Modelling water flow,nitrogen transport and root uptake including physical non-equilibrium and optimization of the root water potential

A model is presented for the simulation of water flow, heat flow, and nitrate and ammonium transport. Two approaches are used for modelling plant water uptake as well as for plant nitrogen uptake. Nitrogen transformations are accounted for in a very simple way. This paper focuses mainly on water flow modelling, solute transport, and water uptake. Richards' equation is used to model water flow in layered soil profiles with a great variety of boundary conditions. Solute transport is simulated with either a simple convection dispersion equation or with a two-region physical non-equilibrium model to distinguish between mobile and immobile water and solute exchange between these two regions. A macroscopic sink term is added to Richards' equation to account for plant water uptake. This term can be calculated along two different approaches, one of which is based on the concept of root water potential. The root water potential is then continuously optimized to minimize the difference between the climatic demand and the uptake rate.Simulation results are compared with field data from the Netherlands to illustrate the degree to which the model is able to predict water flow, solute transport and plant water uptake. The root water potential optimization model seems to provide the best prediction of water distribution. In particular the shape of the profile, revealing uptake patterns, is quite well reproduced with this model. Comparison of simulated and observed water content profiles seems also to reveal the presence of preferential pathways. The comparisons show also how predicted solute distributions can be improved by using a two-region approach rather than a simple convection-dispersion model.     

新型气化炉煤气洗涤废水生物脱氮的研究

在实验室,采用SBR生化反应器,分别研究了经空气吹脱预处理和未经预处理的新型气化炉煤气洗涤废水经驯化建立的生态系统脱除氨态氮和COD以及脱氮模式的区别,得出以下结论:新型气化炉煤气洗涤废水可采用短程亚硝化型硝化形式直接进行生化处理。     

Hedgerow species and environmental conditions effects on soil total C and N and C and N mineralization patterns of soils amended with their prunings

An important criterium in selecting species for alley cropping is themineralization pattern of their prunings. This study determined effects of 5years of hedgerow pruning applications on soil organic C and total N at threelocations in Haiti and mineralization patterns from soil amended with theprunings during an incubation using micro-lysimeters. Soils (0–5cm) under 5 hedgerows were collected at each site and analyzed fororganic C and total N. In the laboratory, ground leaves and stems (<1cm diameter) of the hedgerow species were mixed with soil at ratesof 3 and 1.5 Mg ha^–1, respectively, andaerobically incubated in the dark at 25 °C. A non-amended soilwas used as control. Soils were leached to determine mineral N at 1, 3, 7, 14,28, 42, 84 and 120 days of incubation. Evolved CO₂ was measuredfollowing each leaching procedure. At the calcareous site, application ofprunings from Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit andDelonix regia (Boj. ex Hook. Raf.) resulted in 23 and 13%higher soil N than the control, respectively, after 5 years. There were nodifferences in total N at the other sites but soil N was highest underLeucaena hybrid and Acaciaangustissima (Mill.) Kuntze, respectively at the basaltic and highelevation sites. Soils under D. regia (calcareous) andA. angustissima and Leucaena hybrid(high elevation) had higher organic C than the respective controls. Carbon andNmineralization and C turnover were highest when soils were amended with leavesof Leucaena diversifolia (Schlecht.) Benth (calcareous andbasaltic soils) and A. angustissima (high elevation) andlowest in non-amended control soils. Stem-amended soils showed differences in Cmineralization for calcareous and high elevation soils whereas N mineralizationwas similar among treatments within sites. Carbon and N mineralization (highelevation soil) correlated positively with N concentrations of leaf prunings.Amendments with leaf prunings increased soil C and N mineralization andturnoverrates, suggesting greater nutrient availability for the crop during a shortperiod than in non-amended control soils.     

Determination of Both Mesopores and Macropores in Three-Dimensional Ordered Porous Materials by Nitrogen Adsorption

Three-dimensionally ordered silica structures containing both mesopores and macropores are created using polystyrene coacervate spheres with a diameter of ca. 146 nm. The close-packed polystyrene coacervate spheres are intercalated with tetraethyl orthosilicate. The spheres are removed by calcination leaving an inverse silica replica with a spherical macropore cavity diameter of 110 nm. Due to the nature of these porous structures, pores leading into the macropore cavity are in the mesopore regime, 40 nm in diameter. The nitrogen adsorption data described in the following paper gives a pore size for both the macropore cavity and the mesopore openings leading into the cavity. The pore sizes as determined by nitrogen sorption are in good agreement with the pore sizes observed by scanning electron microscopy. Mercury intrusion porosimetry results confirm the size of the mesopore openings leading into the macropore cavity, however due to destruction of the sample upon intrusion, extrusion results can not be obtained to determine main cavity diameters. As a result, nitrogen sorption may be a viable option for determining pore sizes with these three-dimensionally ordered materials containing both mesopores and macropores.     

The role of manganese and nitrogen nutrition in the susceptibility of wheat plants to take-all in Western Australia

Five field experiments are described which measured the effect of take-all on grain yield of wheat when 5 levels of manganese fertilizer were applied in a factorial combination with 5 different types of nitrogen fertilizer.Ammonium nitrogen fertilizer, either as ammonium sulphate or ammonium chloride, lowered the severity of take-all. By contrast, sodium nitrate had no effect on the incidence and severity of take-all. Ammonium chloride and ammonium sulphate were equally effective at controlling take-all, suggesting that the chloride or sulphate ion had little or no effect on the disease.Manganese sulphate decreased take-all severity at two trial sites. Where manganese was deficient, an application of manganese lowered the severity of take-all, had no effect on the incidence and increased the dry matter and grain yields of the wheat plants. There were no beneficial effects of applied manganese if the wheat plants were adequately supplied with soil manganese.The results suggest that take-all is more severe where plants are deficient in either manganese or nitrogen. The work also suggests that manganese deficiency is not necessarily the reason why the wheat plants grown on the acid soils of south-west Western Australia are prone to take-all.     

