Anaerobic Digestion Project Working Guide: A Case Study Analysis and Procedural Summary of Anaerobic Digester Projects for the United States Agricultural Sector

Renewable energy such as biomass has given markets, including dairy farms, an effective approach to reducing the costs of sustaining a profitable business. Anaerobic digestion systems offer dairy farms a very effective way to reduce manure odor, comply with soil and water pollution regulations, manufacture compost for general market sales, produce irrigation capacity and generate on-site electricity as well as the ability to sell excess electricity back to the local utilities. This project defines anaerobic digestion technologies and practices, analyzes case studies and presents a step-by-step anaerobic digestion project startup checklist. The result is an anaerobic digestion project working guide that acts as a tool to aid dairy farmers in their own potential anaerobic digestion project.

Environmental requirements and pollution tolerance of ephemeroptera /

Oct. 1978.

An annotated bibliography of oysters, with pertinent material on mussels and other shellfish and an appendix on pollution

Mode of access: Internet.

Odors, gases and particulate matter from high density poultry management systems as they relate to air pollution : final report /

"April 15, 1969."

Control of water pollution from cropland.

Issued jointly with the Office of Research and Development, EPA.

Modifying the yield factor based on more efficient use of fertilizer — The environmental impacts of intensive and extensive agricultural practices

The aim of this article is to draw attention to calculations on the environmental effects of agriculture and to the definition of marginal agricultural yield. When calculating the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the real environmental load generated by agriculture is not revealed properly through ecological footprint indicators, as the type of agricultural farming (thus the nature of the pollution it creates) is not incorporated in the calculation. It is commonly known that extensive farming uses relatively small amounts of labor and capital. It produces a lower yield per unit of land and thus requires more land than intensive farming practices to produce similar yields, so it has a larger crop and grazing footprint. However, intensive farms, to achieve higher yields, apply fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc., and cultivation and harvesting are often mechanized. In this study, the focus is on highlighting the differences in the environmental impacts of extensive and intensive farming practices through a statistical analysis of the factors determining agricultural yield. A marginal function is constructed for the relation between chemical fertilizer use and yield per unit fertilizer input. Furthermore, a proposal is presented for how calculation of the yield factor could possibly be improved. The yield factor used in the calculation of biocapacity is not the marginal yield for a given area, but is calculated from the real and actual yields, and this way biocapacity and the ecological footprint for cropland are equivalent. Calculations for cropland biocapacity do not show the area needed for sustainable production, but rather the actual land area used for agricultural production. The proposal the authors present is a modification of the yield factor and also the changed biocapacity is calculated. The results of statistical analyses reveal the need for a clarification of the methodology for calculating marginal yield, which could clearly contribute to assessing the real environmental impacts of agriculture.

Modifying the yield factor based on more efficient use of fertilizer — The environmental impacts of intensive and extensive agricultural practices

The aim of this article is to draw attention to calculations on the environmental effects of agriculture and to the definition of marginal agricultural yield. When calculating the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the real environmental load generated by agriculture is not revealed properly through ecological footprint indicators, as the type of agricultural farming (thus the nature of the pollution it creates) is not incorporated in the calculation. It is commonly known that extensive farming uses relatively small amounts of labor and capital. It produces a lower yield per unit of land and thus requires more land than intensive farming practices to produce similar yields, so it has a larger crop and grazing footprint. However, intensive farms, to achieve higher yields, apply fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc., and cultivation and harvesting are often mechanized. In this study, the focus is on highlighting the differences in the environmental impacts of extensive and intensive farming practices through a statistical analysis of the factors determining agricultural yield. A marginal function is constructed for the relation between chemical fertilizer use and yield per unit fertilizer input. Furthermore, a proposal is presented for how calculation of the yield factor could possibly be improved. The yield factor used in the calculation of biocapacity is not the marginal yield for a given area, but is calculated from the real and actual yields, and this way biocapacity and the ecological footprint for cropland are equivalent. Calculations for cropland biocapacity do not show the area needed for sustainable production, but rather the actual land area used for agricultural production. The proposal the authors present is a modification of the yield factor and also the changed biocapacity is calculated. The results of statistical analyses reveal the need for a clarification of the methodology for calculating marginal yield, which could clearly contribute to assessing the real environmental impacts of agriculture.

