scholarly journals A microbial perspective on balancing trade-offs in ecosystem functions in a constructed stormwater wetland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina B. Bledsoe ◽  
Eban Z. Bean ◽  
Samuel S. Austin ◽  
Ariane L. Peralta
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Removal ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Wetland Soil ◽  
Anoxic Conditions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Green Stormwater Infrastructure ◽  
Stormwater Control

AbstractGreen stormwater infrastructure, such as constructed wetlands (CWs), is a type of stormwater control measure that can decrease nutrient and pollutant loads from urban stormwater runoff. Wetland soil microorganisms provide nutrient and pollutant removal benefits which can also result in ecosystem disservices such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and can inadvertently exacerbate climate change. Microbial respiration by facultative anaerobes in anoxic conditions is the primary pathway for nitrogen removal (benefit). Similar anoxic conditions that support denitrifying microorganisms can also support obligate anaerobes that produce methane (CH4) via methanogenesis (disservice). We examined nitrogen removal potential, GHG production, and microbial community structure within permanently flooded and shallow land or temporarily-flooded areas of a stormwater CW to identify zones for CW design optimization. Results indicate that permanently flooded zones compared to shallow land zones are greater sources of CH4 emissions (80.80 ± 118.31, 2.32 ± 9.33 mg CH4-C m-2 hr-1, respectively) and emit more carbon to the atmosphere (7161.27 kg CO2, 93.20 kg CO2 equivalents, respectively). However, nitrogen removal potential rates were similar across both flooded and shallow land zones (24.45 ± 20.18, 20.29 ± 15.14 ng N2O-N hr-1 g-1 dry soil, respectively). At this particular CW, reduction of permanently flooded zones within the wetland could decrease GHG emissions (disservice) without limiting nitrogen removal (benefit) potential of the wetland. Holistic development and design of stormwater control measures, which account for microbial activity, provides the opportunity to maximize benefits (i.e., nutrient and pollutant removal) and reduce disservices (i.e., GHG emissions) of green stormwater infrastructure.

scholarly journals Carbon Neutrality Pathways Effects on Air Pollutant Emissions: The Portuguese Case

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Joana Monjardino ◽  
Luís Dias ◽  
Patrícia Fortes ◽  
Hugo Tente ◽  
Francisco Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
End Use

Air pollution and climate change are closely interlinked, once both share common emission sources, which mainly arise from fuel combustion and industrial processes. Climate mitigation actions bring co-benefits on air quality and human health. However, specific solutions can provide negative trade-offs for one side. The Portuguese Carbon Neutrality Roadmap was developed to assess conceivable cost-effective pathways to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050. Assessing its impacts, on air pollutant emissions, is the main focus of the present work. The bottom-up linear optimization energy system the integrated MARKAL-EFOM system (TIMES) model was selected as a modeling tool for the decarbonization scenarios assessment. The estimation of air pollutant emissions was performed exogenously to the TIMES model. Results show that reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is possible, and technologically feasible, in Portugal, by 2050. The crucial and most cost-effective vector for decarbonizing the national economy is the end-use energy consumption electrification, renewable based, across all end-use sectors. Decarbonization efforts were found to have strong co-benefits for reducing air pollutant emissions in Portugal. Transport and power generation are the sectors with the greatest potential to reduce GHG emissions, providing likewise the most significant reductions of air pollutant emissions. Despite the overall positive effects, there are antagonistic effects, such as the use of biomass, mainly in industry and residential sectors, which translates into increases in particulate matter emissions. This is relevant for medium term projections, since results show that, by 2030, PM2.5 emissions are unlikely to meet the emission reduction commitments set at the European level, if no additional control measures are considered.

scholarly journals LEAP-Based Greenhouse Gases Emissions Peak and Low Carbon Pathways in China’s Tourist Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1218
Author(s):  
Dandan Liu ◽  
Dewei Yang ◽  
Anmin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Tourist Industry ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Reduction ◽  
Co2 Equivalent

