Intake and discharge nutrient loads at three intensive shrimp farms

This study was conducted to help provide a framework for Australian regulation of shrimp farm siting and discharges. Monitoring of farm water usage, and intake and discharge water quality was conducted at three commercial intensive shrimp farms, chosen to represent different operating environments, latitudes, cultured species and management styles. Weekly samples were taken over 3 years, for 3–12 months at each farm, to investigate intake and discharge concentrations and loads of total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). Mean water exchange was 1.4 ML ha^?1 day^?1 (about 10% day^?1) at the first farm studied and 0.5 ML ha^?1 day^?1 (about 3.6% day^?1) at the others. Farm mean discharge concentration varied as follows: TSS, from 36.9 to 119 mg L^?1; TN, from 2.1 to 3.1 mg L^?1 and TP, from 0.22 to 0.28 mg L^?1. Farm mean intake concentrations were from 11% to 91% of equivalent mean discharge concentration (for TN at Farm B and TSS at Farm C respectively). Mean net discharge loads, related to area of production ponds at each farm, varied as follows: TSS, from 4.8 to 85.7 kg ha^?1 day^?1; TN, from 1 to 1.8 kg ha^?1 day^?1 and TP, from 0.11 to 0.22 kg ha^?1 day^?1. The highest net loads of TSS, TN and TP were all from the farm with the highest water exchange rate, located on a coastal river, and studied during a year of high rainfall with associated poor water quality. These results can be used to help predict likely discharge characteristics for new shrimp farms, and provide a benchmark against which to evaluate future improvements in shrimp farm environmental management.     

Supplementation effect(s) of organic acids and/or lipid to plant protein‐based diets on juvenile yellowtail,Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck et Schlegel 1845, growth and,nitrogen and phosphorus excretion

A feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of organic acids and/or lipid supplementation on growth, utilization and environmental loading of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in juvenile yellowtail fed fishmeal (FM) and plant protein (PP) diets. Six diets as FM (FM‐based), FM+P (FM with inorganic P), FM+L (FM with lipid), PP+CA (PP with citric acid), PP+L+CA (PP with lipid and citric acid) and PP+L+FA (PP with formic acid) were formulated. Yellowtails were fed each of the diets in duplicate groups; once a day, 6 days a week to near satiation at water temperature 19.0–25.0 °C for 16 weeks. Fishmeal with inorganic P gave the best growth while PP+L+FA the lowest. However, growth increased in PP+CA and PP+L+CA. Addition of lipid significantly increased N and P retention resulting in significant reduction in N and P excretion. Citric acid and FA supplementation to PP diets also increased retention of P; hence, its excretion was lowered. Thus, CA, FA and lipid in juvenile yellowtail diets can help to partially replace FM with PP sources and reduce inorganic P use to minimize environmental loading from aquafeeds.     

Evaluation of surface water drainage systems for cropping in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia vertisols cover about 10% of the total land area and is the fourth most important soil used for crop production, accounting for nearly 23% of the total arable land used for crop production. More than half of the vertisols are found in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia, with an altitude of more than 1500 m above mean sea level. The unique physical and chemical properties of these soils and the high rainfall during the main cropping season create severe surface waterlogging problems which hinder crop production activities. Severe surface waterlogging affects the growth of plants by impeding nutrient uptake and creating oxygen deficiency around the root zone. To address this crop production problem, three surface water drainage methods, namely broad bed and furrow (BBF), ditch, and flat (traditional) methods were evaluated using the water balance of the plant root zone and wheat as a test crop. The experiment was conducted at the Ginchi Research Station in the central highlands of Ethiopia over two consecutive seasons (2000 and 2001). The results showed that both the BBF and the ditch drainage methods gave about 33% and 22% more grain yield than the flat treatment, respectively. However, there were no significant differences between BBF and ditch for both grain and biomass yield during both experimental seasons. During both seasons the total water balance (ΔW_r) at the root zone especially, in the months of June, July and August on all the treatments was higher than the crop water requirement (ETc) and showed no significant difference between the treatments. Thus, the results of this study indicated that the soil water in the root zone was not significantly altered by surface drainage systems and therefore implies the need of further improvement of the different surface drainage methods regarding improving the waterlogging condition and hence the productivity of the vertisols in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia.     

