogram formation has been investigated. With two-state characters the simple matching coefficient and with mainly multistate characters the Canberra metric gave best results (using UPGMA and information measures SUMRAT and SAMRAT).The hitherto existing results show the complicatedness of the evaluation of numerical taxonomic methods in their application to cultivated plants. Therefore generalizations are not yet possible.

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Numerisch-taxonomische Studien in den GattungenTriticum L. undPisum L.

     

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Sediments of the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

From 1990 to 1994, a total of 21 sediment cores and 37 grab sediment samples were collected from the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary. Each sediment core was sectioned and dated using ²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷ Cs radioisotope techniques. A total of 305 samples were analyzed for sixteen polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs). Grain size distribution, porosity, and total organic carbon content as measured by loss on ignition were also determined. The results provide a historical overview of the impact of industrialization in the Milwaukee area. Although highly variable, the concentration profile of PAHs show, in general, peaks in the 1950's through 1980's. The PAH concentrations have declined since then for most sediment cores. The current levels of total PAHs in most surface sediment samples range from 25 to 200 ppm. A few cores, some of which were collected in 1994, have an elevated PAH concentration at the surface. Toxicity of the surface sediments was evaluated by comparing with the benchmark values developed by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The most heavily contaminated area was found in the Kinnickinnic River between the Becher Street Bridge and the Wisconsin Wrecking Company Wharf. The highest total PAH concentration determined from seven vibra cores collected in this area ranges from 380 to 1000 ppm. The former Wisconsin Solvay Coke Company may have been a major point source of PAHs until the 1970's. Highway traffic and various industrial discharges also contribute to the sediment PAHs in this area.     

沙蒿植被粗糙度动力学特性的检验与研究

主要利用Dong等提出的曲线拟合的方法,结合野外实测数据计算沙蒿植被的空气动力学粗糙度,对计算出的粗糙度和风速进行回归分析和相关分析,由此对沙蒿植被地表粗糙度的动力学特性进行检验与研究,结果表明:在下垫面不发生改变的情况下,沙蒿的空气动力学粗糙度与风速的增长呈负相关关系,即粗糙度具有动力学特性。但是由于两者相关程度并不显著,因此在实际工作中可以忽略风速对粗糙度的影响,仍然应用Bagnold的传统方法对粗糙壁面的粗糙度进行测量。