Changes in characteristics of soils irrigated with processing wastewater from three New Zealand dairy factories

Soil Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 448 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Sparling ◽  
R. Littler ◽  
L. A. Schipper ◽  
B. Stevenson ◽  
L. Sherman ◽  
...  

Application to land is the preferred method for the treatment of wastewaters in New Zealand. For land treatment to be effective, it is essential that the soils can accept the volumes of wastewater applied and degrade or store the constituents in the wastewater. We report on 14 soil chemical, biochemical and physical characteristics of soils (0–10 cm depth) used for wastewater treatment at the Fonterra dairy factories at Hautapu, Lichfield and Edgecumbe in the North Island of New Zealand. The soils are under grazed pasture for dairying and receive wastewater by spray irrigation. The soils were monitored approximately every 2 years between 1995 and 2005 and at the end of monitoring had been under irrigation for 10–26 years. Matched, non-irrigated pasture soils on adjacent dairy farms were sampled for comparison. The wastewater composition from the three factories differed, reflecting the products manufactured. Loadings were greatest at the Hautapu factory, which also had the longest history of irrigation (26 years). At all three sites, the physical characteristics of irrigated soils were very similar to their non-irrigated comparisons. A consistent trend was for microbial mass and activity, and particularly nitrogen (N) turnover, to be markedly greater on the irrigated soils. The C (carbon) : N ratios of irrigated and non-irrigated soils at Lichfield and Edgecumbe were similar, but at Hautapu the C : N ratio of irrigated soil was 8.3 and significantly (P < 0.05) lower than non-irrigated soil (11.1), suggesting little further capacity to store additional N as organic matter. Irrigation tended to increase the soil pH at all sites to above neutral even though the wastewater was acidic. We consider that the characteristics of irrigated soils at Edgecumbe and Lichfield factories are generally satisfactory. Fonterra is continuing to reduce loadings in both composition and volumes of wastewater irrigated.


1947 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Barnicoat

1. Chemical estimations of carotene and vitamin A in New Zealand butters from two of the principal butter-making districts of the North Island during the seasons 1935–6 show that the total vitamin A potency was fairly high.2. There were seasonal variations apparently due to nutritional rather than physiological causes. The minimum values (33–37 i.u./g. butterfat) for total vitamin A were found in late summer (February) at the time when the pasture normally tends to dry up, while the peak values (42–53 i.u./g. butterfat) occurred in late winter and spring (July-October). The variations in vitamin A potency with season were in the opposite direction to the variations recorded in the literature for Europe and America. The difference is no doubt due to the practice of stall-feeding in these countries in contrast with the all-the-year-round grazing commonly practised on dairy farms in New Zealand. The spring flush of grass is also later in the season in Europe than in New Zealand.3. The more deeply-coloured Jersey butterfat was only slightly richer in total vitamin A potency than Friesian butterfat.4. Contents of carotene and vitamin A in the fat of colostrum were very high, but reached normal values within 4 or 5 days after parturition.



2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Fernández ◽  
Gonzalo Giribet

Aoraki denticulata, a widespread mite harvestman endemic to the NW South Island of New Zealand, was postulated to constitute an old lineage with deep genetic history. Expanding on previous studies, we explored its genetic diversity and population structure, phylogeography and diversification patterns. We also examined the systematic implications of such a complex scenario through species delimitation analyses under coalescent-based and barcoding gap discovery methodologies. Our results depict the deep evolutionary history of the A. denticulata lineage, which shows high geographic structure and low genetic connectivity among modern populations. Aoraki denticulata is further subdivided into three lineages: a lineage presently inhabiting the northern region of the Southern Alps (and including the subspecies A. d. major), a second lineage in the north-eastern part of the sampled land, and a third one occupying the south-eastern localities. When using species delimitation methods based on coalescence approaches, large numbers of cryptic species were estimated. Based on morphological and biological evidence, we thus argue that these methods may overestimate species in cases in which genetic divergence is unusually large and discuss the systematic implications of our findings.



