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At least 685 records · Page 38Linked to original sources

Hydrologic modeling to examine the influence of the forestry reclamation approach and climate change on mineland hydrology

Forests in the Appalachian region of the U.S. are threatened by a variety of short- and long-term pressures, including climate change, invasive species, and resource extraction. Surface mining for coal is one of the most important drivers of land-use change in the region, reducing native forest cover, causing forest fragmentation, eliminating intact soil, and affecting water resources. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) has been demonstrated as a successful best practice for restoring forests on mine-impacted landscapes, but little information exists on how the practice will affect hydrologic processes. A study was initiated to examine soil-water movement, as in-situ saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat ), combined with soil porosity to quantify the potential influence on streamflow of reclaimed mines relative to an unmined, forested control site in eastern Kentucky. We compared different reclamation techniques and time since reclamation to determine the extent to which hydrologic function can be restored. We also simulated evapotranspiration at the watershed scale as a function of reclamation technique for both historical and projected (2050) climate. Results indicate that conventional grassland reclamation critically changes how soil water transitions to streamflow, primarily due to K sat variability that exceeds that measured for intact and FRA soils. Sites reclaimed using FRA exhibited a soil-water environment that was more similar to the unmined control. However, all reclaimed mine soils were thinner, retained and stored less soil water, and thus could provide less plant-available water during the growing season. The plant-available water stored in reclaimed landscapes may not be sufficient to support forest health and this is exacerbated by projected climate conditions. However, soil development under a combination of FRA techniques has the potential to mitigate this limitation.

Kentucky↗

Characterizing the oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate sources to aquatic ecosystems

The oxygen isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic phosphate (δ 18 O p ) in many aquatic ecosystems is not in isotopic equilibrium with ambient water and, therefore, may reflect the source δ 18 O p . Identification of phosphate sources to water bodies is critical for designing best management practices for phosphate load reduction to control eutrophication. In order for δ 18 O p to be a useful tool for source tracking, the δ 18 O p of phosphate sources must be distinguishable from one another; however, the δ 18 O p of potential sources has not been well characterized. We measured the δ 18 O p of a variety of known phosphate sources, including fertilizers, semiprocessed phosphorite ore, particulate aerosols, detergents, leachates of vegetation, soil, animal feces, and wastewater treatment plant effluent. We found a considerable range of δ 18 O p values (from +8.4 to +24.9‰) for the various sources, and statistically significant differences were found between several of the source types. δ 18 O p measured in three different fresh water systems was generally not in equilibrium with ambient water. Although there is overlap in δ 18 O p values among the groups of samples, our results indicate that some sources are isotopically distinct and δ 18 O p can be used for identifying phosphate sources to aquatic systems.

Environmental Science & Technology↗

Reducing soluble phosphorus in dairy effluents through application of mine drainage residuals

Three different dairy manure wastewater effluent samples were amended with mine drainage residuals (MDR) to evaluate the suitability of MDR for sequestration of phosphorus (P). Geochemical modeling of the manure wastewater compositions indicated that partially soluble P-bearing minerals including hydroxyapatite, octacalcium phosphate, and vivianite were all oversaturated in each of the manure wastewater samples. Initial MDR amendment test results indicated that these partially soluble P minerals suspended in the wastewater replenished P in the water phase as it was sorbed by the MDR samples. Further investigations revealed that the MDR samples were effective in decreasing soluble P when the amended manure was tested using the water-extractable P procedure. Under these conditions, up to 90 percent of the soluble P in the manure was converted to a sorbed, water-insoluble state. Water contamination and large-scale validation tests of the process were also conducted.

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis↗

Repeated use of ion-exchange resin membranes in calcareous soils

This study compared the consistency of nutrient extraction among repeated cycles of ion-exchange resin membrane use. Two sandy calcareous soils and different equilibration temperatures were tested. No single nutrient retained consistent values from cycle to cycle in all treatments, although both soil source and temperature conferred some influence. It was concluded that the most conservative use of resin membranes is single-use.

