Name: design and construction of an urban runoff research facility
Uploaded: 2014-08-08T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility at JoVE.com

Forfatterne ønsker å takke for økonomisk støtte fra Scotts Miracle-Gro selskapet for dette anlegget. Vi er også takknemlige til Toro Co for å få hjelp med å gi vanning kontrolleren. Visjonen og planlegging av den avdøde Dr. Chris Steigler i den tidlige fasen av dette prosjektet er også takknemlig erkjent. Forfatterne vil også gjerne takke Ms N. Stanley for hennes hjelp i forbindelse med prøveopparbeidelse og analyse.

1. Nett Selection <ol><li> Finn et egnet størrelse område i uforstyrret jord ha en ensartet 3-4% skråning. </li><li> Gjennomføre en topografisk undersøkelse og avgrense et område ca 10 mx 100 m med en gjennomsnittlig 3,7 ± 0,5% helling. </li><li> Fordel 10 x100 m området i tre blokker, hver ca 10 mx 33,3 m (figur 1). </li><li> Dele hver blokk i 8 felt tomter, hver 4,1 m bred og 8,2 m lang. </li><li> Identifisere og dokumentere jord serie tilstede i undersøkelsesområdet. Merk: dette stedet ha...

<ol>
	<li>Fulton, W., Pendall, R., Nguyen, M., Harrison, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Who+sprawls+most?+How+growth+patterns+differ+across+the+U.S.+The+Brookings+Institution+Survey+Series.">Who sprawls most? How growth patterns differ across the U.S. The Brookings Institution Survey Series.</a> http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2001/7/metropolitanpolicy%20fulton/fulton. , (2001).</li><li>White, R. H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=How+much+water+is+'enough'?+Using+PET+to+develop+water+budgets+for+residential+landscapes.">How much water is 'enough'? Using PET to develop water budgets for residential landscapes.</a> Proc. Texas Sec. Amer. Water Works Assoc. 7, 7 (2004).</li><li>Walsh, C. J., Roy, A. H., Feminella, J. W., Cottingham, P. D., Groffman, P. M., Morgan, R. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+urban+stream+syndrome:+current+knowledge+and+the+search+for+a+cure.">The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure.</a> J. North Am. Benthol. Soc. 24, 706-723 (2005).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=4R+Plant+Nutrition:+A+Manual+for+Improving+the+Management+of+Plant+Nutrition.">4R Plant Nutrition: A Manual for Improving the Management of Plant Nutrition.</a> International Plant Nutrition Institute. , (2012).</li><li>Miyomoto, S., Chacon, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Soil+salinity+of+urban+turf+area+irrigated+with+saline+water+II.+Soil+factors.">Soil salinity of urban turf area irrigated with saline water II. Soil factors.</a> Landsc. Urban Plan. 77, 28-38 (2006).</li><li>Steele, M. K., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Urban+soils+of+Texas:+Relating+irrigation+sodicity+to+water-extractable+carbon+and+nutrients.">Urban soils of Texas: Relating irrigation sodicity to water-extractable carbon and nutrients.</a> Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76, 972-982 (2012).</li><li>Steele, M. K., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Salt+impacts+on+organic+carbon+and+nitrogen+leaching+from+senesced+vegetation.">Salt impacts on organic carbon and nitrogen leaching from senesced vegetation.</a> Biogeochem. 112, 245-259 (2013).</li><li>Washbusch, R. J., Selbig, W. R., Bannerman, R. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sources+of+phosphorus+in+stormwater+and+street+dirt+from+two+urban+residential+basins.">Sources of phosphorus in stormwater and street dirt from two urban residential basins.</a> National Conference on Tools for Urban Water Resource Management and Protection Proceedings. , (2000).</li><li>Pitt, R., Chen, S., Clark, S. E., Swenson, J., Ong, C. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Compaction's+impacts+on+urban+storm-water+infiltration.">Compaction's impacts on urban storm-water infiltration.</a> J. Irrigation Drainage Eng. 134, 652-658 (2008).</li><li>Kelling, K. A., Peterson, A. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Urban+lawn+infiltration+rates+and+fertilizer+runoff+losses+under+simulated+rainfall.">Urban lawn infiltration rates and fertilizer runoff losses under simulated rainfall.</a> Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 39, 349-352 (1975).</li><li>Edmondson, J. L., Davies, Z. G., McCormack, S. A., Gaston, K. J., Leake, J. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Are+soils+in+urban+ecosystems+compacted?+A+citywide+analysis.">Are soils in urban ecosystems compacted? A citywide analysis.</a> Biol. Lett. 7, 771-774 (2011).</li><li>Cunningham, M. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+suburban+stream+syndrome:+Evaluating+land+use+and+stream+impairments+in+the+suburbs.">The suburban stream syndrome: Evaluating land use and stream impairments in the suburbs.</a> Phys. Geogr. 30, 269-284 (2009).</li><li>Erickson, J. E., Cisar, J. L., Volin, J. C., Snyder, G. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparing+nitrogen+runoff+and+leaching+between+newly+established+St.+Augustinegrass+turf+and+an+alternative+residential+landscape.">Comparing nitrogen runoff and leaching between newly established St. Augustinegrass turf and an alternative residential landscape.</a> Crop Sci. 41, 1889-1895 (2001).</li><li>Morton, T. G., Gold, A. J., Sullivan, W. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Influence+of+overwatering+and+fertilization+on+nitrogen+losses+from+home+lawns.">Influence of overwatering and fertilization on nitrogen losses from home lawns.</a> J. Environ. Qual. 17, 124-130 (1988).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Method+415.1+Organic+carbon,+total+(combustion+or+oxidation).">Method 415.1 Organic carbon, total (combustion or oxidation).</a> Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes. , 415.1-415.3 (1983).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+phosphorus+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory,+Office+of+research+and+development.">Determination of phosphorus by semi automated colorimetry. Environmental monitoring systems laboratory, Office of research and development.</a> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+nitrate+nitrogen+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Revision+2.0+Edited+by+JW+O'Dell,+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory.">Determination of nitrate nitrogen by semi automated colorimetry. Revision 2.0 Edited by JW O'Dell, Environmental monitoring systems laboratory.</a> Office of research and development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+ammonia+nitrogen+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Revision+2.0+Edited+by+JW+O'Dell,+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory.">Determination of ammonia nitrogen by semi automated colorimetry. Revision 2.0 Edited by JW O'Dell, Environmental monitoring systems laboratory.</a> Office of research and development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>Gobel, P., Dierkes, C., Coldewey, W. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Storm+water+runoff+concentration+matrix+for+urban+areas.">Storm water runoff concentration matrix for urban areas.</a> J. Contam. Hydrol. 91, 26-42 (2007).</li><li>Vietor, D. M., Provin, T. L., White, R. H., Munster, C. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Runoff+losses+of+phosphorus+and+nitrogen+imported+in+sod+or+composted+manure+for+turf+establishment.">Runoff losses of phosphorus and nitrogen imported in sod or composted manure for turf establishment.</a> J. Env. Qual. 33, 358-366 (2004).</li></ol>

