Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils by precision management

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions make up a significant part of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. There is an urgent need to identify new approaches to the mitigation of these emissions with emerging technology. In this short review four approaches to precision managements of agricultural systems are described based on examples of work being undertaken in the UK and New Zealand. They offer the opportunity for N₂O mitigation without any reduction in productivity. These approaches depend upon new sensor technology, modeling and spatial information with which to make management decisions and interventions that can both improve agricultural productivity and environmental protection.     

The spread of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa—What should be done next?

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The following text summarizes the different perspectives of presenters participating in the section Plant Protection in the Tropics and Subtropics, 61st...     

Establishment of an agroforestry research network in Victoria,Australia (1983–85)

From 1983 to 1985, a network of agroforestry research trials was established at six localities throughout Victoria. This paper describes experimental designs and establishment procedures used at the trial sites. The overall aim of the research program is to provide definitive information on the costs and benefits of a wide range of agroforestry combinations. Accordingly, trials were established at the following locations to test a total of 93 tree species grown in combination with specific types of agriculture:

1. Carngham (near Ballarat) — sheep grazing andPinus radiata D. Don (radiata pine);
2. Hamilton (several sites) — sheep grazing and mixed tree species;
3. Kyabram — irrigated pastures andEucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden (flooded gum);
4. Rutherglen — cereal cropping and shelterbelts;
5. Myrtleford — irrigatedMentha spp. (mint) and two clones ofPopulus spp. (poplar); and
6. Neerim South (near Warragul) — cattle grazing and mixed tree species.

Conventional and systematic experimental designs have been used in setting up these trials, which in total constitute the most comprehensive agroforestry research in Australia. This paper describes these trials in detail, and stresses the importance of their continued expert management, so that the full benefits of the work can be realised for rural Victoria.     

Bedeutung eines jahreszeitlich unterschiedlichen Einschlagszeitpunktes für das Trocknungsverhalten des Schnittholzes von Fichten (Picea abies (L.) Karst.)

Zusammenfassung:   Die vorliegende Untersuchung hat zum Ziel, die Auswirkungen eines jahreszeitlich unterschiedlichen Einschlagszeitpunktes von Fichten (Winter- und Sommereinschlag) auf die Dimensionsstabilität des daraus erzeugten Schnittholzes zu erfassen und zu quantifizieren. Hierzu wurden jeweils 12 Fichten aus Winter- und Sommereinschlag unmittelbar nach der Aufarbeitung im Bestand zu Bauschnittholz in praxisüblichen Dimensionen verarbeitet. Die Erfassung der trocknungsbedingten Verwerfungen des Schnittholzes erfolgte mittels Vermessung der Kantholzform vor und nach einer technischen Kammertrocknung (Zielfeuchte u = 15 ± 3%). Dabei zeigte sich, dass der saisonal unterschiedliche Zeitpunkt der Fällung der Bäume keinen statistisch abgesicherten Einfluss auf die durchschnittlichen Verwerfungen bzw. die Dimensionsstabilität der daraus erzeugten Kanthölzer hatte.     

Semisynthesis and pharmacological investigation of lipo-alkaloids prepared from aconitine

Processed aconite drugs are widely used in Eastern medicine as painkillers and antirheumatic agents. It is known that the traditional processing of aconite drugs increases the amount of lipo-alkaloids. In order to obtain information about the pharmacological potential of these compounds, semisynthesis of 9 aconitine-derived lipo-alkaloids was carried out and their COX-1, COX-2 and LTB₄ formation inhibitory activities were investigated. It was found that compounds esterified with unsaturated fatty acids demonstrated significant COX-2 inhibitory effects, while in the COX-1 assay only 14-benzoylaconine-8-O-eicosapentaenoate exerted remarkable activity. The inhibition of LTB₄ formation was pronounced in cases of long chain fatty acid derivatives.     

Effect of improved fallow on crop productivity, soil fertility and climate-forcing gas emissions in semi-arid conditions

The impacts of fallow on soil fertility, crop production and climate-forcing gas emissions were determined in two contrasting legumes, Gliricidia sepium and Acacia colei, in comparison with traditional unamended fallow and continuous cultivation systems. After 2 years, the amount of foliar material produced did not differ between the two improved fallow species; however, grain yield was significantly elevated by 55% in the first and second cropping season after G. sepium compared with traditional fallow. By contrast, relative to the unamended fallow, a drop in grain yield was observed in the first cropping season after A. colei, followed by no improvement in the second. G. sepium had higher foliar N, K and Mg, while A. colei had lower foliar N but higher lignin and polyphenols. In the third year after fallow improvement, a simulated rainfall experiment was performed on soils to compare efflux of N₂O and CO₂. Improved fallow effects on soil nutrient composition and microbial activity were demonstrated through elevated N₂O and CO₂ efflux from soils in G. sepium fallows compared with other treatments. N₂O emissions were around six times higher from this nitrogen-fixing soil treatment, evolving 69.9 ngN₂O–N g⁻¹soil h⁻¹ after a simulated rainfall event, compared with only 8.5 and 4.8 ngN₂O–N g⁻¹soil h⁻¹ from soil under traditional fallow and continuous cultivation, respectively. The findings indicate that selection of improved fallows for short-term fertility enhancement has implications for regional N₂O emissions for dry land regions.     