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis↗

Towards a predictive framework for biocrust mediation of plant performance: A meta‐analysis

Understanding the importance of biotic interactions in driving the distribution and abundance of species is a central goal of plant ecology. Early vascular plants likely colonized land occupied by biocrusts — photoautotrophic, surface‐dwelling soil communities comprised of cyanobacteria, bryophytes, lichens and fungi — suggesting biotic interactions between biocrusts and plants have been at play for some 2,000 million years. Today, biocrusts coexist with plants in dryland ecosystems worldwide, and have been shown to both facilitate or inhibit plant species performance depending on ecological context. Yet, the factors that drive the direction and magnitude of these effects remain largely unknown. We conducted a meta‐analysis of plant responses to biocrusts using a global dataset encompassing 1,004 studies from six continents. Meta‐analysis revealed there is no simple positive or negative effect of biocrusts on plants. Rather, plant responses differ by biocrust composition and plant species traits and vary across plant ontogeny. Moss‐dominated biocrusts facilitated, while lichen‐dominated biocrusts inhibited overall plant performance. Plant responses also varied among plant functional groups: C 4 grasses received greater benefits from biocrusts compared to C 3 grasses, and plants without N‐fixing symbionts responded more positively to biocrusts than plants with N‐fixing symbionts. Biocrusts decreased germination but facilitated growth of non‐native plant species. Synthesis . Results suggest that interspecific variation in plant responses to biocrusts, contingent on biocrust type, plant traits, and ontogeny can have strong impacts on plant species performance. These findings have important implications for understanding biocrust contributions to plant productivity and community assembly processes in ecosystems worldwide.

Journal of Ecology↗

Divergent species‐specific impacts of whole ecosystem warming and elevated CO2 on vegetation water relations in an ombrotrophic peatland

Boreal peatland forests have relatively low species diversity and thus impacts of climate change on one or more dominant species could shift ecosystem function. Despite abundant soil water availability, shallowly rooted vascular plants within peatlands may not be able to meet foliar demand for water under drought or heat events that increase vapor pressure deficits while reducing near surface water availability, although concurrent increases in atmospheric CO 2 could buffer resultant hydraulic stress. We assessed plant water relations of co‐occurring shrub (primarily Rhododendron groenlandicum and Chamaedaphne calyculata ) and tree ( Picea mariana and Larix laricina ) species prior to, and in response to whole ecosystem warming (0 to +9°C) and elevated CO 2 using 12.8‐m diameter open‐top enclosures installed within an ombrotrophic bog. Water relations (water potential [Ψ], turgor loss point, foliar and root hydraulic conductivity) were assessed prior to treatment initiation, then Ψ and peak sap flow (trees only) assessed after 1 or 2 years of treatments. Under the higher temperature treatments, L. laricina Ψ exceeded its turgor loss point, increased its peak sap flow, and was not able to recover Ψ overnight. In contrast, P. mariana operated below its turgor loss point and maintained constant Ψ and sap flow across warming treatments. Similarly, C. calyculata Ψ stress increased with temperature while R. groenlandicum Ψ remained at pretreatment levels. The more anisohydric behavior of L. laricina and C. calyculata may provide greater net C uptake with warming, while the more conservative P. mariana and R. groenlandicum maintained greater hydraulic safety. These latter species also responded to elevated CO 2 by reduced Ψ stress, which may also help limit hydraulic failure during periods of extreme drought or heat in the future. Along with Sphagnum moss, the species‐specific responses of peatland vascular communities to drier or hotter conditions will shape boreal peatland composition and function in the future.

Minnesota↗

Correlates of biological soil crust abundance across a continuum of spatial scales: Support for a hierarchical conceptual model

