Seven Years Study of the Seasonal Dynamics of Zooplankton Communities in a Large Subtropical Floodplain Ecosystem: A Test of the PEG Model

Irregular hydrological events, according to a classic plankton ecology group (PEG) study, can generate major deviations from the standard PEG model. However, little is known about the function of hydrological factors in influencing the seasonal dynamics of plankton. We used multivariate and Partial Least Squares Path Modeling to analyze the seasonal variation in crustacean zooplankton and related environmental factors from winter 2009 to winter 2016 in Lake Poyang, the largest freshwater lake in China. We found a distinct seasonal pattern in zooplankton development, which deviated, in part, from the PEG model, as we found indications of (1) a weaker degree of food limitation in winter and spring, likely due to high concentrations of allochthonous sources caused by decomposition of seasonally flooded hygrophytes, also affecting sediment dynamics; (2) a peak in crustacean zooplankton biomass in summer when the water level was high (and predation was lower), and where horizontal transport of zooplankton from the littoral zone to the pelagic was possibleand (3) a higher predation pressure in autumn, likely due to a shrinking water volume that left the fish concentrated in less water. The majority of these differences can be attributed to the direct or indirect impacts of physical factor variation.

Hyporheic hydraulic geometry: Conceptualizing relationships among hyporheic exchange, storage, and water age

Hyporheic exchange is now widely acknowledged as a key driver of ecosystem processes in many streams. Yet stream ecologists have been slow to adopt nuanced hydrologic frameworks developed and applied by engineers and hydrologists to describe the relationship between water storage, water age, and water balance in finite hydrosystems such as hyporheic zones. Here, in the context of hyporheic hydrology, we summarize a well-established mathematical framework useful for describing hyporheic hydrology, while also applying the framework heuristically to visualize the relationships between water age, rates of hyporheic exchange, and water volume within hyporheic zones. Building on this heuristic application, we discuss how improved accuracy in the conceptualization of hyporheic exchange can yield a deeper understanding of the role of the hyporheic zone in stream ecosystems. Although the equations presented here have been well-described for decades, our aim is to make the mathematical basis as accessible as possible and to encourage broader understanding among aquatic ecologists of the implications of tailed age distributions commonly observed in water discharged from and stored within hyporheic zones. Our quantitative description of “hyporheic hydraulic geometry,” associated visualizations, and discussion offer a nuanced and realistic understanding of hyporheic hydrology to aid in considering hyporheic exchange in the context of river and stream ecosystem science and management.

Seasonality in the relationship between equatorial-mean heat content and interannual eastern equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperature variability

Interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the tropical Atlantic Ocean lead to anomalous atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns with important ecological and socioeconomic consequences for the semiarid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and northeast Brazil. This interannual SST variability is characterized by three modes: an Atlantic meridional mode featuring an anomalous cross-equatorial SST gradient that peaks in boreal spring; an Atlantic zonal mode (Atlantic Niño mode) with SST anomalies in the eastern equatorial Atlantic cold tongue region that peaks in boreal summer; and a second zonal mode of variability with eastern equatorial SST anomalies peaking in boreal winter. Here we investigate the extent to which there is any seasonality in the relationship between equatorial warm water recharge and the development of eastern equatorial Atlantic SST anomalies. Seasonally stratified cross-correlation analysis between eastern equatorial Atlantic SST anomalies and equatorial heat content anomalies (evaluated using warm water volume and sea surface height) indicate that while equatorial heat content changes do occasionally play a role in the development of boreal summer Atlantic zonal mode events, they contribute more consistently to Atlantic Niño II, boreal winter events. Event and composite analysis of ocean adjustment with a shallow water model suggest that the warm water volume anomalies originate mainly from the off-equatorial northwestern Atlantic, in agreement with previous studies linking them to anomalous wind stress curl associated with the Atlantic meridional mode.

Environmental concentrations as ratios of random variables

Human-induced environmental change increasingly threatens the stability of socio-ecological systems. Careful statistical characterization of environmental concentrations is critical to quantify and predict the consequences of such changes on human and ecosystems conditions. However, while concentrations are naturally defined as the ratio between solute mass and solvent volume, they have rarely been treated as such, typically limiting the analysis to familiar distributions generically used for any other environmental variable. To address this gap, we propose a more general framework that leverages their definition explicitly as ratios of random variables. We show that the resulting models accurately describe the behavior of nitrate plus nitrite in US rivers and salt concentration in estuaries in the Everglades by accounting for heavy tails potentially emerging when the water volume fluctuates around low values. Models that preclude the presence of heavy tails and the related high probability of extreme concentrations could significantly undermine the accuracy of diagnostic frameworks and the effectiveness of mitigation interventions, especially for soil contamination characterized by a water volume (i.e., soil moisture) frequently approaching zero.

Climate change impact to dam Operation, case study of Darma Dam, West Java

Darma Dam is located in the upstream of Cisanggarung River, Kuningan Regency, West Java Province. Darma Dam construction dated from about 1922. Indonesian government continued the construction and began operating in 1962. With effective storage of about 40 million m3, Darma Dam provides water for about 22 thousand irrigation areas and bulk water for several cities and regencies. Several problems encountered in Darma Dam operation and water management are 1) increasing water demand from domestic and industrial sectors, and 2) high inflow variation during the dry and wet season, resulting in a large amount of water spill from the dam spillway. This paper addressed the impact of climate change on the inflow variation of Darma Dam in the dry and wet seasons. Further analysis shows average water spills from the spillway during the wet season may increase from about 12 million m3/year in the present condition to about 20 million m3/year in 2020-2050, while the average water volume during the dry season may reduce from 22.5 million m3 in the present condition to about 20.7 million m3 in 2020-2050. This study suggests that dam operation need adjustment in the future as part of adaptation to climate change.

