Variable response to phosphorus mitigation measures across the nutrient transfer continuum in a dairy grassland catchment

peer-reviewedPhosphorus (P) loss from soils to water can be a major pressure on freshwater quality and dairy farming, with higher animal stocking rates, may lead to potentially greater nutrient source pressures. In many countries with intensive agriculture, regulation of P management aims to minimise these losses. This study examined the P transfer continuum, from source to impact, in a dairy-dominated, highly stocked, grassland catchment with free-draining soils over three years. The aim was to measure the effects of P source management and regulation on P transfer across the nutrient transfer continuum and subsequent water quality and agro-economic impacts. Reduced P source pressure was indicated by: (a) lower average farm-gate P balances (2.4 kg ha−1 yr−1), higher P use efficiencies (89%) and lower inorganic fertilizer P use (5.2 kg ha−1 yr−1) relative to previous studies; (b) almost no recorded P application during the winter closed period, when applications were prohibited, to avoid incidental transfers; and (c) decreased proportions of soils with excessive P concentrations (32–24%). Concurrently, production and profitability remained comparable with the top 10% of dairy farmers nationally with milk outputs of 14,585 l ha−1, and gross margins of € 3130 ha−1. Whilst there was some indication of a response in P delivery in surface water with declines in quick flow and interflow pathway P concentrations during the winter closed period for P application, delayed baseflows in the wetter third year resulted in elevated P concentrations for long durations and there were no clear trends of improving stream biological quality. This suggests a variable response to policy measures between P source pressure and delivery/impact where the strength of any observable trend is greater closer to the source end of the nutrient transfer continuum and a time lag occurs at the other end. Policy monitoring and assessment efforts will need to be cognisant of this

Body image after mastectomy: A thematic analysis of younger women’s written accounts

This study investigated younger women’s body image after mastectomy. In all, 49 women, aged 29–53 years (mean age: 39 years) who had had bilateral (n = 8) or unilateral (n = 41) mastectomy responded to open-ended questions online. Inductive thematic analysis revealed that aesthetics were less important than survival between diagnosis and mastectomy. Following mastectomy, women negotiated new body identities. Treatment effects such as weight gain were significant concerns. However, impacts on body confidence varied, and some participants rejected mainstream body shape ideals and reported feeling proud of their scars. Implications for supporting younger women post-mastectomy, including promotion of body acceptance, are discussed

I've got a very dichotomous difference in the way that I perceive myself”: Positive and negative constructions of body image following cancer treatment

This study investigated how women constructed body image following cancer. Four women, aged 32-67 years who had experienced breast or bowel cancer took part in a two-hour, in-depth focus group. Discourse analysis revealed that women orientated to positive aspects of the post-treatment body (silhouette, trust, acceptance) whilst acknowledging that their experiences were also traumatic (hair loss, scarring, sickness, swelling). Bodies and illness were concealed from public judgment, and women developed new trust in their bodies due to overcoming cancer; post-cancer bodies were accepted despite opportunities for normalisation. Implications for those wanting to support women during and after cancer are discussed

Putting Nutrients on the Map

<p>Teagasc environment researchers<br>outline how a novel prototype<br>geo-computational information<br>management system arising from the<br>Agricultural Catchments Programme<br>is being used to better manage farm<br>nutrients in Ireland.</p

Operating or not Operating at the Margin: Farmers Willingness to Adopt a Riparian Buffer Zone

In the European Union, mitigation measures to abate diffuse pollution from agricultural land are implemented under the direction of the EU Nitrates and Water Framework Directives. As these measures are implemented in national policies, a review process will look at the efficacy of the measures with a view to recommending further measures as necessary. This study examines the willingness of farmers to adopt riparian buffer zones on agricultural land. A total of 247 farmers in 12 catchments in the Republic of Ireland were asked their opinion in relation to a proposal to install a 10 metre deep riparian buffer zone under a five year scheme and the analysis was based on principal components analysis, contingent valuation methodology and a Generalized Tobit Interval model. Results from this analysis indicated that famers’ willingness to supply a riparian buffer zone depended on a mix of economic, attitudinal and farm structural factors. A total of 53% of the sample indicated a negative preference for provision. Principle constraints to adoption include interference with production, nuisance effects and loss of production in small field systems. Of those willing to engage with supply, the mean willingness to accept based cost of provision for a 10 metre riparian buffer zone was estimated to be €1513 ha-1 per annum equivalent to €1.51 per linear metre of riparian area

Supply of an ecosystem service—Farmers’ willingness to adopt riparian buffer zones in agricultural catchments

peer-reviewedTeagasc Agricultural Catchments Programme Phase 1 (2008-2011) and Phase 2 (2012-2015)In the European Union, mitigation measures to abate diffuse pollution from agricultural land are implemented under the direction of the EU Nitrates and Water Framework Directives. As these measures are implemented in national policies, a review process will look at the efficacy of the measures with a view to recommending further measures as necessary and following scientific and stakeholder consultation. Riparian buffer zones, beyond those zones used as mandatory set back distances for fertiliser and organic manure spreading, have been used as filters in some countries to attenuate nutrient rich runoff and may be proposed as supplementary measures elsewhere. Notwithstanding the ongoing research on the physio-chemical efficiency of riparian buffer zones, this study examined the willingness of farmers to adopt such features on agricultural land. The sample size was 247 farmers in 12 catchments (approximately 4-12km2) in the Republic of Ireland. The survey was based on a proposal to install a 10 metre deep riparian buffer zone on a five year scheme and the analysis was based on principal components analysis, contingent valuation methodology and a Generalized Tobit Interval model. Results from this analysis indicated that famers’ willingness to supply a riparian buffer zone depended on a mix of economic, attitudinal and farm structural factors. A total of 53% of the sample indicated a negative preference for provision. Principle constraints to adoption include interference with production, nuisance effects and loss of production in small field systems. Of those willing to engage with supply, the mean willingness to accept based cost of provision for a 10 metre riparian buffer zone was estimated to be €1513 ha-1 per annum equivalent to €1.51 per linear metre of riparian area.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Quantification of phosphorus transport from a karstic agricultural watershed to emerging spring water

The degree to which waters in a given watershed will be affected by nutrient export can be defined as that watershed's nutrient vulnerability. This study applied concepts of specific phosphorus (P) vulnerability to develop intrinsic groundwater vulnerability risk assessments in a 32 km2 karst watershed (spring zone of contribution) in a relatively intensive agricultural landscape. To explain why emergent spring water was below an ecological impairment threshold, concepts of P attenuation potential were investigated along the nutrient transfer continuum based on soil P buffering, depth to bedrock, and retention within the aquifer. Surface karst features, such as enclosed depressions, were reclassified based on P attenuation potential in soil at the base. New techniques of high temporal resolution monitoring of P loads in the emergent spring made it possible to estimate P transfer pathways and retention within the aquifer and indicated small–medium fissure flows to be the dominant pathway, delivering 52–90% of P loads during storm events. Annual total P delivery to the main emerging spring was 92.7 and 138.4 kg total P (and 52.4 and 91.3 kg as total reactive P) for two monitored years, respectively. A revised groundwater vulnerability assessment was used to produce a specific P vulnerability map that used the soil and hydrogeological P buffering potential of the watershed as key assumptions in moderating P export to the emergent spring. Using this map and soil P data, the definition of critical source areas in karst landscapes was demonstrated