Burn Severity Effects on Sediment and Nutrient Exports from Southeastern Forests Using Simulated Rainfall

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 678-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kipling Klimas ◽  
Patrick Hiesl ◽  
Donald Hagan ◽  
Dara Park
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Simulated Rainfall ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Nutrient Response ◽  
High Severity

Abstract Burn severity, commonly assessed as the amount of fuel consumed during fire, is an indicator of postfire sediment yield and erosion. This study examined the effect of burn severity on sediment and nutrient response in three different fire-adapted forest types of the Southeast. Soil and litter samples were experimentally burned to achieve increasing levels of fuel consumption. Simulated rainfall was applied to burned litter samples collected from pine, hardwood, and mixed hardwood-pine forests in the Clemson Experimental Forest. Runoff and leachate samples were collected and analyzed for sediment yield (kilograms per hectare) and total suspended solids (grams per liter); both runoff and leachate samples were analyzed for ammonium (NH4–), nitrate (NO3–), and orthophosphate (PO43–). Sediment yield and total suspended solids increased at only the highest burn severity treatment in all three forest types, with pine litter samples yielding significantly greater sediment in surface runoff than both mixed and hardwood samples. Burn treatment did not readily affect soluble nutrient concentrations in either runoff or leachate, but the data suggest that high-severity burning increases the availability of PO43– bound to sediment. This study suggests that high-severity burn patches function as sediment sources, but overall sediment and nutrient response to burning was minimal. Study Implications This study suggests that low-to-moderate burn severity, in terms of litter removal, is not an important indicator of sediment and nutrient exports from southeastern forests; precipitation in the immediate aftermath of fire (<48 hours) is not an effective transport mechanism for biologically available macronutrients; and that even at the highest burn severity treatment, sediment yield was relatively low.

Spatial and temporal distribution of harpacticoid copepods in Mondego estuary

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 1279-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M.M. Gonçalves ◽  
M. De Troch ◽  
S.C. Marques ◽  
M.A. Pardal ◽  
U.M. Azeiteiro
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
The North ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Mondego Estuary ◽  
High Level

Seasonal and spatial variations in the composition and relative contribution of the harpacticoid species in the Mondego estuary (western Portugal) were studied based on a monthly sampling along a salinity gradient. These benthic harpacticoids were collected in the water column by means of a 63-µm plankton net. The influence of hydrological parameters (temperature, salinity, oxygen dissolved concentration, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll-a, total suspended solids and nutrient concentrations) was analysed by means of a redundancy data analysis. In addition, this is the first study to provide a checklist of benthic harpacticoids from this estuary. In total, 13 species plus six species not yet identified but known to belong to the genus Canuella, Microsetella, Ectinosoma, Mesochra, Harpacticus and Parapseudoleptomesochra were identified. Copepodites and adults of Euterpina acutifrons and Paronychocamptus nanus were most abundant in this harpacticoid community. While P. nanus dominated in winter and spring at upstream stations, E. acutifrons dominated more downstream. Although this species occurred along the whole salinity gradient, its highest abundances were found in the north arm of the estuary, except in autumn. This distribution may be due to the adaptability of E. acutifrons to different environments and the intermediate position between marine and estuarine conditions assigned to this species. Paraleptastacus cfr. spinicauda showed a relative occurrence of 5–10% in all stations, except at the mouth of the estuary (M). Tachidius discipes was found in low densities in Mondego estuary in spite of the large numbers of copepodites of this species in the southern arm, characterized by a high level of total suspended solids. The northern arm of the estuary was characterized by a higher numerical occurrence of harpacticoid organisms throughout the study years, with the higher densities towards the freshwater part (upstream areas). Canuella sp., Ectinosoma sp. (copepodite), Ectinosoma melaniceps, Leptocaris brevicornis, Phyllognathopus viguieri, Microsetella norvegica (copepodite) and Macrosetella gracilis (copepodite) were considered rare species. Nonetheless harpacticoid species were represented by a higher number of adults in the northern arm, and juveniles in the southern arm.

