Project rain: Changing acid deposition to whole catchments. The first year of treatment

Project Rain (Reversing Acidification In Norway) is a 5-yr international research project aimed at investigating the effect on water and soil chemistry of changing acid deposition to whole catchments. The project comprises 2 parallel large-scale experimental manipulations -- artificial acidification at Sogndal and exclusion of acid rain at Risdalsheia. Treatment at Sogndal commenced April 1984 with the acidification of the snowpack by addition of H₂SO₄ (SOG2) and a 1:1 mixture of H₂SO₄ and HNO₃ (SOG4). Preliminary results indicate rapid and significant response in runoff chemistry to the acid treatment; pH decreased (to as low as 4.1 during snowmelt in 1984); SO₄, NO₃, and labile Al increased. Response during snowmelt 1985 was modest relative to 1984. At Risdalsheia treatment began in June 1984 with the mounting of the transparent panels on the roofs at KIM catchment (treatment by deacidified rain) and EGIL catchment (control with ambient acid rain). Preliminary data for the first year indicate that most runoff samples from KIM contain much lower NO₃ concentrations, about 20 to 30% lower SO₄ levels and pH 0.1 to 0.3 units higher than runoff from EGIL catchment. The treatments continue in 1985–87. Project RAIN provides experimental evidence bearing on target loading, reversibility of acidification, and the processes linking acid deposition, soil acidification and freshwater acidification.     

Elucidating the transformation pattern of the cereal allelochemical 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (MBOA) and the trideuteriomethoxy analogue [D3]-MBOA in soil

To deduce the structure of the large array of compounds arising from the transformation pathway of 6-methoxybenzoxazolin-2-one (MBOA), the combination of isotopic substitution and liquid chromatography analysis with mass spectrometry detection was used as a powerful tool. MBOA is formed in soil when the cereal allelochemical 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA) is exuded from plant material to soil. Degradation experiments were performed in concentrations of 400 microg of benzoxazolinone/g of soil for MBOA and its isotopomer 6-trideuteriomethoxybenzoxazolin-2-one ([D3]-MBOA). Previously identified metabolites 2-amino-7-methoxyphenoxazin-3-one (AMPO) and 2-acetylamino-7-methoxyphenoxazin-3-one (AAMPO) were detected. Furthermore, several novel compounds were detected and provisionally characterized. The environmental impact of these compounds and their long-range effects are yet to be discovered. This is imperative due to the enhanced interest in exploiting the allelopathic properties of cereals as a means of reducing the use of synthetic pesticides.     

Variation of polyphenols and betaines in aerial parts of young, field-grown Amaranthus genotypes

Amaranthus hybridus and Amaranthus mantegazzianus are commonly cultivated and the entire young fresh plants consumed as vegetables in regions of Africa and Asia. A. hybridus and A. mantegazzianus were cultivated at four sites in three climate regions of the world: Santa Rosa, Argentina; Lleida, Spain; and Prague and Olomouc, both in the Czech Republic. The contents of flavonoids (isoquercitrin, rutin, nicotiflorin), hydroxybenzoic acids (protocatechuic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid), hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid), hydroxycinnamyl amides (N-trans-feruloyltyramine, N-trans-feruloyl-4-O-methyldopamine), and betaines (glycinebetaine, trigonelline) were determined. The variation in phytochemical content due to species and cultivation site was analyzed utilizing the multivariate statistical methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and graphical model (GM). The Argentinean samples differed from the three other locations due to higher contents of most compounds. The samples from Spain and the Czech Republic differed from each other in the content of the negatively correlated metabolites trigonelline and the flavonoids. The two amaranth species were separated primarily by a higher content of trigonelline and the two hydroxycinnamyl amides in A. mantegazzianus. The GM showed that the quantities of the different analytes within each compound group were intercorrelated except in the case of the betaines. The betaines carried no information on each other that was not given through correlations with other compounds. The hydroxycinnamic acids were a key group of compounds in this analysis as they separated the other groups from each other (i.e., carried information on all of the other groups). This study showed the contents of polyphenols and betaines in the aerial parts of vegetable amaranth to be very dependent on growth conditions, but also revealed that some of the compounds (trigonelline and the two hydroxycinnamyl amides) may be useful as features of a taxonomic classification.     

Yields of great scallop, Pecten maximus, larvae in a commercial flow-through rearing system in Norway

Survival, growth and yield of competent great scallop (Pecten maximus) larvae were investigated during a full production season in a commercial hatchery in western Norway. Broodstock were collected from natural scallop beds and 12 groups were induced to spawn during the period December 2002 to July 2003. Larvae were reared on a large scale in 36 flow-through tanks (3500 l) at 17±1 °C and continuously fed a mixture of five algal species produced in an indoor continuous-flow system. Large variations in larval performance between spawning groups and tanks were observed, but the results were as good as earlier results using the batch system and prophylactic addition of chloramphenicol. Growth from days 3–24 averaged 4.8 μm day⁻¹±0.8 (sd) and survival 22.4%±21.8 (sd). Mean yield of day 3 larvae was 7.1%±10.0 (sd) and 26.6%±25.9 (sd) for those surviving to day 24. Yield was significantly correlated to larval survival. Larval success was related to initial larval density, algal concentration and season. It was found that the best production regime had an initial larval density lower than 6 ml⁻¹ and algal concentration of less than 12 μl⁻¹ regardless of season. Seventeen tanks met these criteria and produced a mean yield of 0.5 larvae ml⁻¹ to settlement. Flow-through systems are currently regarded as the only feasible method for viable hatchery production of P. maximus larvae in Norway.     

