although proper nutrient and water management appear to slow tree decline in some situations. A bacterium called Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLAS) vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid is presumed the causal agent of the disease.
#Ancient Indonesian climate shift linked to glacial cycleindonesian waters are major agents for global levels of atmospheric water vapor.
titanium levels (a marker for surface water runoff) and the carbon isotopes of leaf wax a marker for plant varieties (grasses indicate dry conditions).
Leaves are covered with a carbon-based wax that protects them from losing too much water to evaporation.
whether on farms hospitals or in the environment they can infect humans through water food
and the needs of agriculture energy water resources finance transport industry trade and cities. In this way REDD+would add value to other initiatives such as agroforestry projects that are being implemented within these sectors
Not only do they store carbon they support biodiversity regulate water flows and reduce soil erosion. Nearly 1. 6 billion people worldwide depend on forests as a source of food medicines timber and fuel.
#Web tool successfully measures farmsâ##water footprinta new University of Florida web-based tool worked well during its trial run to measure water consumption at farms in four Southern states
The system measures the so-called water footprint of a farm. In the broader sense water footprints account for the amount of water used to grow
or create almost everything we eat drink wear or otherwise use. Researchers at UF's Institute of food and agricultural sciences introduced their Waterfootprint tool in the March issue of the journal Agricultural Systems after using it to calculate water consumption at farms in Florida Georgia Alabama
and Texas. The Waterfootprint is part of the Agroclimate system developed by Clyde Fraisse a UF associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
Waterfootprint developed primarily by Daniel Dourte a research associate in agricultural and biological engineering estimates water use in crop production across the U s. Waterfootprint looks at a farm in a specific year
or growing season and gives you its water footprint Dourte said. With UF's Waterfootprint system users provide their location by ZIP CODE the crop planting
and harvesting dates yield soil type tillage and water management. The tool also retrieves historical weather data
and uses it to estimate the blue and green water footprints of crop production Dourte said.
Water footprints separate water use into green which is rainfall; blue from a freshwater resource;
and gray an accounting of water quality after it's been polluted. Water footprints can be viewed at the farm level or globally.
For instance if irrigation water is used to grow crops it is exported essentially Dourte said. Once products are shipped overseas the water used to grow the commodity goes with it
and it may not return for a long time --if ever Dourte said. That's a problem if the crop is grown in a region where water is said scarce he.
But there's often a tradeoff he said. Global food trade saves billions of gallons of water each year as food is exported from humid temperate places to drier locales that would have used much more water to grow crops Dourte said.
The U s. is a big agricultural producer. Products are exported and along with them water goes to other countries he said.
For example if you're growing soybeans you're indirectly sending the water that was used to grow the crop.
That amounts to about 270 gallons per pound of soybeans Dourte said. In addition to soybeans coffee beans and shirts if made from cotton consume lots of water from the growing process to processing to shipping--with most of that water consumption resulting from evaporation
and transpiration during crop growth he said. But understanding the type of water resource being consumed
whether it's from rainfall or irrigation makes all the difference in assessing water resource sustainability.
Dourte co-authored the study with Fraisse and Oxana Uryasev a UF research associate in agricultural and biological engineering.
The Waterfootprint tool can help not just growers but world water managers as well he said.
We think this farm-specific time-specific water footprinting tool is a unique resource that could be used by resource managers
and educators to consider water resource sustainability in the context of agricultural production Dourte said.
We usually think of water management locally and regionally. But when you're accounting for the water footprint of agricultural products it allows you to see the global nature of that water.
UF's Waterfootprint calculator can be found at http://agroclimate. org/tools/Water-Footprint/./Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by University of Florida Institute of food and agricultural sciences. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Future heat waves pose threat to global food supplyheat waves could significantly reduce crop yields and threaten global food supply
which they create food from sunlight CO2 and water. When there is more CO2 in the atmosphere the leaves of plants can capture more of it resulting in an overall increase in the biomass of the plant.
In addition plants are able to manage their water use much more efficiently in these conditions resulting in better tolerance to drought episodes.
and water conservation strategies in the Chesapeake bay region and one we are really counting on for future improvements in water quality in the bay.
