Effect of dairy slurry application on soil compaction and corn (Zea mays L.) yield in Southern Wisconsin

As stocking rates on Wisconsin dairy farms continue to increase, one possible nutrient management solution is to haul slurry to nearby grain farmer's fields. Although the nutrient and soil building benefits of manure are well known, many grain farmers are hesitant to apply manure on their fields due to potential soil compaction. Studies were initiated to evaluate the effects of tanker-applied slurry on soil compaction and corn (Zea mays L.) yield. An on-station trial was established to address the issues of compaction caused by manure tankers, repeated traffic associated with field headlands, and the possible ameliorating effect of manure itself on corn yield. In addition, 15 replicated on-farm trials were established to evaluate the impact of single pass manure applications on soil compaction and yield. These predominately fall applications were conducted when the host farmer felt that the soil would support tanker traffic. Due to its portability and instrument sensitivity, compactness was evaluated with a data-logging hand held penetrometer.Results from the on-station trial indicate that multiple passes did increase compactness above single-pass traffic and the check. The slurry itself did not attenuate the effect of traffic on soil compaction, nor on yield. Despite yield reductions estimated from in-track samples in both years of 6% (one-pass traffic) and 22% (six-pass traffic) in this study, whole plot corn yields were not reduced due to compaction. The on-farm trials indicated that manure application technique does affect compaction patterns; with broadcast application resulting in less area trafficked by the tanker than injection application, and therefore less area compacted. The narrower gauge truck tires used at some sites led to significantly higher penetrometer readings compared to the control, but this was not the case at sites with wider tractor tires. As in the on-station work, although compaction led to higher penetrometer readings, whole plot corn yields in compacted plots were not adversely affected compared to the control. These results suggest that, in the first year after slurry application, on predominantly prairie derived soils; well-timed applications of dairy slurry do not cause extensive soil compaction nor a reduction in corn yields. This study did not look at the potential residual effects that may positively (>soil organic matter) or negatively (residual soil compaction) impact subsequent crops.     

Prevalence of Concentrated Flow Paths in Agricultural Fields in Southern Illinois

Literature on prevalence of concentrated flow paths (CPFs) in agricultural fields are limited at field scale with only few studies that address occurrence of CFPs at large geographic extent. This study used high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to identify CFPs in agricultural fields and calculate the percentage of the fields drained by CFPs at a county scale. In 389 agricultural fields across Jackson County, southern Illinois, this study also investigated the association between field characteristics and CFP formation using multiple regression and CART analysis. The mean number of CFPs in a field was 5 with a minimum of 0 and maximum of 17 CFPs. The majority of the CFPs fell under the large category for CFP length and drainage area that corresponds with high mean percent (81%) of field area drained by the CFPs. Further, 85% of the fields had more than 70% of their area drained by CFPs. The multiple regression and CART analysis showed slope as an important factor influencing CFP characteristics such as number of CFPs and CFP length. Both analyses also indicated physical soil properties such as bulk density, soil erodibility factor, saturated hydraulic conductivity, LS factor, organic matter, and percent sand were also predictors of the CFP characteristics. However, these factors explained only 2 to 12% of the variation observed. The significant presence of CFP’s has important implications for water quality since current conservation practices such as riparian buffers were not designed to address concentrated flow from agricultural fields.     

The paradox of keystone species persecuted as pests: A call for the conservation of abundant small mammals in their native range

Small mammals, such as European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), traditionally have been perceived as pests and targeted for control within their native ranges, where they perform essential ecosystem roles and are considered keystone species. These species can reach high densities, and have been subjected to eradication campaigns because of their putative negative impact on natural habitats and agriculture and their competition with livestock for forage. Eradication programmes have been a main factor causing sharp declines of these species in their natural ranges. Paradoxically, they are keystone species where they are abundant enough to be perceived as pests. The term “pest” is usually a social perception that is rarely supported by scientific data, whereas there is considerable scientific evidence of the key ecological roles played by these species. We call for the conservation of these species and present a conceptual model regarding the management of their populations. Where they occur at high numbers, and hence their effects on biodiversity are still of crucial importance, the persecution of these species should be avoided and their natural habitats preserved. In areas with high conservation value, but where these species occur at low densities, management efforts should aim to increase their density. In areas of high commercial value, managers ideally should consider changing prioritization of the area to high conservation value by purchasing the land or obtaining conservation easements. In situations with high commercial value and demonstrable low conservation concern, small mammals could be reduced humanely.     

