Nitrate Removal and Woodchip Properties across a Paired Denitrifying Bioreactor Treating Centralized Agricultural Ditch Flows

Treatment of nitrate loads by denitrifying bioreactors in centralized drainage ditches that receive subsurface tile drainage may offer a more effective alternative to end-of-pipe bioreactors. A paired denitrifying bioreactor design, consisting of an in-ditch bioreactor (18.3 × 2.1 × 0.2 m) treating ditch base flow and a diversion bioreactor (4.6 × 9.1 × 0.9 m) designed to treat high-flow events, was designed and constructed in an agricultural watershed (3.2 km2 drainage area) in Illinois, USA. Flow and water chemistry were monitored for three years and the woodchip and bioreactor-associated soil were analyzed for denitrification potential and chemical properties after 25 months. The in-ditch bioreactor did not significantly reduce nitrate concentrations in the ditch, likely due to low hydraulic connectivity with stream water and sedimentation. The diversion bioreactor significantly reduced nitrate concentrations (58% average reduction) but treated only ~2% of annual ditch flow. Denitrification potential was significantly higher in the in-ditch bioreactor woodchips versus the diversion bioreactor after 25 months (2950 ± 580 vs. 620 ± 310 ng N g−1 dry media h−1). The passive flow design was simple to construct and did not restrict flow in the drainage ditch but resulted in low hydraulic exchange, limiting nitrate removal.

Rate of Fen-Peat Soil Subsidence Near Drainage Ditches (Central Poland)

This study analyzed design depths (to), post-subsidence depths (t), shallowing magnitudes (d = to − t) and ratio values (d/t) of 12 drainage ditches in a fragment of the drained Solec fen-peat (central Poland) over a period of 47 years between 1967 and 2014. A significant decrease of the designed depth of the ditches to was shown, from the average designed value of 0.97 m to their average depth after subsidence, t = 0.71 m. The ratio (d/t) of 0.41, which is associated with the degree of organic matter decomposition, indicated medium degree of peat decomposition. The average values of bank and bottom subsidence of the ditches during the analyzed period, 1967–2014, were 0.43 m and 0.17 m, respectively. The values of the average annual rate of land surface subsidence in the vicinity of the ditches were varied and within the range of 0.09 cm year−1 to 1.70 cm year−1, with an average of 0.92 cm year−1. Two linear empirical equations were proposed to calculate the amount of subsidence and the average annual rate of subsidence of peat soil surface near the drainage ditch route, based on the knowledge of the initial thickness of the peat deposit. The results of calculations using the equations proposed by the authors were compared with calculations of the same parameters using 10 equations published in the literature. The results obtained using the proposed equations were mostly larger than those calculated with literature-published equations.

Măsuri de întărire a capacității de adaptare la schimbările climatice a ecosistemelor acvatice

The current article presents a bibliographic overview of green infrastructures and their role in strengthening the adaptive capacity of aquatic ecosystems to the adverse effects of climate change (high temperatures, heavy rains, droughts). Different types of ecological infrastructures are presented: forest buffer strips, rain gardens, permeable pavement, drainage ditches; bioengineering structures for bank stabilization. Also the functions performed by green infrastructures to maintain ecosystem services were presented: mitigating the effects of floods, stabilizing banks, preventing landslides and water caused erosion, stormwater management, reducing the load of pollutants. For the implementation of this approach in the hydrographic basin of Dniester River or the Prut River a more detailed study is necessary on the state of habitats, identification of hotspot areas of aquatic biodiversity, particularly those species important for maintaining of ecosystem functions, highlighting of the areas at high risk of floods or erosion.

PLC Based Automated Irrigation System

In a developing country like India, automation plays an important role in the development and advancement of the country. In the field of irrigation, proper method of irrigation is important . At the present era, the gardeners have been using irrigation technique in India through the manual control in which the gardeners irrigate at the regular intervals. This process sometimes consumes more water or sometimes the water reaches late due to which the grass and plants get dried. Over-irrigation can increase energy consumption and water cost as well as leaching of fertilizers below the root zone, erosion, and transport of soil and chemical particles to the drainage ditches. Irrigators who monitor soil moisture levels in the field greatly increase their ability to conserve water and energy and avoid soil erosion and water pollution. The objective of this paper is to develop sensor based automated gardening system to reduce water requirement and balanced gardening in smart city projects in India. Manpower isn`t required in this system and moisture content of soil will be balanced all the time.