Comparing theoretical irrigation requirement and actual irrigation for citrus in Florida

Florida ranks first in citrus production, with nearly 68% of all U.S. citrus growing in the season 2005-2006. Most of the citrus groves are located from central to south Florida, and agricultural irrigation permitting is regulated by three of Florida's five water management districts. Most of the permitting for citrus production in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties is conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and quantities are based on the District's AGMOD computer program. In 2003, the SWFWMD implemented new permit criteria so that permitted amounts were more representative of actual water use. This paper compares grower reported citrus irrigation water use in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties from 1994 through 2005 with permitted and theoretical irrigation requirements calculated by a daily water balance. Two different sets of crop coefficients (K_c's) developed for citrus in Florida were compared in the daily soil water balance calculation of theoretical irrigation requirements. The percentage of irrigated area considered in this study ranged from 40 to 60% to simulate a range of grower practices. Meteorological data from two weather stations and additional rainfall information from 50 locations within the three counties was used in the water balance. Missing and error values in the meteorological historical record data were filled with weather generators. The multiannual average water consumption (including cold protection water use) from growers ranged from 243 (Hillsborough) to 406 mm (Highlands) and the multiannual average permitted irrigation requirement (without cold protection) ranged from 295 to 557 mm. The simulated gross irrigation requirements under different scenarios of location-K_c-wetted area were variable but mostly lower than the limits established by the district, except for some scenarios in Polk County, whose maximum simulated irrigation value reached 578 mm year⁻¹. In general, permitted limits recommended by the SWFWMD seem to be reasonable for the actual water use by growers in these counties.     

A discussion on and alternative to the Penman-Monteith equation

The Penman-Monteith (PMe) equation that estimates evaporation from leaf/canopy surfaces is based on a few approximations. Several authors discussed ensuing errors and suggested improvements. This paper reminds those discussions which ended in the early nineties. It compares linearized PMe− with non-linear iterative solutions and illustrates resulting deviations. It differentiates between deviations for daily and hourly evaporation rate estimates. The latter are found to be higher. It also demonstrates deviations obtained at two different altitudes above sea level. Considering present tendencies to refine evaporation estimates for practical purposes and making use of easily available methods for solving non-linear equations this paper offers a new method to estimate evaporation.In a first step, a simple algebraic term, the surface temperature control sum, is introduced to find approximate differences between air and evaporating surface (leaf, canopy) temperatures. It suggests to concentrate research on the r_s/r_a ratio. A new formula is derived for estimating leaf/canopy surface temperatures for non-water stressed plants.In a second step, the estimates of temperature differences are used to calculate evaporation estimates. This two-step approximation leads to appreciably smaller errors as compared to the PMe-solution over the full range of input parameters of agro-meteorological relevance. It is, however, less accurate than some of methods proposed in literature. The method is meant for practical application in agricultural water management.     

Estimation of irrigation return flow from paddy fields considering the soil moisture

The objective of this study was to estimate irrigation return flow in irrigated paddy fields considering the soil moisture. The proposed model was applied to examine its feasibility with regard to the growing period of rice. Simulation results showed a good agreement between the observed and simulated values: root mean square error (RMSE) of 6.05-7.27 mm day⁻¹, coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.72-0.73, and coefficient of efficiency (E) of 0.54-0.55. The estimated average annual irrigation return flow during the period from 1998 to 2001 was 306.2 mm, which was approximately 25.7% of the annual irrigation amounts. Of this annual irrigation return flow, 14.1% was attributable to quick and 11.6% to delayed return flow. These results indicate that considerable amounts of irrigation water in the paddy fields were returned to streams and canals by surface runoff and groundwater discharge. The modeling assessment method proposed in this study can be used to manage agriculture water and estimate irrigation return flow under different hydrological and water management conditions.     