The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110604
Author(s):  
David M Kennedy ◽  
Beth V Risdon ◽  
Josephine LD Woods

The sedimentary sequences found within estuaries in the north west Nelson region of central New Zealand are investigated in order to quantify the timing of the end of the Post Glacial Marine Transgression. This region has been identified as being relatively stable in terms of vertical tectonic movement during the Holocene, but is yet to yield any reconstructions of eustatic sea level. In this study, we investigate the Holocene infill of a barrier estuary (Parapara Inlet) through sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating of 18 vibracores up to 4.2 m in length. It is found that the estuary infilled through a combination of lateral flood tide and fluvial delta progradation as well as vertical central basin infill. The central basin infilled at a consistent rate of 0.4 mm/year in both the mid (7.0–6.0 ka) and late-Holocene (2.5–1.5 ka). By the time of early human (Maori) settlement (c. 1 ka), the estuary surface was at low intertidal elevations with sediment being transported from the fluvial to tidal delta. A discernible change in sedimentation rates could not be associated with Maori settlement; however, infill rates increased to at least 12.5 mm/year in the past 150 years due hydraulic sluicing associated with mining. The sedimentary history of Parapara Inlet is compared to nearby Whanganui Inlet, d’Urville Island and Nelson to establish the character of regional Holocene sea level movement. It is found that relative sea level reached modern elevations between 8 and 7 ka in the region. The similarity between sea level curves for the end of the post glacial marine transgression (PMT) to other tectonically stable sites in northern New Zealand suggests that this curve can now be considered a true eustatic signal for the New Zealand archipelago.



2014 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 226-230
Author(s):  
S.L. Lamoureaux ◽  
G.W. Bourd?t

Yellow bristle grass (Setaria pumila) an invasive annual grass weed in North America Africa Australia and New Zealand has become a problem on dairy farms in the upper North Island To define its potential distribution in New Zealand an ecoclimatic model was constructed using CLIMEX The model was parameterised using the known distribution of the species in its native range in Eurasia and validated against its invaded range in North America The model predicted all known occurrences in New Zealand and revealed extensive tracts of land in both the North and South Islands that are currently climatically suitable yet according to current records unoccupied by the weed Under climate change this potential distribution increases substantially These results imply that yellow bristle grass could become a much wider problem on dairy farms throughout New Zealand and that management to limit its spread is justified



2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Veale ◽  
James C. Russell ◽  
Carolyn M. King

1.SummaryThe house mouse (Mus musculus) provides a fascinating system for studying both the genomic basis of reproductive isolation, and the patterns of human-mediated dispersal. New Zealand has a complex history of mouse invasions, and the living descendants of these invaders have genetic ancestry from all three subspecies, although most are primarily descended from M. m. domesticus. We used the GigaMUGA genotyping array (~135,000 loci) to describe the genomic ancestry of 161 mice, sampled from 34 locations from across New Zealand (and one Australian city - Sydney). Of these, two populations, one in the south of the South Island, and one on Chatham Island, showed complete mitochondrial lineage capture, featuring two different lineages of M. m. castaneus mitochondrial DNA but with only M. m. domesticus nuclear ancestry detectable. Mice in the northern and southern parts of the North Island had small traces (~2-3%) of M. m. castaneus nuclear ancestry, and mice in the upper South Island had ~7-8% M. m. musculus nuclear ancestry including some Y-chromosomal ancestry – though no detectable M. m. musculus mitochondrial ancestry. This is the most thorough genomic study of introduced populations of house mice yet conducted, and will have relevance to studies of the isolation mechanisms separating subspecies of mice.



Author(s):  
J.M. Hercus
Keyword(s):  

CENTRAL OTAGO has a lore and a lure which set it apart from the rest of New Zealand. Its characteristics of geology, topography and climate, its history of occupation and exploitation, its scenery at once forbidding and yet strangely fascinating-these features combine to cast a spell from which few who have been exposed can ever fully escape. There is no formal boundary to the region. For the purposes of this paper it is defined as the area bounded by the Carrick and Old Man Ranges to the south, by the Lammermoor and Rock and Pillar Ranges to the east, by the Hawkdun and St. Bathans mountains, on the north, and west to Lakes Hawea, Wanaka and Wakatipu.



2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
JF Weston ◽  
C Heuer ◽  
TJ Parkinson ◽  
NB Williamson
Keyword(s):  


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