scholarly journals Effects of intensive agriculture and hydrological changes on macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland riverine wetlands

Author(s):  
Paula Altieri ◽  
Carolina Ocon ◽  
Roberto Jensen ◽  
Alberto Rodrigues Capítulo

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of agricultural land use and periods of hydrological variability on the environmental variables, as well as macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland riverine wetlands. We compared two wetlands with intensive agricultural land use against two others with extensive livestock considered references for the region during a normal and a dry flow period. Nutrient concentrations were significantly higher in agricultural riverine wetlands. These wetlands exhibited higher relative coverage of floating anchored macrophytes and the absence of submerged vegetation. They showed significantly lower taxonomic richness and density of macroinvertebrates and a higher relative abundance of scrapers and predators. Wetlands of both land uses had a lower total density of macroinvertebrates and a higher proportion of tolerant desiccation taxa in the dry period. Particular differences between land uses, such as lower dissolved oxygen concentrations and lower macroinvertebrate diversity in agricultural wetlands, were found during the dry period. These findings indicate that the differences between land uses increased during the aforementioned period. This study provides evidence of the effects of the surrounding landscape and hydrologic periods in the environmental characteristics as well as the macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages of the riverine wetlands studied.

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 627
Author(s):  
Duong H. Nong ◽  
An T. Ngo ◽  
Hoa P. T. Nguyen ◽  
Thuy T. Nguyen ◽  
Lan T. Nguyen ◽  
...  

We analyzed the agricultural land-use changes in the coastal areas of Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province, in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, using Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 data. We used the object-oriented classification method with the maximum likelihood algorithm to classify six types of land uses. The series of land-use maps we produced had an overall accuracy of more than 80%. We then conducted a spatial analysis of the 5-year land-use change using ArcGIS software. In addition, we surveyed 150 farm households using a structured questionnaire regarding the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity and land uses, as well as farmers’ adaptation and responses. The results showed that from 2005 to 2020, cropland decreased, while aquaculture land and forest land increased. We observed that the most remarkable decreases were in the area of rice (485.58 ha), the area of perennial crops (109.7 ha), and the area of non-agricultural land (747.35 ha). The area of land used for aquaculture and forest increased by 566.88 ha and 772.60 ha, respectively. We found that the manifestations of climate change, such as extreme weather events, saltwater intrusion, drought, and floods, have had a profound impact on agricultural production and land uses in the district, especially for annual crops and aquaculture. The results provide useful information for state authorities to design land-management strategies and solutions that are economic and effective in adapting to climate change.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Tweedie ◽  
Philip M. Haygarth ◽  
Anthony Edwards ◽  
Allan Lilly ◽  
Nikki Baggaley ◽  
...  

<p>The use of phosphorus (P) fertilizer has been one of the defining contributors to productive agriculture since the green revolution during the middle of the last century. However, these increased yields have come at the cost of dependency upon the declining resources of P rock reserves and eutrophication of water bodies downstream. In this context, it is important to understand the long-term effects of these P fertilizer additions on soil chemistry over ~50 years in order explain past and current patterns in fertilizer usage and so to better inform future soil management.</p><p>We tested the hypothesis that phosphorus forms and availability in mixed use (arable and grazed) agricultural soil have changed over a period of 50 to 80 years of agricultural intensification. Spatially matched samples of soil from 34 agricultural sites in North East (NE) Scotland were collected at two timepoints. The first samples were taken between 1951 and 1981 and in all cases the resampling took place in the autumn of 2017. The soils sampled were representative of agricultural soils in NE Scotland.</p><p>The hypothesis was tested by employing a range of soil tests on the ‘old’ and ‘new’ time points.  These included water extraction for inorganic and organic P, nitrate and ammonium and dissolved organic carbon, acid ammonium oxalate extraction to investigate the soil P exchange complex and NaOH-EDTA extraction as a strong alkaline extractant which preserves organic P forms. Analysis by <sup>31</sup>P NMR was conducted on the NaOH-EDTA extracts from 5 pairs of samples, to investigate the organic P chemistry of in greater detail.</p><p>Phosphorus concentrations for stronger extractants (NaOH-EDTA, acid ammonium oxalate) did not increase significantly (P<0.05) over time. However, water extraction results showed increases in total P (P<0.01) and inorganic P but decreases in organic P. Additionally, analysis by <sup>31</sup>P NMR detected changes between timepoints in α-glycero-phosphate and pyrophosphate.</p><p>These results indicate that differences in the various chemical forms of P present in soil between the timepoints can be detected many decades apart. This indicates changes in the functioning of the P cycle in these soils under intensive agricultural land use over time. Knowledge of the P-cycling response of soils under agricultural land-use over decades provides an opportunity to understand changes in soil nutrient concentrations, balances and availability and inform studies seeking to improve the sustainable management of soil fertility.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Weigelhofer ◽  
Matthias Pucher