Evaluation of methods of measurement of nitrogen in poultry and animal manures

Kjeldahl nitrogen (N), total N and forms of inorganic N (ammoniacal (NH₄)-N, nitrate (NO₃)-N and nitrite (NO₂)-N) were measured in a range of animal manures. The manures include fresh samples of poultry manure, sheep manure, horse manure, dairy slurry and pig slurry and composted poultry manure. Kjeldahl N was measured by standard micro-Kjeldahl digestion. For total N measurements, NO₃-N and NO₂-N were recovered during Kjeldahl digestion by pretreatments with various oxidizing and reducing agents. Inorganic forms of N were measured by extraction with 2M KCl solution.Kjeldahl digestion alone allowed measurement only of organic N and NH₄-N. Amongst various modifications to the Kjeldahl, pretreatment with either acidified (H₂SO₄) Zn-CrK(SO₄)₂ or acidified (H₂SO₄) reduced Fe achieved complete recovery of NO₃-N. Nitrite N was only recovered by first oxidising the NO ₂ ^- to NO ₃ ^- with KMnO₄ followed by reduction to NH₄-N with acidified (H₂SO₄) reduced Fe.More than 95% of the total N in fresh animal manure was present as organic N and NH₄-N which were recovered by the standard Kjeldahl digestion. In the case of fresh manures there was no difference between the amount of total N measured by the Kjeldahl digestion and its modified methods. However composting of poultry manure or drying of poultry manure, pig slurry and dairy slurry resulted in an increase in NO₃-N which was not recovered during Kjeldahl digestion alone. Under these conditions the total N could be measured by pretreating the samples with KMnO₄ and reduced Fe prior to Kjeldahl digestion.Drying of animal manures caused a decrease in organic N and NH₄-N, especially in poultry, pig and dairy manures. There was a slight increase in NO₃-N; but most of the decrease in N content with drying was attributed to the volatilization loss of ammonia (NH₃). Amongst various drying methods examined air drying caused maximum loss of N as NH₃ whereas freeze drying caused minimum loss of N. This suggests that fresh animal manures can be freeze dried for analysis of N which causes minimum loss of N.     

Coal liquefaction in nitrogen compounds

Model compound studies have shown that 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline is an exceptionally good coal solvent. In the pure compound, subbituminous coal conversion to THF-soluble products approaches 100% under relatively mild reaction conditions. The effectiveness of tetrahydroquinoline for coal conversion appears to be related to its concentration relative to coal. The unique behaviour of tetrahydroquinoline is ascribed to its being a highly active H-donor; the fact that it is regenerable under reaction conditions by the reaction of hydrogen and quinoline; and that its polarity allows penetration of the coal structure and aids in dispersion of the dissolved coal. It has been found that, during reaction with coal, tetrahydroquinoline and other nitrogen compounds undergo extensive condensation reactions which result in an increase in the nitrogen content of the high boiling and non-distillable liquefaction products.     

Available nitrogen in soils and its determination by the ‘Nmin-method’ and by electroultrafiltration (EUF)

Excess nitrogen fertilizer rates are an environmental hazard. To avoid excess rates, the level of available nitrogen in the soil must be known and considered for assessing the nitrogen fertilizer rate. In arable soils nitrate and exchangeable ammonium in the rooting depth of a crop are directly available to plant roots. These two nitrogen forms are recovered with the Nmin method and they are considered in assessing the nitrogen fertilizer rate for arable crops.Besides nitrate and ammonium recovered by the Nmin method from soil samples taken in early spring, a considerable amount of organic soil nitrogen may be mineralized during the growth period and contribute to crop nutrition. The nitrogen mineralization potential can be determined in incubation tests. The absolute quantities of mineralized nitrogen thus obtained, however, are much higher than the mineralization rates under field conditions. It is for this reason that incubation tests have not obtained a major importance for assessing nitrogen fertilizer rates.With the electro-ultrafiltration (EUF) method nitrate, ammonium, and a minor portion of organic soil nitrogen are extracted from a soil suspension. There is experimental evidence that this organic nitrogen (=Norg) is easily mineralizable. Based on field experiments with cereals and maize formulae were established by which the nitrogen fertilizer rate can be calculated. In these formulae nitrate, ammonium and organic nitrogen extracted by EUF are considered.Advantages and drawbacks of the Nmin method and EUF method are discussed.     

水泥基材料超低温冻融循环试验研究

利用液氮作为环境介质进行超低温冻融循环试验,研究了超低温对水泥基材料抗冻性能的影响。观测冻融循环前后试件外观、质量和强度等宏观性能变化,采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析水泥基材料冻融循环前后微观结构变化。试验结果表明：在超低温条件下,混凝土的抗冻性能明显强于砂浆,且随混凝土强度提高其抗冻性能呈增长趋势;SEM分析结果表明超低温冻融循环后泡水融化试件结构内存在明显缺陷;超低温冻融循环试验可以加速水泥基材料破坏进程,明显减少试验周期,能相对较快的评价出水泥基材料的抗冻性能。     

焦化废水曝气生物滤池深度处理试验

以升流式曝气生物滤池(UBAF)深度处理某焦化厂废水处理站二级未达标生化出水,在投加30%双氧水(H2O2/COD cr质量比为3)预处理后,并在气水比为3∶1,回流比为(0.5~1)∶1的运行条件下,系统对CODcr、NH3-N的平均去除率分别为53.1%、91.6%,系统出水CODcr和NH3-N浓度分别达到《污水综合排放标准》(GB8987—1996)的二级和一级排放标准.