China has grown into the world’s largest tourist source market and its huge tourism activities and resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are particularly becoming a concern in the context of global climate warming. To depict the trajectory of carbon emissions, a long-range energy alternatives planning system (LEAP)-Tourist model, consisting of two scenarios and four sub-scenarios, was established for observing and predicting tourism greenhouse gas peaks in China from 2017 to 2040. The results indicate that GHG emissions will peak at 1048.01 million-ton CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2033 under the integrated (INT) scenario. Compared with the business as usual (BAU) scenario, INT will save energy by 24.21% in 2040 and reduce energy intensity from 0.4979 tons of CO2 equivalent/104 yuan (TCO2e/104 yuan) to 0.3761 Tce/104 yuan. Although the INT scenario has achieved promising effects of energy saving and carbon reduction, the peak year 2033 in the tourist industry is still later than China’s expected peak year of 2030. This is due to the growth potential and moderate carbon control measures in the tourist industry. Thus, in order to keep the tourist industry in synchronization with China’s peak goals, more stringent measures are needed, e.g., the promotion of clean fuel shuttle buses, the encouragement of low carbon tours, the cancelation of disposable toiletries and the recycling of garbage resources. The results of this simulation study will help set GHG emission peak targets in the tourist industry and formulate a low carbon roadmap to guide carbon reduction actions in the field of GHG emissions with greater certainty.

Effects of strategic tillage on short-term erosion, nutrient loss in runoff and greenhouse gas emissions

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Melland ◽  
D. L. Antille ◽  
Y. P. Dang
Keyword(s):  
Nitrous Oxide ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Occasional strategic tillage (ST) of long-term no-tillage (NT) soil to help control weeds may increase the risk of water, erosion and nutrient losses in runoff and of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with NT soil. The present study examined the short-term effect of ST on runoff and GHG emissions in NT soils under controlled-traffic farming regimes. A rainfall simulator was used to generate runoff from heavy rainfall (70mmh–1) on small plots of NT and ST on a Vertosol, Dermosol and Sodosol. Nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from the Vertosol and Sodosol were measured before and after the rain using passive chambers. On the Sodosol and Dermosol there was 30% and 70% more runoff, respectively, from ST plots than from NT plots, however, volumes were similar between tillage treatments on the Vertosol. Erosion was highest after ST on the Sodosol (8.3tha–1 suspended sediment) and there were no treatment differences on the other soils. Total nitrogen (N) loads in runoff followed a similar pattern, with 10.2kgha–1 in runoff from the ST treatment on the Sodosol. Total phosphorus loads were higher after ST than NT on both the Sodosol (3.1 and 0.9kgha–1, respectively) and the Dermosol (1.0 and 0.3kgha–1, respectively). Dissolved nutrient forms comprised less than 13% of total losses. Nitrous oxide emissions were low from both NT and ST in these low-input systems. However, ST decreased CH4 absorption from both soils and almost doubled CO2 emissions from the Sodosol. Strategic tillage may increase the susceptibility of Sodosols and Dermosols to water, sediment and nutrient losses in runoff after heavy rainfall. The trade-offs between weed control, erosion and GHG emissions should be considered as part of any tillage strategy.

scholarly journals Improving the Treatment Performance of Low Impact Development Practices—Comparison of Sand and Bioretention Soil Mixtures Using Column Experiments

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1210
Author(s):  
Abtin Shahrokh Hamedani ◽  
Arianne Bazilio ◽  
Hanieh Soleimanifar ◽  
Heather Shipley ◽  
Marcio Giacomoni
Keyword(s):  
Phosphorus Removal ◽  
Low Impact Development ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Column Experiments ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Treatment Performance ◽  
Soil Mixtures ◽  
Limestone Sand ◽  
The Impact

