Modeling water flow and bacterial transport in undisturbed lysimeters under irrigations of dairy shed effluent and water using HYDRUS-1D.

HYDRUS-1D was used to simulate water flow and leaching of fecal coliforms and bromide (Br) through six undisturbed soil lysimeters (70 cm depth by 50 cm diameter) under field conditions. Dairy shed effluent (DSE) spiked with Br was applied to the lysimeters, which contained fine sandy loam layers. This application was followed by fortnightly spray or flood water irrigation. Soil water contents were measured at four soil depths over 171 days, and leachate was collected from the bottom. The post-DSE period simulations yielded a generally decreased saturated water content compared to the pre-DSE period, and an increased saturated hydraulic conductivity and air-entry index, suggesting that changes in soil hydraulic properties (e.g. via changes in structure) can be induced by irrigation and seasonal effects. The single-porosity flow model was successful in simulating water flow under natural climatic conditions and spray irrigation. However, for lysimeters under flood irrigation, when the effect of preferential flow paths becomes more significant, the good agreement between predicted and observed water contents could only be achieved by using a dual-porosity flow model. Results derived from a mobile-immobile transport model suggest that compared to Br, bacteria were transported through a narrower pore-network with less mass exchange between mobile and immobile water zones. Our study suggests that soils with higher topsoil clay content and soils under flood irrigation are at a high risk of bacteria leaching through preferential flow paths. Irrigation management strategies must minimize the effect of preferential flow to reduce bacterial leaching from land applications of effluent.

Transport of Escherichia coli through variably saturated sand columns and modeling approaches.

A sand column leaching system with well-controlled suction and flow rate was built to investigate the effects on bacterial transport of air-water interface effects (AWI) correlated to water content, particle size, and column length. Adsorption of Escherichia coli strain D to silica sands was measured in batch tests. The average % adsorption for coarse and fine sands was 45.9+/-7.8% and 96.9+/-3.2%, respectively. However, results from static batch adsorption experiments have limited applicability to dynamic bacterial transport in columns. The early breakthrough of E. coli relative to bromide was clear for all columns, namely c. 0.15 to 0.3 pore volume earlier. Column length had no significant effects on the E. coli peak concentration or on total recovery in leachate, indicating retention in the top layer of sands. Tailing of breakthrough curves was more prominent for all fine sand columns than their coarse sand counterparts. Bacterial recovery in leachate from coarse and saturated sand columns was significantly higher than from fine and unsaturated columns. Observed data were fitted by the convection-dispersion model, amended for one-site and two-site adsorption to particles, and for air-water interface (AWI) adsorption. Among all models, the two-site+AWI model achieved consistently high model efficiency for all experiments. Thus it is evident from experimental and modeling results that AWI adsorption plays an important role in E. coli transport in sand columns.

The effect of leaf removal and canopy height on whole-vine gas exchange and fruit development of Vitis vinifera L. Sauvignon Blanc.

Canopy topping and leaf removal are management practices commonly used in New Zealand vineyards to increase light and pesticide penetration to the fruit zone, thus, reducing disease incidence. Previous research has suggested that an increase in photosynthesis occurs when leaves are removed, and this may compensate for the reduced leaf area. However, it is difficult to extrapolate single-leaf photosynthesis measurements to a whole-plant scale. Therefore the extent of the compensation is unknown. To evaluate the impact of leaf removal and canopy height on whole-vine photosynthesis, treatments were imposed during the lag phase of berry growth. Leaves were removed from the lower quarter of the canopy, or vines were topped to three quarters of the height of control plants, in a two-by-two-factorial design. Both topping and leaf removal caused a decrease in whole-vine photosynthesis immediately after the treatments were imposed. Leaf removal, but not topping height, reduced photosynthesis on a per unit leaf area basis. This suggests that the lower portion of the canopy contributes more than the upper portion of the canopy to whole-vine photosynthesis. When measurements were made again approximately two months later, tall vines without leaf removal had a higher photosynthesis rate than the other treatments. Fruit yield, sugar content, vine carbohydrate reserves and pruning weights followed trends similar to those observed for photosynthesis, suggesting that although some photosynthetic compensation occurred, the defoliation treatments had a negative effect on vine growth.

Transpiration rates and canopy conductance of Pinus radiata growing with different pasture understories in agroforestry systems.

We measured tree transpiration and canopy conductance in Pinus radiata D. Don at two low rainfall sites of differing soil fertility in Canterbury, New Zealand. At the more fertile Lincoln site, we also assessed the effects of two common pasture grasses on tree transpiration and canopy conductance. At the less fertile Eyrewell Forest site, the effect of no understory, and the effects of irrigation in combination with mixtures of grass or legume species were determined. Tree xylem sap flux (F(d)') was measured by the heat pulse method. Total canopy conductance to diffusion of water vapor (G(t)) was calculated by inverting a simplified Penman-Monteith model. The different treatment effects were modeled by the simple decaying exponential relationship G(t) = G(tmax)e((-bD)), where D = air saturation deficit. At the Lincoln site, trees with an understory of cocksfoot had lower F(d)' and G(tmax) than trees with an understory of ryegrass, although the sensitivity of G(t) to increasing D (i.e., the value of b) did not differ between treatments. At the Eyrewell site, irrigation only increased F(d)' in the absence of an understory, whereas the presence of understory vegetation, or lack of irrigation, or both, significantly reduced G(tmax) and increased b. We conclude that the selection of understory species is critical in designing successful agroforestry systems for low rainfall areas.