Mercury speciation in the Scheldt Estuary

Surface waters of the Scheldt Estuary were sampled on various occasions between 1991 and 1994. Longitudinal particulate Hg (PM) concentrations ranged from 0.4 – 1.7 μgHg/g and are essentially controlled by physical mixing of polluted fluvial particulates with relatively unpolluted marine particulates. Total dissolved mercury (TDM)concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 5.2 ng/L and are strongly influenced by removal and mobilization processes in the upper estuary, while in the lower estuary mixing processes cause a progressive decrease in TDM towards the mouth. Speciation studies showed that dissolved Hg is predominantly bound to strong complexing ligands (organic substances) in the upper estuary, but this fraction decreases with increasing salinity. In June 1993, however, the reactive mercury fraction was also high in the upper estuary. Model calculations showed that a conditional stability constant for Hg- humic acid interactions of 10¹⁹ was a good estimate for the Scheldt estuary. Dissolved methylmercury was analyzed on three occasions. Significant seasonal variations were observed with concentrations ranging from 11 to 120 pg/L in the winter and 80 to 400 pg/L in summer. Supersaturation of Hg° is observed throughout the whole estuary resulting in an estimated evasion flux of 140–1400 ng/m² day.     

A yield-independent, 15N-isotope dilution method to estimate legume symbiotic dependence without a non-N2-fixing reference plant

The proportional contribution of atmospheric N₂ to the N nutrition of lupin (P _atm) was estimated in a field experiment following addition of NH₄Cl of KNO₃ to unconfined microplots (1.5 m²) at 2.5 g N m^-2 (10 atom% ¹⁵N). The integrated ¹⁵N enrichment, or mean pool abundance, of nitrate extracted from 0- to 15-cm samples taken under the lupin crop on eight occasion between 28 and 190 days after sowing was used as the reference criterion to estimate P _atm by the ¹⁵N-isotope dilution technique. Estimates of P _atm were similar to those obtained using canola as a non-fixing reference plant, but were higher than estimates obtained using a yield-dependent model. Use of mean pool abundance obviates the need for a non-fixing reference plant, and the frequent sampling and isotope-ratio analysis of the legume biomass required with the yield-dependent model is unnecessary. However, further work is needed to validate a sampling strategy commensurate with the growth of the legume roots.     

Oxidation of methane in the rhizosphere of rice plants

Oxidation of CH₄ in the rhizosphere of rice plants was quantified using (1) methyl fluoride, a specific inhibitor of CH₄ oxidation, and (2) measuring changes in plant-mediated CH₄ emission after incubation under air, N₂, or 40% O₂. No significant rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation was observed from rice plants in the ripening stage. CH₄ emission from rice plants 1 week before panicle initiation increased by 40% if CH₄ oxidation in the rhizosphere was blocked. The growth stage of the rice plant is an important factor determining the rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation. Fluctuation of rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation during the growing season may help to explain the observed seasonal CH₄ emission patterns in field studies. Measurements from four rice varieties showed that one variety, Pokkali, had higher rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation. This was probably because Pokkali was in an earlier growth stage than the other three varieties. Both in the early and in the late growth stages, incubation under N₂ caused a much stronger CH₄ flux than inhibition of CH₄ oxidation alone. Apparently, N₂ incubation not only blocked CH₄ oxidation but also stimulated methanogenesis in the rhizosphere. Incubation under a higher O₂ atmosphere (40% O₂) than ambient air decreased the CH₄ flux, suggesting that increasing the oxidation of the rice rhizosphere may help in reducing CH₄ fluxes from rice agriculture. The O₂ pressure in the rhizosphere is an important factor that reduces the plant-mediated CH₄ flux. However, inhibition of methanogenesis in the rhizosphere may contribute more to CH₄ flux reduction than rhizospheric CH₄ oxidation.     