Boreal soil carbon fluxes one year after a forest wildfire: impacts of burn severity and forest management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Kelly ◽  
Theresa Ibáñez ◽  
Cristina Santín ◽  
Stefan Doerr ◽  
Marie-Charlotte Nilsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Soil Organic Layer ◽  
Tree Survival

<p>In 2018, an extreme drought affected large parts of Europe and led to the worst fire season in over a century in Sweden. We investigated the impacts of the Ljusdal fire, the largest fire complex that year, on soil CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes, nutrient concentrations and microclimate in a Scots pine forest. The measurements were conducted during the first growing season after the fire. In three separate analyses, we compared stands that differed in terms of burn severity (unburnt, low and high burn severity), salvage-logging (logged or unlogged) and stand age (young: 12 years old or mature: ~100 years old at the time of the fire).</p><p> </p><p>A mature stand affected by a high severity burn (100% tree mortality) had significantly lower soil respiration compared to a stand affected by a low severity burn (nearly 100% tree survival), but there was no difference in soil respiration between the low burn severity and unburn stands. These results indicate that autotrophic respiration plays a key role in determining post-fire soil respiration. After a high severity burn, salvage logging had no significant effects on forest soils compared to a stand where the dead trees had been left standing, although differences between these two stands are likely to become significant in the future. Stand age had a clear impact on most of the soil properties tested. Despite mean soil temperature being 5 °C warmer at a young site compared to a mature site after a high severity burn, soil respiration was lower at the young site. The young site had been clear-cut and undergone soil scarification and replanting 12 years before the fire, which is likely to have contributed to the lower nutrient availability and thinner soil organic layer there compared to the mature site. Short return intervals between disturbances such as harvesting and wildfire that remove part of the soil organic layer can thus have significant and long-term impacts on nutrient cycling and carbon exchange in the boreal forest. The boreal forest is thus vulnerable to becoming a carbon source, especially in regions where climate change is increasing the frequency of high severity wildfire and commercial timber production is expanding.</p>

scholarly journals NUTRIENT RETENTION IN SURFACE FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLAND IN AGRICULTURAL LAND IN LATVIA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda GRINBERGA ◽  
Ainis LAGZDINS
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Constructed Wetland ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Nutrient Retention ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Water Quality Parameters ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations

The research site consists of a pilot-scale surface flow constructed wetland at the farm Mezaciruli located in Zalenieki County, Jelgava Region, in the middle part of Latvia. The constructed wetland was installed in June 2014 to improve water quality in agricultural catchment and examine nutrient retention at the constructed wetland receiving surface and drainage runoff. The constructed wetland’s surface area of 0.37 ha corresponds to 0.5 % of the total catchment area. During the observation period of 32 months (2014-2017) water quality parameters such as total suspended solids (TSS), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), total nitrogen (TN), orthophosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P), and total phosphorus (TP) were monitored twice a month using a grab sample approach. Retention efficiency for monitored water quality parameters was calculated based on their concentrations at the inlet and outlet. The monitoring results obtained during this study showed a reduction within the constructed wetland for all examined parameters. The concentrations of NO3-N, NH4-N and TN were reduced on average by 13 %, 15 % and 16 %, respectively. PO4-P and TP concentrations were reduced on average by 38 % and 36 %, respectively. Total suspended solids were reduced by 31% at the outlet of the constructed wetland. However, in some cases, an increase in nutrient concentrations in water leaving the constructed wetland was observed. Therefore, there is a need for further research to investigate causes of such increase.

Establishing an empirical equation for the relationship between total suspended solids and total phosphorus concentrations in the downstream Red river water

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-332
Author(s):  
Le Nhu Da ◽  
Le Thi Phuong Quynh ◽  
Phung Thi Xuan Binh ◽  
Duong Thi Thuy ◽  
Trinh Hoai Thu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
River System ◽  
Red River ◽  
Reservoir Impoundment ◽  
Downstream Section ◽  
Reasonable Prediction

Recently, the Asian rivers have faced the strong reduction of riverine total suspended solids (TSS) flux due to numerous dam/reservoir impoundment. The Red river system is a typical example of the Southeast Asian rivers that has been strongly impacted by reservoir impoundment in both China and Vietnam, especially in the recent period. It is known that the reduction in total suspended solids may lead to the decrease of some associated elements, including nutrients (N, P, Si) which may affect coastal ecosystems. In this paper, we establish the empirical relationship between total suspended solids and total phosphorus concentrations in water environment of the Red river in its downstream section from Hanoi city to the Ba Lat estuary based on the sampling campaigns conducted in the dry and wet seasons in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The results show a clear relationship with significant coefficient between total suspended solids and total phosphorus in the downstream Red river. It is expressed by a simple equation y = 0.0226x0.3867 where x and y stand for total suspended solids and total phosphorus concentrations (mg/l) respectively with the r2 value of 0.757. This equation enables a reasonable prediction of total phosphorus concentrations of the downstream Red river when the observed data of total suspended solids concentrations are available. Thus, this work opens up the way for further studies on the calculation of the total phosphorus over longer timescales using daily available total suspended solids values.

