Dynamics of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and extractable nitrate in long-term rotation studies at Indian Head

Non-Peer ReviewedMineralization studies in the laboratory indicate that the net turnover of nitrogen is greatly affected by crop rotation. Recently, the field applicability of such incubation - intermittent leaching experiments has been questioned. Therefore, field sampling was undertaken during the summer of 1988 to determine the influence of rotation history on microbial biomass C and N, and levels of extractable NO3-N. Four long term rotation plots (Ag. Canada, Indian Head) were sampled in the fallow phase. These rotations consisted of: (1) Fallow-Wheat-Wheat, (2) Fallow-Wheat- Wheat (fertilized, straw retained), (3) Fallow-Wheat-Wheat (fertilized, straw removed), and (4) Fallow-Wheat-Wheat-Hay-Hay-Hay. Biomass C and N, as measured by a chloroform-direct extraction technique, was found to be significantly higher in the soils from the hay rotation. The proportion of organic C present as biomass was, on average, 29 % higher than in the three year rotations without hay. Similarly, nitrate levels were found to be significantly affected by rotation history and correlate strongly with the size of the microbial biomass. The prediction of microbial biomass based on carbon added as crop residue was poor since the intrinsic assumption that all carbon is equally available for decomposition does not hold for all residues. However, the levels of biomass C and N were closely related to the N content of the residues returned. This is to be expected since the N-rich "metabolic" fraction is readily decomposed and incorporated into the microbial biomass. These relationships are clearly illustrated using a conceptual model of N turnover

CENTURY model simulation of soil C and N on a thin Black Chernozem

Non-Peer ReviewedCENTURY is a process oriented soil organic matter (SOM) model, based on the conceptual division of SOM into active, slow, and passive phases. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) flow, from plant residue through the SOM compartments, is driven by monthly precipitation and temperature and moderated by the nutrient content of the residue. CENTURY simulations of cultivated soils in the American Great Plains have agreed well with the changes in C and N observed over the last 100 years. However, use of this model to predict SOM in Saskatchewan soils, is limited by incomplete validation under our conditions. The thin Black Chernozemic soils of the Indian Head Experimental farm provide a unique opportunity to validate the CENTURY model, since both cropping history and soil C and N have been recorded for over 100 years. CENTURY predicted C and N levels (mass per unit area basis) within 4 to 21 % of those observed, after 26 years under fallow-wheat, fallow-wheat-wheat, continuous wheat and fallow-wheat-wheat-hay-hay-hay. Where soil erosion was not considered as a mechanism of SOM loss, CENTURY over-predicted C and N by 30 to 45 % of the observed. CENTURY prediction of mean annual C production as grain was 25 to 41% lower than the observed levels. Such yield functions, which consider the loss of available nutrients in the SOM as well as less residue returned to the system may be useful in estimating the long term direct costs of soil erosion on grain production

Developing simplified synergistic relationships to model topsoil erosion and crop yield

Non-Peer ReviewedTopsoil is highly enriched with organic matter, which provides a valuable source of plant nutrients as well as a favorable rooting environment. Over time, erosion processes selectively remove the organic matter-rich fine fraction which causes a measurable reduction in soil productivity. Assessments of past erosion are of little value in predicting future losses in productivity since the synergistic lowering of soil organic matter through lower residue inputs is not considered. Dynamic computer models, which simulate the plant/soil system, can project the long run future costs of soil erosion on crop yield. A simplified erosion-crop yield model was developed by first defining the most important soil productivity variables, then quantifying the effect of erosion on each variable. The model predicted a declining trend in grain yields similar to that observed on soil scalping experiments

Simulated Productivity Lost by Erosion (SimPLE): model development, validation, and use

Non-Peer ReviewedProductivity lost due to soil erosion can be estimated by existing computer simulation models such as EPIC, NTRM and CENTURY. However, these models require extensive input data and, to date, have had limited success in simulating Western Canadian conditions. The objective of this study was to develop a simple spring wheat model which captured the essential relationships between topsoil erosion and productivity loss in Chemozemic soils. Key relationships in our model describe: (i) how plants create yield from water, N, and P; (ii) how the soil provides these nutrients, and (iii) how erosion impacts on the supply of each nutrient. These relationships were logically connected using the Stella® II modeling environment. Agreement was highly significant (r = 0.55***) between predicted and observed grain yields over 75 site years at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Also, grain yields from scalped Chemozemic soils in Alberta were closely simulated (r = 0.86****) by SimPLE. Fifty representative soil profiles from the Brown, Dark Brown and Black soil zones were eroded in SimPLE to numerically describe the production lost under wet, normal, and dry scenarios, with and without optimum fertilizer. Yield loss, as a percentage of non-eroded yield, increased with increasing soil erosion following a trend very similar to that reported in field studies. SimPLE is flexible and can be used for analysis of "what if' management scenarios or calculating soil loss tolerance (T) values

Anisotropic two-dimensional Heisenberg model by Schwinger-boson Gutzwiller projected method

Two-dimensional Heisenberg model with anisotropic couplings in the $x$ and $y$ directions ($J_x \neq J_y$) is considered. The model is first solved in the Schwinger-boson mean-field approximation. Then the solution is Gutzwiller projected to satisfy the local constraint that there is only one boson at each site. The energy and spin-spin correlation of the obtained wavefunction are calculated for systems with up to $20 \times 20$ sites by means of the variational Monte Carlo simulation. It is shown that the antiferromagnetic long-range order remains down to the one-dimensional limit.Comment: 15 pages RevTex3.0, 4 figures, available upon request, GWRVB8-9