Our analysis shows how the effort to improve water quality with cover crops will affect other ecosystem services that we expect from agricultural land.
In susceptible varieties the fungus kills the infected cells in the head thereby plugging the transport of water and nutrients to the upper part of the head.
#Global food trade can alleviate water scarcityinternational trade of food crops led to freshwater savings worth 2. 4 billion US-Dollars in 2005
and had a major impact on local water stress. This is shown in a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Trading food involves the trade of virtually embedded water used for production and the amount of that water depends heavily on the climatic conditions in the production region:
It takes for instance 2. 700 liters of water to produce 1 kilo of cereals in Morocco
while the same kilo produced in Germany uses up only 520 liters. Analyzing the impact of trade on local water scarcity our scientists found that it is not the amount of water used that counts most but the origin of the water.
While parts of India or the Middle east alleviate their water scarcity through importing crops some countries in Southern Europe export agricultural goods from water-scarce sites
thus increasing local water stress. Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our global freshwater consumption and therefore has a huge potential to affect local water scarcity lead author Anne Biewald says.
The amount of water used in the production of agricultural export goods is referred to as virtual water trade.
So far however the concept of virtual water could not identify the regional water source but used national or even global averages instead.
Our analysis shows that it is not the amount of water that matters but whether global food trade leads to conserving
or depleting water reserves in water-scarce regions Biewald says. Combining biophysical simulations of the virtual water content of crop production with agro-economic land-use and water-use simulations the scientists were able for the first time to determine the positive and negative impacts on water scarcity through international
trade of crops livestock and feed. The effects were analyzed with high resolution on a subnational level to account for large countries like India
or the US with different climatic zones and relating varying local conditions regarding water availability and water productivity.
Previously these countries could only be evaluated through national average water productivity. Local water scarcity is reduced through imports of agricultural goods and therefore saving regional agricultural production particularly in parts of India Morocco Egypt and Pakistan.
But scarcity is exacerbated by exports in parts of Turkey Spain Portugal Afghanistan and the US Biewald says.
Despite the fact that Europe alone exports virtual water in food crops worth 3. 1 billion US-Dollars the scientists found that international trade of food crops today globally accounts for water
savings worth 2. 4 billion US-Dollars. The study focusing on data of the year 2005 shows that trade has a considerable impact on agricultural production.
Trade reduces global crop production and area due to regionally different livestock production efficiencies: one kilo of beef for instance can be produced with much less input feed in the US than in Africa
and the related virtual water flows indeed offer the possibility of relieving water stress and making global water use more efficient co-author Hermann Lotze-Campen co-chair of PIKÂ's research domain Climate Impacts
and Vulnerabilities says. When it comes to the implementation of policy instruments which affect global trade--such as trade liberalization import taxes or agricultural subsidies-decision makers have to take into account the indirect effects on water as well.
To connect international food trade to regional water scarcity can contribute to advance this debate.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK.
but often it's not just lack of water or access to the right seeds she said.
The one place where this species is found in San luis Obispo County is a freshwater bog where the plants are in standing water.
Instead we found that it actually does better without standing water. In addition field studies showed the importance of small-scale habitat variations according to first author Megan Bontrager.
Water parsley (Oenanthe sarmentosa) is a native plant that grows in wet areas along the west coast of North america.
Field experiments in two California State Parks in Santa cruz County showed that marsh sandwort does well in areas dominated by water parsley.
This information provided guidance for larger-scale reintroduction experiments in the Golden Gate National recreation area (GGNRA) in Marin county. We think water parsley might be a good indicator of moisture
and light conditions that work well for this endangered species. That isn't to say that every place water parsley grows will be good for marsh sandwort
but within the range of coastal habitat this plant likes planting it alongside water parsley is likely to be said successful Bontrager.
but in a region with the Arctic Grayling a candidate for endangered listing the water shortage would affect wildlife.
Murphy adds that one of the major concerns in Grand County Colo. is also water because much of the snow melt there feeds into a lake that's a reservoir for Denver's water.