Vann flyte over, inn, og gjennom jord er sterkt påvirket av topografien, vegetative cover, og jorda fysiske egenskaper. Overdrevet komprimerte jord og jord med høyt innhold av leire vil vise reduserte infiltrasjonsrater og økte mengder avrenning. Derfor, når du bygger et anlegg av denne art, alle anstrengelser bør gjøres for å bruke stedlige masser med ensartede bakker og minimere komprimering fra alle typer trafikk på de eksperimentelle områder under bygging. I tillegg bør komprimering fra innlegget byggevedl...

Fire av de raskest voksende, tett befolkede byområder er lokalisert i den sørlige USA i subtropiske klima en. I tillegg oppstod det største prosentvise endring i urbaniserte land mellom 1982 og 1997 i det sørlige USA 1. Med økt byområder kommer en samtidig behov for drikkevann, hvorav mye er brukt for utendørs bruk i sommermånedene to. Med nye bygg, er programmerbare i bakken vanningsanlegg ofte installert. Dessverre er disse systemene ofte programmert til å levere vanning til urban landskaps oftere og / eller i volumer som overstiger evapotranspirasjon krav landskapet to. Dette resulterer i et betydelig volum av avrenning fra urban landskaps til resipienten, noe som bidrar til det som har blitt betegnet urban strømmen syndrom 3. Symptomer på urban stream syndrom inkluderer økt hyppighet av overland flyt og erosiv flyt, økt nitrogen-n (N), fosfor (P), giftstoffer, og temperaturen i tillegg til endringer i kanal morfologi, ferskvannsbiologi, og økosystemprosesser 3. Tap av N og P fra landbruket økosystemer har blitt grundig studert og funnet å være først og fremst avhengig av fire faktorer: næringskilde, søknad rente, applikasjons timing, og næringsplassering fire. Mens færre publiserte data finnes i dag på off site bevegelse av næringsstoffer fra urbane landskap, kan disse prinsippene bli brukt direkte til turfgrass kultur, enten i hjemmet plener, torv gårder, parker, eller andre grøntområder. I tillegg kan feilaktig vanningspraksis som resulterer i avrenning fra landskapet forverre disse tapene. Næringstap kan bli ytterligere endret av vanning vannkvalitet. Områdene i sørvest USA ofte bruke mer saltvann eller soda vann til vanning av hjemme plener og urbane landskap 5,6. Den kjemiske sammensetningvanningsvannet kan vesentlig endre jordkjemi forårsaker en frigjøring av karbon, nitrogen, kalsium, og andre kationer til overvann. Nyere arbeider har vist at økte natrium absorpsjonsforhold (SAR) av ekstrahere vann økte mengdene av karbon (C) og nitrogen (N) utlutet fra St. Augustinegrass utklipp, raigress avklippet gress og annet organisk materiale 7 i betydelig grad. Videre ble vannekstraherbare jord C, N og P tap fra fritids turfgrass jord signifikant korrelert med vanning vann kjemiske bestanddeler seks. Washbusch et al. studert urban avrenning i Madison, WI og fant at plener var de største bidragsyterne av total fosfor åtte. I tillegg har de også funnet ut at 25% av den totale P i «Street Dirt&quot; stammer fra blader og gresset. I en typisk landlige omgivelser, faller blad søppel på bakken og deretter brytes sakte frigjør næringsstoffer tilbake til solje-miljø. Men i urbane miljøer, kan betydelige mengder næringsrike blader og gress utklipp falle på eller få vasket eller blåst inn hardscapes som oppkjørsler, fortau og veier, deretter på vei ut i gatene der de bidrar til &quot;street skitt&quot; , mye av dette blir vasket direkte inn mottar vassdrag. Urbane landskap jord er ofte forstyrret og svært komprimert under bygging, som også kan øke mengder avrenning som følge av reduserte infiltrasjons priser ni. Kelling og Peterson rapportert at både total avrenning volum og nærings konsentrasjoner i avrenning fra hjemme plener er økt fra plener som er komprimert eller har alvorlige forstyrrelser i jordprofiler på grunn av tidligere anleggsvirksomhet 10. Edmondson et al. på den annen side funnet at tett jordsmonn var mindre komprimert i forhold til omgivende landbruksjord i by-og forstads regionen Leicester, UK 11. De tilskrives dette tunge landbruks brukt, men de har også bemerket at plener hadde et større jord bulk tetthet enn jorden under trær og busker som ble tilskrevet gress klipping og større menneskelig tråkk. Det kan virke som i mange situasjoner, er urbane og forstads stream syndromer betydelig påvirket av avrenning og punkt-kilde utslipp 3,12. Mens punkt-kilder kan manipuleres gjennom tillatelser og gjenvinning, er ytterligere forskning er nødvendig for å utvikle og teste beste forvaltningsprosedyrer for hjem plen etablering og styring for å redusere næringstap til avrenning. Tidligere forskningsinnsatsen på dette området har ofte vært sentrert langs kystområdene der det stilles høye sandinnhold jord, på grunn av bekymringer knyttet til effektene av