Understanding the economic and farming practices driving species selection in aquaculture within the Mymensingh division of Bangladesh

Aquaculture is a major supplier of animal protein for Bangladesh’s population, and the Mymensingh division is a major contributor to finfish aquaculture, producing 43% of the total pond pangasius and 9% of the total amount of tilapia (figures from 2018). We conducted a finfish farmer survey covering Netrokona, Jamalpur and Mymensingh districts to understand current finfish farming practices and identify factors that drive farmers in their species choice between pangasius or tilapia cultivation. We found that most finfish farmers in Mymensingh are experienced practitioners and practise polyculture with a range of stocking densities for each species. Using an economic model of polyculture practice, we have shown that over a production cycle, pangasius gain body mass at a rate nearly 4 times greater than that for tilapia, resulting in substantially larger revenues and providing a strong incentive for their culture. High levels of tilapia aquaculture likely persist due to their short production cycle and an associated decreased economic risk due to crop loss from disease, both factors providing a strong incentive for their culture. Our findings also indicate production yield differences through different species selection in polyculture systems. For example, co-culturing pangasius, tilapia and carp together was less productive than co-culture of pangasius with tilapia. Furthermore, higher yields of tilapia were obtained when co-cultured with carp compared with pangasius, the reasons for which are not known and warrant further investigation. Our study uses information provided by finfish farmers to produce a useful guide on fish species choices to maximise production yields, and therefore food production, from their ponds.

     

The Influence of Pedology and Changes in Soil Moisture Status on Manganese Release from Upland Catchments: Soil Core Laboratory Experiments

Manganese (Mn) contamination of drinking water may cause aesthetic and human health problems when concentrations exceed 50 and 500 μg l^?1, respectively. In the UK, the majority of Mn-related drinking water supply failures originate from unpolluted upland catchments. The source of Mn is therefore soil, but the exact mechanisms by which it is mobilised into surface waters remain unknown. Elevated Mn concentrations in surface waters have been associated with the rewetting of dried upland soils and with conifer afforestation. We investigated these hypotheses in a laboratory experiment involving the drying and rewetting of intact soil cores (1,900 cm³ volume) of horizons of four representative soil type-land use combinations from an upland water supply catchment in southwest Scotland. Although no statistically significant effect of land use or soil type was detected on Mn concentrations in soil water, Mn release occurred from three soil horizons upon rewetting. Soil water Mn concentrations in the moorland histosol H2 (10–30 cm), the histic podzol H and Eh horizons increased from means of 5.8, 6.2 and 0.6 μg l^?1 prior to rewetting to maxima of 90, 76 and 174 μg l^?1 after rewetting, respectively. The properties of these three horizons indicate that Mn release is favoured from soil horizons containing a mixture of organic and mineral material. Mineral material provides a source of Mn, but relatively high soil organic matter content is required to facilitate mobilisation. The results can be used alongside soil information to identify catchments at risk of elevated Mn concentrations in water supplies.     

Predicting Areas of 137Cs Loss and Accumulation in Upland Catchments

Anthropogenic radioisotopes with long physicalhalf-lives derived from atmospheric fallout remain inthe environment for decades after deposition. Process- and field-based studies within uplandcatchments show that radiocaesium is transported insolution as well as in particulate form. Catchmenthydrology is therefore an important control onradiocaesium transport and natural processes of soildevelopment. The topographic index, from thehydrological model TOPMODEL, has been used as a basisfor the development of a simple model for predictingradiocaesium redistribution in temperate uplandcatchments. The model is particularly suited topredicting ¹³⁷Cs redistribution within uplandenvironments as it is based on topography, which isreadily calculated from digital terrain models withingeographical information systems. A conceptual modelof radiocaesium losses on hillslopes and re-depositionon the valley floor was calibrated with atmosphericweapons testing ¹³⁷Cs inventories from soil coredata for the Raithburn catchment, Renfrewshire, U.K. The model fitted the observations well and showed thatin this catchment a topographic index value of about5.0, for 10 m grid cells, forms the threshold between¹³⁷Cs loss and accumulation. The resultsindicated that about 20% of the total atmosphericweapons testing ¹³⁷Cs deposited in the catchmenthad been transported out of the catchment over theca. 30 yr period since deposition.     

Nutrient cycling and distribution in different-aged plantations of Chinese fir in southern China

The distribution in tree biomass and understorey vegetation and annual biological and geochemical cycling of total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were measured in young, middle-aged and mature plantations (8-, 14- and 24-years old) of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) in southern China. Although >98% of nutrients occurred in the soil, soil nutrient content decreased with plantation age. Nutrient outputs from the soil exceeded inputs in stands of all ages but the net soil nutrient loss increased significantly for N, P and Ca with plantation age. Comparison of nutrient fluxes showed that the smallest (and hence limiting for nutrient cycling) fluxes were litter decomposition in the young plantation in contrast to canopy fluxes (apart from for Mg) in the middle-aged and mature plantations. Nutrient use efficiency, release of nutrients from litter decomposition and nutrient return, particularly in litterfall, increased significantly with plantation age. These results suggest that, as stand age increases, nutrient cycling in Chinese fir plantations is increasingly dominated by biological processes and becomes less dependent on external nutrient sources in rainfall and the soil. It therefore appears that prolonging the rotation length of Chinese fir plantations by approximately 5 years could be beneficial for maintaining the soil nutrient status for successive plantings.     

