http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Fertilizing with inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus definitely improves crop yields, but does it also improve the soil? http://phys.org/news286446816.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:33:47 EST news286446816 It's well known how bacteria exposed to antibiotics for long periods will find ways to resist the drugs—by quickly pumping them out of their cells, for instance, or modifying the compounds so they're no longer toxic. http://phys.org/news274070370.html Space & Earth Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:10:02 EST news274070370 Phosphorus (P) is both an essential nutrient in agricultural fields and a contributor to poor water quality in surface waters. To encourage improved P management in fields, the P Index was proposed as a risk assessment tool in 1992. After 20 years of use, modifications, and growing pains, does the P Index accurately assess the risk of P loss? http://phys.org/news271393956.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Nov 2012 03:14:24 EST news271393956 Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves. http://phys.org/news234499326.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:42:21 EST news234499326 Although phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all life forms, essential amounts of the chemical element can cause water quality problems in rivers, lakes, and coastal zones. High concentrations of phosphorus in aquatic ecosystems are often associated with human activities in the surrounding area, such as agriculture and urban development. However, relationships between specific human sources of phosphorus and phosphorus concentrations in aquatic ecosystems are yet to be understood. Establishing these relationships could allow for the development, implementation, and evaluation of management strategies to reduce nutrient pollution. http://phys.org/news232289562.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:53:01 EST news232289562 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have found a way to help growers minimize emissions of fumigants used as soil treatments. http://phys.org/news230899038.html Biology Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:37:36 EST news230899038 Surface water quality is important for the proper function of aquatic ecosystems, as well as human needs and recreation. Pasturelands have been found to be major sources of sediment, phosphorus and pathogens in Midwest surface water resources. While poor grazing management may lead to contaminated surface water, little is known about the specific amount of pollution in pasture streams that can be attributed to grazing cattle. http://phys.org/news230481508.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:38:41 EST news230481508 The evaluation of both nutrient and non-nutrient resource interactions provides information needed to sustainably manage agroforestry systems. Improved diagnosis of appropriate nutrient usage will help increase yields and also reduce financial and environmental costs. To achieve this, a management support system that allows for site-specific evaluation of nutrient-production imbalances is needed. http://phys.org/news228481206.html Space & Earth Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:00:25 EST news228481206 Assessing the environmental risk of pesticide use is an important, complex task that requires knowledge of the equilibrium sorption parameter. This helps researchers assess the risk of pesticides leaching into groundwater. For cost-effective assessments, this is usually determined through batch experiments that find the amount of pesticide in test soils as a function of concentration at a constant temperature. These experimental conditions differ considerably from real-world conditions. Thus, the validity of the data collected using this method is widely debated. http://phys.org/news227378310.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:38:36 EST news227378310 In their eagerness to cut nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, people have often sought simple explanations for the problem: too many large animal operations, for instance, or farmers who apply too much fertilizer, which then flows into waterways. http://phys.org/news223893280.html Space & Earth Fri, 06 May 2011 09:35:19 EST news223893280 (PhysOrg.com) -- A process that directly captures flue gas carbon dioxide from the combustion process and holds it has earned a patent for the University of Wyoming. http://phys.org/news223797665.html Space & Earth Thu, 05 May 2011 07:01:52 EST news223797665 Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and a precursor to compounds that contribute to the destruction of the ozone. Intensively managed, grazed pastures are responsible for an increase in nitrous oxide emissions from grazing animals' excrement. Biochar is potentially a mitigation option for reducing the world's elevated carbon dioxide emissions, since the embodied carbon can be sequestered in the soil. Biochar also has the potential to beneficially alter soil nitrogen transformations. http://phys.org/news222509065.html Space & Earth Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:04:39 EST news222509065 Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and a precursor to compounds that contribute to the destruction of the ozone. Intensively managed, grazed pastures are responsible for an increase in nitrous oxide emissions from grazing animals' excrement. Biochar is potentially a mitigation option for reducing the world's elevated carbon dioxide emissions, since the embodied carbon can be sequestered in the soil. Biochar also has the potential to beneficially alter soil nitrogen transformations. http://phys.org/news219664009.html Space & Earth Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:47:21 EST news219664009 Chronic water quality problems caused by agricultural and urban runoff, municipal wastewater, and atmospheric deposition from the burning of fossil fuels leads to oxygen depletion, loss of biodiversity, and harmful algal blooms. This nutrient pollution is prevalent in many coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems worldwide. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and although many efforts have been taken to improve its water quality, nutrient pollution still keeps it at unacceptable levels. http://phys.org/news214827842.html Space & Earth Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:24:49 EST news214827842 The Australian Government National Water Commission funded a study to establish an approach to assess the quality of water treated using managed aquifer recharge. Researchers at Australia's CSIRO Land and Water set out to determine if the en product would meet standard drinking water guidelines. http://phys.org/news213545670.