Hydro-physical characterization of media used in agricultural systems to develop the best management practices for operation of an environmentally sustainable agricultural enterprise

Florida is the second leading horticulture state in the United States with a total annual industry sale of over $12 Billion. Due to its competitive nature, agricultural plant production represents an extremely intensive practice with large amounts of water and fertilizer usage. Agrochemical and water management are vital for efficient functioning of any agricultural enterprise, and the subsequent nutrient loading from such agricultural practices has been a concern for environmentalists. A thorough understanding of the agrochemical and the soil amendments used in these agricultural systems is of special interest as contamination of soils can cause surface and groundwater pollution leading to ecosystem toxicity. The presence of fragile ecosystems such as the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and Big Cypress near enterprises that use such agricultural systems makes the whole issue even more imminent. Although significant research has been conducted with soils and soil mix, there is no acceptable method for determining the hydraulic properties of mixtures that have been subjected to organic and inorganic soil amendments. Hydro-physical characterization of such mixtures can facilitate the understanding of water retention and permeation characteristics of the commonly used mix which can further allow modeling of soil water interactions. The objective of this study was to characterize some of the locally and commercially available plant growth mixtures for their hydro-physical properties and develop mathematical models to correlate these acquired basic properties to the hydraulic conductivity of the mixture. The objective was also to model the response patterns of soil amendments present in those mixtures to different water and fertilizer use scenarios using the characterized hydro-physical properties with the help of Everglades-Agro-Hydrology Model. The presence of organic amendments helps the mixtures retain more water while the inorganic amendments tend to adsorb more nutrients due to their high surface area. The results of these types of characterization can provide a scientific basis for understanding the non-point source water pollution from horticulture production systems and assist in the development of the best management practices for the operation of environmentally sustainable agricultural enterprise

Effects of increased urban and agricultural land use on the anthropogenic loading to southwest Florida estuaries

South Florida has been subject to considerable changes during the last 100 years. This study provides a detailed survey of the presence, concentration levels, and spatial distribution of organic and inorganic contaminants in sediment samples collected within the coastal environments of southwest Florida. It evaluates the potential contributions and effects of the urban and agricultural development to the pollution loading of the estuarine sediments. And it also provides information regarding chronology of contamination at impacted sites. Copper was found to be the most critical contaminant among the trace metals. 12% of the samples exceeded the Threshold Effects Level (TEL). None of organic contaminants measured exceeded the Probable Effects Level (PEL) criteria. Total PAHs concentrations exceeded the TEL criteria in 6% of the samples. The evaluation for the chronology of contamination showed a significant increase with time of every contaminant analyzed. Fluorescence spectroscopy proves to be a good method for fast screening PAHs.

Process inventory and pollution prevention overview for the citrus industry

Florida citrus represents approximately 70 percent of the industry production in the United States; therefore, any associated agricultural and industrial contamination is of concern and a focus of attention. The use of synthetic organic chemicals has become a farmer's necessity in order to supply consumers with high quality products, free of pest damage. However, industrial citrus wastes and chemical residual levels worry not only government agencies but also consumers since they indicate a serious habitat risk. This study assesses citrus industrial processes and the paths that chemical substances follow from the time the citrus seed is planted until consumers get a final product as either fresh fruit or processed product. The study is built on information from United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) manuals, Dade County Environmental Resources Management (DERM) inspection records, United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) regulations, Florida standards, journal publications, and research reports. Pollution prevention (P2 or prevention-of-pollution) alternatives are identified; alternatives are proposed, evaluated, and included. Strategies are described and pollution prevention opportunities proposed to minimize citrus wastes generation, chemical residuals in products, their environmental impact and health risk aspects while maximizing product quality.