Assessing the effect of broadleaf woodland expansion on acidic dry deposition and streamwater acidification

The study aim was to determine whether enhanced dry deposition of acidic atmospheric pollutants by broadleaf woodland expansion could increase the potential for acidification of surface waters in acid-sensitive areas. Dry sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition was modelled with the Fine Resolution Atmospheric Multi-pollutant Exchange (FRAME) model using a roughness length value calculated specifically for birchwoods. Two scenarios were investigated for an acid-sensitive area in Scotland where broadleaf woodland expansion, mainly as birchwood, is occurring: (1) 2002 emissions and broadleaf woodland cover of 5.6%; (2) 2020 projected emissions and broadleaf cover of 29%. The roughness length calculated for birch with Raupach’s simplified drag-partition model was 0.73 m, lower than the value of 1.0 m for conifers which is the default for forest land cover in FRAME. Modelled dry S and N deposition increased between 2002 and 2020 from 8.7 to 29 × 10⁻³ keq ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ of H⁺. However, modelled total dry and wet non-marine S and N deposition decreased during the same period from 1070 to 682 × 10⁻³ keq ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ of H⁺ due to the lower projected emissions in 2020 and the dominance of wet deposition in the remote and upland study area (mean annual rainfall 2275 mm). The modelled total non-marine S and N deposition was used to calculate streamwater critical loads exceedance with the First-order Acidity Balance (FAB) model for five catchments in the study area. The modelled deposition for both the 2002 and 2020 scenarios was less than the calculated streamwater critical loads so the catchments were not considered at risk of streamwater acidification under the projected future emissions and increased broadleaf woodland cover. Nevertheless, broadleaf expansion could pose a greater risk of acidification in acid-sensitive areas with lower rainfall, closer to pollutant sources, where dry deposition accounts for a higher proportion of total S and N deposition.     

Decomposition and macroinvertebrates in experimental litter along a secondary chronosequence of tropical montane forest

This paper presents the results of a decomposition experiment performed in a secondary chronosequence of tropical montane cloud forest in Mexico. The experiment was designed to explore whether the age of the forest influences the decomposition process and macroinvertebrate community independently of the quality of the decomposition resources. Fresh Pinus chiapensis needles and Persea americana leaves were set to decompose in each of four successional stages (15, 45, 75 and 100 years old). Results do not support the hypothesis that decomposition rate declines with increasing nutrient deficiency as forest succession proceeds. However, the chemical composition in decomposing leaves differed between successional stages. Higher availability of Ca in the 15-year-old forest appears to promote a positive feedback in the release of this nutrient from Persea americana leaves. Additionally, in old forests, a soil community that is more capable of breaking down recalcitrant material (acid detergent lignin) appears to have developed compared to early successional stages. The diversity of macroinvertebrates and abundance of predatory (Aranea and Diplura), detrivorous (Diplopoda) and geophagous (Enchytaeidae) taxa were different between boxes placed in different successional stages. We conclude that the decomposition and associated biota differ between successional stages. Apart from differences in litter quality, other factors associated with the age of the forest, such as small differences in soil temperature and long-lasting effects of disturbance, may also play influential roles.     

A preliminary study of the growth of fungi and bacteria from temperate and antarctic soils in relation to temperature

The growth of fungi isolated from a lowland temperate site (Roudsea Wood National Nature Reserve), an upland temperate moorland (Moor House National Nature Reserve) and an oceanic Antarctic island (Signy, S. Orkneys) was compared at 1, 14 and 25°C. This showed that low temperatures caused greatest retardation of growth in fungi from the warmest site (Roudsea) and least from the coldest site (Signy Island). At Moor House, fungi which were isolated most frequently in winter were able to grow better at 1°C than summer forms. The fungal flora of Signy Island was restricted and consists of cold tolerant cosmopolitan species which have been selected by or become adapted to the prevailing low temperatures. Of fungi isolated from any two of the sites, Mortierella alpina and Mucor hiemalis showed temperature adaptation correlated with prevailing site temperature, while Trichoderma viride, Penicillium thomii, and P. frequentans showed no adaptation.     

Assessing the performance of phosphorus-saturated ochre as a fertilizer and its environmental acceptability

Abstract. Flooding of abandoned coal mines often causes discharges of iron-rich drainage water into the environment. Treatment of these discharges results in the formation of ochre (hydrous iron oxides) for which no end-use has been identified. Ochre effectively adsorbs phosphate from solution and thus could be used for remediation of waste waters. The resulting P-enriched ochre could then potentially be recycled as a P fertilizer. Pot and field experiments were set up to assess performance and environmental acceptability of ochre in this role, using grass and barley as test crops, as well as birch and spruce tree seedlings. Soils and plant materials were analysed for total and available P, total metals and pH. Results showed that P-saturated ochre functioned as a slow-release P fertilizer, and in the short term was as effective as conventional P fertilizer in maintaining crop yields. It also raised soil pH, and did not pose any significant problem through introduction of potentially toxic trace metals into the soil.