and a synthesis of what is known about the effects of fire on forest ecosystem services such as water quantity and quality air quality and biodiversity.
First they enter the minuscule water droplets that form clouds. At night that's not an issue.
When sunlight penetrates a water droplet containing black or brown carbon particles Jacobson said the carbon absorbs the light energy creating heat and accelerating evaporation of the droplet.
but will have less of an environmental impact--such as varieties that require less water fertilizer and pesticides.
We found that dried Ficus deltoidea leaves extracted with water at 50 degree celsius for 20 hours yielded an aqueous extract with the highest content of flavonoids and total phenolics.
and quantity of water available in watersheds in part by reducing the density of vegetation.
While it may be obvious that changes in river water discharge across the U s. Midwest can be related to changes in rainfall
The 9000-square-kilometer watershed has the advantage of having had its water discharge levels measured and recorded daily for most of the 20th century right on up to the present day.
Not surprisingly they found that variability in rainfall is responsible for most of the changes in water discharge volumes.
However the water discharge rates also varied with changes in agricultural practices as defined by soybean
In times of flood and in times of drought water flow rates were exacerbated by more or less agriculture respectively. The authors suggest that
or part of the debris pile with low-density polyethylene plastic commonly referred to as agricultural plastic in order to keep water out.
and Water Association shows that inclusion of agricultural plastic in debris piles has no effect on smoke emissions.
Neonicotinoid insecticides dissolve easily in water but do not break down quickly in the environment. This means they are likely to be transported away in runoff from the fields where they were applied first to nearby surface water and groundwater bodies.
In all nine rivers and streams including the Mississippi and Missouri rivers were included in the study.
One of the chemicals imidacloprid is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms at 10-100 nanograms per liter
if the aquatic organisms are exposed to it for an extended period of time. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam behave similarly to imidacloprid
Specifically the researchers found that higher temperatures increase stress on red maples by making it harder for them get water from their roots to their leaves.
or natural landscape features such as bodies of water. Cottontails require thicketed habitats which progress from old fields to young forests.
Other contributing factors are habitat degradation causing higher water temperatures and decreased water quality and accidental or intentional killing of snakes by humans.
and nutrient-poor foods and beveragesâ#said corresponding author Kristie Hubbard Ph d. M p h. R. D. a research associate at the Friedman School. â#oealthough water was slightly more common than sugar-sweetened
or three sugary drinks in their lunchboxesâ#said Hubbard. â#oereplacing sugary drinks with water â#the drink recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics-keeps children hydrated without adding extra sugar to
#Water, water--not everywhere: Mapping water trends for African maizetoday's food production relies heavily on irrigation
but across Sub-saharan africa only 4 percent of cultivated land is irrigated compared with a global average of 18 percent.
Small-scale farming is the main livelihood for many people in the region who depend on rainfall to water their crops.
To understand how climate change may affect the availability of water for agriculture researchers at Princeton university analyzed trends in the water cycle in maize-growing areas of 21 African countries between 1979 and 2010.
which is the movement of water through plants. Overall they found increases in water availability during the maize-growing season
although the trends varied by region. The greater availability of water generally resulted from a mixture of increased rainfall and decreased evaporative demand.
However some regions of East Africa experienced declines in water availability the study found. Some places like parts of Tanzania got a double whammy that looks like a declining trend in rainfall as well as an increasing evaporative demand during the more sensitive middle part of the growing season said Lyndon Estes the study's lead
author and an associate research scholar in the Program in Science Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow wilson School of Public and International affairs.
Most areas saw a decrease in evaporative demand leading to higher water availability. The researchers analyzed the contributions of different factors to this decrease
Another study found that decreasing wind speeds contributed to declining evaporative demand in South africa The current study only examined water availability during the maize growing season
For example in Burkina faso in West Africa a comparison of different parts of the growing season showed a decrease in water availability early in the season but an increase at later time points.
this could inform a reallocation of water use. According to Estes this study which examined only 34 percent of all African maize-growing areas may serve as a framework to guide more detailed analyses within individual countries.
