Atmospheric Deposition to the Turkey Lakes Watershed: Temporal Variations and Characteristics

We investigated the atmospheric concentrations and deposition fluxes of major ions to the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW) between 1980 and 1996. During that time, daily SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations in precipitation decreased markedly, while NO₃ ⁻, NH₄ ⁺, and H⁺ concentrations remained roughly constant. It appears that precipitation acidity did not decrease in spite of declining SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations due to a concurrent and counterbalancing decrease in the concentrations of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺ in precipitation. The reasons for the decline in base cations are unknown, but this decline is probably related to decreasing emissions of soil-derived particles from agricultural, industrial, and road sources. A similar situation was seen during the same period in other parts of Canada, the eastern United States, and Europe. Wet, dry, and total (wet + dry) deposition fluxes of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) were estimated annually for the years 1980–96. The 17-year mean annual total (wet + dry) deposition of S to the watershed was estimated at 38.5 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹ (range 24.3–50.3). Total S deposition decreased by 35% from the early 1980s (1982–84) to the mid-1990s (1994–96), a decline consistent with the 23% decline in annual SO₂ emissions in eastern North America during the same period. In contrast, the annual total (wet + dry) deposition of oxidized N ranged from 39.8 to 60.4 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹, with a 15-year mean of 50.1 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹ and a net increase of 10% between the early 1980s (1983–85) and the mid-1990s (1994–96). This is in keeping with a 10% increase in NO_x emissions in eastern North America during the same period. For both S and N (oxidized), wet deposition dominated over dry deposition as the major mechanism for atmospheric input to the watershed. Annually, wet deposition accounted for approximately two-thirds of the total atmospheric deposition of both S and N. Dry S deposition was due more to gaseous SO₂ deposition (two-thirds of dry S deposition) than to particulate SO₄ ²⁻ deposition (one-third of dry S deposition). Dry deposition of oxidized N, however, was dominated (95%) by gaseous HNO₃ deposition, with minimal input from particulate NO₃ ⁻ deposition. Compared to several selected watershed/forest sites in Canada, the United States, and Europe, the estimated total deposition of S and N at the TLW was relatively high during the measurement period. Received 5 October 1999; accepted 1 March 2001.     

Soil respiration within riparian buffers and adjacent crop fields

We quantified rates of soil respiration among sites within an agricultural landscape in central Iowa, USA. The study was conducted in riparian cool-season grass buffers, in re-established multispecies (switchgrass + poplar) riparian buffers and in adjacent crop (maize and soybean) fields. The objectives were to determine the variability in soil respiration among buffer types and crop fields within a riparian landscape, and to identify those factors correlating with the observed differences. Soil respiration was measured approximately monthly over a two-year period using the soda-lime technique. Mean daily soil respiration across all treatments ranged from 0.14 to 8.3 g C m^–2 d^–1. There were no significant differences between cool-season grass buffers and re-established forest buffers, but respiration rates beneath switchgrass were significantly lower than those beneath cool-season grass. Soil respiration was significantly greater in both buffer systems than in the cropped fields. Seasonal changes in soil respiration were strongly related to temperature changes. Over all sites, soil temperature and soil moisture together accounted for 69% of the seasonal variability in soil respiration. Annual soil respiration rates correlated strongly with soil organic carbon (R = 0.75, P < 0.001) and fine root (<2 mm) biomass (R = 0.85, P < 0.001). Annual soil respiration rates averaged 1140 g C m^–2 for poplar, 1185 g C m^–2 for cool-season grass, 1020 g C m^–2 for switchgrass, 750 g C m^–2 for soybean and 740 g C m^–2 for corn. Overall, vegetated buffers had significantly higher soil respiration rates than did adjacent crop fields, indicating greater soil biological activity within the buffers.     