utlekking og avrenning tap av næringsstoffer til kystnære farvann. Men når du arbeider med svært sandholdig jord, må man ha bratte bakker og høye regn priser for å være i stand til å generate noen avrenning 13,14. I kontrast til mange av jordsmonn i det sentrale USA er fin strukturert og har lave infiltrasjons priser som resulterer i betydelige mengder avrenning fra selv små nedbørshendelser. Dermed ble det ønsket å designe og konstruere en avrenning anlegget på stedlige masser og skråningen typisk for de som kan oppstå på bolig landskap. Dette paperet design, konstruksjon og funksjon av en 1000 m 2 anlegget inneholder 24 individuelle 33.6 m 2 felt tomter for måling av total avrenning volumer ved relativt små timelige resolusjoner og samtidig samling av overvann underutvalg på utvalgte volumet eller tidsmessige intervaller for måling og kvantifisering av kjemiske bestanddeler av overvann.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="778">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Flow meter</td>
			<td style="width:151px;">Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">Model 4230</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Bubbling flow meter that measures and records water flow through flume</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Portable Sampler</td>
			<td>Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td>Model 6712</td>
			<td>Works in conjunction with the flow meter to collect water samples at predetermined intervals.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Flow Link Software to collect data</td>
			<td>Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td>Ver 5.0</td>
			<td>Allows communication between flow meter and computer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Pre-sloped trench drain</td>
			<td>Zurn Industries, LLC</td>
			<td>Z-886</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Irrigation Controller</td>
			<td>Toro Company</td>
			<td>VP Satellite</td>
			<td>Controls irrigation to each plot individually</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Electric Valves</td>
			<td>Hunter</td>
			<td>2.5 cm PGV</td>
			<td>Opens or closes water flow to individual plots based on signal from irrigation controller</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Spray nozzles</td>
			<td>RainBird</td>
			<td>HE-Van 12</td>
			<td>Sprays irrigation water in predetermined pattern and rate</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Irrigation heads</td>
			<td>Hunter</td>
			<td>Pro Spray 4</td>
			<td>4 inch pop up spray heads</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">6 inch slotted drain pipe</td>
			<td>Advanced Drainage Systems</td>
			<td>6410100</td>
			<td>single wall corregated HDPE - slotted</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">6 inch plain drain pipe</td>
			<td>Advanced Drainage Systems</td>
			<td>6400100</td>
			<td>single wall corregated HDPE - plain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Filter Paper</td>
			<td>Whatman GF/F</td>
			<td>1825-047</td>
			<td>47mm diameter, binder-free, glass microfiber filter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">pH Meter</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>Accumet XL20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Combination pH probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-620-130</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Automatic Temperature Compensating Probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-602-19</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Electrical conductivity probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-620-100</td>
			<td>Cell constant of 1.0</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;">&#160;TOC-VCSH with total nitrogen unit TMN-1</td>
			<td>Shimadzu Corp</td>
			<td>TOC-VCSH with TMN-1</td>
			<td>dissolved C and N analyzer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Smartchem 200</td>
			<td>Unity Scientific</td>
			<td>200</td>
			<td>Discrete Analyzer for P measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">ICS 1000</td>
			<td>Dionex</td>
			<td>ICS 1000</td>
			<td>Ion Chromatography for Ca, Mg, K and Na measurment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Portable Soil Moisture Meter</td>
			<td>Spectrum&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">FieldScout TDR 300</td>
			<td>7.5 cm long probes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Totallizing Water Meters</td>
			<td style="width:151px;">Badger</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">3/4 inch water meters</td>
			<td>standard homeowner water meters</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

