Sediment-associated organic matter sources and sediment oxygen demand in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC): A case study of the River Axe, UK.

Oxygen demand in river substrates providing important habitats for the early life stages of aquatic ecology, including lithophilous fish, can arise due to the oxidation of sediment-associated organic matter. Oxygen depletion associated with this component of river biogeochemical cycling, will, in part, depend on the sources of such material. A reconnaissance survey was therefore undertaken to assess the relative contributions from bed sediment-associated organic matter sources potentially impacting on the River Axe Special Area of Conservation (SAC), in SW England. Source fingerprinting, including Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, suggested that the relative frequency-weighted average median source contributions ranged between 19% (uncertainty range 0-82%) and 64% (uncertainty range 0-99%) for farmyard manures or slurries, 4% (uncertainty range 0-49%) and 35% (uncertainty range 0-100%) for damaged road verges, 2% (uncertainty range 0-100%) and 68% (uncertainty range 0-100%) for decaying instream vegetation, and 2% (full uncertainty range 0-15%) and 6% (uncertainty range 0-48%) for human septic waste. A reconnaissance survey of sediment oxygen demand (SOD) along the channel designated as a SAC yielded a mean SOD5 of 4 mg O2 g-1 dry sediment and a corresponding SOD20 of 7 mg O2 g-1 dry sediment, compared with respective ranges of 1-15 and 2-30 mg O2 g-1 dry sediment, measured by the authors for a range of river types across the UK. The findings of the reconnaissance survey were used in an agency (SW region) catchment appraisal exercise for informing targeted management to help protect the SAC.

Long-term management changes topsoil and subsoil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a temperate agricultural system.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) contents are controlled partly by plant inputs that can be manipulated in agricultural systems. Although SOC and N pools occur mainly in the topsoil (upper 0.30 m), there are often substantial pools in the subsoil that are commonly assumed to be stable. We tested the hypothesis that contrasting long-term management systems change the dynamics of SOC and N in the topsoil and subsoil (to 0.75 m) under temperate conditions. We used an established field experiment in the UK where control grassland was changed to arable (59 years before) and bare fallow (49 years before) systems. Losses of SOC and N were 65 and 61% under arable and 78 and 74% under fallow, respectively, in the upper 0.15 m when compared with the grass land soil, whereas at 0.3-0.6-m depth losses under arable and fallow were 41 and 22% and 52 and 35%, respectively. The stable isotopes 13C and 15N showed the effects of different treatments. Concentrations of long-chain n-alkanes C27, C29 and C31 were greater in soil under grass than under arable and fallow. The dynamics of SOC and N changed in both topsoil and subsoil on a decadal time-scale because of changes in the balance between inputs and turnover in perennial and annual systems. Isotopic and geochemical analyses suggested that fresh inputs and decomposition processes occur in the subsoil. There is a need to monitor and predict long-term changes in soil properties in the whole soil profile if soil is to be managed sustainably. HIGHLIGHTS: Land-use change affects soil organic carbon and nitrogen, but usually the topsoil only is considered.Grassland cultivated to arable and fallow lost 13-78% SOC and N to 0.6 m depth within decades.Isotopic and biomarker analyses suggested changes in delivery and turnover of plant-derived inputs.The full soil profile must be considered to assess soil quality and sustainability.

Catchment source contributions to the sediment-bound organic matter degrading salmonid spawning gravels in a lowland river, southern England.