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Storage in Contrasting Reaches of a Sub-tropical River System

This study investigated the storage of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the biomass, bed sediments and water column of representative reaches of a sub-tropical river, the upper Brisbane River (UBR), Queensland, Australia, and contrasted instream storage with total wet season exports. In reaches which contained accumulated fine sediments, more than 87% of total P and between 50% and 92% of total N were stored in the surface sediments. The lower proportion of N in sediment at some sites was attributed to substantial differences in the N/P ratios of sediments and macrophytes. At one site, the riverbed was dominated by cobbles and boulders and total nutrient stocks were comparatively low and dominated by the biomass. In reaches with a narrow channel and intact riparian cover, biomass N and P were stored predominately in leaf litter, while in wider unshaded reaches, macrophytes dominated. Total instream storage in the mid to lower reaches of the UBR was ??50.9 T for N and ??18.1 T for P. This was considerably higher than total wet season N (??15.6 T) and P (??2.7 T) exports from the UBR. The first flow event in the river after a prolonged period of no flow resulted in the export of free-floating, emergent species Azolla. The estimated biomass of Azolla in the mid to lower reaches of the river was equivalent to approximately 24% and 9% of the total N and P flux, indicating that this may be a significant, previously unaccounted for, source at peak flow.     

Applying a Lagrangian dispersion analysis to infer carbon dioxide and latent heat fluxes in a corn canopy

Warland and Thurtell (2000) proposed an analytical dispersion Lagrangian analysis (hereafter WT analysis) to relate the mean scalar concentration field to source profiles inside the canopy. The first objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the WT analysis with existing turbulence statistics parameterizations in a corn canopy, by comparing its inferred net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE) and latent heat flux (λE) with eddy covariance measurements. The second objective was to assess the performance of the WT analysis to infer the soil CO₂ flux. Four parameterizations of turbulence statistics were used to estimate Lagrangian time scale (T_L) and standard deviation of vertical wind velocity (σ_w) profiles. The estimated T_L and σ_w profiles were then corrected for atmospheric stability conditions. The field experiment was carried out in a corn field from August to October 2007 and 2008. Profiles of water vapour and CO₂ mixing ratios were measured using a multiport sampling system connected to an infrared gas analyzer. Wind velocity within and above the canopy and eddy covariance measurements over the canopy were taken. The soil respiration, estimated using the WT analysis, was compared to estimates obtained by an empirical model. WT analysis fluxes showed good correlation (R² = 0.77-0.88) with NEE and λE obtained by the eddy covariance technique, but overestimated net fluxes, especially when corrections for atmospheric stability were applied. The optimization of T_L and σ_w profiles using in-canopy turbulence measurements improved the agreement between measured and modeled NEE and λE. Inferred soil CO₂ fluxes were underestimated and were poorly correlated (R² = 0.02-0.01) with estimates obtained using an empirical model based on soil temperature. This poor performance in estimating the soil respiration is likely caused by the decoupling between inside and above canopy flows.     