1. Desertification negatively impacts a large proportion of the global human population and > 30% of the terrestrial land surface. Better methods are needed to detect areas that are at risk of desertification and to ameliorate desertified areas. Biological soil crusts are an important soil lichen-moss-microbial community that can be used toward these goals, as (i) bioindicators of desertification damage and (ii) promoters of soil stability and fertility. 2. We identified environmental factors that correlate with soil crust occurrence on the landscape and might be manipulated to assist recovery of soil crusts in degraded areas. We conducted three studies on the Colorado Plateau, USA, to investigate the hypotheses that soil fertility [particularly phosphorus (P), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn)] and/or moisture limit soil crust lichens and mosses at four spatial scales. 3. In support of the soil fertility hypothesis, we found that lichen-moss crusts were positively correlated with several nutrients [Mn, Zn, potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) were most consistent] at three of four spatial scales ranging from 3.5 cm2 in area to c. 800 km2. In contrast, P was negatively correlated with lichen-moss crusts at three scales. 4. Community composition varied with micro-aspect on ridges in the soil crust. Three micro-aspects [north-north-west (NNW), east-north-east (ENE) and TOP] supported greater lichen and moss cover than the warmer, windward and more xeric micro-aspects [west-south-west (WSW) and south-south-east (SSE)]. This pattern was poorly related to soil fertility; rather, it was consistent with the moisture limitation hypothesis. 5. Synthesis and application. Use of crusts as desertification bioindicators requires knowledge of a site's potential for crust cover in the absence of desertification. We present a multi-scale model of crust potential as a function of site properties. Future quantitative studies can use this model to guide sampling efforts. Also, our results suggest new directions in restoration research: enhancement of moisture residence time and fertilization with key nutrients (Mn, Zn, K and Mg). Re-establishment of soil crusts in desertified lands will help regain lost soil stability and fertility, and facilitate plant re-establishment. ?? 2006 British Ecological Society.

Journal of Applied Ecology↗

Herbicides and transformation products in surface waters of the Midwestern United States

Most herbicides applied to crops are adsorbed by plants or transformed (degraded) in the soil, but small fractions are lost from fields and either move to streams in overland runoff, near surface flow, or subsurface drains, or they infiltrate slowly to ground water. Herbicide transformation products (TPs) can be more or less mobile and more or less toxic in the environment than their source herbicides. To obtain information on the concentrations of selected herbicides and TPs in surface waters of the Midwestern United States, 151 water samples were collected from 71 streams and five reservoir outflows in 1998. These samples were analyzed for 13 herbicides and 10 herbicide TPs. Herbicide TPs were found to occur as frequently or more frequently than source herbicides and at concentrations that were often larger than their source herbicides. Most samples contained a mixture of more than 10 different herbicides or TPs. The ratios of TPs to herbicide concentrations can be used to determine the source of herbicides in streams. Results of a two-component mixing model suggest that on average 90 percent or more of the herbicide mass in Midwestern streams during early summer runoff events originates from the runoff and 10 percent or less comes from increased ground water discharge.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

Seed coating treatments alter emergence windows of native Intermountain West U.S. grasses under different regimes of water availability

Introduction Seed-based restoration is widely implemented to recover degraded lands but often fails. Seed enhancement technologies may improve outcomes by shifting emergence to target favorable climate windows and serving as a bet-hedging strategy against increasingly variable precipitation patterns. Objectives To test the potential benefit of these technologies, we applied seed coatings designed to accelerate or delay emergence to four native Intermountain West perennial grasses that are commonly used for restoration. Methods We subjected seeds to six different watering regimes in the greenhouse that represented variation in precipitation timing and amount and compared the emergence, growth, and biomass of coated and uncoated seedlings. Results Seed coating designed to accelerate germination strongly increased emergence in species with high dormancy requirements, while seed coating designed to delay germination decreased emergence in species with low dormancy by about half and postponed emergence by up to 15 days. These coatings altered emergence timing regardless of watering regime, suggesting that seed coating could expand emergence windows under variable precipitation regimes. Seedling growth and total biomass were less dependent on seed coating and were more driven by the average amount of soil moisture provisioned to the developing plant. While seed coating designed to accelerate germination increased the emergence of two grass species, growth decreased during late periods of water availability, suggesting a trade-off in seedling performance. Conclusions Our results show promise for seed coatings to shift windows of emergence, but further field testing could improve our understanding of their effects in restoration settings.

western United States↗

Connecting dryland fine-fuel assessments to wildfire exposure and natural resource values at risk