It's also essential to understand the relationship between changes in water availability and changes in actual crop yields which is more complex
what these changes in water supply and demand mean for crop production he said. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Princeton university.
For example cattle grazing on arid land in the western half of the US use enormous amounts of land but relatively little irrigation water.
The environmental inputs the team considered included land use irrigation water greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen fertilizer use.
and 11 times more irrigation water are responsible for releasing 5 times more greenhouse gases and consume 6 times as much nitrogen as eggs or poultry.
#Filter bed substrates, plant types recommended for rain gardensurban stormwater runoff is causing problems for the world's water sources.
Researchers from North carolina State university are looking to rain gardens as one way to remediate the water quality concerns caused by urban stormwater.
and highest concentration of phosphorus in its effluent and was similar in nitrogen removal efficiency to slate.
and water resources and maintaining the health of the orchard ecosystem. According to Rom the study has implications for sustainably
and water resources may seem like an impossible challenge. But according to a new report by researchers at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment focusing efforts to improve food systems on a few specific regions crops
and water to grow crops. Agriculture is responsible for 20 to 35 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions largely in the form of carbon dioxide from tropical deforestation methane from livestock and rice growing and nitrous oxide from crop fertilization.
With respect to water rice and wheat are the crops that create the most demand for irrigation worldwide
and India Pakistan China and the U s. account for the bulk of irrigation water use in water-limited areas.
Boosting crop water use efficiency the researchers found could reduce water demand 8 to 15 percent without compromising food production. 3 Use crops more efficiently.
Agriculture is the main source of water use greenhouse gas emissions and habitat loss yet we need to grow more food West said.
and water resources and changing diets and health expectations said Sonny Ramaswamy director of USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a former Kansas State university faculty member.
The cinnamon cassia oil is effective in low concentrations she said--about 10 drops diluted in a liter of water killed the bacteria within 24 hours.
Petra DÃ ll has been researching this using the global water model Watergap. She has arrived at the most reliable estimate to date by taking into consideration processes
but that the rate is not as high as previously estimated. 90 percent of water consumption is due to irrigation for farming purposes.
Only the comparatively small remainder is used for potable water and industrial production. As an example 40 percent of the cereals produced around the world is irrigated.
However in many cases this results in increased scarcity of water resources and puts a burden on ecosystems.
and water resources to such an extent that agriculture soon stops being viable. In the authors'view this also casts a different light on the discussion about what to western eyes appears to be unused land in many parts of Africa.
The reflex is triggered by cold water contacting the face and it initiates physiological changes that enable animals to stay underwater for extended periods of time.
Influences of soils land cover and water use authored by Dr. Sriroop Chaudhuri former postdoctoral research associate at Vernon
because by 2060 the state's population is expected to double increasing the demand for water at a time
when the existing water supply is expected to be reduced by about 10 percent. We wanted to know which areas are more vulnerable to water shortages he said.
In order to plan and implement strategies to deal with the water level declines we needed to know how these levels were declining spatially and temporally.
Previous hydrologic studies on Texas groundwater levels were conducted mostly on an aquifer-specific basis and lacked the statewide panoramic view Ale
Our results indicated a progressive decline in statewide decadal median water levels in Texas from about 46 feet to 118 feet between the 1930s
We identified hot spots of deep water levels in GMA 8 (North Central Texas) and the Texas Panhandle regions since the 1960s mainly due to extensive groundwater withdrawals for urban and irrigational purposes respectively.
Statewide the number of counties with deeper median water levels a water-level depth below 328 feet increased from two to 13 between 1930s
and surface-water use patterns soil characteristics geology and land cover types to better understand the water-level changes in Texas. For instance the South Plains
thus contributing to the decline in water levels. There is a brighter note Ale said. Interestingly the trends we observed over the decades show the water-level declines are leveling off recently in some parts of the state including GMA 8 suggesting a recovery from historical drawdown due to implementation of conservation
and regulatory strategies Ale said. The leveling off of the decline has been seen in the past decade after the implementation of the GMAS
Increased use of surface water and assessment of water levels are some measures being utilized to address groundwater depletion issues in the Houston GMA 14 and Dallas GMA 8 areas.
