4 research outputs found

    Temporal and spatial variability of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in Argentina

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    Agricultural activities constitute the main N2O emission source in Argentina. Although GHG inventories have been developed at the national and provincial level, emissions have not been thus far estimated at a higher spatial resolution. We estimated the time series 2000–2012 of N2O emissions at national, provincial and district levels. National N2O emissions in 2012 amounted to 105.1 Gg (95% CI: 73.0–200.7), with manure deposited on pasture accounting for 59.8%, crop residues 24.0%, N-fertilizers use 14.3%, manure management 1.7% and agricultural waste burning 0.2%. Beef cattle excreta followed by soybean crop residues were the major sources of N2O. The time series of N2O emission estimated at district level allowed identifying the effect of the frequent displacement of crops and livestock indicative of the variability of the intensity and location of the emission sources. The observed annual variability of emissions and the identification of the main drivers indicate the convenience of using surrogate methods to estimate emissions when activity data cannot be acquired on annual basis. This type of inventory would be of interest for decision makers and stakeholders when discussing environmental policies and measures in light of the responsibility of agricultural activities occurring in the territory of their concern.Fil: Castesana, Paula Soledad. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Amabile, Gabriel Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Dawidowski, Laura Elena. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Dario Ruben. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentin

    A Novel Approach for the Integral Management of Water Extremes in Plain Areas

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    Due to the socioeconomical impact of water extremes in plain areas, there is a considerable demand for suitable strategies aiding in the management of water resources and rainfed crops. Numerical models allow for the modelling of water extremes and their consequences in order to decide on management strategies. Moreover, the integration of hydrologic models with hydraulic models under continuous or event-based approaches would synergistically contribute to better forecasting of water extreme consequences under different scenarios. This study conducted at the Santa Catalina stream basin (Buenos Aires province, Argentina) focuses on the integration of numerical models to analyze the hydrological response of plain areas to water extremes under different scenarios involving the implementation of an eco-efficient infrastructure (i.e., the integration of a green infrastructure and hydraulic structures). The two models used for the integration were: the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the CELDAS8 (CTSS8) hydrologic-hydraulic model. The former accounts for the processes related to the water balance (e.g., evapotranspiration, soil moisture, percolation, groundwater discharge and surface runoff), allowing for the analysis of water extremes for either dry or wet conditions. Complementarily, CTSS8 models the response of a basin to a rainfall event (e.g., runoff volume, peak flow and time to peak flow, flooded surface area). A 10-year data record (2003?2012) was analyzed to test different green infrastructure scenarios. SWAT was able to reproduce the waterflow in the basin with Nash Sutcliffe (NS) efficiency coefficients of 0.66 and 0.74 for the calibration and validation periods, respectively. The application of CTSS8 for a flood event with a return period of 10 years showed that the combination of a green infrastructure and hydraulic structures decreased the surface runoff by 28%, increased the soil moisture by 10% on an average daily scale, and reduced the impact of floods by 21% during rainfall events. The integration of continuous and event-based models for studying the impact of water extremes under different hypothetical scenarios represents a novel approach for evaluating potential basin management strategies aimed at improving the agricultural production in plain areas.Fil: Guevara Ochoa, Cristian. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff"; ArgentinaFil: Masson, Ignacio. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff"; ArgentinaFil: Cazenave, Georgina. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff"; ArgentinaFil: Vives, Luis Sebastián. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff". - Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras "Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff"; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Amabile, Gabriel Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; Argentin

    Estimation of fecal coliforms contamination scenarios in a microbasin of the Rolling Pampa of Argentina by using a predictive model