Background Wildland fire in arid and semi-arid (dryland) regions can intensify when climatic, biophysical, and land-use factors increase fuel load and continuity. To inform wildland fire management under these conditions, we developed high-resolution (10-m) estimates of fine fuel across the Altar Valley in southern Arizona, USA, which spans dryland, grass-dominated ecosystems that are administered by multiple land managers and owners. We coupled field measurements at the end of the 2021 growing season with Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and vegetation indices acquired during and after the growing season to develop predictions of fine fuel across the entire valley. We then assessed how climate, soil, vegetation, and land-use factors influenced the amount and distribution of fine fuels. We connected fine fuels to fire management points, past ignition history, and socio-economic vulnerability to evaluate wildfire exposure and assessed how fuel related to habitat of the endangered masked bobwhite quail ( Colinus virginianus ridgwayi ). Results The high amount of fine fuel (400–3600 kg/ha; mean = 1392 kg/ha) predicted by our remote sensing model ( R 2 = 0.63) for 2021 compared to previous years in the valley was stimulated by near-record high growing season precipitation that was 177% of the 1990–2020 mean. Fine fuel increased across the valley if it was contained within the wildlife refuge boundary and had lower temperature and vapor pressure deficit, higher soil organic content, and abundant annual plants and an invasive perennial grass ( R 2 = 0.24). The index of potential exposure to wildfire showed a clustering of high exposure centered around roads and low-density housing development distant from fire management points and extending into the upper elevations flanking the valley. Within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, fine fuel increased with habitat suitability for the masked bobwhite quail within and adjacent to core habitat areas, representing a natural resource value at risk, accompanied with higher overall mean fine fuel (1672 kg/ha) in relation to 2015 (1347 kg/ha) and 2020 (1363 kg/ha) means. Conclusions By connecting high-resolution estimates of fine fuel to climatic, biophysical and land-use factors, wildfire exposure, and a natural resource value at risk, we provide a pro-active and adaptive framework for fire risk management within highly variable and rapidly changing dryland landscapes.

Arizona↗

Changes in Selected Metals Concentrations from the Mid-1980s to the Mid-2000s in a Stream Draining the Picher Mining District of Oklahoma

After abandonment in the late 1960s, the Picher mining district of Oklahoma, once the largest source of lead and zinc in the world, continued to be affected by severe environmental degradation, with scattered subsidence and abundant toxic metals such as cadmium and lead seeping from flooded underground mine workings and seeping and running off from as much as 60 million tons of mine tailings remaining at the land surface. Water-quality data collected during the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s at the Tar Creek at 22nd Street Bridge in Miami, Oklahoma streamflow-gaging station (USGS number 07185095), located downstream from much of the district, indicate that total concentrations of iron, manganese, and zinc significantly decreased between the two sampling periods. Those water-quality improvements probably are due to a combination of reclamation activities and natural attenuation processes such as stabilization of exposed minerals in flooded underground mine workings, progressive wind and water erosion of the most readily erodible metalliferous particles from tailings, and colonization of volunteer plants that reduce physical erosion of soils and tailings.

Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma↗

Sediment loads in canals 18, 23, and 24 in southeastern Florida

Suspended-sediment concentrations and suspended-sediment discharges were determined in selected canals in St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties, in southeastern Florida. Sediment rating curves were developed to relate water discharge to sediment concentration at the three sites sampled. An evaluation of the concentration and sediment loads shows that larger amounts of suspended sediment were being carried into the St. Lucie River estuary than were being carried into the Loxahatchee River estuary. Peat and muck soils in areas drained for agricultural planting and citrus cultivation are readily carried by runoff water into major canals that traverse the region.

