Effects of agricultural production on phosphorus losses from paddy soils: a case study in the Taihu Lake Region of China

A field plot experiment was conducted on two types of paddy soils in the Taihu Lake Region of China from June 2000 through 2002 to assess phosphorus (P) losses by runoff and drainage flow and the effectiveness of rice–wheat double cropping on reducing P losses from paddy soils. Commercial NPK compound fertilizer and single superphosphate fertilizer were applied to furnish 0, 30, 150, and 300 kg P ha^–1 for rice season trials, and 0, 20, 80, and 160 kg P ha^–1 for wheat season trials. The experiments consisted of four replicates (plots of 5 × 6 m in a randomized block design) of each treatment in Argic stagnic anthrosols (Anzhen site) and six replicates in Cumulic stagnic anthrosols (Changshu site). P30 and P20 treatments (30 and 20 kg P ha^–1 in rice and wheat seasons, respectively) were considered as conventional P application rates in this area. Higher P treatments, such as P150 and P300 for rice and P80 and P160 for wheat, were intended to simulate the status of soil P in ~10–20 years with an application of P30 or P20 kg P ha^–1 each season. Results revealed that the average concentration of total P (TP) in runoff samples was 0.870 mg P l^–1 from P30 plots during the rice season, and 0.763 mg P l^–1 from P20 plots during the wheat season in both years at the Anzhen site, while it was 0.703 and 1.292 mg P l^–1, respectively, at the Changshu site. Average TP load (mass loss) at the Anzhen site with conventional P application rates was 220.9 and 439.5 g P ha^–1 during rice season in 2000/2001 and 2001/2002, respectively, but was 382.3 and 709.4g P ha^–1 during wheat season, respectively. Mass loss at the Changshu site was 140.4 and 165.7 g P ha^–1 during the rice season and 539.1 and 1184.6 g P ha^–1 during the wheat season, respectively. P losses from paddy soils were significantly greater during the wheat season, especially at the Changshu site, indicating that planting rice reduced P. Phosphate fertilizer levels significantly affected P concentrations and P loads in runoff both seasons. Both mean concentrations and average seasonal P loads from the P150/P80 plots were lower than that from the P300/P160 plots, but significantly higher than that from the P30/P20 and P0 plots. This implied that runoff P loads would be greatly increased in 10–20 years as a result of the accumulation of soil P if 50 kg P ha^–1 (rice season plus wheat season) is applied each year.     

Relationship of bacterioplankton production with primary production and respiration in a shallow estuarine system (Ria de Aveiro, NW Portugal)

The response of bacterial growth to phytoplankton production and planktonic respiration (RESP) variation was examined over different stations and dates in the shallow estuarine system Ria de Aveiro. The temporal and spatial profiles of bacterial productivity (2.7-744.2mg Cm(-3)d(-1)) did not coincide with those of primary production (PP) (0.2-19.1 g Cm(-3)d(-1)) and RESP (0.1-8.2 g Cm(-3) d(-1)). The bacterioplankton production/PP ratio varied differently, depending on the season and location. The heterotrophic zones, with the lowest values of PP, exhibited the most intense bacterial secondary production. Moreover, the variation of PP in the system was rather small when compared with that of bacterial secondary production. These suggest that, in a large extension of the lagoon and throughout the year, bacterioplankton growth is largely dependent on non-phytoplanktonic carbon sources. Benthic PP and/or allochtonous organic matter from land have a fundamental role in the dynamics of the planktonic compartment of the estuarine system.     

Life Cycle Inventories of Metals and Methodological Aspects of Inventorying Material Resources in ecoinvent (7 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background The ecoinvent database provides harmonised generic life cycle inventories for metal production and processing. They can be used as background data for different LCA applications. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the metals inventoried in ecoinvent. Beside, some methodological background information is given. The focus lies on a new methodology developed to inventorying joint resources. The implementation is shown in a case study of the production of primary copper on a global average. The respective process is assessed with Eco-indicator 99 (H,A) to identify dominant impacts within the production chain.Methods In ecoinvent, a coupled production is inventoried in multi output unit processes. For database calculation, an allocation by economic revenue is applied. Elementary flows for resources, especially joint resources, include information on type and quality of the resources.Results and Conclusion With the presented method, the extraction of resources can be valuated based on the cost of restoration or the change in the future impact due to the extraction of a specific resource. The case study indicates, for copper / molybdenum production, that the mineral extraction is of minor importance compared to the metallurgical step according to the LCIA results. Air emissions of heavy metals are identified as main impacts. Also, the resource depletion shows a notable impact. The environmental impacts of metals from sulphidic ores, however, are underestimated by neglecting emissions from tailings for lack of reliable data.Recommendation and Perspective Impact assessment methods will have to be updated to account for different grades of ore. The ecoinvent database should be enlarged by more inventories of technically important metals and alloys, e.g. by gold, silver, solders, etc. for the electronics industry and by specific steel and aluminium alloys. Reliable composition data of sulphidic tailings and transfer coefficients for their disposal considering Acidic Rock Drainage (ARD) are to be developed as well.     

