Effects of irradiance on benthic and water column processes in a Gulf of Mexico estuary: Pensacola Bay, Florida, USA

We examined the effect of light on water column and benthic fluxes in the Pensacola Bay estuary, a river-dominated system in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Measurements were made during the summers of 2003 and 2004 on 16 dates distributed along depth and salinity gradients. Dissolved oxygen fluxes were measured on replicate sediment and water column samples exposed to a gradient of photosynthetically active radiation. Sediment inorganic nutrient (NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻) fluxes were measured. The response of dissolved oxygen fluxes to variation in light was fit to a photosynthesis–irradiance model and the parameter estimates were used to calculate daily integrated production in the water column and the benthos. The results suggest that shoal environments supported substantial benthic productivity, averaging 13.6 ± 4.7 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, whereas channel environments supported low benthic productivity, averaging 0.5 ± 0.3 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹ (±SE). Estimates of baywide microphytobenthic productivity ranged from 8.1 to 16.5 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, comprising about 16–32% of total system productivity. Benthic and water column dark respiration averaged 15.2 ± 3.2 and 33.6 ± 3.7 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively Inorganic nutrient fluxes were generally low compared to relevant estuarine literature values, and responded minimally to light exposure. Across all stations, nutrient fluxes from sediments to the water column averaged 1.11 ± 0.98 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ for NH₄⁺, 0.58 ± 1.08 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ for NO₃⁻, 0.01 ± 0.09 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ for PO₄³⁻. The results of this study illustrate how light reaching the sediments is an important modulator of benthic nutrient and oxygen dynamics in shallow estuarine systems.     

Contents and benthic fluxes of nutrients in sediment pore water of the Southern Ocean

The concentration and profile characters of nutrients in sediment pore water of the South Ocean, sampled during the cruise of CHINARE-18 of the austral summer 2001/02 were determined. The results show that the content of SiO3-Si and NH4-N were much higher than other nutrients. The profile of SiO3-Si was characterized with sharp gradients near the sediment-water interface, profile distribution of silicate show that during the diagenetic reaction of silicate, dissolution was the main part. The organic matter decomposition was occurred under the anaerobic condition. Benthic fluxes of SiO3-Si, NH4-N were from pore water to overlying water, and regeneration of silicate and ammonium were the main part of the nutrient regeneration from the pore water of the study area.     

Nutrient dynamics in an alpine headwater stream: use of continuous water quality sensors to examine responses to wildfire and precipitation events

Stream water quality can change substantively during diurnal cycles, discrete flow events, and seasonal time scales. In this study, we assessed event responses in surface water nutrient concentrations and biogeochemical parameters through the deployment of continuous water quality sensors from March to October 2011 in the East Fork Jemez River, located in northern New Mexico, USA. Events included two pre‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events in April, four post‐fire precipitation events in August and September (associated with monsoonal thunderstorms), and two post‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events in October. The six post‐fire events occurred after the Las Conchas wildfire burned a significant portion of the contributing watershed (36%) beginning in June 2011. Surface water nitrate (NO₃? N) concentrations increased by an average of 50% after pre‐fire and post‐fire non‐monsoonal precipitation events and were associated with small increases in turbidity (up to 15 NTU). Beginning 1 month after the start of the large regional wildfire, monsoonal precipitation events resulted in large multi‐day increases in dissolved NO₃? N (6 × background levels), dissolved phosphate (100 × background levels), specific conductance (5 × background levels), and turbidity (>100 × background levels). These periods also corresponded with substantial sags in dissolved oxygen (<4 mg l^?1) and pH (<6.5). The short duration and rapid rates of change during many of these flow events, particularly following wildfire, highlight the importance of continuous water quality monitoring to quantify the timing and magnitude of event responses in streams and to examine large water quality excursions linked to catchment disturbance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of overlying water velocity on ammonium uptake by benthic biofilms