Florida↗

Monitoring post-fire vegetation rehabilitation projects: A common approach for non-forested ecosystems

Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) and Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) treatments are short-term, high-intensity treatments designed to mitigate the adverse effects of wildfire on public lands. The federal government expends significant resources implementing ES&R and BAER treatments after wildfires; however, recent reviews have found that existing data from monitoring and research are insufficient to evaluate the effects of these activities. The purpose of this report is to: (1) document what monitoring methods are generally used by personnel in the field; (2) describe approaches and methods for post-fire vegetation and soil monitoring documented in agency manuals; (3) determine the common elements of monitoring programs recommended in these manuals; and (4) describe a common monitoring approach to determine the effectiveness of future ES&R and BAER treatments in non-forested regions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure effectiveness of ES&R treatments are used by federal land management agencies. Quantitative methods are used in the field depending on factors such as funding, personnel, and time constraints. There are seven vegetation monitoring manuals produced by the federal government that address monitoring methods for (primarily) vegetation and soil attributes. These methods vary in their objectivity and repeatability. The most repeatable methods are point-intercept, quadrat-based density measurements, gap intercepts, and direct measurement of soil erosion. Additionally, these manuals recommend approaches for designing monitoring programs for the state of ecosystems or the effect of management actions. The elements of a defensible monitoring program applicable to ES&R and BAER projects that most of these manuals have in common are objectives, stratification, control areas, random sampling, data quality, and statistical analysis. The effectiveness of treatments can be determined more accurately if data are gathered using an approach that incorporates these six monitoring program design elements and objectives, as well as repeatable procedures to measure cover, density, gap intercept, and soil erosion within each ecoregion and plant community. Additionally, using a common monitoring program design with comparable methods, consistently documenting results, and creating and maintaining a central database for query and reporting, will ultimately allow a determination of the effectiveness of post-fire rehabilitation activities region-wide.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

Populations of trap-nesting wasps near a major source of fluoride emissions in western Tennessee

Trap-nesting wasps were collected from eight sites at distances of from 1.2-33.0 km from an aluminum reduction plant in western Tennessee. The sites had similar topographies, soils, and vegetation, but differed in their exposure to fluoride, which was emitted in large quantities from the plant. It was postulated that if fluoride emissions had greatly changed the insect community then relative densities of their predators would have varied accordingly. However, the degree of fluoride pollution was unrelated to the relative densities of the wasps and to the number of cells provisioned with prey. Monobia quadridens, Trypargilum clavatum, and T. lactitarse were found to have two complete generations in western Tennessee. Trypargilum collinum rubrocinctum has at least two generations, and Euodynerus megaera probably has three generations. Six other wasp species and a megachilid bee were also collected.

Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washin↗

Effects of wet- and dry-season fires on Jacquemontia curtisii, a south Florida pine forest endemic

South Florida pine forests have a diverse endemic flora that has evolved under the influence of recurrent fire. We studied the response of Jacquemontia curtisii Peter ex Hallier f. (pineland clustervine), a perennial herbaceous member of that flora, to experimental fires during wet and dry seasons. In each of three populations, three treatments were applied: wet-season (June) prescribed fire, dry-season (January) prescribed fire, and an unburned control. Flowering, fruiting, and seedling establishment were followed for up to one year. Mortality of adult plants was twice as great after wet-season burns than after dry-season burns even though fire temperatures were higher in the dry-season burns. Within a season of burning, mortality was greater for the more severely burned plants or the smaller plants. Wet-season burns produced over three times more flowers than not burning, in spite of mortality of more than half the plants. Burning stimulated germination from the soil seed bank. Dry-season burns resulted in five times more seedlings than wet-season burns and more of these seedlings were alive one year after the burn. It is likely that the long-term viability of Jacquemontia curtisii populations is favored by diversity in fire season and severity.

Florida↗

Preliminary identification of ground-water nitrate sources using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes, Kansas