Rapid sedimentological and biological assessment of hydrocarbon contaminated sediments

It is possible to rapidly detect the presence of high concentrations of sediment associated hydrocarbons using a sediment profile camera and simultaneously evaluate the general sedimentological and biological character of a contaminated area. In sediments that were heavily contaminated with hydrocarbons from spills and chronic long-term additions the presence of hydrocarbons was seen about 50% of the time in the sediment profile images as unique features, ‘H spots’. The presence of these features was related to the concentration of hydrocarbons in the sediment. In highly contaminated muddy sediments ‘H spots’ were found in images collected at stations that had from 270 to 610 ppt total hydrocarbons. Sedimentological and biological information obtained from the sediment profile images confirmed the impacted nature of Elizabeth River sediments. Sediment profile imaging provide a means of obtaining an overall evaluation of the quality of a habitat and impacts on that habitat from pollution related environmental disturbances. While qualitative, an advantage of sediment profile image data is that they can be evaluated in less than a day and used to quickly locate inclusions of hydrocarbons in the sediments for further quantitative chemical or biological sampling, or mapping of heavily contaminated areas.     

Amelioration of a hardsetting Alfisol through deep mouldboard ploughing, gypsum application and double cropping. I. Soil physical and chemical properties

Contrasting soil management techniques were applied to a hardsetting red-brown earth (Alfisol) used for flood-irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) production at Trangie, N.S.W., Australia. The individual and combined effects of deep mouldboard ploughing to a depth of 0.45 m, gypsum application (5 t ha⁻¹) and double cropping upon aggregate stability, bulk density, porosity, cone index and the non-limiting water range were evaluated. Dispersion and slaking of the surface soil were unaffected by the treatments when measured at the end of the second year of the experiment. Approximately 60% of the soil mass in the 0–0.15 m layer slaked on wetting, whereas less than 1% of the soil dispersed. Organic carbon (OC) levels of the surface soil were not affected by double cropping or gypsum application, but were reduced by mouldboard ploughing from 0.9% to 0.6% OC. The relationship between OC and macroaggregate (more than 250 μm) stability indicated that large increases in OC beyond 0.7% OC were required for relatively small increases in aggregate stability. Mouldboard ploughing increased clay content of the upper 0.15 m of the soil from 22% to 27%. This was associated with an increase in the frequency and depth of cracking which, however, diminished over time. The non-limiting water range (NLWR) was expanded in the uppermost 0.1 m by gypsum application from 0.15–0.30 to 0.09–0.28 m³ m⁻³. Mouldboard ploughing expanded the NLWR at a depth of 0.2 m. Penetrometer resistance, on average, exceeded the critical value for wheat root growth at a water content of 0.15 m³ m⁻³, which is substantially higher than the wilting point (0.09 m³ m⁻³). Excessive resistance to penetration as opposed to inadequate aeration or water availability is the main agronomic impediment in these soils, at least in the initial stages of crop development. Penetration resistance within the 0.05–0.3 m layer was reduced during a drying cycle in the order: mouldboard ploughing>gypsum>double cropping. The reduced penetration resistance associated with mouldboard ploughing was due to higher water content to a depth of 0.2 m and reduced bulk density below this depth.     

Hard-setting behaviour of some structurally weak tropical soils

Some soils set hard on drying and may limit crop productivity. The hard-setting behaviour is influenced by soil properties and management. The objective of this study was to relate physical properties of soils sampled from 3 sites in Nigeria to soil strength or degree of hard-setting and to management. Clearing the vegetation and tillage led to a decrease in organic matter content and wet aggregate stability and increased bulk density leading to an increase in soil strength. The soil strength increased as the water content decreased but the increase was much more marked for mechanized cleared or tilled soils than for the less disturbed treatments of forestry or no-till cropping.     