design and construction of an urban runoff research facility

Som den urbane befolkningen øker, øker også arealet av vanningsanlegg urbane landskapet. Summer bruk av vann i urbane områder kan være 2-3 x vinter grunnlinjen vann bruk på grunn av økt etterspørsel etter landskapet vanning. Uriktig vanningspraksis og store nedbørshendelser kan føre til avrenning fra urbane landskaper som har potensial til å bære næringsstoffer og sedimenter i lokale bekker og innsjøer der de kan bidra til overgjødsling. En 1000 m 2 anlegget ble bygget som består av 24 individuelle 33,6 m 2 felt tomter, hver utstyrt for måling av total avrenning volumer med tid og innsamling av avrenning underutvalg på utvalgte intervaller for kvantifisering av kjemiske bestanddeler i overvann fra simulerte urbane landskap. Avrenning mengdene fra de første og andre forsøk hadde koeffisient av variabilitet (CV) verdier på 38,2 og 28,7%, respektivt. CV verdier for avrenning pH, EC, og Na konsentrasjon for begge studiene var alle under 10%. -Konsentrasjonenns av DOC, TDN, DON, PO 4 -P, K +, Mg 2 +, og Ca 2 + hadde CV verdier som er mindre enn 50% i begge studiene. Totalt sett resultatene av testingen utført etter torv installasjon på anlegget indikerte god ensartethet mellom tomter for avrenning volumer og kjemiske bestanddeler. Den store tomten størrelse er tilstrekkelig til å inkludere mye av det naturlige variabilitet og gir derfor bedre simulering av urbane landskap økosystemer.

Plot egenskaper Den gjennomsnittelige hellingen for alle 24 plott var 3,7%, og varierte fra en lav verdi på 3,2% for plott 17 til en topp på 4,1% for tomt 2 (tabell 1). Gjennomsnittlig matjord tykkelse var 36 cm og varierte fra et lavt på 25,0 cm for tomt 24 til en topp på 51,5 cm for tomt 10 (tabell 1). Avrenning volumer Avrenning volumer fra den første rettssaken på 9 august 2012 hadde et gjennomsnitt på 213,5 L og varierte fra et lavt...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility at JoVE.com

Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility

Dette paperet design, konstruksjon og funksjon av en 1000 m 2 anlegget inneholder 24 individuelle 33,6 m 2 felt tomter utstyrt for måling av total avrenning volumer med tid og innsamling av avrenning underutvalg på utvalgte intervaller for kvantifisering av kjemiske bestanddeler i overvann fra simulerte hjem plener.

Design og bygging av en Urban Avrenning Research Facility

As the urban population increases, so does the area of irrigated urban landscape. Summer water use in urban areas can be 2-3x winter base line water use ...