Pengaruh pengelolaan agroekosistem terhadap kelimpahan kutu loncat jeruk Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae)

Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is a serious problem in citrus because it transmits huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Agricultural practices without paying attention to the agroecosystem complexity often cause the agroecosystem more suitable for insect pests proliferation and less friendly to natural enemies. The research aims to study the effectiveness of agroecosystem management compared to conventional farming in the ACP control. The effects of both treatments on the diversity and abundance of ACP’s natural enemies as well as the incidence and severity of HLB were also studied. Agroecosystem management consists of preventive and responsive actions. Preventive action was carried out through a polyculture system, planting refugia and legume cover crop, providing beetle banks, applying lime, applying organic and inorganic fertilizers, citrus pruning intensively, maintaining drainage ditches, and mechanical weed control. Responsive action is short-term control when the abundance of ACP reaches the action threshold. Responsive action was carried out through biological or chemical control. Meanwhile, conventional farming is a series of conventional farming and pest control techniques commonly applied by farmers. Each treatment was applied in three orchards of Siam Orange cv. Pontianak Citrus nobilis Lour var. microcarpa Hassk. The results showed that agroecosystem management was more effective in controlling the ACP population so that its abundance was lower and less fluctuated than conventional farming. ACP’s natural enemies in agroecosystem management were also more diverse than conventional farming. The abundance of ACP’s natural enemies and the incidence and severity of HLB in the two treatments were not significantly different.

Radial Growth Response of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) after Increasing the Availability of Water Resources

In the years 1998–2022, about eight thousand hydrotechnical facilities were built or planned for construction at the State Forests National Forest Holding in Poland, which could slow down the outflow of water from small forest catchments and store over 50 hm³ of water. Due to the innovative and unprecedented nature of investments retaining water resources on forest land, having a significant impact on the adaptation and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change, the literature on the subject lacks in studies describing their impact on the adjacent forest environment. The aim of the presented research is to determine the evolution of the tree-ring width of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) before and after the reconstruction of two water reservoirs and the construction of gates in drainage ditches as part of small retention projects in lowland areas. The research was carried out on the basis of core drillings collected in four forest districts and climate data provided by the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute. In the first stage of the work, no statistically significant influence of climatic conditions on the shaping of growths was demonstrated. In the next step, the variability of increments and their width in individual years before and after the investment was examined. Then, the distance of individual trees from reservoirs and drainage ditches was analyzed, as well as its importance in forming increments. The calculated statistical significance of differences in increments, average, minimum and maximum values, as well as standard deviation indicated the possible influence of retention reservoirs and valves on shaping the increments. The study did not confirm the importance of the distance of trees from the newly available water resources in the growth of the width of the increments.

Design and Implementation of an Automatic Soil Moisture Sensor Irrigation System

As India is an agriculture oriented country and the rate at which water resources are depleting is a dangerous threat hence there is a need of smart and efficient way of irrigation. At present most of the farmers have been using irrigation techniques through the manual control in which the farmers irrigate the land at the regular intervals. This process sometimes consumes more water or sometimes the water reaches late due to which the crops get dried. Over-irrigation can increase energy consumption and water cost as well as leaching of fertilizers below the root zone, erosion, and transport of soil and chemical particles to the drainage ditches. Irrigators who monitor soil moisture levels inthe field greatly increase their ability to conserve water and energy, optimize crop yields, and avoid soil erosion and water pollution.This paper described to provide an automatic irrigation systemusing AT89S51 microcontroller,thereby saving time, money & power of the farmer. With thisautomated technology of irrigation the human intervention can be minimized. This system is best suited for places where water is scarce and has to be used in limited quantity