Journal of Environmental Quality

High emissions of aerosols and trace gases during nighttime can cause serious air quality, climate, and health issues, particularly in extremely polluted cities. In this paper, an effort has been made to examine the variations in aerosols and trace gases over a sub-Saharan city of Ilorin (Nigeria) during nighttime. We have used Aerosol Robotic Network data of aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm, Angstrom exponent (AE) (440/870), and precipitable water (WVC). Both AE and WVC showed a decreasing trend of -0...

Land application of water treatment residual (WTR) in combination with phosphate-rich organic wastes, like compost or sewage sludge, in nutrient-poor soils was previously shown to promote crop growth. This WTR diversion from landfill to agriculture supports local and international mandates for waste circularity. Although soil-water dynamics-like saturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention, and hydrophobicity-are well-defined for compost and somewhat defined for WTR (except for hydrophobicity), the impacts of co-amending sandy soils with both are not well-defined...

Few strategies are available to reduce nitrate-nitrogen (NO3 -N) loads at larger landscape scales, but flood control reservoirs are known to reduce riverine loads. In this study, we evaluated the potential to increase nitrogen (N) loss at Lake Red Rock, a large reservoir located in central Iowa, by evaluating the inundation of sediments deposited at the reservoir inflow. Sediment samples were collected at 51 locations in the lower delta region and analyzed for particle size and nutrient content. Nitrogen loss rates in delta sediments were determined from laboratory assays, and satellite imagery was used to develop a rating curve to quantify land area inundated within the delta...

Increases in cereal crop yield per area have increased global food security. "Era" studies compare historical and modern crop varieties in controlled experimental settings and are routinely used to understand how advances in crop genetics and management affect crop yield. However, to date, no era study has explored how advances in maize (Zea mays L.) genetics and management (i.e., cropping systems) have affected environmental outcomes. Here, we developed a cropping systems era study in Iowa, USA, to examine how yield and nitrate losses have changed from "Old" systems common in the 1990s to "Current" systems common in the 2010s, and to "Future" systems projected to be common in the 2030s...

The main causes of soil organic matter (SOM) loss are land use (e.g., conventional agriculture) and land-use change (e.g., conversion of wetlands into croplands). Before World War II and until 1960s, the Ferrara province in the Emilia-Romagna region (Northeast Italy) enlarged its agricultural production area through drainage of wetlands. After that, the newly drained area was put into intensive agricultural production with practices that proved to be unsustainable, and whose negative effects (depletion of soil organic carbon [SOC] and emissions of greenhouse gases [GHGs], e...

Subsurface tile drains under agricultural field crops are a major source of phosphorus (P) discharge to aquatic ecosystems, contributing to the eutrophication of surface waters. Adsorption reactors for P removal from drainage water (P-reactors) could reduce P outflow from agricultural land but were rarely studied in cold, temperate climates. In our study, four low-cost P-reactors were installed in agricultural fields in south-central Québec, Canada. Activated alumina (AA) beads were used as P-adsorptive material, and the reactors were connected to tile drain outlets...

In the 1980s, growing recognition of agricultural phosphorus (P) sources to surface water eutrophication led to scrutiny of animal feeding operations.  In 1990, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invited prominent scientists to find a solution. It was at an initial meeting that Dr. Andrew Sharpley suggested that P assessment could be modeled after the Universal Soil Loss Equation, where a matrix of factors influencing P loss would be associated with farm nutrient management recommendations...

Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) intended to solve one environmental challenge may have unintended climate impacts. For example, manure injection is often promoted for its potential to reduce runoff and N loss as NH3 , but the practice has been shown to increase N2 O, a powerful GHG, compared to surface application. Urease inhibitor application with N fertilizer is another BMP that can enhance N retention by reducing NH3 emissions, but its impact on N2 O emissions is mixed. Thus, we measured N2 O, CO2 , soil mineral N availability, soil moisture, soil temperature, and yield in a two-year perennial hayfield trial with four fertilization treatments (manure injection, manure broadcast, synthetic urea, and control) applied with or without a urease inhibitor in Alburgh, VT...

Growing concerns about environmental impacts of dairy farms have driven producers to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen (N) losses from soil following land application of dairy manure. Tannin dietary additives have proved to be a successful intervention for mitigating GHG and ammonia (NH3 ) emissions at the barn scale. However, it is unknown how land application of dairy manure from cows fed tannin diets affects crop-soil nitrogen dynamics and soil gas flux. To test this, cows were fed diets at three levels of tannins (0...

A lab-scale study evaluated ammonia (NH3 ) and greenhouse gases (GHG), emissions when aluminum sulfate (alum) or a microbial product were added to beef feedlot surface material (FSM). Three kg of FSM and 1.5 kg of water were added to stainless steel pans (50 cm x 30 cm x 6.5 cm). Treatments included a control (no amendment), 450 g alum, or 0.5 g microbial product. The pans were placed in an environmental chamber that was maintained at 23 ˚C and 50-60% humidity. Emissions were measured three times weekly for three weeks...