Mineral and organic pollution in river Sabor (Northeastern Portugal): ecotoxicological effects on freshwater fauna

Aquatic ecosystems are final collectors of all kinds of pollution as an outcome of anthropogenic inputs, such us untreated industrial and municipal sewage and agricultural pollutants. There are several aquatic ecosystems that are threatened by mineral and organic pollution. In Northeastern Portugal, near Bragança, different watercourses are suffering negative impacts of human activities. It has been developed several studies in the monitoring of environmental impacts in these river basins, namely in Rio Fervença, affected by organic pollution, and in Portelo stream, affected, since 2009, by the collapse and continuous input of mining deposits. In this sense, the present study aimed to continue the monitoring study of ecological status of freshwater ecosystems of Northeastern Portugal, namely the following objectives: a) mineral pollution effects of mining deposits sudden incorporated into Portelo stream; b) organic pollution due to domestic and industrial inputs in River Fervença. Also, since fish are useful experimental models to evaluate toxicological mechanisms of contaminants, c) acute toxicity tests with Cu were conducted in laboratory conditions. During 2015/2016, it was made abiotic and biotic characterization of 16 sampling sites distributed by both Portelo and Fervença rivers, tributaries of main River Sabor (Douro Basin). Several physicochemical parameters were determined and Riparian Quality (QBR Index) and Channel Quality (GQC) Indexes were determined for habitat evaluation. Fish and invertebrate communities were sampled, according to protocols of Water Framework Directive (WFD). Several metrics were determined, with particular emphasis on the Biotic Index IBMWP and the Northern Portuguese Invertebrate Index (IPtIN). Acute toxicity tests were conducted with an Iberian fish species, common barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) and some plasmatic electrolytes levels were evaluated, to assess their contribution to mitigate osmoregulatory adverse effects of Cu. Also, same electrolytes were measured after changing to clean water, in attempt to assess fish capacity to reverse this situation. Results obtained for both rivers showed a significant level of disturbance that affected decisively water, habitat and biological quality of aquatic ecosystems. Mineral and Organic Pollution in River Sabor (NE Portugal): Ecotoxicological Effects on Freshwater Fauna Due to this change of environmental conditions in Portelo stream (extreme pH values, high conductivity and presence of heavy metals), several biological metrics (e.g. taxonomic richness, abundance, diversity, evenness) confirmed, comparatively with reference sites, a substantial decrease on ecological integrity status. The same pattern was found for Fervença River; however other water parameters, namely the content of most limiting nutrients (e.g. N and P) seemed to have more influence in the composition and structure of macroinvertebrate and fish communities. In fact, despite the operation of the Sewage Treatment Plant of Bragança, Fervença River presented significant levels of disturbance that affected decisively the quality and ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystem. The synergic effect of domestic and industrial pollution, intensive agriculture, regulation and degradation of aquatic and riparian habitats contributed to the decrease of ecological condition, namely in the downstream zones (after Bragança). The results for acute toxicity, showed that fish can change Na+ and K+ levels face to Cu exposition and, depending of Cu concentration tested, can also return to normal levels, providing some insights to that are believed to occurred in fish population, near the Portelo mines. The low ecological integrity status detected in the lotic ecosystems in NE Portugal as a result of mineral and organic pollution deserves the development of several measures for rehabilitation and improving of water quality. On the other hand, environmental education actions are needed to contribute to improvement of ecological integrity of the river and its conservation.

Economic development and Environmental quality: The environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution

The main aim of this study was to analyze evidence of an environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution in the developing and developed countries. The study was conducted based on a panel data set of 54 countries – that were categorized into six groups of “developed countries”, “developing countries”, “developed countries with low income”, “developed countries with high income” and “coastal countries”- between the years 1995 to 2006. The results do not confirm the inverted U-shape of EKC curve for the developed countries with low income. Based on the estimated turning points and the average GDP per capita, the study revealed at which point of the EKC the countries are. Furthermore, impacts of capital-and-labor ratio as well as trade openness are drawn by estimating different models for the EKC. The magnitude role of each explanatory variable on BOD was calculated by estimating the associated elasticity.