Increasing nitrate-N in ground water is a problem in areas with limited ground-water supplies, such as central Kansas. Nitrate-N concentrations in ground water in the study area in Ellis County range from 0.9 to 26 mg/L. Calculated mean values observed in soil cores are 1.2-15 mg/kg. The ??15N signatures of the ground waters are more enriched (+16.8 to +28.7???) than those of the soils (+8.4 to +1 3.7???), strongly suggesting that nitrate-N sources are not from mineralized and labile nitrogen present in the unsaturated zone. Soil cores were collected near municipal wells to determine if soil nitrogen was a contributing source to the ground water. Increased ??15N of total nitrogen with depth suggests that microbial mineralization processes and possible denitrification or volatilization isotope enrichments have affected the observed ?? 15N signatures in the soil. However, the observed soil-nitrogen values are not of sufficient magnitude to explain the nitrate-N concentrations or associated ??15N values observed in the ground water. Stable carbon isotopes provide some supporting evidence that soils are not a major contributor to the observed nitrate-N concentration in the ground water. ?? 13C values of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soils generally become more enriched with depth while corresponding ground-water ??13C (DOC) values are more depleted than in the overlying soils. Carbon isotope values of the soils are indicative of a C4 plant source that is enriched by microbial processes. The ??13C (DOC) of ground water indicates C3 values that may reflect impacts from animal-waste sources.

Current Research in Earth Sciences↗

Species and tissue type regulate long-term decomposition of brackish marsh plants grown under elevated CO2 conditions

Organic matter accumulation, the net effect of plant production and decomposition, contributes to vertical soil accretion in coastal wetlands, thereby playing a key role in whether they keep pace with sea-level rise. Any factor that affects decomposition may affect wetland accretion, including atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Higher CO 2 can influence decomposition rates by altering plant tissue chemistry or by causing shifts in plant species composition or biomass partitioning. A combined greenhouse-field experiment examined how elevated CO 2 affected plant tissue chemistry and subsequent decomposition of above- and belowground tissues of two common brackish marsh species, Schoenoplectus americanus (C 3 ) and Spartina patens (C 4 ). Both species were grown in monoculture and in mixture under ambient (350-385 μL L -1 ) or elevated (ambient + 300 μL L -1 ) atmospheric CO 2 conditions, with all other growth conditions held constant, for one growing season. Above- and belowground tissues produced under these treatments were decomposed under ambient field conditions in a brackish marsh in the Mississippi River Delta, USA. Elevated CO 2 significantly reduced nitrogen content of S. americanus , but not sufficiently to affect subsequent decomposition. Instead, long-term decomposition (percent mass remaining after 280 d) was controlled by species composition and tissue type. Shoots of S. patens had more mass remaining (41 ± 2%) than those of S. americanus (12 ± 2 %). Belowground material decomposed more slowly than that placed aboveground (62 ± 1% vs. 23 ± 3% mass remaining), but rates belowground did not differ between species. Increases in atmospheric CO 2 concentration will likely have a greater effect on overall decomposition in this brackish marsh community through shifts in species dominance or biomass allocation than through effects on tissue chemistry. Consequent changes in organic matter accumulation may alter marsh capacity to accommodate sea-level rise through vertical accretion.

Louisiana↗

Vegetation, soil, and flooding relationships in a blackwater floodplain forest

Hydroperiod is considered the primary determinant of plant species distribution in temperate floodplain forests, but most studies have focused on alluvial (sediment-laden) river systems. Few studies have evaluated plant community relationships in blackwater river systems of the South Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America. In this study, we characterized the soils, hydroperiod, and vegetation communities and evaluated relationships between the physical and chemical environment and plant community structure on the floodplain of the Coosawhatchie River, a blackwater river in South Carolina, USA. The soils were similar to previous descriptions of blackwater floodplain soils but had greater soil N and P availability, substantially greater clay content, and lower soil silt content than was previously reported for other blackwater river floodplains. Results of a cluster analysis showed there were five forest communities on the site, and both short-term (4 years) and long-term (50 years) flooding records documented a flooding gradient: water tupelo community > swamp tupelo > laurel oak = overcup oak > mixed oak. The long-term hydrologic record showed that the floodplain has flooded less frequently from 1994 to present than in previous decades. Detrended correspondence analysis of environmental and relative basal area values showed that 27% of the variation in overstory community structure could be explained by the first two axes; however, fitting the species distributions to the DCA axes using Gaussian regression explained 67% of the variation. Axes were correlated with elevation (flooding intensity) and soil characteristics related to rooting volume and cation nutrient availability. Our study suggests that flooding is the major factor affecting community structure, but soil characteristics also may be factors in community structure in blackwater systems. ?? 2003, The Society of Wetland Scientists.

Wetlands↗