The ingress of particulate material into freshwater spawning substrates is thought to be contributing to the declining success of salmonids reported over recent years for many rivers. Accordingly, the need for reliable information on the key sources of the sediment problem has progressed up the management agenda. Whilst previous work has focussed on apportioning the sources of minerogenic fine sediment degrading spawning habitats, there remains a need to develop procedures for generating corresponding information for the potentially harmful sediment-bound organic matter that represents an overlooked component of interstitial sediment. A source tracing procedure based on composite signatures combining bulk stable (13)C and (15)N isotope values with organic molecular structures detected using near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was therefore used to assess the primary sources of sediment-bound organic matter sampled from artificial spawning redds. Composite signatures were selected using a combination of the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, principal component analysis and GA-driven discriminant function analysis. Interstitial sediment samples were collected using time-integrating basket traps which were inserted at the start of the salmonid spawning season and extracted in conjunction with critical phases of fish development (eyeing, hatch, emergence, late spawning). Over the duration of these four basket extractions, the overall relative frequency-weighted average median (±95% confidence limits) source contributions to the interstitial sediment-bound organic matter were estimated to be in the order: instream decaying vegetation (39±<1%; full range 0-77%); damaged road verges (28±<1%; full range 0-77%); septic tanks (22±<1%; full range 0-50%), and; farm yard manures/slurries (11±<1%; full range 0-61%). The reported procedure provides a promising basis for understanding the key sources of interstitial sediment-bound organic matter and can be applied alongside apportionment for the minerogenic component of fine-grained sediment ingressing the benthos. The findings suggest that human septic waste contributes to the interstitial fines ingressing salmonid spawning habitat in the study area.

Gross and net rates of nitrogen mineralisation in soil amended with composted olive mill pomace.

Olive mill pomace is the major waste product in the olive oil industry and composting these by-products for the purpose of recycling nutrients and organic matter is a sound environmental strategy. Yet little is known about the quantity and timing of nitrogen (N) release from composted olive mill pomace. This paper assesses both gross (using the (15)N dilution technique) and net (aerobic incubation) nitrogen (N) mineralisation and N(2)O emissions of soil amended with seven commercially available composts of olive mill pomace (COMP). All are currently produced in Andalusia and differ in the proportions of raw materials co-composted with the pomace. The absence of significant differences in net N or gross mineralisation and nitrification in COMP-amended soil compared with a control, except for COMP combined with poultry manure, highlighted the recalcitrant nature of the COMP-N. Applications of COMP are hence unlikely to supply available N in available forms, at least in the short-term. Furthermore, N(2)O emissions from COMP-amended soil were negligible and, therefore, applications in the field should not result in increased N loss through denitrification.

High rates of nitrogen cycling in volcanic soils from Chilean grasslands.

There are over one million hectares of pasture in Chile, and 80% and 50% of the country's milk and meat comes from 72% of this area, situated in the lake region of southern Chile. The soils are volcanic and a major characteristic is that they have very high organic matter (OM) contents with the potential to support plant growth with only moderate levels of added nitrogen (N). To understand better the potential fertility of these soils in order to maximise production and minimise losses of N, we undertook studies using the stable isotope of N ((15)N) to resolve the rates of the main internal N cycling processes in three soils representing the two main volcanic soil types: Osorno and Chiloé (Andisol) and Cudico (Ultisol). We also assessed the longer-term potential of these soils to sustain N release using anaerobic incubation. Gross rates (µg N g(-1) day(-1)) of mineralisation were 27.9, 27.1 and 15.5 and rates of immobilisation were 5.9, 12.0 and 6.3 for Osorno, Chiloé and Cudico, respectively, implying high rates of net mineralisation in these soils. This was confirmed by anaerobic incubation which gave potential seasonal net mineralisation indices of 1225, 1059 and 450 kg N ha(-1) in the top 10 cm soil layers of the three soils. However, plant production may still benefit from added N, as the release of N from organic sources may not be closely synchronised with crop demand. The low rates of nitrification that we found with these acidic soils suggest that the more mobile N (viz. nitrate-N) would be in limited supply and plants would have to compete for the less mobile ammonium-N with the soil microbial biomass. Nitrogen was mineralised in appreciable amounts even down to 60 cm depth, so that leaching could become significant, particularly if the soils were limed, which could enhance nitrification and N mobility through the soil profile.