However these voluntary conservation or regulatory strategies have resulted in a variable pattern of recovery in ambient water-levels
Ale said the need for more spatially intensive and frequent water-level monitoring has been realized over the course of this study.
and flow paths human dimensions on water-level fluctuations and climate are warranted. Overall our study indicated that use of robust spatial and statistical methods can reveal important details about the trends in water-level changes
and shed light on the associated factors Chaudhuri said. Due to their very generic nature techniques used in this study can also be applied to other areas with similar eco-hydrologic issues to identify regions that warrant future management actions.
#Tailored water: the latest in lawn carein Santa fe Albuquerque and other major cities in New mexico nearly every public golf course is watered now with treated municipal wastewater rather than precious potable water supplies.
Across the U s. Southwest as a whole more than 40%of all golf courses receive treated effluent. Reusing the effluent increases the sustainability of golf courses.
Bernd Leinauer a turfgrass expert at New mexico State university suggests combining fertigation drip irrigation and decentralized water treatment.
Right now many big New mexico cities remove nearly all the nitrate from wastewater all the time. That's an expensive and energy-intensive step designed to prevent pollution of surface-and ground-waters.
Fertigation is a method of supplying fertilizers to plants through irrigation water (fertilize and irrigate at the same time).
Drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots underground instead of sprinkling plants from above. In Leinauer's and Sevostianova's vision a decentralized treatment system at a subdivision would be tailored to generate effluent during the summer that contained 15 parts per million (ppm) of the nutrient nitrate.
Residents would then use this water to fertigate their lawns. Because drip systems put water directly into the soil Leinauer says homeowners wouldn't come in contact with it.
Why not leave the nitrate in the water? Leinauer asks Then the effluent already contains a fertilizer that the golf course operator
or homeowner doesn't have to buy or manage. The tailored water from the decentralized treatment system makes this feasible.
The overall idea is to combine subsurface drip irrigation with tailored water: water with nutrient levels tailored for the summer versus the winter.
Will reusing this high-nitrate content water cause problems? Will the nitrate seep into the subsoil and eventually to groundwater?
Leinauer is now studying this at a test facility. So far results are good. Turf plots drip-irrigated with tailored water are
just as green and healthy as those receiving potable water and mineral fertilizers Leinauer says. The researchers also see little evidence of greater nitrate loss from the fertigated drip-irrigated plots.
Still he cautions the results are preliminary and there are other challenges to address. For example wastewater effluent tends to be high in salt.
These problems must be solved though as water supplies continue to decline. In New mexico for example demands on potable water from agriculture
and a growing populace are so great that basically the only water left for the landscape is treated effluent Leinauer says.
But the issue is hardly unique to his region. Leinauer hopes researchers around the country will embark on similar studies.
We're doing our part here in the Southwest but our region is completely different from let's say New england
or the Midwest he says. So these questions need to be investigated more thoroughly on a regional basis. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by American Society of Agronomy. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Biodegradable paper covers as replacement for plastics opens up bioeconomy market for horticultureglobal vegetable production currently depends on plastics:
Using biodegradable cover material the water economy of the soil can be managed and the growth of weeds including couch grass can be prevented.
and Egypt where MTT has gained research experience on the management of water economy of dry soil and other similar projects.
Water melon oranges currant jelly grapes and cherry all find their way into visual clues for a range of conditions
The susceptible ones wilt and even after adding water don't recover. Those that are tolerant to drought survive.
When asked why they thought hookahs were not harmful 47 percent of the participants said they believed that the smoke gets filtered through water
and water temperature lighting provided by LEDS (light emitting diodes) as well as levels of humidity nutrient levels
and a fluid delivery system that can provide fresh water or water with nutrients. Larsen explains that the system could be operated remotely
The ROGR robots can visit a specific plant to deliver water or to locate and grasp a fruit or vegetable.