<p>Understanding the consequences of the interplay between land use and climate change is among the most pressing challenges of the 21<sup>st</sup> century for river managers. Over the past decades, agricultural land use has altered nutrient concentrations and stoichiometric ratios in stream ecosystems, thereby affecting aquatic biogeochemical cycles and the coupling among carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen. In addition, the frequency and duration of droughts has increased dramatically across Europe, causing perennial streams to shift to intermittency and changing the capacity of sediments for the uptake and storage of macronutrients.</p><p>Our study aims to understand the effects of drying and re-wetting on the uptake, storage, and release of phosphorus and organic carbon from the benthic and the hyporheic zone of headwater streams under the additional stressor of agricultural land use. In specific, we are interested in the potential coupling and decoupling of phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon cycling in autotrophic and heterotrophic benthic biofilms. We sampled headwater streams before, during, and after the dry period in 2018 and 2019 and performed laboratory experiments with artificial drying and re-wetting and additions of dissolved organic carbon. We measured nutrient uptake and release, microbial biomass, respiration, and the activity of extra-cellular enzymes. The first results show an increased phosphorus release from the sediments immediately after re-wetting, foolowed by a reduced uptake capacity. The uptake of DOC was correlated with phosphorus in autotrophic biofilms, but not in heterotrophic ones.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 03005
Author(s):  
Marina Podkovyrova ◽  
Dmitriy Kucherov

The authors examined the key components of In moden post – reform conditions when the organization of the use of agricultural land is carried out without land management project documentation and relevant recommendations, in conditions of significant pressure from industrial and urban development, this is primarily the main reason for the decline in soil fertility and the development of degradation processes, a departure from the classical sustainable agricultural land use, formed on the principles of land management and the laws of nature management [1- 4]. In the process of functioning, once-stable land uses have not changed borders for decades, which indicates a rational overall size of agricultural land use, when all three production factors: “labor”, “land” and “capital” are in full compliance with each of them, that is, harmonization, rationalization and greening [5, 6]. This harmonization eliminates the presence of such disadvantages as: far-earth, cross-stripe, wedging, etc., creates conditions for the rationai organization of the use of agricultural land [2, 5, 6].


2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 476-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Yates ◽  
R. B. Brua ◽  
J. Corriveau ◽  
J. M. Culp ◽  
P. A. Chambers

1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. DUMANSKI ◽  
M. PHIPPS ◽  
E. HUFFMAN

The significant advances which have been made on inventories of agricultural land use and in updating soil survey information provide an opportunity to compare these new sources of information to identify which of the various land factors shown on soil survey maps correlate most closely with agricultural land use. Three study areas representing three levels of land use intensity were used. Statistics of information theory were evaluated for application in studies of this type. Results demonstrate that a statistically significant correlation (adjustment) between physical land conditions and land use has occurred in all three areas. However, the degree of correlation varied according to the land use and the types of land factors considered. Increased correlation was achieved when land uses were weighted by economic investment. The factor called "soil association" was identified as correlating best with land use, but factors such as surface texture, capability class, slope and "spatial interaction" were also significant. Key words: Land use, soil survey, statistics, information theory, capability, economic investment


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Pellegrini ◽  
M. Buccheri ◽  
F. Martini ◽  
F. Boscutti

AbstractUnveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. The invasion success is often linked to anthropogenic land uses and warming due to climate change. We studied the responses of native versus casual and naturalised exotic species richness to land uses and climate at the landscape level, relying on a large floristic survey undertaken in North - Eastern Italy. Both climate and land use drove exotic species richness. Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at this scale is mainly due to warm climatic conditions and the extent of urban and agricultural land, but with different effects on casual and naturalized exotic species. The occurrence of non-linear trends showed that a small percentage of extensive agricultural land in the landscape may concurrently reduce the number of exotic plant while sustaining native plant diversity. Plant invasion could be potentially limited by land management, mainly focusing on areas with extensive agricultural land use. A more consciousness land management is more and more commonly required by local administrations. According to our results, a shift of intensive to extensive agricultural land, by implementing green infrastructures, seems to be a win–win solution favouring native species while controlling the oversimplification of the flora due to plant invasion.