Seasonal stable isotope variations of the modern Amazonian freshwater bivalve Anodontites trapesialis

In a floodplain lake of the Amazon River near the city of Iquitos, northeastern Peru, a one-year monitoring experiment was conducted during which water samples and living bivalves (Anodontites trapesialis) were collected with the aim to investigate seasonal δ¹⁸O variation in and fractionation between bivalve aragonite and host water. Both host water and molluscan growth increments show more than 8‰ seasonal variation in δ¹⁸O. In the floodplain lake under study the δ¹⁸O variation of the water is controlled by contrasting dry and wet season evaporation-precipitation regimes. Molluscan δ¹⁸O appears to be in equilibrium with the host water. Although an approximately 4.0‰ offset occurs, δ¹³C records of water and bivalves are in good agreement, suggesting that both δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of the shells of freshwater bivalve A. trapesialis are good recorders of (palaeo-)environmental conditions. The δ¹³C of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) is governed by plant growth and/or by changes in aquatic chemistry, affecting the DIC pool.     

Anthropogenic nitrogen sources and relationships to riverine nitrogen export in the northeastern U.S.A.

Human activities have greatly altered the nitrogen (N) cycle, accelerating the rate of N fixation in landscapes and delivery of N to water bodies. To examine relationships between anthropogenic N inputs and riverine N export, we constructed budgets describing N inputs and losses for 16 catchments, which encompass a range of climatic variability and are major drainages to the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean along a latitudinal profile from Maine to Virginia. Using data from the early 1990's, we quantified inputs of N to each catchment from atmospheric deposition, application of nitrogenous fertilizers, biological nitrogen fixation, and import of N in agricultural products (food and feed). We compared these inputs with N losses from the system in riverine export.The importance of the relative sources varies widely by catchment and is related to land use. Net atmospheric deposition was the largest N source (>60%) to the forested basins of northern New England (e.g. Penobscot and Kennebec); net import of N in food was the largest source of N to the more populated regions of southern New England (e.g. Charles & Blackstone); and agricultural inputs were the dominant N sources in the Mid-Atlantic region (e.g. Schuylkill & Potomac). Over the combined area of the catchments, net atmospheric deposition was the largest single source input (31%), followed by net imports of N in food and feed (25%), fixation in agricultural lands (24%), fertilizer use (15%), and fixation in forests (5%). The combined effect of fertilizer use, fixation in crop lands, and animal feed imports makes agriculture the largest overall source of N. Riverine export of N is well correlated with N inputs, but it accounts for only a fraction (25%) of the total N inputs. This work provides an understanding of the sources of N in landscapes, and highlights how human activities impact N cycling in the northeast region.     

大气二氧化碳浓度变化对禾谷缢管蚜种群动态的影响

利用开顶式熏气室研究了大气CO₂浓度和土壤水分对禾谷缢管蚜Rhopalosiphum padi (L.)种群动态的影响,并分析了禾谷缢管蚜密度与被处理小麦叶片化学成分的关系。结果表明：（1）禾谷缢管蚜种群密度随CO₂浓度升高而持续增大并与土壤水分密切相关,各CO₂浓度下均以60%田间持水量时的密度最大;（2）CO₂和土壤水分对小麦叶片化学成分有明显的影响,麦叶水分、可溶性蛋白质、可溶性糖、淀粉含量随CO₂浓度和土壤水分含量上升而增加,纤维素含量随CO₂浓度上升而增加、随土壤水分含量上升而降低,单宁、丁布（DIMBOA）含量在CO₂浓度为550 μl/L时最高,但单宁含量随土壤水分上升而增加,丁布含量在60%田间持水量时最低;（3）禾谷缢管蚜密度与叶片水分、可溶性蛋白质、可溶性糖、淀粉含量呈正相关,与丁布、单宁含量呈负相关。结论：在未来的气候条件下,随着CO₂浓度升高禾谷缢管蚜种群可能会持续增长,这种增长在半干旱区更加突出。禾谷缢管蚜种群增长的原因之一是大气CO₂和土壤水分条件改变了植物的化学成分构成。     

A meta-analysis of elevated [CO2] effects on soybean (Glycine max) physiology, growth and yield