Pre- and post-natal hepatic glucose phosphorylation in chicks (Gallus domesticus)

1. Hepatic glycogen levels and activities of metabolic enzymes were measured 7 d and 2 d before hatching, immediately after hatching and 4 d thereafter. 2. Chicken liver has a particle-bound hexokinase with a high K(m) (8 mM) for glucose. 3. The results indicate that the high-K(m) hexokinase is involved in the mitochondrial generation of ATP for glycogen and lipid synthesis.     

Water flow paths and the spatial distribution of soils as a key to understanding differences in streamwater chemistry between three catchments (Norway)

Here results are presented of a hydrochemical study at a pristine and two acid rain-impacted catchments in Norway. An analysis of streamwater chemical data interpreted as mixtures of observed soil solutions, is combined with data on the spatial distribution of soils. The analysis reveals that at all three sites low flow streamwater is dominated by groundwater, relatively rich in base cations, originating from the peat bogs adjacent to the brook. By contrast, high flow largely originates in catchment-specific acidic soil horizons on the hill slopes. Results indicate that short-term and long-term hydrochemical responses to acid deposition may differ between catchments which at first glance have a ‘similar’ make up of acidic soils. This illustrates the difficulty in selecting appropriate sites for comparative studies of the effect of acid atmospheric deposition on the chemistry of streamwater.     

Effect of increased water recirculation rate on algal supply and post-larval performance of scallop (Pecten maximus) reared in a partial open and continuous feeding system

In a commercial scallop hatchery spat production depends on a culture system which ensures high survival and good growth. Reuse of water with algae may increase the food exploitation and hence reduce the costs. Post-larvae of great scallop (Pecten maximus) were studied in a commercial hatchery using a partial open and continuous feeding tank system. Three different water recirculation rates (67, 83 and 92%) were tried out in two experiments with post-larvae originating from three spawning groups of ages between 43 and 57 days post-spawn, 316–886 μm shell-height and 1.1–9.6 μg ash-free dry weight. The post-larvae were held in sieves in tanks of 2500 l where a downwelling flow was maintained by airlifts. New water with a mix of monocultured algae was continuously added to the tanks at algal concentrations of 10 and 15 cells μl⁻¹ in experiment 1 (groups 1 and 2) and 2 (group 3), respectively. The algal supply to each sieve was reduced along with increased recirculation rate, but was kept between 6 and 13 cells μl⁻¹. Generally no significant differences in survival, growth or chemical content were found between the three recirculation rates, while few differences were found between and within groups. Large variation in survival was found between and within groups (1–81%). Highest survival was found in experiment 1, and where post-larvae from two settlements were used, the first settlement survived better than the second. The daily growth ranged from 15 to 62 μm shell-height and from 0.3 to 2.6 μg ash-free dry weight. The scallop post-larvae could well be reared at all three recirculation rates studied as an increase from 67 to 92% did not seem to affect the post-larval performance seriously. The algal supply, however, had to be compensated by an increasing number of cells (>10 cells μl⁻¹) when increasing the recirculation rate.     

In vitro methane emission and acetate:propionate ratio are decreased when artificial stimulation of the rumen wall is combined with increasing grain diets in sheep

The interaction of retention time in the rumen and concentrate diet on methane production in vitro and acetate:propionate ratio was examined. Twenty-four fistulated sheep were used in a complete factorial design with the sheep randomly divided into 4 groups. The sheep had a 5-wk acclimatization period on an oaten chaff diet, followed by two 3-wk diet phases. Two of the 4 groups were maintained on the oaten chaff diet for the duration of the experiment, with pot scrubbers added to the rumen of 1 of the 2 groups. The remaining 2 groups were offered a low-grain diet (35% grain) in the first diet phase followed by a high-grain diet (70% grain) in the second diet phase. Pot scrubbers were also added to the rumen of 1 of these 2 groups of grain-fed sheep. Pot scrubbers in combination with a low-grain diet decreased the amount of methane produced in vitro from 4.25 to 3.71 mmol/mL of digesta when compared with oaten chaff-fed sheep without pot scrubbers (P < 0.05). The acetate:propionate ratio was 1.6 in sheep fed a high-grain diet with pot scrubbers compared with 2.4 in sheep fed a high-grain diet without pot scrubbers in their rumen (P < 0.05). At high levels of grain, when employing a multivariate statistical analysis including all data, sheep given the combined treatment of grain and pot scrubbers were different from all other sheep groups in this experiment (P < 0.05). Furthermore, sheep fed a high-grain diet were different from sheep receiving the oaten chaff diets with and without pot scrubbers (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, pot scrubbers combined with grain alter the rumen fermentation, and introducing pot scrubbers into the rumens of livestock consuming low levels of grain may be a way to lower methane emissions.