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    Se evaluó la dinámica de contaminación biológica en una microcuenca con uso ganadero de la Pampa Ondulada de Argentina, mediante el coeficiente de partición bacteriano (BactKdQ) del modelo SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). Se simularon escenarios de contaminación para dos cargas ganaderas (0,5 y 1 equivalente vaca por ha), utilizando dos valores de actKdQ: el propuesto por el SWAT (175 m3 Mg-1) y uno real medido in situ (10 m3 Mg-1). Para el escenario real se corroboró la íntima relación entre los eventos de precipitaciones - scurrimientos y la contaminación biológica de los cursos de agua. Los valores reales de BactKdQ, aún siendo bajos, incidieron de forma significativa en la dinámica de transporte de oliformes fecales. Por ende, es de interés la inclusión de parámetros como el BactKdQ medidos localmente y no de aquellos que el modelo SWAT incluye por defecto. Además, se pudo observar una importante concentración de coliformes fecales en la microcuenca, señalándola como un ambiente de alto riesgo de contaminación biológica, ya que para esta aplicación del SWAT todos los niveles guías fueron sobrepasados. Este trabajo destaca la relevancia de la utilización de modelos computacionales como soporte de decisiones productivas y ambientales.Biological contamination dynamic was assessed in a microbasin of the Rolling Pampa of Argentina trough the study of the bacterial partition coefficient (BactKdQ) of SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). Biological contamination sceneries were estimated for two stocking rates (0.5 and 1 Animal Units) using two values of BactKdQ: the value set by default in SWAT model (175 m3 Mg-1) and a real value measured in situ (10 m3 Mg-1). For the real scenery, a close relationship between rainfall and runoff events and biological contamination of water courses was confirmed. Real BactKdQ values, yet still low, significantly influenced the dynamics of transport of fecal coliforms. Therefore it is of interest to include parameters such as BactKdQ measured locally instead of those that the SWAT sets as default. In addition, we observed a high concentration of fecal coliforms in the microbasin, pointing it as an environment with high risk of biological contamination, since for this application of SWAT model all the guidelines were exceeded. This work highlights the importance of using computational models to support both production and environmental decisions.Fil: Behrends Kraemer, Filipe. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chagas, Celio Ignacio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Amabile, Gabriel Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Paz, Marta. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Sanidad, Nutrición, Bromatología y Toxicología. Cátedra de Higiene y Sanidad; ArgentinaFil: Moretton, Juan Agustin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Sanidad, Nutrición, Bromatología y Toxicología. Cátedra de Higiene y Sanidad; Argentin

    Reassessing the role of grazing lands in carbon-balance estimations: Meta-analysis and review

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    Assuming a steady state between carbon (C) gains and losses, greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories that follow a widely used simplified procedure (IPCC Tier 1) tend to underestimate the capacity of soils in grazing-land to sequester C. In this study we compared the C balance reported by (i) national inventories that followed the simplified method (Tier 1) of IPCC (1996/2006), with (ii) an alternative estimation derived from the meta-analysis of science-based, peer-reviewed data. We used the global databases (i) EDGAR 4.2 to get data on GHG emissions due to land conversion and livestock/crop production, and (ii) HYDE 3.1 to obtain historical series on land-use/land cover (LULC). In terms of sequestration, our study was focused on C storage as soil organic carbon (SOC) in rural lands of four countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) within the so-called MERCOSUR region. Supported by a large body of scientific evidence, we hypothesized that C gains and losses in grazing lands are not in balance and that C gains tend to be higher than C losses at low livestock densities. We applied a two-way procedure to test our hypothesis: i) a theoretical one based on the annual conversion of belowground biomass into SOC; and ii) an empirical one supported by peer-reviewed data on SOC sequestration. Average figures from both methods were combined with LULC data to reassess the net C balance in the study countries. Our results show that grazing lands generate C surpluses that could not only offset rural emissions, but could also partially or totally offset the emissions of non-rural sectors. The potential of grazing lands to sequester and store soil C should be reconsidered in order to improve assessments in future GHG inventory reports.Fil: Viglizzo, Ernesto Francisco. Universidad Austral; Argentina. Grupo de Países Productores del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Ricard, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Taboada, Miguel Angel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Amabile, Gabriel Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Agronomia; Argentina. Asociacion Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentacion Agricola.; Argentin
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