Simulating the dynamics of soil organic matter in long-term rotation plots of Saskatchewan and Alberta

Non-Peer ReviewedThis study used the Century soil organic matter (SOM) model to simulate the dynamics in soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in long-term crop rotation studies established in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Observed losses of organic C, N, and P in the top 30 cm of a Brown Chernozem under fallow-wheat (FW) were 8.2, 1.7, and 1.0 g m-1 y-1. Soil erosion was responsible for 47% of the organic-N losses. The Century model closely mimicked the direction and magnitude of SOM change, within 10% of measured values. Similar SOM declining trends were observed in a thin Black Chernozem under FW and continuous wheat (CW), although soil erosion losses were higher than in the Brown Chernozem. Soil organic matter increased in the Brown Chernozem under CW and in the Black Chernozem under zero-tillage. Under no-till, the organic C, N, and P accumulated at an average rate of 101.7, 5.3, and 2.0 g m-2 y-1. In comparison, the Century model predicted a depletion of organic-C and N in the Brown Chernozem under CW and of organic-C under no-till. Model sensitivity analyses indicated that the rate of erosion and the fixed rate of organic matter decomposition had greater effects than plant biomass production on soil organic matter levels. Under aggrading SOM conditions, the Century model predicted organic carbon accumulation only after the respiration rate for the slow organic matter fraction was reduced by 50%

Conductance anomalies and the extended Anderson model for nearly perfect quantum wires

Anomalies near the conductance threshold of nearly perfect semiconductor quantum wires are explained in terms of singlet and triplet resonances of conduction electrons with a single weakly-bound electron in the wire. This is shown to be a universal effect for a wide range of situations in which the effective single-electron confinement is weak. The robustness of this generic behavior is investigated numerically for a wide range of shapes and sizes of cylindrical wires with a bulge. The dependence on gate voltage, source-drain voltage and magnetic field is discussed within the framework of an extended Hubbard model. This model is mapped onto an extended Anderson model, which in the limit of low temperatures is expected to lead to Kondo resonance physics and pronounced many-body effects

Retrospective evaluation of foot-and-mouth disease vaccineeffectiveness in Turkey

AbstractFoot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is present in much of Turkey and its control is largely based on vaccination. The arrival of the FMD Asia-1 serotype in Turkey in 2011 caused particular concern, spreading rapidly westwards across the country towards the FMD free European Union. With no prior natural immunity, control of spread would rely heavily on vaccination.Unlike human vaccines, field protection is rarely evaluated directly for FMD vaccines. Between September 2011 and July 2012 we performed four retrospective outbreak investigations to assess the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of FMD Asia-1 vaccines in Turkey. Vaccine effectiveness is defined as the reduction in risk in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated individuals with similar virus exposure in the field.The four investigations included 12 villages and 1230 cattle >4 months of age. One investigation assessed the FMD Asia-1 Shamir vaccine, the other three evaluated the recently introduced FMD Asia-1 TUR 11 vaccine made using a field isolate of the FMD Asia-1 Sindh-08 lineage that had recently entered Turkey.After adjustment for confounding, the TUR 11 vaccine provided moderate protection against both clinical disease VE=69% [95% CI: 50%–81%] and infection VE=63% [95% CI: 29%–81%]. However, protection was variable with some herds with high vaccine coverage still experiencing high disease incidence. Some of this variability will be the result of the variation in virus challenge and immunity that occurs under field conditions.In the outbreak investigated there was no evidence that the Asia-1 Shamir vaccine provided adequate protection against clinical FMD with an incidence of 89% in single vaccinated cattle and 69% in those vaccinated two to five times.Based on these effectiveness estimates, vaccination alone is unlikely to produce the high levels of herd immunity needed to control FMD without additional control measures

Drivers of long-term variability in CO2 net ecosystem exchange in a temperate peatland

Land–atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) in peatlands exhibits marked seasonal and inter-annual variability, which subsequently affects the carbon (C) sink strength of catchments across multiple temporal scales. Long-term studies are needed to fully capture the natural variability and therefore identify the key hydrometeorological drivers in the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2. Since 2002, NEE has been measured continuously by eddy-covariance at Auchencorth Moss, a temperate lowland peatland in central Scotland. Hence this is one of the longest peatland NEE studies to date. For 11 years, the site was a consistent, yet variable, atmospheric CO2 sink ranging from −5.2 to −135.9 g CO2-C m−2 yr−1 (mean of −64.1 ± 33.6 g CO2-C m−2 yr−1). Inter-annual variability in NEE was positively correlated to the length of the growing season. Mean winter air temperature explained 87% of the inter-annual variability in the sink strength of the following summer, indicating an effect of winter climate on local phenology. Ecosystem respiration (Reco) was enhanced by drought, which also depressed gross primary productivity (GPP). The CO2 uptake rate during the growing season was comparable to three other sites with long-term NEE records; however, the emission rate during the dormant season was significantly higher. To summarise, the NEE of the peatland studied is modulated by two dominant factors: - phenology of the plant community, which is driven by winter air temperature and impacts photosynthetic potential and net CO2 uptake during the growing season (colder winters are linked to lower summer NEE), - water table level, which enhanced soil respiration and decreased GPP during dry spells. Although summer dry spells were sporadic during the study period, the positive effects of the current climatic trend towards milder winters on the site's CO2 sink strength could be offset by changes in precipitation patterns especially during the growing season