Hookah an ancient form of smoking in which charcoal-heated tobacco or non-tobacco based shisha smoke is passed through water before inhalation is rapidly gaining popularity among adolescents in the US.
and crops that can deal with droughts and high temperatures like those now affecting the Southwestern United states. â#oefor each carbon dioxide molecule that is incorporated into plants through photosynthesis plants lose about 200 hundred molecules of water
through their stomataâ#explains Julian Schroeder a professor of biology who headed the research effort. â#oebecause elevated CO2 reduces the density of stomatal pores in leaves this is at first sight beneficial for plants as they would lose less water.
However the reduction in the numbers of stomatal pores decreases the ability of plants to cool their leaves during a heat wave via water evaporation.
and EPF2 could be used to engineer crop varieties which are better able to perform in the current and future high CO2 global climate where fresh water availability for agriculture is dwindling. â#The discoveries of these proteins
and genes have the potential to address a wide range of critical agricultural problems in the future including the limited availability of water for crops the need to increase water use efficiency in lawns as well as crops
BVDV spreads via direct contact through nasal discharge saliva such as when cows drink from a tank with unchlorinated water.
and grazing sea urchins and set aside one-third of its coastal waters as marine reserves says Ayana Johnson of the Waitt Institute's Blue Halo Initiative which is collaborating with Barbuda in the development of its new management plan.
#Rosettas comet target releases plentiful watercomet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is releasing the Earthly equivalent of two glasses of water into space every second.
and organic materials associated with the comet via both remote and in-situ observations the Rosetta mission should be a key to unlocking the history and evolution of our solar system as well as answering questions regarding the origin of Earth's water and perhaps even life.
As alternative water sources such as reclaimed water are becoming more commonly used as irrigation for urban landscapes
or irrigation water quality is said poor the authors. They recommended'Belinda's Dream''Climbing Pinkie''Mrs. Dudley Cross''Reve d'Or'and'Sea Foam'as good selections for planting in landscapes with high soil salinity.'
#Ancient Arctic sharks tolerated brackish water 50 million years agosharks were a tolerant bunch some 50 million years ago cruising an Arctic ocean that contained about the same percentage of freshwater as Louisiana
and mako sharks was thriving in the brackish water of the western Arctic ocean back then. In contrast modern sand tiger sharks living today in the Atlantic ocean are very intolerant of low salinity requiring three times the saltiness of the Eocene sharks
The potential consequences of warming in the Arctic include changes in freshwater runoff and atmospheric water vapor and decreases in salinity that can affect marine biology and seawater circulation dynamics.
Oxygen isotopes in ancient bones and teeth reflect the water animals are living in or drinking said Kim a former postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wyoming.
Because sharks are aquatic the oxygen from the ocean is constantly being exchanged with oxygen in their body water and that's
#Oil palm plantations threaten water quality, scientists sayif you've gone grocery shopping lately you've probably bought palm oil.
Significantly eroded water quality now joins the list of risks associated with oil palm cultivation according to new research co-authored by researchers from Stanford university
They found that water temperatures in streams draining recently cleared plantations were almost 4 degrees Celsius (more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than forest streams.
Water from canals may have carried also harmful protozoa bacteria and viruses. But groups to the northeast would have been able to expand maize production into new areas as their populations grew he said.
Our findings validate those of previous studies that found that input costs of production processes (machinery water fertilizers pesticides
Remember that everyone needs to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated during hot weather periods.
Skin sensitivity to chlorine is treated often by washing the affected area with clean water to remove traces of the remaining irritant.
Water is the limiting factor for many plants and trees. Consequently there are grave concerns that the rainfall patterns altered by climate change could trigger a forest decline on a global scale.
It became clear that young trees with more stored carbohydrates were able to maintain the vital water content in the stem for longer than those with fewer stored carbohydrates.
and argue that such deals can strip local communities of their land water and natural resources leaving them in a far worse state.
and washing off insect repellent with soap and water when you come inside. DEET and other insect repellents such as citronella are generally safe for individuals over 2 months of age.