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Environment

Design and Operation of a Continuous 13C and 15N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling

Tracing rare stable isotopes from plant material through the ecosystem provides the most sensitive information about ecosystem processes; from CO2 fluxes and soil organic matter formation to small-scale stable-isotope biomarker probing. Coupling multiple stable isotopes such as 13C with 15N, 18O or&#160;2H has the potential to reveal even more information about complex stoichiometric relationships during biogeochemical transformations. Isotope labeled plant material has been used in various studies of litter decomposition and soil organic matter formation1-4. From these and other studies, however, it has become apparent that structural components of plant material behave differently than metabolic components (i.e. leachable low molecular weight compounds) in terms of microbial utilization and long-term carbon storage5-7. The ability to study structural and metabolic components separately provides a powerful new tool for advancing the forefront of ecosystem biogeochemical studies. Here we describe a method for producing 13C and 15N labeled plant material that is either uniformly labeled throughout the plant or differentially labeled in structural and metabolic plant components.
Here, we present the construction and operation of a continuous 13C and 15N labeling chamber that can be modified to meet various research needs. Uniformly labeled plant material is produced by continuous labeling from seedling to harvest, while differential labeling is achieved by removing the growing plants from the chamber weeks prior to harvest. Representative results from growing Andropogon gerardii Kaw demonstrate the system&#39;s ability to efficiently label plant material at the targeted levels. Through this method we have produced plant material with a 4.4 atom%13C and 6.7 atom%15N uniform plant label, or material that is differentially labeled by up to 1.29 atom%13C and 0.56 atom%15N in its metabolic and structural components (hot water extractable and hot water residual components, respectively). Challenges lie in maintaining proper temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration,&#160;and light levels in an airtight 13C-CO2 atmosphere for successful plant production. This chamber description represents a useful research tool to effectively produce uniformly or differentially multi-isotope labeled plant material for use in experiments on ecosystem biogeochemical cycling.

Design and Operation of a Continuous 13C and 15N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling

This method explains how to build and operate a continuous 13C and 15N isotope labeling chamber for uniform or differential plant tissue labeling. Representative results from metabolic and structural labeling of Andropogon gerardii are discussed.

Design og drift av en kontinuerlig<sup&gt; 13</sup&gt; C og<sup&gt; 15</sup&gt; N Merking Chamber for Uniform eller Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotop Merking

Tracing rare stable isotopes from plant material through the ecosystem provides the most sensitive information about ecosystem processes; from CO2 fluxes ...

A Protocol for Conducting Rainfall Simulation to Study Soil Runoff

Rainfall is a driving force for the transport of environmental contaminants from agricultural soils to surficial water bodies via surface runoff. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of antecedent soil moisture content on the fate and transport of surface applied commercial urea, a common form of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, following a rainfall event that occurs within 24&#160;hr&#160;after fertilizer application. Although urea is assumed to be readily hydrolyzed to ammonium and therefore not often available for transport, recent studies suggest that urea can be transported from agricultural soils to coastal waters where it is implicated in harmful algal blooms. A rainfall simulator was used to apply a consistent rate of uniform rainfall across packed soil boxes that had been prewetted to different soil moisture contents. By controlling rainfall and soil physical characteristics, the effects of antecedent soil moisture on urea loss were isolated. Wetter soils exhibited shorter time from rainfall initiation to runoff initiation, greater total volume of runoff, higher urea concentrations in runoff, and greater mass loadings of urea in runoff. These results also demonstrate the importance of controlling for antecedent soil moisture content in studies designed to isolate other variables, such as soil physical or chemical characteristics, slope, soil cover, management, or rainfall characteristics. Because rainfall simulators are designed to deliver raindrops of similar size and velocity as natural rainfall, studies conducted under a standardized protocol can yield valuable data that, in turn, can be used to develop models for predicting the fate and transport of pollutants in runoff.

A rainfall simulator was used to apply a consistent rate of uniform rainfall to packed soil boxes in a study of the fate and transport of urea, a nonpoint source environmental contaminant. Under uniform soil and rainfall conditions, antecedent soil moisture content exerted strong control over urea loss in surface runoff.

En protokoll for dirigering Nedbør Simulering å studere Soil Avrenning

Rainfall is a driving force for the transport of environmental contaminants from agricultural soils to surficial water bodies via surface runoff. The ...