Evidence for the production of NO and N2O in two contrasting subsoils following the addition of synthetic cattle urine.

Nitrogenous materials can be transferred out of the topsoil, either vertically to a greater depth, or in lateral pathways to surface waters, and they may also become transformed, with the potential of generating environmentally active agents. We measured the production of NO and N(2)O in two contrasting subsoils (70 to 90 cm): one poorly drained and the other freely drained and compared this with the topsoil (0 to 20 cm) of the corresponding soils. The soils were incubated aerobically in jars with subtreatments of either synthetic cattle urine or deionised water and sampled at intervals up to 34 days. (15)N-NO(3)(-) was used to determine the processes responsible for NO and N(2)O production. The headspace was analysed for the concentrations of N(2)O, NO and CO(2) and (15)N enrichment of N(2)O. The soil samples were extracted and analysed for NO(2)(-), NO(3)(-) and NH(4)(+), and the (15)N enrichment of the extracts was measured after conversion into N(2)O and N(2). The study demonstrated the potential for NO, N(2)O and NO(2)(-) to be generated from subsoils in laboratory incubations. Differences in these N dynamics occurred due to subsoil drainage class. In the freely drained subsoil the rates of NO and NO(2)(-) production were higher than those observed for the corresponding topsoil, with mean maximum production rates of 3.5 microg NO(2)(-)-N g(-1) dry soil on day 16 and 0.12 microg NO-N g(-1) dry soil on day 31. The calculated total losses of N(2)O-N as percentages of the applied synthetic urine N were 0.37% (freely drained subsoil), 0.24% (poorly drained subsoil), 0.43% (freely drained topsoil) and 2.09% (poorly drained topsoil). The calculated total losses of NO-N as percentages of the applied synthetic urine N were 1.53% (freely drained subsoil), 0.02% (poorly drained subsoil), 0.25% (freely drained topsoil) and 0.08% (poorly drained topsoil).

Measurement at the field scale of soil delta13C and delta15N under improved grassland.

Variations in natural abundance of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotopes are widely used as tools for many aspects of scientific research. By examining variations in the ratios of heavy to light stable isotopes, information can be obtained as to what physical, chemical and biological processes may be occurring. The spatial heterogeneity of soil delta(15)N- and delta(13)C-values across a range of scales and under different land use have been described by a number of researchers and the natural abundances of the C and N stable isotopes in soils have been found to be correlated with many factors including hydrology, topography, land use, vegetation cover and climate. In this study the Latin square sampling +1 (LSS+1) sampling method was compared with a simple grid sampling approach for delta(13)C and delta(15)N measurement at the field scale. A set of 144 samples was collected and analysed for delta(15)N and delta(13)C from a 12 x 12 grid (in a 1 ha improved grassland field in south-west England). The dimension of each cell of the grid was approximately 11 x 6 m. The 12 x 12 grid was divided into four 6 x 6 grids and the LSS+1 sampling technique was applied to these and the main 12 x 12 grid for a comparison of sample means and variation. The LSS+1 means from the 12 x 12 grid and the four 6 x 6 grids compared well with the overall grid mean because of the low variation within the field. The LSS+1 strategy (13 samples) generated representative samples from the 12 x 12 grid, and hence would be an acceptable method for sampling similar plots for the measurement of mean isotopic composition.

Effect of dexamethasone on bovine airway smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Airway smooth muscle proliferation is a key component of airway wall remodelling that occurs as a consequence of inflammation in asthma. Studies were conducted to examine the effect of dexamethasone on airway smooth muscle cell (ASMC) proliferation in vitro. Dexamethasone (25-250 nM) significantly inhibited DNA synthesis and cell division induced by beta-hexosaminidase A (Hex A, 50 nM) in bovine ASMC. The inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on DNA synthesis was variable depending on the growth factors: significant effect was observed on Hex A and insulin; no significant effect was observed on epidermal growth factor and fetal bovine serum.