Aeration and Water Hyacinths in Waste Stabilization Ponds

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 265-271
Author(s):  
P. R. Thomas ◽  
H. O. Phelps
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Oxygen Demand ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Additional Treatment ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Stabilization Ponds ◽  
Water Hyacinths

The investigation was based on two facultative stabilization ponds initially designed to operate in parallel, and now receive wastewater in excess of their capacities from a fast expanding housing estate in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. Because of the deterioration of the effluent quality relative to acceptable standards, an attempt was made to upgrade the ponds using water hyacinths at the early stages. However, from the results, it was clear that the introduction of water hyacinths in the test pond did not lead to any substantial improvement in the effluent because of the high loading on the pond. Therefore the ponds were modified to operate in series with surface aerators installed in the first pond. Initially, the effluent quality was monitored in terms of total suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, faecal coliform bacteria, pH and dissolved oxygen with aeration in the first pond and no aquatic plants in the second pond. Although there was a significant improvement in the effluent quality, the values remained above the standards. As a result, water hyacinths were introduced in the second pond and the effluent quality monitored together with aeration in the first pond. The effluent quality improved with total suspended solids and biochemical oxygen demand values both as low as 10 mg/l in certain months, but additional treatment was needed to reduce faecal conforms.

Seagrass depth range and water quality in southern Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 763 ◽  
Author(s):  
EG Abal ◽  
WC Dennison
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Light Attenuation ◽  
River Mouth ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Moreton Bay ◽  
A Site

Correlations between water quality parameters and seagrass depth penetration were developed for use as a biological indicator of integrated light availability and long-term trends in water quality. A year-long water quality monitoring programme in Moreton Bay was coupled with a series of seagrass depth transects. A strong gradient between the western (landward) and eastern (seaward) portions of Moreton Bay was observed in both water quality and seagrass depth range. Higher concentrations of chlorophyll a, total suspended solids, dissolved and total nutrients, and light attenuation coefficients in the water column and correspondingly shallower depth limits of the seagrass Zostera capricorni were observed in the western portions of the bay. Relatively high correlation coefficient values (r2 > 0.8) were observed between light attenuation coefficient, total suspended solids, chlorophyll a, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and Zostera capricorni depth range. Low correlation coefficient values (r2 < 0.8) between seagrass depth range and dissolved inorganic nutrients were observed. Seagrasses had disappeared over a five-year period near the mouth of the Logan River, a turbid river with increased land use in its watershed. At a site 9 km from the river mouth, a significant decrease in seagrass depth range corresponded to higher light attenuation, chlorophyll a, total suspended solids and total nitrogen content relative to a site 21 km from the river mouth. Seagrass depth penetration thus appears to be a sensitive bio-indicator of some water quality parameters, with application for water quality management.

scholarly journals Limnology of Merbok estuary, Kedah, Malaysia

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Kaniz Fatema ◽  
Wan Maznah Wan Omar ◽  
Mansor Mat Isa
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Total Suspended Solids ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Hand Temperature ◽  
Do Concentration ◽  
Merbok Estuary

Water quality in three different stations of Merbok estuary was investigated limnologically from October, 2010 to September, 2011. Water temperature, transparency and total suspended solids (TSS) varied from 27.45 - 30.450C, 7.5 - 120 cm and 10 -140 mg/l, respectively. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration ranged from 1.22-10.8 mg/l, while salinity ranged from 3.5-35.00 ppt. pH and conductivity ranged from 6.35 - 8.25 and 40 - 380 ?S/cm, respectively. Kruskal Wallis H test shows that water quality parameters were significantly different among the sampling months and stations (p<0.05). This study revealed that DO, salinity, conductivity and transparency were higher in wet season and TSS was higher in dry season. On the other hand, temperature and pH did not follow any seasonal trends.Bangladesh J. Zool. 41(1): 13-19, 2013

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