Concentrations of the fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) Escherichia coli and enterococci are used to assess microbial impairment in irrigation and recreation water sources. Whereas the FIB concentrations' variability at large temporal scales such as seasons, and large spatial scales encompassing different land use has been studied, the knowledge about smaller-scale variability remains sparse. This work aimed to research the small-scale variability of E. coli and enterococci in a montane creek with sandy bottom sediments...

Split applications of fertilizer nitrogen (N) and cover crops are management strategies employed to reduce nitrate in tile drainage water while maintaining crop yields. Our aim was to investigate split fertilizer N applications to corn (Zea mays L.) on crop yields and tile nitrate loss in a corn-soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation from 2016 through 2019. In addition, we evaluated the inclusion of cover crops on crop yields and tile nitrate loss. Thirty-six tile-drained plots were used to accommodate six fertilizer N treatments, three replicates, and both phases of the rotation...

Methyl bromide (MeBr) is a sterilizing fumigant used to control quarantine pests that is restricted due to its detrimental atmospheric effects. Degradation of injected MeBr produces crop available Br- . Up to five applications of MeBr were used in southeastern Idaho fields to combat the pale cyst nematode (Globodera pallida). Data regarding the uptake and partitioning of Br- in crops following MeBr application in the region were unavailable. Research determined background concentrations of Br- in alfalfa (Medicago sativa, L...

The continuous use of organic inputs in crop production calls for an improved understanding of how these inputs might alter soil phosphorus (P). This study assessed how the continuous application of different forms of swine manure influences the mechanism of P transformation and release potential. Soil samples were collected from a clay loam soil receiving no P or 100 kg P ha-1 applied as either chemical fertilizer (CHEM), swine liquid manure (SWL), composted swine manure (SWC) or solid swine manure (SWS) every other year for 16 years in a corn-soybean rotation...

Bacterial contamination of surface water is a public health concern. To quantify the efflux of E. coli into ephemeral and intermittent streams and assess its numbers in relation to secondary body contact standards, we monitored runoff and measured E. coli numbers from ten experimental watersheds that differed in vegetation cover and cattle access in north-central Oklahoma. E. coli numbers were not significantly different among the watersheds with one exception, the grazed prairie watershed (GP1) had greater numbers compared to one ungrazed prairie watershed (UP2)...

Fall-planted cover crop (CC) within a continuous corn (Zea mays L.) system offers potential agroecosystem benefits including mitigating the impacts of increased temperature and variability in precipitation patterns. A long-term simulation using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model was made to assess the effects of cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) on no-till continuous corn yield and soil properties under historical (1991-2020) and projected climate (2041-2070) in eastern Nebraska...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of increasing concern due to their pervasive nature, high persistence and their impacts on human health and the environment. Many studies have attempted to assess the presence of PFAS along the water cycle, but few have analyzed rainwater PFAS content and its contribution to water contamination. The present study aims to improve the knowledge by providing the first analysis of PFAS rainwater samples from France (Europe). A total of 52 PFAS were analyzed at ng/L levels in rainwater samples collected in 14 locations in France using a cutting-edge LC/MS/MS method for multiresidue determination...

Uncontrolled proliferation of eastern redcedar tree (Juniperus virginiana) in the US Midwest requires new alternatives for utilization of waste wood, such as mulching, that promotes efficient tree management by landowners. Similarly, efficient use of manure from animal feeding operations in cropping systems can reduce negative environmental impacts and increase cropland productivity. The objectives of this study were to quantify the nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) decomposition rates, availability, and effects on soil chemical properties of eastern redcedar wood chips (W), cattle manure (M), and the combination (MW)...

The urealytically active microorganism Sporosarcina luteola induces the precipitation of metals which has attracted attention in biomineralization, bioremediation, and industrial waste recycling. Herein, we report a novel biosurfactant producing strain of Sporosarcina luteola ME44 isolated from Chinese oilfield. The structure, composition, and surface activity of the biosurfactants produced by Sporosarcina luteola ME44 were investigated by using a combination of the high-performance liquid chromatography, time-of-flight mass spectrometry and surface tensiometer...

The Wisconsin Central Sands (WCS) is home to large scale vegetable production on sandy soils and managed with frequent irrigation, fertigation, and widespread nitrogen fertilizer application, all of which make the region highly susceptible to nitrate loss to groundwater. While the groundwater is used as the primary source of drinking water for many communities and rural residences across the region, it is also used for irrigation. Considering high levels of nitrate found in the groundwater, it has been proposed that growers more accurately account for the nitrate in their irrigation water as part of nitrogen management plans...