#Reorganization of crop production, trade could save Chinas water supplychina's rapid socioeconomic growth continues to tax national water resources--especially in the agricultural sector--due to increasing demands for food.
and importing food commodities from other provinces or nations instead could help China conserve more water.
These provinces all use large volumes of water to produce crops that are exported later to wetter regions.
If balanced with more water-efficient irrigation systems locally restructuring these regions could reduce national water use
Our analysis provides a framework for understanding how such policies would benefit China's water use in the future said study co-author Denise Mauzerall professor of environmental engineering and international affairs.
In particular corn production and trade at the domestic level might be an area to target as changes could significantly reduce national water use for irrigation.
Of China's industries agriculture is the most water-intensive in terms of production and covers most of the country's northern provinces.
and stores of underground water are diminishing. To fulfill high production demands water is drawn from underground reservoirs (aquifers) in the northern provinces
and used for irrigation more rapidly than it is replenished. Water used during crop production is referred to as virtual water.
Through food trade these water resources are transferred across borders in what's called a virtual water trade.
The researchers found that in China these transfers mostly occur from dry agricultural areas to wetter provinces.
This situation places strain upon China's water reserves and will only intensify as China's economy
and consumption of water-intensive food continues to boom. While growing crops in the wetter regions would be more water efficient land in those places is either urban or industrial or difficult geographically (mountainous terrain etc.
the researchers report. The need for China to include'virtual water'in its national policy has been pointed out.
Our provincial-scale domestic analysis of the country's virtual water trade is key to guiding such policy planning said Dalin who is a former Princeton Environmental Institute Science Technology and Environmental Policy fellow.
To this end the research team --which also includes Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe the James S. Mcdonnell Distinguished University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
and co-authors from China and Japan--combined a hydrological model with domestic and international trade simulations to determine the efficiency of China's food trade in terms of water use as well as the role of foreign trade in this virtual water-trade system.
In particular the researchers sought to answer one question: Is there a way to reduce China's water use without decreasing national food security?
The researchers looked at domestic and international trade of corn rice soy and wheat along with such livestock products as ruminant (animals like cattle goats and sheep that subsist on plant matter) pork and poultry.
The researchers combined this information with water use across provinces--from both rainfall and irrigation sources--and determined how much water was transferred between provinces through food trade.
To obtain estimates of these water transfers the researchers analyzed how much food was traded between provinces
and the water amount needed to produce each type of food. They determined the amount of water transferred in kilograms by multiplying the traded volume of a specific food item by the water used to produce a unit of this item (the item's virtual water content) in the exporting province.
The researchers found that irrigation accounts for about 25 percent of water used to produce crops
and for 16 percent of water used in meat production in China. However those numbers skyrocket in Xinjiang Ningxia and Inner Mongolia where irrigation water is used predominantly for crop production (85 percent 69 percent and 49 percent respectively.
These numbers indicate that such provinces see little rainfall during the growing season and rely heavily on sometimes nonrenewable water resources such as groundwater.
This shows us that water is being used faster than it is being replenished which cannot go on indefinitely Mauzerall said.
Finally the researchers investigated whether Chinese food trade leads to global water savings. They found that domestic corn trade leads to significant losses of irrigation water resources (such as rivers reservoirs and groundwater.
However the provinces of Hubei Henan Jiangsu and Anhui produce wheat quite efficiently and their exports lead to large national water savings for both rainfall and irrigation water.
Our work highlights opportunities for addressing water scarcity in China by adjusting where water intensive crops are grown
and how they are traded said Mauzerall. Policies which encourage such adjustments can help conserve water
while maintaining China's food security. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Princeton university Woodrow wilson School of Public and International affairs.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Fruits, vegetables: Good for health, not necessarily a weight loss methodit is recommended a commonly weight-loss tactic to increase the feeling of being full by consuming more fruits
and vegetables but that may be another diet recommendation deadend according to a new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The recommended daily serving amount for adults is 1. 5-2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables says the United states Department of agriculture's Myplate initiative.
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