A CO2 Concentration Gradient Facility for Testing CO2 Enrichment and Soil Effects on Grassland Ecosystem Function

Continuing increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (CA) mandate techniques for examining impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Most experiments examine only two or a few levels of CA concentration and a single soil type, but if CA can be varied as a gradient from subambient to superambient concentrations on multiple soils, we can discern whether past ecosystem responses may continue linearly in the future and whether responses may vary across the landscape. The Lysimeter Carbon Dioxide Gradient Facility applies a 250 to 500 &#181;l L-1 CA gradient to Blackland prairie plant communities established on lysimeters containing clay, silty clay, and sandy soils. The gradient is created as photosynthesis by vegetation enclosed in in temperature-controlled chambers progressively depletes carbon dioxide from air flowing directionally through the chambers. Maintaining proper air flow rate, adequate photosynthetic capacity, and temperature control are critical to overcome the main limitations of the system, which are declining photosynthetic rates and increased water stress during summer. The facility is an economical alternative to other techniques of CA enrichment, successfully discerns the shape of ecosystem responses to subambient to superambient CA enrichment, and can be adapted to test for interactions of carbon dioxide with other greenhouse gases such as methane or ozone.

A CO2 Concentration Gradient Facility for Testing CO2 Enrichment and Soil Effects on Grassland Ecosystem Function

The Lysimeter Carbon Dioxide Gradient Facility creates a 250 to 500 &#181;l L-1 linear carbon dioxide gradient in temperature-controlled chambers housing grassland plant communities on clay, silty clay, and sandy soil monoliths. The facility is used to determine how past and future carbon dioxide levels affect grassland carbon cycling.

En CO<sub&gt; 2</sub&gt; Konsentrasjon Gradient anlegg for testing CO<sub&gt; 2</sub&gt; Berikelse og geoteknikk Effekter på Grass Ecosystem Funksjon

Continuing increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (CA) mandate techniques for examining impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Most ...

Spotting Cheetahs: Identifying Individuals by Their Footprints

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is Africa's most endangered large felid and listed as Vulnerable with a declining population trend by the IUCN1. It ranges widely over sub-Saharan Africa and in parts of the Middle East. Cheetah conservationists face two major challenges, conflict with landowners over the killing of domestic livestock, and concern over range contraction. Understanding of the latter remains particularly poor2. Namibia is believed to support the largest number of cheetahs of any range country, around 30%, but estimates range from 2,9053 to 13,5204. The disparity is likely a result of the different techniques used in monitoring.
Current techniques, including invasive tagging with VHF or satellite/GPS collars, can be costly and unreliable. The footprint identification technique5 is a new tool accessible to both field scientists and also citizens with smartphones, who could potentially augment data collection. The footprint identification technique analyzes digital images of footprints captured according to a standardized protocol. Images are optimized and measured in data visualization software. Measurements of distances, angles, and areas of the footprint images are analyzed using a robust cross-validated pairwise discriminant analysis based on a customized model. The final output is in the form of a Ward's cluster dendrogram. A user-friendly graphic user interface (GUI) allows the user immediate access and clear interpretation of classification results.
The footprint identification technique algorithms are species specific because each species has a unique anatomy. The technique runs in a data visualization software, using its own scripting language (jsl) that can be customized for the footprint anatomy of any species. An initial classification algorithm is built from a training database of footprints from that species, collected from individuals of known identity. An algorithm derived from a cheetah of known identity is then able to classify free-ranging cheetahs of unknown identity. The footprint identification technique predicts individual cheetah identity with an accuracy of &gt;90%.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an iconic, endangered species, but conservation efforts are challenged by habitat shrinkage and conflict with commercial farmers. The footprint identification technique, a robust, accurate and cost-effective image classification system, is a new approach to monitoring cheetahs.

Spotting Dynamo Kiev: Identifisere enkeltpersoner med sine Footprints

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is Africa's most endangered large felid and listed as Vulnerable with a declining population trend by the IUCN1. It ranges ...

Vegetated Treatment Systems for Removing Contaminants Associated with Surface Water Toxicity in Agriculture and Urban Runoff

Urban stormwater and agriculture irrigation runoff contain a complex mixture of contaminants that are often toxic to adjacent receiving waters. Runoff may be treated with simple systems designed to promote sorption of contaminants to vegetation and soils and promote infiltration. Two example systems are described: a bioswale treatment system for urban stormwater treatment, and a vegetated drainage ditch for treating agriculture irrigation runoff. Both have similar attributes that reduce contaminant loading in runoff: vegetation that results in sorption of the contaminants to the soil and plant surfaces, and water infiltration. These systems may also include the integration of granulated activated carbon as a polishing step to remove residual contaminants. Implementation of these systems in agriculture and urban watersheds requires system monitoring to verify treatment efficacy. This includes chemical monitoring for specific contaminants responsible for toxicity. The current paper emphasizes monitoring of current use pesticides since these are responsible for surface water toxicity to aquatic invertebrates.