Author(s):  
B. O. Adebo ◽  
A. O. Aweto ◽  
K. Ogedengbe

Soil quality in an agroecosytem is considerably influenced by land use and management practices. Twenty two potential soil quality indicators were used to assess the effects of five different land use types (arable land, plantation, agroforestry, marginal land and native forest) on soil quality in Akufo and Atan farm settlements in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. A total of sixty-two fields were selected from which soil samples were taken at a depth of 0-15 cm and subjected to laboratory analysis. Majority of the evaluated physicochemical properties varied significantly among the land uses and whereas native land performed relatively better for most of the observed attributes, arable and marginal lands performed worse. Due to the moderate to strong significant correlation among the potential indicators, they were subjected to principal component analysis and only seven indicators were selected to compute the soil quality index (SQI). In both Akufo and Atan, native land had the highest SQI (0.8250 and 0.860 respectively) which was significantly different (P = .05) from all the agricultural land uses, except plantation (0.739 and 0.750 respectively). Whereas marginal field in Atan was most degraded (SQI = 0.455), it was closely followed by arable fields in both locations. This study indicates that the current agricultural land use and soil management practices in Akufo and Atan farm settlements have negatively impacted soil quality; however, the degree of degradation was strongly influenced by the concentration of soil organic carbon in the understudied land use systems. It also emphasizes the need to promote the use of sustainable management practices among agricultural land users, so as to increase soil organic carbon stock, and improve soil quality and land productivity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Egler ◽  
DF. Buss ◽  
JC. Moreira ◽  
DF. Baptista

Land-use alterations and pesticide run-offs are among the main causes for impairment in agricultural areas. We evaluated the influence of different land-uses (forest, pasture and intensive agriculture) on the water quality and on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages on three occasions: in the dry season, wet season and at the end of the wet season. Macroinvertebrates responded to this gradient of impairment: agricultural sites had significantly lower richness numbers than forested and pasture sites, and all major invertebrate groups were significantly affected. Most taxa found in forested sites were found in pasture sites, but often with lower densities. In this case, the loss of habitats due to sedimentation and the lower complexity of substrates seem to be the disruptive force for the macroinvertebrate fauna.


2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. P. Borges ◽  
J. F. G. Piassão ◽  
S. M. Albani ◽  
E. F. Albertoni ◽  
M. C. Martins ◽  
...  

Abstract Metals and agrochemicals are among the main aquatic contaminants, being able to trigger oxidative stress in exposed organisms. The objective of this work was to evaluate the correlation between the level of oxidative stress biomarkers in Aegla crabs (Crustacea, Anomura) with (i) the set of metals present in the streams sediment and (ii) with land uses of three hydrographic basins. The study was carried out in streams (≤ 2nd order) of hydrographic basins in southern Brazil (Basins of Rio Suzana, Rio Ligeirinho-Leãozinho and Rio Dourado). In these streams were quantified the land uses and Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, Mn and Zn concentrations in the sediment. The enzymes Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione Reductase (GR), as well as the level of membrane lipid peroxidation (TBARS), were analyzed in adult females. The PCA analysis showed that the distribution of metals was different between the basins. Cd, Cr and Fe were correlated positively with CAT and negatively with TBARS and GR. The Dourado basin had the lowest concentrations of these three metals and the highest levels of TBARS. However, in Dourado basin there is predominance of agriculture land use, and TBARS was positively correlated with agricultural land use. Besides in Dourado basin, GR activity was higher than in the others basins, indicating a compensatory response in relation to CAT inhibition. The basins of Suzana and Ligeirinho-Leãozinho rivers had lower TBARS values, which may be due to the induction of CAT in response to metals accumulated in sediment. In summary, this work indicates that in the basins with a higher concentration of toxic metals there is an adaptive response of CAT induction, which reduces TBARS in Aegla. On the other hand, in the basin with lower metallic contamination, TBARS occurrence was primarily influenced by agricultural land use.


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