Effects of organic solvents on denitrification in soil

Summary Although organic solvents such as methanol and ethanol have been shown to act as energy sources for denitrifying microorganisms, no studies on the influence of organic solvents on denitrification in soil have been reported. Organic solvents have been used as an aid in the application of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals to soil, in studying the effects of these chemicals on denitrification in soil. During these applications, the soil is often aerated or heated to remove the solvent while leaving the chemical in the soil. The work reported here shows that treating soils with methanol, ethanol, or acetone had a very marked effect on their denitrifying ability, even when the soils were aerated thoroughly or heated at 50°C to remove these solvents. This indicates either that it is not possible to effect complete removal of organic solvents from soils by aeration or heating or that organic solvents promote denitrification by solubilizing a fraction of soil organic matter that is not available to denitrifying microorganisms before the addition of these solvents. Experiments using phenylmercuric acetate (a herbicide and nitrification inhibitor) showed that although this compound had a marked inhibitory effect on denitrification when added to soil in methanol, ethanol, or acetone, it had no inhibitory effect on denitrification when added to soil in water. The work reported shows that the use of an organic solvent in adding an agricultural chemical to soil can lead to erroneous conclusions in studies on the effects of the chemical on soil denitrification.     

Response of the pigeonpea-Rhizobium symbiosis to salinity stress: variation among Rhizobium strains in symbiotic ability

Summary There were significant differences among pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp] Rhizobium sp. strains (IC 3506, IC 3484, IC 3195, and IC 3087) in their ability to nodulate and fix N₂ under saline conditions. Pigeonpea plants inoculated with IC 3087 and IC 3506 were less affected in growth by salinity levels of 6 and 8 dS m^-1 than plants inoculated with the other strains. For IC 3506, IC 3484, and IC 3195, there was a decrease in the number of nodules with increasing salinity, while the average nodule dry weight and the specific nitrogenase activity remained unaffected. However, in IC 3087, the number of nodules increased slightly with increasing salinity. Leaf-P concentrations increased with salinity in the inoculated plants irrespective of the Rhizobium sp. strain, and leaf-N concentrations decreased with increasing salinity in IC 3484 and IC 3195 only. Shoot-Na and-Cl levels were further increased in these salt-sensitive strains only at 8 dS m^-1. Therefore there may be scope for selecting pigeonpea Rhizobium sp. symbioses better adapted to saline conditions. The Rhizobium sp. strains best able to form effective symbioses at high salinity levels are not necessarily derived from saline soils.Submitted as JA No. 919 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)     

Enzymatic determination of free glutamic acid in dried soups and in minced sausages: NMKL collaborative study.

An enzymatic method for the determination of free glutamic acid in meat products and dried soups was collaboratively studied in 11 laboratories. In the presence of the enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase, L-glutamic acid is oxidatively deaminated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to 2-oxoglutarate. In a reaction catalyzed by diaphorase, the NADH thus formed converts 2-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride to a formazan, which is measured in the visible range at 492 nm. Fourteen samples (7 samples of minced sausage and 7 samples of dried cauliflower soup) with glutamate contents varying between 0.4 and 16 g/kg were included in the study. Materials were distributed to participants as blind duplicates and as split level pairs. The mean relative standard deviation (RSDR) for reproducibility for the dried soup material containing glutamate between 7 and 16 g/kg was 4.6%. RSDR values for samples of minced sausage containing glutamate at lower levels (0.4-1.3 g/kg) were between 12 and 16%.     

Determination of benzene in polypropylene food-packaging materials and food-contact paraffin waxes

An analytical procedure was developed for determination of benzene in polypropylene food packaging and was adapted for determination of benzene in commercial paraffin waxes intended for food-contact use. The polymer was dissolved in hexadecane at 150 degrees C. The wax was melted in an 80 degrees C oven. A simple helium-sparging apparatus was used to remove the volatile chemical from the polymer or wax. The contaminant was collected in methanol, distilled water was added, and the resulting solution was analyzed by headspace gas chromatography. The instrument was equipped with a 30 m fused silica open tubular capillary column and a photoionization detector. Average recoveries of benzene from polymer and paraffin wax at low parts-per-billion concentrations were 63 and 70%, respectively. Limits of detection and quantitation for analysis of polypropylene were 8 and 17 ppb, respectively; the limit of quantitation for analysis of paraffin wax was 2 ppb. In several commercial polypropylene products examined, benzene levels ranged from none detected to 426 ppb. In 3 commercial waxes examined, concentrations of 16-73 ppb benzene were determined. The presence of benzene was confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.