N2O, NO, and NH3 Emissions from Soil after the Application of Organic Fertilizers, Urea and Water

Agricultural soil is a major source of nitrous oxide (N₂O), nitric oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH₃). Little information is available on emissions of these gases from soils amended with organic fertilizers at different soil water contents. N₂O, NO and NH₃ emissions were measured in large-scale incubations of a fresh sandy loam soil and amended with four organic fertilizers, [poultry litter (PL), composted plant residues (CP), sewage sludge pellets (SP) and cattle farm yard manure (CM)], urea fertilizer (UA) or a zero-N control (ZR) for 38 days. Fertilizers were added to soil at 40, 60 or 80% water-filled pore space (WFPS). The results showed that urea and organic fertilizer were important sources of N₂O and NO. Total N₂O and NO emissions from UA ranged from 0.04 to 0.62%, and 0.23 to 1.55% of applied N, respectively. Total N₂O and NO emissions from organic fertilizer treatments ranged from 0.01 to 1.65%, and <0.01 to=" 0.55%=" of=" applied=" n,=" respectively.=" the=" lower=">₂O and NO emissions from CP and CM suggested that applying N is these forms could be a useful mitigation option. Comparison of the NO-N/N₂O-N ratio suggested that nitrification was more dominant in UA whereas denitrification was more dominant in the organic fertilizer treatments. Most N was lost from PL and UA as NH₃, and this was not influenced significantly by WFPS. Emissions of NH₃ from UA and PL ranged from 62.4 to 69.6%, and 3.17 to 6.11% of applied N, respectively.     

Exchange of greenhouse gases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes

This review examines the interactions between soil physical factors and the biological processes responsible for the production and consumption in soils of greenhouse gases. The release of CO₂ by aerobic respiration is a non‐linear function of temperature over a wide range of soil water contents, but becomes a function of water content as a soil dries out. Some of the reported variation in the temperature response may be attributable simply to measurement procedures. Lowering the water table in organic soils by drainage increases the release of soil carbon as CO₂ in some but not all environments, and reduces the quantity of CH₄ emitted to the atmosphere. Ebullition and diffusion through the aerenchyma of rice and plants in natural wetlands both contribute substantially to the emission of CH₄; the proportion of the emissions taking place by each pathway varies seasonally. Aerated soils are a sink for atmospheric CH₄, through microbial oxidation. The main control on oxidation rate is gas diffusivity, and the temperature response is small. Nitrous oxide is the third greenhouse gas produced in soils, together with NO, a precursor of tropospheric ozone (a short‐lived greenhouse gas). Emission of N₂O increases markedly with increasing temperature, and this is attributed to increases in the anaerobic volume fraction, brought about by an increased respiratory sink for O₂. Increases in water‐filled pore space also result in increased anaerobic volume; again, the outcome is an exponential increase in N₂O emission. The review draws substantially on sources from beyond the normal range of soil science literature, and is intended to promote integration of ideas, not only between soil biology and soil physics, but also over a wider range of interacting disciplines.     

Conservation-oriented forestry and early successional saproxylic beetles: Responses of functional groups to manipulated dead wood substrates

New conservation-oriented forestry aims to maintain intact populations of forest organisms by improving the conservation value of managed forests and providing protected areas. We tested the conservation value of treatments of dead wood for assemblages of early successional saproxylic beetles. In nine areas in northern Sweden, we selected one clear-cut, one mature managed forest and one reserve. In 2001-2002, we placed three blocks of spruce logs, each containing control, burned and shaded logs and a high stump (“snag”) at each site. Saproxylic beetles emerging from the dead wood were collected using emergence traps and beetles flying close to it were collected using flight-intercept traps. After one year of exposure, assemblage composition was examined, with respect to nutritionally-defined functional groups, red-listed species and fire-favoured species. Experimental snags were most complementary to control logs, supporting different assemblages of cambium consumers and fungivores and supporting more red-listed individuals. Burned logs supported depauperate assemblages, particularly with respect to cambium consumers, while shading of logs affected assemblages of fungivores, but only on clear-cuts. Despite containing less dead wood, managed forests provided valuable habitat, supporting similar assemblages of saproxylic beetles to reserves. Most functional groups were less abundant on clear-cuts than in older forests, but fire-favoured species were more common on clear-cuts, suggesting that clear-cuts may support assemblages of species associated with natural disturbances, if suitable substrates are available. Utilization of logs by saproxylic beetles changes over time, so long-term monitoring of our experimental logs will determine their lifetime conservation value.     

Infant responses to impending collision: optical and real

Twenty-four infants ranging in age from 2 to 11 weeks responded to symmetrically expanding shadows, which optically specify an approaching object, with an integrated avoidance response and upset. This response did not occur for asymmetrically expanding shadows nor for contracting shadows that specify an object on a miss path and a receding object. The response was observed in all the infants regardless of age, and the addition of kinetic depth information to the displays did not increase the intensity or likelihood of the response. In a second experiment, seven infants defensively reacted to the approach of a real object except when it was on a miss path.     

Nimbus-7 coastal zone color scanner: system description and initial imagery

The Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on Nimbus-7, launched in October 1978, is the only sensor in orbit that is specifically designed to study living marine resources. The initial imagery confirms that CZCS data can be processed to a level that reveals subtle variations in the concentration of phytoplankton pigments. This development has potential applications for the study of large-scale patchiness in phytoplankton distributions, the evolution of spring blooms, water mass boundaries, and mesoscale circulation patterns.     

Mutations in dynein link motor neuron degeneration to defects in retrograde transport

Degenerative disorders of motor neurons include a range of progressive fatal diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although the causative genetic alterations are known for some cases, the molecular basis of many SMA and SBMA-like syndromes and most ALS cases is unknown. Here we show that missense point mutations in the cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain result in progressive motor neuron degeneration in heterozygous mice, and in homozygotes this is accompanied by the formation of Lewy-like inclusion bodies, thus resembling key features of human pathology. These mutations exclusively perturb neuron-specific functions of dynein.     

Crustal plates in the central atlantic

Various people have proposed that North and South America are a part of a gigantic crustal plate within which little differential movement is taking place. Considerations of the size of this postulated plate and the pattern of seismicity around the Caribbean indicate that it is in fact two plates, separated in the region between the Lesser Antilles and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Many of the offsets of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge opposite the Caribbean are the result of differential spreading rates and the westward continuations of the fracture zones extending from these offsets are active left-lateral faults.