Low impact development (LID) practices, such as bioretention and sand filter basins, are stormwater control measures designed to mitigate the adverse impacts of urbanization on stormwater. LID treatment performance is highly dependent on the media characteristics. The literature suggests that bioretention media often leach nutrients in the stormwater effluent. The objective of this study was to analyze the treatment performance of different sand and bioretention soil mixtures. Specifically, this investigation aimed to answer whether the use of limestone and recycled glass could improve the treatment performance of bioretention systems. Column experiments were designed to assess (1) the removal efficiencies of different sand and bioretention soil mixtures and (2) the impact of plant uptake on removal rates. Enhanced pollutant removal was observed for the custom blends with addition of limestone sand, indicating mean dissolved and total phosphorus removal of 44.5% and 32.6% respectively, while the conventional bioretention soil mixtures leached phosphorus. Moreover, improved treatment of dissolved and total copper was achieved with mean removal rates of 70.7% and 93.4%, respectively. The results suggest that the nutrient effluent concentration decreased with the addition of plants, with mean phosphorus removal of 72.4%, and mean nitrogen removal of 22% for the limestone blend.

scholarly journals The Challenge of Maintaining Stormwater Control Measures: A Synthesis of Recent Research and Practitioner Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Erickson ◽  
Vinicius Taguchi ◽  
John Gulliver
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Phosphorus Release ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Regional Characteristics ◽  
Permeable Pavements ◽  
The World ◽  
Inspection And Maintenance ◽  
Stormwater Control Measures ◽  
Stormwater Control

The methods for properly executing inspection and maintenance of stormwater control measures are often ambiguous and inconsistently applied. This paper presents specific guidelines for inspecting and maintaining stormwater practices involving media filtration, infiltration, ponds, and permeable pavements because these tend to be widely implemented and often unsatisfactorily maintained. Guidelines and examples are based on recent scientific research and practitioner experience. Of special note are new assessment and maintenance methods, such as testing enhanced filtration media that targets dissolved constituents, maintaining proper vegetation coverage in infiltration practices, assessing phosphorus release from pond sediments, and the development of compressed impermeable regions in permeable pavements and their implications for runoff. Inspection and maintenance examples provided in this paper are drawn from practical examples in Northern Midwest USA, but most of the maintenance recommendations do not depend on regional characteristics, and guidance from around the world has been reviewed and cited herein.

scholarly journals Trade-offs between high yields and greenhouse gas emissions in irrigation wheat cropland in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2287-2294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. L. Cui ◽  
L. Wu ◽  
Y. L. Ye ◽  
W. Q. Ma ◽  
X. P. Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Ghg Emission ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
High Yields ◽  
Scientific Attention

Abstract. Although the concept of producing higher yields with reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a goal that attracts increasing public and scientific attention, the trade-off between high yields and GHG emissions in intensive agricultural production is not well understood. Here, we hypothesize that there exists a mechanistic relationship between wheat grain yield and GHG emission, and that could be transformed into better agronomic management. A total 33 sites of on-farm experiments were investigated to evaluate the relationship between grain yield and GHG emissions using two systems (conventional practice, CP; high-yielding systems, HY) of intensive winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in China. Furthermore, we discussed the potential to produce higher yields with lower GHG emissions based on a survey of 2938 farmers. Compared to the CP system, grain yield was 39% (2352 kg ha−1) higher in the HY system, while GHG emissions increased by only 10%, and GHG emission intensity was reduced by 21%. The current intensive winter wheat system with farmers' practice had a median yield and maximum GHG emission rate of 6050 kg ha−1 and 4783 kg CO2 eq ha−1, respectively; however, this system can be transformed to maintain yields while reducing GHG emissions by 26% (6077 kg ha−1, and 3555 kg CO2 eq ha−1). Further, the HY system was found to increase grain yield by 39% with a simultaneous reduction in GHG emissions by 18% (8429 kg ha−1, and 3905 kg CO2 eq ha−1, respectively). In the future, we suggest moving the trade-off relationships and calculations from grain yield and GHG emissions to new measures of productivity and environmental protection using innovative management technologies.

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