Removal of BrO3 − from drinking water samples using newly developed agricultural waste-based activated carbon and its determination by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Activated carbon was prepared from date pits via chemical activation with H3PO4. The effects of activating agent concentration and activation temperature on the yield and surface area were studied. The optimal activated carbon was prepared at 450 °C using 55 % H3PO4. The prepared activated carbon was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis, and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area. The prepared date pit-based activated carbon (DAC) was used for the removal of bromate (BrO3 −). The concentration of BrO3 − was determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass tandem spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The experimental equilibrium data for BrO3 − adsorption onto DAC was well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model and showed maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 25.64 mg g−1. The adsorption kinetics of BrO3 − adsorption was very well represented by the pseudo-first-order equation. The analytical application of DAC for the analysis of real water samples was studied with very promising results.

Balancing the environmental benefits of reforestation in agricultural regions

Reforestation is an important tool for reducing or reversing biodiversity loss and mitigating climate change. However, there are many potential compromises between the structural (biodiversity) and functional (carbon sequestration and water yield) effects of reforestation, which can be affected by decisions on spatial design and establishment of plantings. We review the environmental responses to reforestation and show that manipulating the configuration of plantings (location, size, species mix and tree density) increases a range of environmental benefits. More extensive tree plantings (>10. ha) provide more habitat, and greater improvements to carbon and water cycling. Planting a mixture of native trees and shrubs is best for biodiversity, while traditional plantation species, generally non-native species, sequester C faster. Tree density can be manipulated at planting or during early development to accelerate structural maturity and to manage water yields. A diversity of habitats will be created by planting in a variety of landscape positions and by emulating the patchy distribution of forest types, which characterized many regions prior to extensive landscape transformation. Areas with shallow aquifers can be planted to reduce water pollution or avoided to maintain water yields. Reforestation should be used to build forest networks that are surrounded by low-intensity land use and that provide links within regions and between biomes. While there are adequate models for C sequestration and changes in water yields after reforestation, the quantitative understanding of changes in habitat resources and species composition is more limited. Development of spatial and temporal modelling platforms based on empirical models of structural and functional outcomes of reforestation is essential for deciding how to reconfigure agricultural regions. To build such platforms, we must quantify: (a) the influence of previous land uses, establishment methods, species mixes and interactions with adjacent land uses on environmental (particularly biodiversity) outcomes of reforestation and (b) the ways in which responses measured at the level of individual plantings scale up to watersheds and regions. Models based on this information will help widespread reforestation for carbon sequestration to improve native biodiversity, nutrient cycling and water balance at regional scales.

Hydro-Physical Characterization of Media Used in Agricultural Systems to Develop the Best Management Practices for operation of an Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Enterprise

Florida is the second leading horticulture state in the United States with a total annual industry sale of over $12 Billion. Due to its competitive nature, agricultural plant production represents an extremely intensive practice with large amounts of water and fertilizer usage. Agrochemical and water management are vital for efficient functioning of any agricultural enterprise, and the subsequent nutrient loading from such agricultural practices has been a concern for environmentalists. A thorough understanding of the agrochemical and the soil amendments used in these agricultural systems is of special interest as contamination of soils can cause surface and groundwater pollution leading to ecosystem toxicity. The presence of fragile ecosystems such as the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and Big Cypress near enterprises that use such agricultural systems makes the whole issue even more imminent. Although significant research has been conducted with soils and soil mix, there is no acceptable method for determining the hydraulic properties of mixtures that have been subjected to organic and inorganic soil amendments. Hydro-physical characterization of such mixtures can facilitate the understanding of water retention and permeation characteristics of the commonly used mix which can further allow modeling of soil water interactions. The objective of this study was to characterize some of the locally and commercially available plant growth mixtures for their hydro-physical properties and develop mathematical models to correlate these acquired basic properties to the hydraulic conductivity of the mixture. The objective was also to model the response patterns of soil amendments present in those mixtures to different water and fertilizer use scenarios using the characterized hydro-physical properties with the help of Everglades-Agro-Hydrology Model. The presence of organic amendments helps the mixtures retain more water while the inorganic amendments tend to adsorb more nutrients due to their high surface area. The results of these types of characterization can provide a scientific basis for understanding the non-point source water pollution from horticulture production systems and assist in the development of the best management practices for the operation of environmentally sustainable agricultural enterprise