Adsorption and desorption of atrazine, desethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, and hydroxyatrazine in vegetated filter strip and cultivated soil

Adsorption and desorption of atrazine and its metabolites in vegetated filter strip soil (VFS) has not been evaluated, yet these data are needed to predict the transport of these compounds through the VFS. Adsorption and desorption parameters for atrazine, desethylatrazine (DEA), deisopropylatrazine (DIA), and hydroxyatrazine (HA) were compared between a cultivated Houston Black clay (CS) and an adjacent 12-year-old VFS established in a mixed stand of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] and buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt. Engelm)]. Adsorption and desorption isotherms were determined by batch equilibrium. The evaluated chemical and physical properties of the VFS and CS were similar with the exception of a 1.7-fold increase in the organic carbon content of the VFS. Adsorption and desorption coefficients for atrazine were at least 59% higher in VFS than in CS. The adsorption coefficient for HA was 48% higher in VFS compared with CS, but desorption was not statistically different between soils. Adsorption and desorption coefficients for DEA and DIA were not statistically different between soils. The predicted order of mobility in CS is HA < atrazine = DIA = DEA. In VFS, the predicted order of mobility is HA < atrazine = DIA < DEA. These data indicate that the higher organic carbon in VFS will likely retard the transport of atrazine and HA to surface and ground waters; however, the transport rates of DEA and DIA will be similar between soils.     

Quantitative determination of geosmin in red beets (Beta vulgaris L.) using headspace solid-phase microextraction

An improved analytical method for the determination of geosmin in red beets was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HSPME). Volatiles of beet juice were extracted in headspace for 2 h using a polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene fiber, thermally desorbed from the fiber, and analyzed by gas chromatography. The HSPME method was determined to be suitable for geosmin analysis as evidenced by high relative recovery (99.2%), low relative standard deviation (7.48%), and reasonable detection limit (1 microg/kg of beet root tissue). The concentrations of geosmin in four beet cultivars ranged from 9.69 +/- 0.22 to 26.7 +/- 0.27 microg/kg, depending on cultivar.     

A vernalization protocol for obtaining progenies from regenerated and transgenic tall fescue plants

Tall fescue is an important outcrossing forage and turf grass species that requires vernalization to flower. A reproducible protocol was developed for vernalization of regenerated, transgenic and seed‐derived tall fescue plants. Following the vernalization scheme that involved gradual changes of temperature and daylength, seeds were routinely produced from vernalized plants under greenhouse conditions. Molecular analyses of progenies obtained from crosses between transgenic and seed‐derived plants revealed stable meiotic transmission of transgenes following Mendelian inheritance in transgenic tall fescue.     

Should we store carbon in trees?

In order to explore for the most effective strategy for using forests to mitigate global climate change, we have constructed a simple model of C uptake during forest growth and the fate of this C when forests are harvested and used as fuel to replace fossil fuels. We suggest that trees are equally effective in preventing the accumulation of CO₂ in the atmosphere if they remove a unit of C from the atmosphere or if they supply a sustainable source of energy that substitutes for a unit of C discharged by burning fossil fuels. The model shows that the most effective strategy for using forest land to minimize increases in atmospheric CO₂ will depend on the current status of the land, the productivity that can be expected, the efficiency with which the forest harvest is used to substitute for fossil fuels, and the time perspective of the analysis. For forests with large standing biomass and low productivity the most effective strategy is to protect the existing forest. For land with little standing biomass and low productivity, the most effective strategy is to reforest or otherwise manage the land for forest growth and C storage. Where high productivity can be expected, the most effective strategy is to manage the forest for a harvestable crop and to use the harvest with maximum efficiency either for long-lived products or to substitute for fossil fuels. The longer the time perspective, the more likely that harvesting and replanting will result in net C benefits.     