This article summarizes the design attributes and the effectiveness of treatment systems that treat urban stormwater and agriculture irrigation runoff to remove pesticides and other contaminants associated with aquatic toxicity.

Vegetasjonsbehandlingssystemer for fjerning av forurensninger assosiert med overflatevannstoksisitet i jordbruk og urban avgang

Urban stormwater and agriculture irrigation runoff contain a complex mixture of contaminants that are often toxic to adjacent receiving waters. Runoff may ...

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Quantifying Bivalve Suspension Feeding at Sea

As shellfish aquaculture moves from coastal embayments and estuaries to offshore locations, the need to quantify ecosystem interactions of farmed bivalves (i.e., mussels, oysters, and clams) presents new challenges. Quantitative data on the feeding behavior of suspension-feeding mollusks is necessary to determine important ecosystem interactions of offshore shellfish farms, including their carrying capacity, the competition with the zooplankton community, the availability of trophic resources at different depths, and the deposition to the benthos. The biodeposition method is used to quantify feeding variables in suspension-feeding bivalves in a natural setting and represents a more realistic proxy than laboratory experiments. This method, however, relies upon a stable platform to satisfy the requirements that water flow rates supplied to the shellfish remain constant and the bivalves are undisturbed. A flow-through device and process for using the biodeposition method to quantify the feeding of bivalve mollusks were modified from a land-based format for shipboard use by building a two-dimensional gimbal table around the device. Planimeter data reveal a minimal pitch and yaw of the chambers containing the test shellfish despite boat motion, the flow rates within the chambers remain constant, and operators are able to collect the biodeposits (feces and pseudofeces) with sufficient consistency to obtain accurate measurements of the bivalve clearance, filtration, selection, ingestion, rejection, and absorption at offshore shellfish aquaculture sites.

A flow-through device for using the biodeposition method to quantify filtration and feeding behavior of bivalve mollusks was modified for shipboard use. A two-dimensional gimbal table built around the device isolates the apparatus from boat motion, thereby allowing the accurate quantification of bivalve filtration variables at offshore shellfish aquaculture sites.

Utforming og bruk av et apparat for kvantifisere Bivalve suspensjon fôring på sjøen

As shellfish aquaculture moves from coastal embayments and estuaries to offshore locations, the need to quantify ecosystem interactions of farmed bivalves ...

Construction of a Compact Low-Cost Radiation Shield for Air-Temperature Sensors in Ecological Field Studies

Low cost temperature sensors are increasingly used by ecologists to assess climatic variation and change on ecologically relevant scales. Although cost-effective, if not deployed with proper solar radiation shielding, the observations recorded from these sensors will be biased and inaccurate. Manufactured radiation shields are effective at minimizing this bias, but are expensive compared to the cost of these sensors. Here, we provide a detailed methodology for constructing a compact version of a previously described custom fabricated radiation shield, which is more accurate than other published shielding methods that attempt to minimize shield size or construction costs. The method requires very little material: corrugated plastic sheets, aluminum foil duct tape, and cable ties. One 15 cm and two 10 cm squares of corrugated plastic are used for each shield. After cutting, scoring, taping and stapling of the sheets, the 10 cm squares form the bottom two layers of the solar radiation shield, while the 15 cm square forms the top layer. The three sheets are held together with cable ties. This compact solar radiation shield can be suspended, or placed against any flat surface. Care must be taken to ensure that the shield is completely parallel to the ground to prevent direct solar radiation from reaching the sensor, possibly causing increased warm biases in sun-exposed sites in the morning and afternoon relative to the original, larger design. Even so, differences in recorded temperatures between the smaller, compact shield design and the original design were small (mean daytime bias = 0.06 &#176;C). Construction costs are less than half of the original shield design, and the new design results in a less conspicuous instrument that may be advantageous in many field ecology settings.

With the advent of small, low-cost environmental sensors, it is now possible to deploy high-density networks of sensors to measure hyper localized temperature variation. Here, we provide a detailed methodology for constructing a compact version of a previously described custom-fabricated radiation shield for use with inexpensive thermochrons.

Byggingen av en kompakt rimelig stråling Shield for Air temperatur sensorer i økologiske feltstudier

Low cost temperature sensors are increasingly used by ecologists to assess climatic variation and change on ecologically relevant scales. Although ...