The Importance of Proper Dam Maintenance Due to the Increase of Torrential Floods in the Face of Climate Change

In this chapter, the author discusses the importance of mitigation and adaptation actions needed to be taken from an environmental and engineering standpoint in regards to dams, reservoirs they form, the river basins they serve, and how this can benefit these systems in the future. One of the main problems identified for the mid-21st century will be the availability of fresh water. Currently, appx. 20% of the world's freshwater is stored in manmade reservoirs. However, these reservoirs sediment over time. This “sediment phenomena'' adversely affects the water volume in reservoirs and their sustainable maintenance, potentially jeopardizing water supply and lives. To answer the “sediment phenomena,'' this chapter will explore a new approach to a no less devastating problem of land degradation, developed at the Technical University of Vienna. In the Balkan region, sediments are mostly composed of alluvial soil, decomposing organic matter, and sands, making them indeed a perfect soil amendment for degraded lands and barren topsoil terrains destroyed during torrential floods and landslides.

Quantifying the Contributions of Climate Change and Human Activities to Water Volume in Lake Qinghai, China

Lake Qinghai has shrunk and then expanded over the past few decades. Quantifying the contributions of climate change and human activities to lake variation is important for water resource management and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we calculated the water volume change of Lake Qinghai, analyzed the climate and land use changes in Lake Qinghai catchment, and distinguished the contributions of climate change and local human activities to water volume change. The results showed that lake water volume decreased by 9.48 km3 from 1975 to 2004 and increased by 15.18 km3 from 2005 to 2020. The climate in Lake Qinghai catchment is becoming warmer and more pluvial, and the changes in land use have been minimal. Based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), land use change, climate change and interaction effect of them contributed to 7.46%, 93.13% and −0.59%, respectively, on the variation in surface runoff into the lake. From the perspective of the water balance, we calculated the proportion of each component flowing into and out of the lake and found that the contribution of climate change to lake water volume change was 97.55%, while the local human activities contribution was only 2.45%. Thus, climate change had the dominant impact on water volume change in Lake Qinghai.

CONCENTRATION OF SOLUBLE SALTS IN COOLING WATER OF POWER PLANTS WITH BLOW DOWN RECIRCULATION

The method for calculating the dynamics of concentration of soluble salts (tracers) using the assumption of their homogeneous distribution in the water volume of the circulated cooling system (CCS) under the conditions of recirculation of part of the purge water was proposed. The assumption of homogeneity of salt distribution is substantiated by the fact that the period of mixing of cold water (CW) in CCS is equal to several hours, and the period of setting the concentration limits is calculated in tens of days. In this approximation the law of change of concentration of tracers in time from the moment of their supply in CCS in modes without and with recirculation of a part of purge water and without any processing is received. It is shown that without recirculating treatment, recirculation of purge water increases the maximum salt concentration and the time to reach it. Attention is drawn to the fact that the flow rate consists of two parts: controlled and uncontrolled. When calculating the allowable amount of purge recirculation, it is necessary to use the value of the total purge flow. It is important to understand that the relative change in total purge is always less than the controlled one. To obtain the cost of full purge, it is necessary to calculate its uncontrolled part. The procedure for calculating the uncontrolled purge is given in the paper. Since there are restrictions for of maximum allowable concentration (MAC) on the concentrations of tracers in the CCS, the expressions obtained in this work are consistent with the requirements of the MAC and allow for a given degree of concentration of salts φ, to calculate the limit of recirculation flow. It is shown that the recirculation regime can be applied without additional measures for CCS with a low initial degree of salt concentration and low concentration in the feed water. The proposed algorithm is used to predict the results of recirculation in the case of a specific CСS for thermal power plants with an electrical capacity of 1200 MW and the ratio CMAC/C0 = 5. It is shown that in this case recirculation has significant economic and environmental effects. However, at high, concentrations of tracers C0, compared to MAC, feed water recirculation is meaningless. The calculation algorithm applies to tracers, i.e. salts that do not give deposits, but only limited by the MAC requirements and the risk of corrosion or environmental considerations. Therefore, the above technique cannot be directly used for sparingly soluble salts, such as calcium carbonate. In this case, it requires significant correction. Note the convenient use in calculations of the earlier introduced by us concept of regime (dynamic) factor φ, especially when comparing the real consumption of the main flows of ССS to calculated and in determining the evaporative capacity of cooling towers, or assessing the degree of salt concentration.

Biostimulant Effects of an Aqueous Extract of Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) on Physiological and Biochemical Traits in the Olive Tree

Biostimulants are becoming increasingly popular in agriculture for their ability to induce beneficial effects in crops, paving the way towards the identification of new materials with biostimulant potential. This study evaluated the potential of different concentrations of an aqueous extract (0.25%, 0.50%, and 1.00%, dry weight/water volume, respectively) obtained from duckweed (Lemna minor L.) to stimulate olive plants. Leaf net photosynthesis (Pn), leaf transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), sub-stomatal CO2 concentration (Ci), chlorophyll content and other plant growth parameters were investigated. As a result, the extract improved Pn, gs, Ci, chlorophyll content and plant biomass production (leaf fresh and dry weight). Furthermore, the duckweed extract generally increased the uptake of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), while it did not influence the content of sodium (Na), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu). The untargeted metabolomic profiling of the extract revealed the presence of signalling compounds (including phytohormones), phenolics and glutathione. Such broad diversity of bioactives may support the stimulatory potential observed in olive. In summary, this study revealed for the first time that duckweed could be seen as a promising species to obtain extracts with biostimulant properties in olive trees.