Allergenicity assessment of the papaya ringspot virus coat protein expressed in transgenic rainbow papaya

The virus-resistant, transgenic commercial papaya Rainbow and SunUp (Carica papaya L.) have been consumed locally in Hawaii and elsewhere in the mainland United States and Canada since their release to planters in Hawaii in 1998. These papaya are derived from transgenic papaya line 55-1 and carry the coat protein (CP) gene of papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). The PRSV CP was evaluated for potential allergenicity, an important component in assessing the safety of food derived from transgenic plants. The transgene PRSV CP sequence of Rainbow papaya did not exhibit greater than 35% amino acid sequence homology to known allergens, nor did it have a stretch of eight amino acids found in known allergens which are known common bioinformatic methods used for assessing similarity to allergen proteins. PRSV CP was also tested for stability in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid and under various heat treatments. The results showed that PRSV CP was degraded under conditions for which allergenic proteins relative to nonallergens are purported to be stable. The potential human intake of transgene-derived PRSV CP was assessed by measuring CP levels in Rainbow and SunUp along with estimating the fruit consumption rates and was compared to potential intake estimates of PRSV CP from naturally infected nontransgenic papaya. Following accepted allergenicity assessment criteria, our results show that the transgene-derived PRSV CP does not pose a risk of food allergy.     

An evaluation of field and non-invasive genetic methods to estimate brown bear (Ursus arctos) population size

Estimates of population size and density are essential for successful management and conservation of any species. Although there are a variety of methods available for estimating abundance and density of populations, most studies rely on only one estimator and very few studies have compared and critically evaluated the adequacy and the cost of these methods. We used the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in south-central Sweden to compare the performance of three different methods of estimating population size, including methods based on conventional field data as well as on non-invasive genetic data. The method based on observations of females with cubs underestimated the true population size, as the estimates were below the number of unique genotypes determined from faecal data inside the study area. The best traditional method was based on observations of bears from a helicopter. The genetic method using the closed population MARK estimator, as recommended in a previous study, seemed to perform the best. We conclude that approximately 223 (188-282) bears were present in our 7328 km² study area during 2001 and 2002 and suggest that this hunted brown bear population has been relatively stable for about ten years. The non-invasive genetic method was less expensive than the most reliable traditional field method (a CMR method based on observations of bears from a helicopter), and preferable from an ethical point of view. We recommend that future studies using non-invasive genetic methods based on collected faecal samples should aim at collecting 2.5-3 times the number of faecal samples as the “assumed” number of animals.     

宇宙核素地学研究的理论基础与应用模型

宇宙核素是宇宙射线与地表物质相互作用的产物，具有蜕变、中子捕获和介子反应三种形成机制。宇宙核素产生率随深度的变化而变化，同时还受纬度、高度和时间等因素的影响，其浓度变化与表面的暴露时间和侵蚀速率密切有关。宇宙核素的应用模型主要基于单一核素和核素对，单一核素方法只能解决一个未知因素，但核素浓度-深度分布曲线可用于复杂问题的解决。核素对方法可以解决具有多种未知因素的复杂状况，实际应用中主要基于核素比值变化曲线的分析。另外，基于核素对还可以解决埋藏年龄等问题。     

Collaborative validation of the QuEChERS procedure for the determination of pesticides in food by LC-MS/MS

Seven FDA pesticide laboratories collaborated to develop and validate an LC-MS/MS method to determine 173 pesticides in <20 min. The average determination coefficient (r2) was >0.99 for all but two compounds tested. The limits of detection were <20 ng/mL for all compounds and <10 ng/mL for 363 of the 368 transitions reported. The method was used to determine pesticides in two AOAC sponsored proficiency samples. The LC-MS/MS determination was used for the analysis of oranges, carrots and spinach using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) method. Each matrix was fortified at 20, 100, 400, and 1000 ng/g. No false positive responses were detected in controls of the three matrices. 165 pesticides had recoveries between 70 and 130%, and 161 had minimum detection levels less than 10 ng/g. Recoveries of 169 compounds for the 1000 ng/g spikes were within 50-150%. A matrix effect study indicated all three matrices caused a small net suppressing effect, the most pronounced attributable to the citrus matrix. The procedure proved to be accurate, precise, linear, sensitive and rugged, and adds 100 pesticides to the scope of the FDA pesticide program.     

Labile carbon limits in-stream mineralization in a subtropical headwater catchment affected by gully and channel erosion

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Gully and channel erosion are known to export large quantities of soil organic matter (SOM) to stream ecosystems. However, the implications for in-stream processing...