Military activity and wetland-dependent wildlife: A warfare ecology perspective.

Wetlands provide unique habitat functions that benefit society by provisioning food, recreation, and ecosystem sustainability. Warfare affects the habitats of wetland-dependent reptiles, amphibians, and birds in both positive and negative ways, and opportunities exist to improve the management of wildlife habitat using a warfare ecology framework. Recent events in Ukraine highlight these relationships and provide stimulus to further consider the implications of current events for natural resources. In response, this commentary highlights both degradational and positive impacts of warfare on wetland fauna during the cyclical preparation, active conflict, and recovery phases. For example, the active conflict phase often initiates ecological disturbance regimes that couple large-scale landscape alteration with the release of chemicals and other materials into wetlands, leading to reduced reproductive potential and population declines in wetland-dependent species (e.g., amphibians, waterfowl) along with decreased overall wetland biodiversity and habitat quality. In contrast, wetland-dependent wildlife can benefit from (1) conservation activities occurring on military installations maintained to support training activities and (2) restoration efforts initiated after the cessation of combat. For example, many threatened and endangered reptiles and amphibians find refugia on military lands in the USA and internationally, and international protections for wetland resources (including the Ramsar Convention) have been established to promote their sustainability and wise use. Additional research is needed to improve the protection of valuable wetland resources by further enhancing ongoing conservation and planning efforts and improving strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of warfare on wetland dependent species throughout each phase of the warfare ecology cycle. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;00:1-9. Published 2023. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Indicator of Reduction in Soil (IRIS) devices: A review.

Documenting anaerobic conditions is critical for understanding soil processes, identifying hydric soils, delineating wetlands, and managing aquatic resources. Several techniques exist to evaluate the oxidation-reduction status of soils including platinum electrodes, chemical dyes, and analyses of porewater chemistry. Since 2002, Indicator of Reduction in Soils (IRIS) devices have proven a novel, reliable, and cost-effective technique to document anaerobic conditions. This technology involves the application of redox active Fe or Mn oxide based paints onto a durable substrate (e.g., Polyvinyl Chloride pipes or plastic films) which are inserted into the soil. If anaerobic conditions occur during deployment, some or all of the redox active paint will be depleted from the IRIS device surface via chemical reduction and the extent of paint removal can be quantified using a number of approaches. Over the last two decades, IRIS technology has evolved to improve the identification of anaerobic conditions in soils and provide a proxy measure of multiple soil biogeochemical processes (e.g., denitrification, elemental sorption, iron sulfide formation). This review paper provides an overview of developments in IRIS instrumental design and interpretation of results, describes current IRIS applications and benefits, and identifies potential future areas of IRIS device research.

Nitrogen and phosphorus removal using tile-treatment wetlands: A 12-year study from the midwestern United States.

Nutrient enrichment from tile-drained agricultural lands to the Mississippi River is a leading cause of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Small edge-of-field wetlands can effectively treat nitrate-nitrogen (NO3 -N) export from tiles, although less research exists on their capacity to treat phosphorus (P). Additionally, long-term data are needed to incorporate variability of weather and farming practices into assessments of wetland performance longevity. Research conducted over 12 yr quantified size-effectiveness of wetlands to reduce NO3 -N and dissolved P (orthophosphate [ORP]) loadings from subsurface tile systems. Nitrate-N export was significantly higher during corn (Zea mays L.) than soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production years, during which 80-84% of mean annual loadings were exported during spring. Wetlands representing 3% (W1) of tile-drained farmland area reduced 15-38% of NO3 -N export, with cumulative reductions of 39-49 and 49-57% observed in wetlands representing 6 (W2) and 9% (W3) areas, respectively. Mass NO3 -N removal ranged from 28 to 52%. Twelve-year total ORP load reductions for W1 ranged from 53 to 81%, with cumulative reductions of 35-91% and 32-95% for W2 and W3 wetlands, respectively. Mass ORP removal ranged from 71 to 85%. Results emphasize how incorporating constructed wetlands into state and watershed-level conservation planning can significantly contribute toward reducing excess N and P export to river systems and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico.

Investigation of biogeochemical functional proxies in headwater streams across a range of channel and catchment alterations.

Historically, headwater streams received limited protection and were subjected to extensive alteration from logging, farming, mining, and development activities. Despite these alterations, headwater streams provide essential ecological functions. This study examines proxy measures of biogeochemical function across a range of catchment alterations by tracking nutrient cycling (i.e., inputs, processing, and stream loading) with leaf litter fall, leaf litter decomposition, and water quality parameters. Nutrient input and processing remained highest in second growth forests (the least altered areas within the region), while recently altered locations transported higher loads of nutrients, sediments, and conductivity. Biogeochemical functional proxies of C and N input and processing significantly, positively correlated with rapid assessment results (Pearson coefficient = 0.67-0.81; P = 0.002-0.016). Additionally, stream loading equations demonstrate that N and P transport, sediment, and specific conductivity negatively correlated with rapid assessment scores (Pearson coefficient = 0.56-0.81; P = 0.002-0.048). The observed increase in stream loading with lower rapid assessment scores indicates that catchment alterations impact stream chemistry and that rapid assessments provide useful proxy measures of function in headwater ecosystems. Significant differences in nutrient processing, stream loading, water quality, and rapid assessment results were also observed between recently altered (e.g., mined) headwater streams and older forested catchments (Mann-Whitney U = 24; P = 0.01-0.024). Findings demonstrate that biogeochemical function is reduced in altered catchments, and rapid assessment scores respond to a combination of alteration type and recovery time. An analysis examining time and economic requirements of proxy measurements highlights the benefits of rapid assessment methods in evaluating biogeochemical functions.

Determination of the solids retainment effectiveness of disposable swim diapers.

In light of recent and increasing incidences of pathogenic E. coli outbreaks at public bathing facilities attributable to non-toilet-trained infants and toddlers, many such facilities are restricting water contact for this age group. A number of manufacturers are now offering disposable "swim diapers," which claim to effectively retain fecal material under typical pool play conditions. The study reported here examined the solids retention effectiveness of three major brands of swim diapers as well as of conventional disposable diapers, under simulated water play conditions. Swim diapers of all three brands exhibited an approximately equal fine-solids retention capability of about 98 to 99 percent over 30 minutes of water immersion activity. Conventional disposable diapers invariably fell down or came apart during the experiments, resulting in very limited solids retention. This study indicates that commercially available swim diapers represent a vast improvement in reducing the potential for fecal material release in public pool facilities, but that some release will still generally occur with these products.