Ranchers irrigators and home owners are concerned about rising water prices if there is less snow so that was a conflict that seemed to emerge there.
Murphy says that in both Grand County and Big Hole Valley the second scenario was perceived as an opportunity
The osmotic effect which is the result of the high sugar concentration in honey draws water from the bacterial cells dehydrating
In its investigations into seven subject areas--from glaciers and water balance to woods biodiversity and agriculture to health and energy--the researchers took the so-called CH2011 Scenarios as their starting point for the future development of temperature and precipitation in Switzerland.
and pest control--and in water supply. Due to the changing streamflow in the rivers it will in future be necessary to be more economical with the use of water.
But climate change is also presenting forestry with new challenges. The changing conditions necessitate an adaptation of forest tending and the promotion of biodiversity.
and death--food and water tainted with pathogens from fecal matter results in the deaths of roughly 700000 children each year.
It has good water holding capacity and it can be used in agricultural areas to hold in nutrients
A soil mixture containing 10 percent biochar can hold up to 50 percent more water and increase the availability of plant nutrients he said.
In late December tests at CU-Boulder showed the solar energy directed into the reaction chamber could easily boil water
CU-Boulder team member Elizabeth Travis from Parker Colo. who is working toward a master's degree in the engineering college's Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities said her interest in water
and less water to produce the same amount of beef than if no beta agonists were used.
and water transport that enables some trees to grow 100 meters tall. However lignin must be removed for biofuel pulp
In a region already pressed for water the droughts have helped already spark a new migration in a vast region where people until now have lived the same way for centuries moving herds from place to place
The heat evaporated water stored in soil lakes and vegetation and in combination with repeated dzuds devastated livestock.
--but these also consume water and it is not clear where that will come from.
As humans burn fossil fuels dose crops with chemical fertilizers and dispose of manure from livestock they introduce extra nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil air and water.
The quest for'intensification'in livestock farming has thundered ahead with little regard for sustainability and overall efficiency the net amount of food produced in relation to inputs such as land and water.
#Stricter controls of wastewater reuse on crops needed to meet WHO guidelineswastewater used to irrigate agricultural crops in countries where water is scarce may contribute to significant public health risks such as diarrheal disease in children from rotavirus.
A new study of these risks found that wastewater used to irrigate vegetable plots in Asian countries poses health risks that may exceed World health organization (WHO) guidelines.
The authors recommend that stricter wastewater regulation may be needed to protect the health of farmers and consumers worldwide.
Wastewater reuse is an economical method to grow food but wastewater carries microorganisms such as viruses bacteria
and protozoa that can contaminate food and cause disease. Asia accounts for the majority of the worldâ##s reuse of wastewater in irrigation
and given that China is the worldâ##s most populous country millions of people may be exposed to health risks from contamination.
Food systems researchers Hoi-Fei Mok and Andrew J. Hamilton of The University of Melbourne in Australia instead created a statistical model to characterize the health risks posed by wastewater used to grow Asian vegetables The reach of the Asian vegetable
Their paper â#oeexposure factors for wastewater-irrigated Asian vegetables and a probabilistic rotavirus disease burden model for their consumptionâ#recently appeared in the electronic version of the journal Risk Analysis published by the Society for Risk Analysis. The researchers first determined the volume of water retained by three commonly grown Asian vegetables
and then used a statistical model to estimate rotavirus disease burdens associated with wastewater irrigation. Rotavirus is associated with diarrheal disease in children
and was chosen as the focus of the study because diarrheal disease is associated with 74 percent of wastewater-related deaths 90 percent
of which occur in children. According to THE WHO diarrheal disease is the second leading global cause of death in children under five years old
and can leave the body without the water and salts that are necessary for survival.
Based on their findings the researchers concluded that the probability curves of the annual disease burden â#oeexceeded the WHOÂ##s threshold for acceptable level of risk from wastewater reuse by two to three orders of magnitude
because leaf shape affects the amount of wastewater and contaminants that are retained. Vegetables such as bok choy posed the least risk
and regulations for the reuse of wastewater they present only threshold concentrations for bacteria such as E coli not viruses.