Priming effects in different soil types induced by fructose, alanine, oxalic acid and catechol additions

It is well established that certain substrate additions to soils may accelerate or retard the mineralisation of soil organic matter. But up to now, research on these so called ‘priming effects’ was almost exclusively conducted with arable soils and with plant residues or glucose as additives. In this study, the effects of the uniformly ¹⁴C-labelled substrates fructose, alanine, oxalic acid and catechol on the mineralisation of soil organic carbon (SOC) from different horizons of two forest soils (Haplic Podzol and Dystric Cambisol) and one arable soil (Haplic Phaeozem) under maize and rye cultivation were investigated in incubation experiments for 26 days. Apart from the controls, all samples received substrate additions of 13.3 μg substrate-C mg⁻¹ C_org. During the incubation, CO₂-evolution was measured hourly and the amount of ¹⁴CO₂ was determined at various time intervals. In almost all soils, priming effects were induced by one or several of the added substrates. The strongest positive priming effects were induced by fructose and alanine and occurred in the Bs horizon of the Haplic Podzol, where SOC mineralisation was nearly doubled. In the other soil samples, these substrates enhanced SOC mineralisation by +10 to +63%. Catechol additions generally reduced SOC mineralisation by −12 to −43% except in the EA horizon of the Haplic Podzol where SOC-borne CO₂-evolution increased by +46%. Oxalic acid also induced negative as well as positive priming effects ranging from −24 to +82%. The data indicate that priming effects are ubiquitously occurring in surface and subsoil horizons of forest soils as well as in arable soils. Although a broad variety of soils was used within this study, relationships between soil properties and priming effects could not be ascertained. Therefore, a prediction on occurrence and magnitude of priming effects based on relatively easily measurable chemical and physical soil properties was not possible. Nevertheless, the data suggest that positive priming effects are most pronounced in forest soils that contain SOC of low biodegradability, where the added substrates may act as an important energy source for microbial metabolism.     

Water content or water activity: what rules crispy behavior in bread crust?

A dry crust loses its crispness when water migrates into the crust. It is not clear if it is the amount of water absorbed or the water activity ( a w) that leads to a loss of crispness. The hysteresis effect observed when recording a water sorption isotherm allowed us to study the effects of a w and moisture content separately. All experiments were carried out on model bread crusts made from Soissons bread flour. The effect of water content and water activity on the glass transition of model bread crusts was studied in detail using two complimentary techniques: phase transition analysis (PTA) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results were compared with sensory data and results from a puncture test, which provided data on acoustic emission and fracture mechanics during breaking of the crusts. The water content of the crust was found to be decisive for the transition point as measured by PTA and NMR. However, both water content and water activity had an effect on perceived crispness and number of force and sound peaks. From this may be concluded that the distribution of the water in the samples with a history of high water content is more inhomogeneous, which results in crispy and less crispy regions, thus making them overall more crispy than samples with the same water content but higher a w.     

The impact of extraction methodologies on the toxicity of sediments in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo test

Purpose

Traditionally, methods for sediment extractions are characterised using chemical analyses. However, in order to evaluate sediment extracts with regard to biological effects and, thus, bioaccessibility, extraction methods have to be compared to effect data obtained from experiments with in situ exposure scenarios, i.e., sediment contact tests. This study compares four extraction methods and sediment contact test data from a previous project with respect to predictive power in the fish embryo test with zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Materials and methods

A natural and an artificial sediment spiked with a mixture of six organic pollutants (2,4-dinitrophenol, diuron, fluoranthene, nonylphenol, parathion and pentachlorophenol) were extracted using (a) membrane dialysis extraction (MDE), (b) a Soxhlet procedure, (c) hydroxypropyl-??-cyclodextrin (HPCD) or (d) Tenax^®-TA. Whereas the former two are regarded being exhaustive with respect to non-covalently bound contaminants, the latter two are considered to predict bioaccessibility. Resulting extracts were tested in the fish embryo assay with D. rerio for embryotoxic and teratogenic potential.

Results and discussion

Mortalities caused by organic extracts from Soxhlet extraction and MDE were high. However, HPCD extracts turned out to be at least as effective as extracts obtained with these two methods. One possible reason might be short ageing time of the spiked sediments. Only Tenax^®-TA extracts gave results comparable to the sediment contact assay for natural sediment, but revealed low reproducibility. Significant differences between natural and artificial sediment were found for extracts obtained with techniques using native (i.e., non-freeze-dried) sediments, i.e., HPCD and Tenax^®-TA. In contrast, MDE and Soxhlet extracts used freeze-dried sediment and did not differentiate between natural and artificial sediment. Therefore, freeze-drying has likely altered and equalised sediment properties that influence accessibility, such as composition of bacterial communities and organic matter quality.

Conclusions

Four extraction methods were successfully characterised with respect to their stringency and predictiveness for bioaccessibility. MDE was confirmed as an alternative to Soxhlet extraction. High mortalities induced by HPCD extracts underline the need to include ageing into consideration when assessing sediments. Although Tenax^®-TA may basically be used to predict bioaccessibility in the fish embryo test, the high variability observed warrants further investigation of the relation between effect and extractability. Apparently, freeze-drying can severely affect sediment properties, potentially eliminating individual properties of natural sediments.