Determination of zearalenone in cornflakes and other corn-based foods by thin layer chromatography, high pressure liquid chromatography, and gas-liquid chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry

A simple cleanup procedure based on pH adjustments was used to obtain extracts of corn foods. The method gave good recoveries of zearalenone determined by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). As little as 5 ng zearalenone was detected by TLC, using Fast Violet B Salt as the spray reagent; the lower limit of detection in cornflakes was about 20 microgram/kg. With HPLC on Spherisorb silica (5 micrometer) and detection by fluorescence at an excitation maximum of 310 nm as little as 5 microgram zearalenone/kg cornflakes could be determined. While the TLC method was also applicable to corn chips, cornmeal, popcorn, and frozen corn, an interference was observed in HPLC of the latter 3 products. This interference was separated from zearalenone by adding a second HPLC analytical column (Spherisorb ODS). Gas-liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric single ion monitoring at high resolution, although of limited availability, was shown to be the most sensitive and selective method for determining zearalenone in corn foods. The natural occurrence of zearalenone in a sample of cornflakes (13-20 microgram/kg) was demonstrated by all 3 detection procedures.     

Optimizing reserve expansion for disjunct populations of San Joaquin kit fox

Expanding habitat protection is a common strategy for species conservation. We present a model to optimize the expansion of reserves for disjunct populations of an endangered species. The objective is to maximize the expected number of surviving populations subject to budget and habitat constraints. The model accounts for benefits of reserve expansion in terms of likelihood of persistence of each population and monetary cost. Solving the model with incrementally higher budgets helps prioritize sites for expansion and produces a cost curve showing funds required for incremental increases in the objective. We applied the model to the problem of allocating funds among eight reserves for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) in California, USA. The priorities for reserve expansion were related to land cost and amount of already-protected habitat at each site. Western Kern and Ciervo-Panoche sites received highest priority because land costs were low and moderate amounts of already-protected habitat resulted in large reductions in extinction risk for small increments of habitat protection. The sensitivity analysis focused on the impacts of kit fox reproductive success and home range in non-native grassland sites. If grassland habitat is lower quality than brushland habitat resulting in higher annual variation in reproductive success or larger home ranges, then protecting habitat at the best grassland site (Ciervo-Panoche) is not cost-efficient relative to shrubland sites (Western Kern, Antelope Plain, Carrizo Plain). Finally, results suggested that lowest priority should be given to three relatively high-cost grassland sites (Camp Roberts, Contra Costa, and Western Madera) because protecting habitat at those sites would be expensive and have little effect on the expected number of surviving kit fox populations.     

Measurements of wet and dry deposition in a Northern Hardwood forest

Inputs of wet and dry deposition were monitored at the Huntington Forest in the Adirondack Mountains of New York for two years in the open and beneath the canopy of a northern hardwood forest. In the open, ion flux estimates were similar using wet-only weekly (NADP protocol) and event collections, but bulk collections were higher for all ions except H⁺, which was much lower. These differences were due to the contribution of dry deposition and possible biotic alterations in bulk collectors. Dry deposition was estimated using air concentrations and ion-specific depositional velocities modeled with meteorological data, and contributed substantially to the input of all ions [H⁺ (45%), Na⁺ (24%), K⁺ (22%), NH₄ ⁺ (12%), Ca²⁺ (58%), Mg²⁺(43%), NO₃ ^? (55%), Cl^? (27%) and SO₄ ^?2 (26%)]. Dry input of base cations was dominated by coarse particles, whereas gaseous inputs were more important for S and NO₃ ^?. Atmospheric concentrations of SO₂ and inputs of SO₄ ^2? and H⁺ were lower at this site than sites closer to point sources of S gas emission. The importance of estimating atmospheric inputs was examined using examples of elemental budgets. For example, different estimates of the contribution of dry deposition of SO₄ ^2? (9–21 meq m^?2 y^?1) resulted in conclusions ranging from no net retention to a net loss of this element. Such differences have important implications in assessing the current and future role of atmospheric inputs in affecting elemental cycling.