Furthermore while there are regulations relating to water quality there is no guideline for risk management around wastewater reuse in China.
Considering the global increase in wastewater use for agricultural irrigation assessing the health risks from reuse schemes is necessary to develop better wastewater management policies to protect public health.
Once infected these plants absorb less water and nutrients resulting in yield losses of up to 75 percent.
In areas where water is in short supply irrigation infrastructure can be expensive and the model could help to determine its economic cost effectiveness.
Water is at the center of nearly all farming decisions. It affects the crop cultivar the variety of seed planted the amount
because different crops have different root depths and distributions for optimal water uptake. Next a soil moisture profile is developed with the principle of maximum entropy model (POME)
The model can provide daily estimates of grain weights as well as water and fertilizer needs within a growing period.
and who drink water have reduced a significantly risk of preterm delivery suggests a study published on bmj. com today.
and fish and to drink water. Preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) is associated with significant short and long term ill-health and accounts for almost 75%of all newborn deaths.
The researchers identified three distinct dietary patterns interpreted as prudent (vegetables fruits oils water as a beverage whole grain cereals poultry fibre rich bread) Western
The study analyses data obtained from the simulation forest growth model GOTILWA+(Growth Of Trees Is limited by WATER) based on ecophysiological processes.
GOTILWA+also explores the responses of different forest types to water availability. Climate change involves an increase of aridity and evaporative rates.
Particularly it is essential to consider that Mediterranean forest ecosystems'growth is limited already by water availability.
#Smoke in the water: Understanding effects of smoke compounds on seed germinationalthough seemingly destructive wildfires help to maintain biodiversity
Because many of the identified compounds are known to be water soluble using a smoke solution is a convenient alternative to direct fumigation of seeds explains Dr. Janice Coons lead author of the study.
The new system utilizes a bee smoker heater hose and water aspirator. Water-soluble compounds are dissolved by bubbling smoke through water contained in a flask.
This setup is inexpensive and much more compact than previous systems allowing for the production of smaller volumes of smoke solution within a small space such as a fume hood.
study showsa new Boston University study shows that the consequences of milder winters--a smaller snowpack leaving the ground to freeze harder and longer--can have a negative impact on trees and water quality of nearby aquatic
This leads to greater run off of nitrogen into ground water and nearby streams which could deteriorate water quality
and trigger widespread harmful consequences to humans and the environment Most people think that climate change means hot sweltering summer months
#Methane leaks from palm oil wastewater are a climate concernin recent years palm oil production has come under fire from environmentalists concerned about the deforestation of land in the tropics to make way for new palm plantations.
An analysis published Feb 26 in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that the wastewater produced during the processing of palm oil is a significant source of heat-trapping methane in the atmosphere.
The methane bubbling up from a single palm oil wastewater lagoon during a year is roughly equivalent to the emissions from 22000 passenger vehicles in the United states the analysis found.
This year global methane emissions from palm oil wastewater are expected to equal 30 percent of all fossil fuel emissions from Indonesia where widespread deforestation for palm oil production has endangered orangutans.
but capturing wastewater methane leaks for energy would be a step in the right direction. The global demand for palm oil has spiked in recent years as processed food manufacturers have sought an alternative to trans fats.
For now the carbon footprint of cutting down forests to make way for palm plantations dwarfs the greenhouse gases coming from the wastewater lagoons.
But while deforestation is expected to slow as the focus shifts to more intensive agriculture on existing plantations the emissions from wastewater lagoons will continue unabated
The amount of methane biogas that went uncollected from palm oil wastewater lagoons last year alone could have met a quarter of Malaysia's electricity needs.
Capturing methane at wastewater lagoons could be encouraged by making it a requirement before palm oil products can be certified as sustainable the authors said.
Current sustainability certifications do not address wastewater emissions. Taylor whose research typically focuses on carbon cycling in old-growth tropical forests was inspired to do the analysis by undergraduate researcher Hana Fancher who also is a co-author of the journal article.
She has a wastewater background Taylor said. She ended up doing an honors thesis on palm oil agriculture and wastewater emissions.
This paper is an extension of that thinking. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Colorado at Boulder.