The effect of the overlying water velocity on ammonium (NH₄⁺) uptake by benthic biofilms was studied in a recirculating laboratory flume (260 cm long, 29 cm wide), packed with 5 cm of silica sand arranged into bedforms. NH₄⁺ uptake was determined as the reduction in NH₄⁺ concentration in the water at average overlying water velocities of 0.8, 2, 4 and 8 cm s^?1. NH₄⁺ uptake was relatively constant under laminar flow conditions but increased when the flow regime became turbulent (>4 cm s^?1). This pattern was observed for two biofilms differing in their total biomass and in the abundance of the ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria, thus indicating that NH₄⁺ uptake was strongly controlled by mass‐transfer processes. The near stoichiometric relationship between the rates of NH₄⁺ uptake and nitrate (NO₃^?) accumulation suggests that aerobic nitrification was the main route for NH₄⁺ uptake. Microelectrode measurements showed a sharp decline of oxygen concentrations and pH values within the biofilms, thus supporting strong nitrification activity within the surficial section of the benthic biofilms. The results of this study highlight the key role of hydrodynamic conditions in regulating NH₄⁺ uptake in the transition from laminar to turbulent flow conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using high-resolution,multispectral imagery to assess the effect of soil properties on vegetation reflectance at an abandoned feedlot

Remotely sensed multispectral imagery, soils and graminoid samples from an abandoned cattle feedlot and adjacent wetlands were used to characterize plant vigour and soil nutrient distribution and evaluate the relationship between soil properties and vegetation reflectance. The feedlot lies on a sandy beach ridge, which likely mitigates the mobility of soil phosphorus. Soil phosphorus remains concentrated directly beneath the feedlot pens, where vegetation indices are low. In contrast, nitrate is transported through preferential pathways into the wetlands, where vegetation indices and plant vigour are high. Although spectral vegetation indices did not show any significant relationship with plant tissue nutrient concentration, the indices showed statistically significant relationships to some soil properties. Results of this study indicate that the abundance of nutrients in the soil does not necessarily enhance plant growth. This can limit the extent that remotely sensed vegetation indices can be used to evaluate soil nutrients concentrations.     

Evidence of distinct contaminant transport patterns in rivers using tracer tests and a multiple domain retention model

Solute transport in rivers is controlled by surface hydrodynamics and by mass exchanges with distinct retention zones. Surface and hyporheic retention processes can be accounted for separately in solute transport models with multiple storage compartments. In the simplest two component model, short term storage can be associated to in-channel transient retention, e.g. produced by riparian vegetation or surface dead zones, and the long-term storage can be associated to hyporheic exchange. The STIR (Solute Transport In Rivers) multiple domain transport model is applied here to tracer test data from three very different Mediterranean streams with distinctive characteristics in terms of flow discharge, vegetation and substrate material. The model is used with an exponential residence time distribution (RTD) to represent surface storage processes and two distinct modeling closures are tested to simulate hyporheic retention: a second exponential RTD and a power-law distribution approximating a known solution for bedform-induced hyporheic exchange. Each stream shows distinct retention patterns characterized by different timescales of the storage time distribution. Both modeling closures lead to very good approximations of the observed breakthrough curves in the two rivers with permeable bed exposed to the flow, where hyporheic flows are expected to occur. In the one case where the occurrence of hyporheic flows is inhibited by bottom vegetation, only the two exponential RTD model is acceptable and the time scales of the two components are of the same magnitude. The significant finding of this work is the recognition of a strong signature of the river properties on tracer data and the evidence of the ability of multiple-component models to describe individual stream responses. This evidence may open a new perspective in river contamination studies, where rivers could possibly be classified based on their ability to trap and release pollutants.     

Unsaturated resilient behavior of a natural compacted sand

Granular materials are generally used in unbound layers of road pavement structures. The mechanical behavior of these materials is widely studied with repeated load triaxial tests (RLTT) in which the elastic response is defined as the resilient behavior. Usually observed under total stress conditions, the effect of pore pressure changes during loading are not usually included in design. Further, the unbound layers frequently exist under partially saturated conditions. The influence of the unsaturated state, i.e., the suction, on the mechanical behavior, of unbound granular materials for roads has not been sufficiently studied and is generally not taken into account in models used for these materials.     

