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Leaching loss as nitrate (NO3) is a growing concern because of its potential effect on water resources. Leaching of NO3 with drainage water from subsurface‐drained field plots seeded to maize (Zea mays L.) in 1992, 1993, and 1994 was measured on two soil types (a clay loam and a loamy sand) and for three N fertilization rates (22, 100, and 134 kg N ha−1). The 100 kg ha−1 rate was based on the results of a presidedress nitrate test (PSNT). Nitrate nitrogen (NO3‐N) leaching was similar between fertilizer N treatments at both sites in 1992, the first year after sod plowdown, but concentrations were greater than 10 mg L−1. For the subsequent two years, losses were similar for the 22 kg N ha−1 and the PSNT‐based treatments, but significantly higher for the 134 kg N ha−1 treatment on the clay loam. On the loamy sand, losses increased from the lowest to the highest N rate. Nitrate leaching losses were consistently higher on the loamy sand than on the clay loam. The N budget results showed that the 134 kg N ha−1 rate had the highest residual soil NO3‐N in the three years at both sites. On the clay loam, significant N losses occurred from denitrification following alfalfa plowdown and the subsequent fall and spring. Results indicate that N use efficiency rapidly decreases with overfertilization, even with N fertilization rates that only slightly exceed (134%) crop requirements. The PSNT‐based rate reduced N leaching losses while maintaining maize yields.

Colloids play an important role in facilitating transport of adsorbed contaminants in soils. Recent studies showed that under saturated conditions colloid retention was a function of its concentration. It is unknown if this is the case under unsaturated conditions. In this study, the effect of colloid concentration on colloid retention was investigated in unsaturated columns by increasing concentrations of colloid influents with varying ionic strength. Colloid retention was observed in situ by bright field microscopy and quantified by measuring colloid breakthrough curves. In our unsaturated experiments, greater input concentrations resulted in increased colloid retention at ionic strength above 0.1 mM, but not in deionized water (i.e., 0 mM ionic strength). Bright field microscope images showed that colloid retention mainly occurred at the solid-water interface and wedge-shaped air-water-solid interfaces, whereas the retention at the grain-grain contacts was minor. Some colloids at the air-water-solid interfaces were rotating and oscillating and thus trapped. Computational hydrodynamic simulation confirmed that the wedge-shaped air-water-solid interface could form a "hydrodynamic trap" by retaining colloids in its low velocity vortices. Direct visualization also revealed that colloids once retained acted as new retention sites for other suspended colloids at ionic strength greater than 0.1 mM and thereby could explain the greater retention with increased input concentrations. Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) energy calculations support this concept. Finally, the results of unsaturated experiments were in agreement with limited saturated experiments under otherwise the same conditions.

Over two million hectares of marginal land in the Northeast USA no longer used for agriculture may be suitable and available for production of second-generation cellulosic bioenergy crops, offering the potential for increased regional bioenergy production without competing with food production on prime farmland. Current yields of perennial bioenergy grasses and short-rotation woody crops range from 2.3 to 17.4 and 4.5 to 15.5 Mg/ha, respectively, and there is great potential for increased yields. Regional advantages for bioenergy development include abundant water resources, close proximity between production and markets, and compatibility of bioenergy cropping systems with existing agriculture. As New York and New England (a subset of the Northeast region) account for~85 % of the nation's heating oil consumption, production of bioheat, biopower, and combined heat and power could substantially reduce the region's dependence on imported petroleum. While numerous grassroots efforts are underway in the region across supply chains, bioenergy development faces several challenges and unknowns in terms of environmental impact, production, yields, socioeconomics, and policy. We explore the opportunities for second-generation bioenergy production on the unused marginal lands of the Northeast USA and discuss the challenges to be addressed to promote sustainable bioenergy production on the region's underutilized marginal land base.

Wollastonite, a calcium metasilicate mineral mined in upstate New York, is an ideal substrate for constructed wetland ecosystems for removing soluble phosphorus from secondary wastewater. Design parameters, required for designing a full-scale constructed wetland, were measured in vertical upflow columns with hydraulic residence times varying from 15 to 180 h. Secondary wastewater was pumped vertically upward through eleven soil columns, 1.5 m in length and 15 cm in diameter and influent and effluent concentrations of soluble phosphorus were monitored for up to 411 days. Greater than 80% removal (up to 96%) was observed in nine out of 11 columns and effluent concentrations of soluble phosphorus ranged from 0.14 to 0.50 mg/l (averaging 0.28 mg/l) when the residence time was \40 h. Columns with a decreased residence time averaged 39% removal. A direct relationship between residence time and soluble phosphorus removal was established.