The main culprit is warm water in the circumpolar current which is eating away at the underside of the ice shelf floating at the edge of Pine Island Glacier said Dr Keith Nicholls of The british Antarctic Survey A continuous record of seasonal changes which is
#Water filter from the sapwood in pine tree branchesif you've run out of drinking water during a lakeside camping trip there's a simple solution:
and slowly pour lake water through the stick. The improvised filter should trap any bacteria producing fresh uncontaminated water.
In fact an MIT team has discovered that this low-tech filtration system can produce up to four liters of drinking water a day--enough to quench the thirst of a typical person.
In a paper published this week in the journal PLOS ONE the researchers demonstrate that a small piece of sapwood can filter out more than 99 percent of the bacteria E coli from water.
They say the size of the pores in sapwood--which contains xylem tissue evolved to transport sap up the length of a tree--also allows water through
and efficient material for water filtration particularly for rural communities where more advanced filtration systems are not readily accessible.
of water-purification technologies on the market today although many come with drawbacks: Systems that rely on chlorine treatment work well at large scales
Boiling water to remove contaminants requires a great deal of fuel to heat the water. Membrane-based filters while able to remove microbes are expensive require a pump
It's the same problem with water filtration where we want to filter out microbes but maintain a high flow rate.
Seeing redto study sapwood's water-filtering potential the researchers collected branches of white pine and stripped off the outer bark.
Before experimenting with contaminated water the group used water mixed with red ink particles ranging from 70 to 500 nanometers in size.
while the filtrate or filtered water was clear. This experiment showed that sapwood is naturally able to filter out particles bigger than about 70 nanometers.
However in another experiment the team found that sapwood was unable to separate out 20-nanometer particles from water suggesting that there is a limit to the size of particles coniferous sapwood can filter.
Picking the right plantfinally the team flowed inactivated E coli-contaminated water through the wood filter.
Counting the bacterial cells in the filtered water the researchers found that the sapwood was able to filter out more than 99 percent of E coli from water.
which may be less practical for designing a compact water filter. Designers interested in using sapwood as a filtering material will also have to find ways to keep the wood damp
In other experiments with dried sapwood Karnik found that water either did not flow through well
which water condenses thus initiating the formation of clouds. The particle growth in the diameter range between about three and one hundred nanometers requires low-volatile organic vapors as has been speculated.
and plants kept fish healthy by cleaning their water. It's the same interaction that happens in the natural world said Handler operations a senior research engineer at Michigan Tech.
Global population growth and increasing urbanization have resulted in increased competition for water resources among domestic industrial and agricultural users.
Advances in sensor technology and increased understanding of plant physiology have made it possible for greenhouse growers to use water content sensors to accurately determine irrigation timing and application rates in soilless substrates.
and can save irrigation water labor energy and fertilizer. The authors of a report published in Horttechnology said that the use of sensor-based irrigation technology can also accelerate container and greenhouse plant production time.
Sensor-based irrigation systems substitute capital for water and associated inputs such as energy labor and fertilizer the authors explained.
and Sustainability collected data that shows how many million gallons of arsenic-contaminated water and ash spilled into the Dan River in Eden N c. after the initial pipe burst.
and water spilled out of the pond on Feb 2 with up to 15 million gallons being released in subsequent days.
and water slurry that flowed out of the pond based on our methodology. The uncertainty comes from the amount of water that continued to drain from the ash
which is a question for hydrologists Silman said. Our work provides an independent estimate of the spill.
Then it was centrifuged six times with distilled water and finally the product was purified with acetone. The product was dried then at 110 degrees Celsius for 24 hours
because it's not easy to plant seedlings under the water and seeds scattered over a large area could be washed away from the restoration site.
They first harvested eelgrass seedpods from several eelgrass beds in San francisco bay then suspended the pods within floating nets over experimental tanks (called mesocosms) supplied with Bay water and with or without sediment from the original eelgrass areas.
Cohen said that differences in water salinity wind sunlight a sandy or silty bottom and the kinds of organisms that live with the eelgrass all might play a role in creating such genetically different meadows.
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