The effects of elevated [CO₂] on 25 variables describing soybean physiology, growth and yield are reviewed using meta‐analytic techniques. This is the first meta‐analysis to our knowledge performed on a single crop species and summarizes the effects of 111 studies. These primary studies include numerous soybean growth forms, various stress and experimental treatments, and a range of elevated [CO₂] levels (from 450 to 1250 p.p.m.), with a mean of 689 p.p.m. across all studies. Stimulation of soybean leaf CO₂ assimilation rate with growth at elevated [CO₂] was 39%, despite a 40% decrease in stomatal conductance and a 11% decrease in Rubisco activity. Increased leaf CO₂ uptake combined with an 18% stimulation in leaf area to provide a 59% increase in canopy photosynthetic rate. The increase in total dry weight was lower at 37%, and seed yield still lower at 24%. This shows that even in an agronomic species selected for maximum investment in seed, several plant level feedbacks prevent additional investment in reproduction, such that yield fails to reflect fully the increase in whole plant carbon uptake. Large soil containers (> 9 L) have been considered adequate for assessing plant responses to elevated [CO₂]. However, in open‐top chamber experiments, soybeans grown in large pots showed a significant threefold smaller stimulation in yield than soybeans grown in the ground. This suggests that conclusions about plant yield based on pot studies, even when using very large containers, are a poor reflection of performance in the absence of any physical restriction on root growth. This review supports a number of current paradigms of plant responses to elevated [CO₂]. Namely, stimulation of photosynthesis is greater in plants that fix N and have additional carbohydrate sinks in nodules. This supports the notion that photosynthetic capacity decreases when plants are N‐limited, but not when plants have adequate N and sink strength. The root : shoot ratio did not change with growth at elevated [CO₂], sustaining the charge that biomass allocation is unaffected by growth at elevated [CO₂] when plant size and ontogeny are considered.     

Inventory for energy production in Canada

Publicly available databases are analysed to demonstrate their relevance to life cycle inventory for energy production in the Canadian context. Site specific emissions along with sectoral emissions data are combined with production data to construct an energy production model, which has been applied to air emissions. The allocation procedure leads to reasonable results for coal, natural gas and electricity. The detailed allocation of the inventory among petroleum co-products is outside the scope of this study as it requires incorporating knowledge of physical relationship (unit process) or using economic data.     

Features and influencing factors of carbon emissions indicators in the perspective of residential consumption: Evidence from Beijing,China

This research establishes a residential indirect carbon emissions model through input–output structure decomposition analysis (IO-SDA) and LMDI, analyses the influencing factors affecting urban and rural residential carbon emissions indicators in Beijing through input–output tables from 2000 to 2010, and calculates the direct carbon emissions from residential consumption. As the results suggest, the total carbon emissions from residential consumption in Beijing showed volatility. Growing rural and urban differences in direct emissions, and for indirect emissions, mean that urban greatly exceeds rural in this regard. Rising per capita GDP and population, as well as intermediate demand and sectoral emissions intensity change induce growth in indirect emissions in both urban and rural settings: of which, per capita GDP contributes the most. Declining energy intensity contributes the most to emission reductions, followed by residential consumption rates, the rural to urban consumption ratio and consumption structure effects are much smaller.     

Influence of derived operation-specific tractor emission data on results from an LCI on wheat production

The shortage of data for emissions from agricultural tractors contributes to LCA results on environmental load from modern crop production possibly having high error levels and high uncertainties. The first part of this work describes measurements and calculations made in order to obtain operation-specific agricultural emission data. Calculations are based on emission data measured on a standard 70 kW tractor of a widely available make. In the second part, results from an LCI on wheat production based on traditionally used emission data are calculated and compared with results obtained when using the emission data for specific working operations derived in part one. One conclusion of the study is that the emission values, when related to the energy in the used fuel, show very large variations between different driving operations. Another conclusion is that the use of the new data results in a marked reduction of the total air emissions produced in the wheat production chain, especially for CO and HC, but also for NO_x and SO₂.     

Eutrophication as an impact category

State of the art and research needs for the impact category eutrophication are discussed. Eutrophication is a difficult impact category because it includes emissions to both air and water — both subject to different environmental mechanisms — as well as impacts occurring in different types of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The possible fate processes are complex and include transportation between different ecosystems. In some recent approaches, transportation modelling of air emissions has been included. However, in general, the used characterisation methods do not integrate fate modelling, which is a limitation. The definition of the impact indicator needs further research, too. The inclusion of other nutrients than those typically considered should also be investigated.