Construction of a Low-cost Mobile Incubator for Field and Laboratory Use

Incubators are essential for a range of culture-based microbial methods, such as membrane filtration followed by cultivation for assessing drinking water quality. However, commercially available incubators are often costly, difficult to transport, not flexible in terms of volume, and/or poorly adapted to local field conditions where access to electricity is unreliable. The purpose of this study was to develop an adaptable, low-cost and transportable incubator that can be constructed using readily available components. The electronic core of the incubator was first developed. These components were then tested under a range of ambient temperature conditions (3.5 &#176;C - 39 &#176;C) using three types of incubator shells (polystyrene foam box, hard cooler box, and cardboard box covered with a survival blanket). The electronic core showed comparable performance to a standard laboratory incubator in terms of the time required to reach the set temperature, inner temperature stability and spatial dispersion, power consumption, and microbial growth. The incubator set-ups were also effective at moderate and low ambient temperatures (between 3.5 &#176;C and 27 &#176;C), and at high temperatures (39 &#176;C) when the incubator set temperature was higher. This incubator prototype is low-cost (&lt; 300 USD) and adaptable to a variety of materials and volumes. Its demountable structure makes it easy to transport. It can be used in both established laboratories with grid power or in remote settings powered by solar energy or a car battery. It is particularly useful as an equipment option for field laboratories in areas with limited access to resources for water quality monitoring.

This paper describes a method for building an adaptable, low-cost and transportable incubator for microbial testing of drinking water. Our design is based on widely available materials and can operate under a range of field conditions, while still offering the advantages of higher-end laboratory-based models.

Byggingen av en rimelig Mobile inkubator for feltet og laboratoriebruk

Incubators are essential for a range of culture-based microbial methods, such as membrane filtration followed by cultivation for assessing drinking water ...

Combining Eye-tracking Data with an Analysis of Video Content from Free-viewing a Video of a Walk in an Urban Park Environment

As individuals increasingly live in cities, methods to study their everyday movements and the data that can be collected becomes important and valuable. Eye-tracking informatics are known to connect to a range of feelings, health conditions, mental states and actions. But because vision is the result of constant eye-movements, teasing out what is important from what is noise is complex and data intensive. Furthermore, a significant challenge is controlling for what people look at compared to what is presented to them.
The following presents a methodology for combining and analyzing eye-tracking on a video of a natural and complex scene with a machine learning technique for analyzing the content of the video. In the protocol we focus on analyzing data from filmed videos, how a video can be best used to record participants&#39; eye-tracking data, and importantly how the content of the video can be analyzed and combined with the eye-tracking data. We present a brief summary of the results and a discussion of the potential of the method for further studies in complex environments.

The objective of the protocol is to detail how to collect video data for use in the laboratory; how to record eye-tracking data of participants looking at the data and how to efficiently analyze the content of the videos that they were looking at using a machine learning technique.

Kombinere eye-tracking data med en analyse av video innhold fra Free-visning en video av en tur i en urban Park miljø

As individuals increasingly live in cities, methods to study their everyday movements and the data that can be collected becomes important and valuable. ...

Measuring the Shape and Size of Activated Sludge Particles Immobilized in Agar with an Open Source Software Pipeline

Experimental bioreactors, such as those treating wastewater, contain particles whose size and shape are important parameters. For example, the size and shape of activated sludge flocs can indicate the conditions at the microscale, and also directly affect how well the sludge settles in a clarifier.
Particle size and shape are both misleadingly &#39;simple&#39; measurements. Many subtle issues, often unaddressed in informal protocols, can arise when sampling, imaging, and analyzing particles. Sampling methods may be biased or not provide enough statistical power. The samples themselves may be poorly preserved or undergo alteration during immobilization. Images may not be of sufficient quality; overlapping particles, depth of field, magnification level, and various noise can all produce poor results. Poorly specified analysis can introduce bias, such as that produced by manual image thresholding and segmentation.
Affordability and throughput are desirable alongside reproducibility. An affordable, high throughput method can enable more frequent particle measurement, producing many images containing thousands of particles. A method that uses inexpensive reagents, a common dissecting microscope, and freely-available open source analysis software allows repeatable, accessible, reproducible, and partially-automated experimental results. Further, the product of such a method can be well-formatted, well-defined, and easily understood by data analysis software, easing both within-lab analyses and data sharing between labs.
We present a protocol that details the steps needed to produce such a product, including: sampling, sample preparation and immobilization in agar, digital image acquisition, digital image analysis, and examples of experiment-specific figure generation from the analysis results. We have also included an open-source data analysis pipeline to support this protocol.

The size and shape of particles in activated sludge are important parameters that are measured using varying methods. Inaccuracies arise from non-representative sampling, suboptimal images, and subjective analysis parameters. To minimize these errors and ease measurement, we present a protocol specifying every step, including an open source software pipeline.

Måle formen og størrelsen på aktivslam partikler immobilisert i Agar med en åpen kildekode programvare rørledning

Experimental bioreactors, such as those treating wastewater, contain particles whose size and shape are important parameters. For example, the size and ...