某化肥项目余热利用分析

该工程为利用某化肥项目生产过程中产生的余热进行发电。通过对化肥项目生产流程产生的废气与余热蒸汽总量分析,提出余热利用发电的装机方案,对该规模项目余热利用的方式与规模进行探讨。     

白洋淀湖心岛分散式鸭养殖污染控制技术研究

白洋淀分散鸭养殖产生的污染物是导致其水体污染的主要来源之一。依据“减量化、就地处置资源化、养分循环”思路,提出湖心岛分散鸭养殖污染控制模式,主要包括：鸭粪收集系统（收集网、径流和冲洗水收集沟）、鸭粪沼气发酵与利用系统、沼液湿地净化和沼渣利用系统。选择安新县安新镇王家寨村占地5 000 m2养殖1 500只鸭的湖心岛建立综合控制示范工程。2010年4~11月,示范工程在典型降雨日和非降雨日排水的COD、总氮、总磷分别为351 mg/L、74.2 mg/L、7.1 mg/L和214 mg/L、42.1 mg/L、5.3 mg/L,水质符合《畜禽养殖业污染物排放标准》（GB 18596-2001）;这是由于源头收集系统收集了陆上活动区40%的鸭粪,同时末端处理系统（沉淀池+人工湿地）对养鸭废水污染物的高效削减。沼气池产生的沼气和剩余的沼液沼渣可以作为能源和肥料加以利用。本文集成湖心岛分散鸭养殖污染控制模式简便、适用,具有推广价值。     

橡胶园土壤全氮和速效钾养分合理取样位置研究

通过地统计学方法分析了土壤全氮和速效钾空间变异特征,并对其合理取样位置进行探讨,绘制了兼顾土壤全氮和速效钾综合养分的合理取样位置空间分布图.结果表明:橡胶园土壤全氮和速效钾综合养分合理取样位置主要受土壤速效钾含量分布决定;在空间分布上,综合养分的合理取样位置主要位于远离施肥穴的橡胶树行间萌生带和中间树头附近区域.此结果为南方长期经济作物土壤样品取样位置的确定提供一种新的尝试.     

基于临界氮浓度稀释曲线的小麦氮肥需求量估测研究

为探究基于临界氮浓度稀释曲线估测小麦氮素需求量的可行性,基于不同生态区开展的不同品种及氮肥水平的小麦试验,结合小麦临界氮浓度曲线(N_c=4.16W~(-0.41)),构建了拔节期、孕穗期、抽穗期和开花期四个关键生育时期下,小麦氮营养指数(NNI)、氮素需求量(NR)及相对产量(RY)三者间的关系模型,并进行了验证。结果表明,在江苏地区,当总施氮量在120～180kg·hm~(-2)时,小麦的氮素需求量最接近于0,氮营养指数最接近于1,为最优的氮素施用量。氮营养指数与氮素需求量(NNI-NR)在小麦生长的各关键阶段存在极强的线性关系(R~2=0.93～0.97);相对产量与氮营养指数(RY-NNI)在各生育时期呈现线性加平台关系,在开花期表现最好,R~2=0.86;相对产量与氮素需求量(RY-NR)的拟合关系在抽穗期表现最好,R~2值为0.72。NNI-NR验证结果与建模结果一致,即在各时期均表现良好,其中拔节期相关关系最强;但RY-NNI和RY-NR验证结果显示两模型分别在开花期和抽穗期预测效果表现最佳。综上,所构建的NNI-NR、RY-NNI和RY-NR三种模型均具有良好的拟合优度和稳定性,运用基于临界氮浓度曲线的小麦氮营养指数和确立的相对产量水平,可以较好地估测当季的小麦氮素需求量,并进行小麦田间氮素精确管理。