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:14:39 EST news213545670 (PhysOrg.com) -- The tile drainage systems in upper Mississippi farmlands -- from southwest Minnesota to across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio -- are the biggest contributors of nitrogen runoff into the Gulf of Mexico, reports a Cornell/University of Illinois-Urbana study. http://phys.org/news209812430.html Space & Earth Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:50:02 EST news209812430 Researchers at the University of Florida Research and Education Centers and scientists at the South Florida Water Management District have published a report regarding the trends in water quality feeding into Everglades National Park. The report can be found in the September-October 2010 Journal of Environmental Quality, published by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. http://phys.org/news206901687.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:41:56 EST news206901687 That swine manure sprayed on to fields adds valuable nutrients to the soil is well known. But what is not known is whether all that manure is bringing harmful bacteria with it. http://phys.org/news203334254.html Space & Earth Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:20:06 EST news203334254 Rising sea levels and coastal development are threatening coastal freshwater wetlands with saltwater intrusion. While most ecosystem restoration projects have focused on surface water and groundwater, new research finds that conditions in the vadose zone, the unsaturated soil below the surface but above the water table, are of particular importance to seedling survival in coastal floodplain ecosystems. http://phys.org/news203088803.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:50:01 EST news203088803 When fire burns down a forest, nitrate levels go up, and the effects are persistent, according to recent research from University of Montana scientists. They found that charcoal deposited during fire events has the potential to stimulate the conversion of ammonia to nitrates, an important step in the nitrogen cycle. http://phys.org/news200248011.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:01 EST news200248011 Scientists demonstrate that biochar, a type charcoal applied to soils in order to capture and store carbon, can reduce emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, and inorganic nitrogen runoff from agriculture settings. The finding will help develop strategies and technologies to reduce soil nitrous oxide emissions and reduce agriculture's influence on climate change. http://phys.org/news199892076.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:10 EST news199892076 NASA scientists improved watershed pollution monitoring models by incorporating satellite and ground-based observations of precipitation. The NASA data replaces weather station observations, and will allow states to monitor non-point pollution and improve water quality. http://phys.org/news199082458.html Space & Earth Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:01 EST news199082458 The approach the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural anaerobic lagoons that treat manure contains errors and may underestimate methane emissions by up to 65%, according to scientists from the University of Missouri. http://phys.org/news196618186.html Space & Earth Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:20:01 EST news196618186 Water runoff from cropped farm fields can contain large amounts of eroded soil as well as some of the fertilizer and herbicide. Expanding on existing conservation practices, a team of scientists has tested whether compost filters socks in grassed waterways would reduce sediment flow and retain dissolved chemicals in runoff. The researchers observed reduced sediment in a non-tilled field and reduced concentrations of two herbicides. http://phys.org/news196255918.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:03 EST news196255918 Nutrient runoff from livestock manure is a common source of agricultural pollution. Looking for an uncommon solution, a team of scientists has developed an application of rare earth elements to control and track runoff phosphorus from soils receiving livestock manure. In addition to reducing the solubility of phosphorus, this method shows particular promise for researchers interested in tracking the fate of manure nutrients in agricultural settings. http://phys.org/news195706785.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:00:09 EST news195706785 Concern about microbial contamination of groundwater from foraging dairy cows has increased as spray irrigation practices in New Zealand have increased over the years. Bacteria capable of living in both animals and humans are commonly found in cow manure. Addressing the lack of research on the topic, a team of New Zealand researchers studied the transport of microbes from two spray irrigated dairy pastures into groundwater supplies. http://phys.org/news195658454.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:01 EST news195658454 Scientists are reporting a new technique for mapping and testing oil-contaminated soils. Traditionally, samples need to be collected from the field and returned to a lab for extensive chemical analysis, costing time and money when neither is readily available during a clean-up operation. The new method can take measurements in the field and accurately predict the total amount of petroleum contaminants in moist, unprepared soil samples. http://phys.org/news195326645.html Space & Earth Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:10:03 EST news195326645 Grass buffer strips are commonly used in crop production to reduce herbicide runoff. These practices are encouraged through incentives, regulations or laws, and are effective at lowering herbicide concentration in runoff. However, subsurface filtration (under the buffer strips) is not as well documented, and neither are the effects of trees integrated into buffer strips with grasses. Understanding these effects is crucial as agriculture producers continue to adopt these strategies. http://phys.org/news191418993.html Biology Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:01 EST news191418993 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are components of petroleum products such as gasoline, coal, and oil. They are also produced as by-products of the combustion of fuels including petroleum and fire wood. PAHs can cause cancer and other health effects. Because they are produced during combustion, they are ubiquitous, and their levels are high enough to be a concern in all urban waterways. However, because there are so many potential sources of PAHs in the environment, it is not clear which of these sources are most responsible for the contamination in the water. Knowing what the major sources are would help states formulate more effective strategies to control them. http://phys.org/news187375320.html Space & Earth Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:00:05 EST news187375320 A team of UK scientists led by Dr. Karen Anderson (University of Exeter) has developed a new technique for monitoring the condition of peatlands. The team used a combination of images captured from Earth and space to measure spatial patterning in peatland surfaces as an indicator of their condition. This new method uses a novel coupled approach, using satellite images from space and airborne laser scanning data, and has resulted in improved peatland mapping products. http://phys.org/news183661726.html Space & Earth Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:30:02 EST news183661726