Unsaturated hydraulic properties of cemented tailings backfill that contains sodium silicate

Recycling the mine waste (tailings) into cemented tailings backfill has economical and environmental advantages for the mining industry. One of the most recent types of cemented tailings backfill is gelfill (GF), a backfill that contains sodium silicate as chemical additive. GF is typically made of tailings, water, binder and chemical additives (sodium silicate gel). It is a promising mine tailings backfill technology. From a design point of view, the environmental performance or durability of GF structures is considered as a key factor. Due to the fact that GF structures are cementitious tailings, their durability and environmental performance depend on their ability to resist the flow of aggressive elements (water and oxygen). Thus, understanding the unsaturated hydraulic properties of GF is essential for a cost-effective, environmentally friendly and durable design of GF structures. However, there is a lack of information with regards to unsaturated hydraulic properties of GF, the factors that affect them and their evolution with time. Hence, the unsaturated hydraulic properties (water retention curve (WRC) or water characteristic curve, air entry value (AEV), residual water content, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity) of GF are investigated in this paper. GF samples of various compositions and cured in room temperature for different times (3, 7, 28, and 90 days) are considered. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and microstructural tests have been conducted; WRCs are measured by using a WP4-T dewpoint potentiameter and the saline solution method. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is predicted using the van Genuchten (1980) equation. The water retention curve (WRC) is determined as the relationship between volumetric water content and suction for each GF mix and curing time. The van Genuchten (1980) equation is used to simulate the WRC to best-fit the experimental data. AEV and residual water content are also computed for each mix and curing time. Furthermore, functions are developed to predict the evolution of AEVs, residual water content and fitting parameters of the van Genuchten model with degree of hydration. Important outcomes have been achieved with regards to unsaturated hydraulic properties. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of GF was calculated to decrease when the suction, binder content, and degree of hydration increase. The effects of binder content and degree of hydration are more obvious at low suction ranges. The obtained results would contribute to a better design and assessment of the durability and environmental performance of GF structures.     

Effect of agricultural land use changes on soil nutrient use efficiency in an agricultural area,Beijing, China

Agricultural land use and management practices may affect soil properties,which play a critical role in sustaining crop production.Since the late 1970s,several new agricultural land use types had been introduced in the rural areas of China.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of these land use changes on the soil properties,nu-trient absorption rate,and nutrient use economic efficiency ratio in an agricultural area of Beijing.Specifically,the cropland,the orchard and the vegetable field were examined.Results of this study suggest that land use and farming management practices significantly affect the content of soil organic carbon (SOC),total nitrogen (TN),total phos-phorus (TP),and available phosphorus in the surface layer of 0-25 cm (p<0.05) in the Yanqing Basin,northwestern Beijing.Soil nutrients in each agricultural land use type decrease rapidly with the increasing soil depth.Orchard and vegetable field tend to have higher soil nutrients than the cropland does.However,the soil nutrient-absorption rate (NAR) of the orchard and vegetable field is lower than that of the cropland,even though orchard and vegetable field may provide much higher economic benefit.While increasing SOC,TN,and TP in the orchard and vegetable field by intensive farming may be a valuable option to improve soil quality,potential increase in the risk of nutrient loss,or agricultural non-point source pollution can be a tradeoff if the intensive practices are not managed appropriately.     

浙江嘉善土壤地球化学背景及生态质量评价

通过嘉善全县域4点／km^2密度的表层土壤调查采样调查,取得土壤地球化学元素含量背景值,并依据相关标准进行土壤养分质量和环境质量评价。统计分析表明：全县表层土壤地球化学元素含量空间变异小;土壤养分元素中,有机质、氮、钾总体丰富,磷在该县东南部丰富、西北部缺乏,钼在较多地区缺乏,铁、锰、铜、锌均属丰富,硼为中等含量,有效性钙、有效镁含量丰富,有效态硫、有效硅绝大部分为丰富区;表层土壤的环境质量总体为轻度污染,中度污染区零星分布。