Production of human serum albumin by sugar starvation induced promoter and rice cell culture

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most widely used clinical serum protein. Currently, commercial HSA can only be obtained from human plasma, due to lack of commercially feasible recombinant protein expression systems. In this study, inducible expression and secretion of HSA by transformed rice suspension cell culture was established. Mature form of HSA was expressed under the control of the sucrose starvation-inducible rice α Amy3 promoter, and secretion of HSA into the culture medium was achieved by using the α Amy3 signal sequence. High concentrations of HSA were secreted into culture medium in a short time (2–4 days) by sucrose depletion after cell concentrations had reached a peak density in culture medium containing sucrose. The recombinant HSA had the same electrophoretic mobility as commercial HSA and was stable and free from apparent proteolysis in the culture medium. In a flask scale culture with repeated sucrose provision-depletion cycles, HSA was stably produced with yields up to 11.5% of total medium proteins or 15 mg/L per cycle after each sucrose provision-depletion cycle. A bubble column type bioreactor was designed for production of HSA. In the bioreactor scale culture, HSA was produced with yields up to 76.4 mg/L 4 days after sucrose depletion. HSA was purified from the culture medium to high purity by a simple purification scheme. Enrichment of HSA in culture medium simplifies downstream purification, minimizes protease degradation, and may reduce production cost. The combination of a DNA construct containing the α Amy3 promoter and signal sequence, and the use of a rice suspension cell culture can provide an effective system for the production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins.     

Transient expression of laminin alpha1 chain in regenerating murine liver: restricted localization of laminin chains and nidogen-1

Most interstitia between epithelial and endothelial cells contain basal laminae (BLs), as defined by electron microscopy. However, in liver, the sinusoidal interstitium (called space of Disse) between hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) lacks BLs. Because laminins are major components of BLs throughout the body, whether laminins exist in sinusoids has been a controversial issue. Despite recent advances, the distribution and expression of laminin chains have not been well defined in mammalian liver. Here, using a panel of antibodies, we examined laminins in normal and regenerating mouse livers. Of alpha chains, alpha5 was widely observed in all BLs except for sinusoids, while the other alpha chains were variously expressed in Glisson's sheath and central veins. Laminin gamma1 was also distributed to all BLs except for sinusoids. Although the beta2 chain was observed in all BLs and sinusoids, the expression of beta1 chain was restricted to Glisson's sheath. Detailed analysis of regenerating liver revealed that alpha1 and gamma1 chains appeared in sinusoids and were produced by stellate cells. The staining of alpha1 and gamma1 chains reached its maximum intensity at 6 days after two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PHx). Moreover, in vitro studies showed that alpha1-containing laminin promoted spreading of sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) isolated from normal liver, but not other hepatic cells. In addition, SECs isolated from regenerating liver elongated pseudopodia on alpha1-containing laminin more so than did cells from normal liver. The transient expression of laminin alpha1 may promote formation of sinusoids after PHx.     

Inducible cyclooxygenase released prostaglandin mediates immunosuppression in acute phase of experimental Trypanosoma cruzi infection

We investigated the possible role of prostaglandins produced by COX-2 in the immunosuppression observed during Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Con-A-stimulated splenocytes isolated from mice on days 5, 10, and 15 of infection released large amounts of PGE2 and this release was inhibited by the treatment of animals with sodium salicylate or meloxicam. The treatment of the animals with these drugs enhanced the release of IL-2 by splenocytes from T. cruzi-infected animals and significantly reduced the blood parasitemia and delayed the mortality of the infected mice. Furthermore, the release of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-4, and IL-10 by Con-A-stimulated splenocytes obtained from infected mice on days 5, 10, and 15 of the infection was significantly inhibited by treatment of the animals with salicylate or meloxicam. In conclusion, the results suggest that the prostaglandins produced mainly by COX-2 mediate the immunosuppression observed in the acute phase of T. cruzi infection.     

Bacterioplankton Abundance and Activity in a Small Hypertrophic Stratified Lake

Bacterioplankton abundance and production were followed during one decade (1991–2001) in the hypertrophic and steeply stratified small Lake Verevi (Estonia). The lake is generally dimictic. However, a partly meromictic status could be formed in specific meteorological conditions as occurred in springs of 2000 and 2001. The abundance of bacteria in Lake Verevi is highly variable (0.70 to 22 × 10⁶ cells ml⁻¹) and generally the highest in anoxic hypolimnetic water. In 2000–2001, the bacterial abundance in the hypolimnion increased probably due to meromixis. During a productive season, heterotrophic bacteria were able to consume about 10–40% of primary production in the epilimnion. Our study showed that bacterioplankton in the epilimnion was top-down controlled by predators, while in metalimnion bacteria were dependent on energy and carbon sources (bottom-up regulated). Below the thermocline hypolimnetic bacteria mineralized organic matter what led to the depletion of oxygen and created anoxic hypolimnion where rich mineral nutrient and sulphide concentrations coexisted with high bacterial numbers.     

Setting Fish Quotas Based on Holistic Ecosystem Modelling Including Environmental Factors and Foodweb Interactions – A New Approach

We present a new approach to set fish quotas from holistic aquatic foodweb modelling (the LakeWeb-approach). This modelling includes changes in environmental conditions (nutrients, salinity, temperature, oxygen), process-based mass-balance calculations of nutrient concentrations from inflow, internal processes and outflow, calculations of how changes in nutrient concentrations affect primary production, how such changes influence secondary production and how this influence fish production and biomass. This approach gives dynamic, quantitative responses to alterations in driving variables and abiotic/biotic feedbacks. We have applied this approach for preliminary simulations of the cod biomass in the Baltic. We also show that this approach adds a new dimension in setting fish quotas, which in the future could complement, rather than compete with, the more established methods used today based on fish catch statistics and models based on other presuppositions. Our preliminary results indicate that under present environmental conditions (2003), the cod is likely to be extinct if the annual catch is between 95 and 100 kt. The present fish quota is 75 kt/yr in the Baltic, but the overfishing may be 35 kt/yr. We discuss cause–effect relationships regulating fish production, key factors influencing thresholds and points of no return connected to overfishing and changes in environmental conditions, factors regulating recovery and methods for setting optimal fish quotas using this modelling approach.