Waterfowl frequently acquire high‐energy agricultural seeds in harvested and unharvested croplands during migration and winter. Estimates of agricultural seed biomass in harvested and unharvested corn, soybean, and grain sorghum fields do not exist or are outdated for the southeastern United States. Therefore, we estimated seed biomass in 105 harvested and 59 unharvested corn, soybean, and grain sorghum fields across 4 climate regions in Tennessee, USA, from September through January 2006 and 2007. We also used estimates of seed biomass to calculate duck‐energy days (DEDs) in December and January when migratory waterfowl abundance peaks in the southeastern United States. Mean biomass of corn, soybean, and grain sorghum seed in harvested fields declined 239 kg/ha to 39 kg/ha, 118 kg/ha to 26 kg/ha, and 392 kg/ha to 19 kg/ha, respectively, from postharvest to January. Continuous monthly rates of decline were 64% for corn, 84% for soybean, and 74% for grain sorghum. Agricultural seed biomass in harvested corn and grain sorghum fields dropped below the waterfowl giving‐up density (i.e., 50 kg/ha) in 3 months; soybean dropped below this threshold 1 month postharvest. Mean DEDs/ha in harvested corn, soybean, and grain sorghum fields were low (274, 90, and 27, respectively) in January, and DEDs were zero in >85% of fields. In unharvested corn, soybean, and grain sorghum fields, mean DEDs/ha in January were high (69,000, 18,000, and 26,000, respectively), and continuous rates of decline (3%, 7%, and 18%, respectively) were much lower than for harvested crops. Waterfowl biologists in the Southeast should use our estimates of agricultural seed biomass in DED calculations. We also recommend that biologists provide unharvested grain fields and natural wetlands for migrating and wintering waterfowl because seed resources are low in harvested agricultural fields.

Introduction The physiologic selectivity of calcification in bone tissue reflects selective co-expression by osteoblasts of fibrillar collagen I and of tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP), which hydrolyzes the calcification inhibitor pyrophosphate (PPi) and generates phosphate (Pi). Humans and mice deficient in the PPi-generating ecto-enzyme NPP1 demonstrate soft tissue calcification, occurring at sites of extracellular matrix expansion. Significantly, the function in osteoblasts of cytosolic inorganic pyrophosphatase (abbreviated iPPiase), which generates Pi via PPi hydrolysis with neutral pH optimum, remains unknown. We assessed iPPiase in Enpp1−/− and wild type (WT) mouse osteoblasts and we tested the hypothesis that iPPiase regulates collagen I expression. Methods We treated mouse calvarial osteoblasts with ascorbate and β-glycerol phosphate to promote calcification, and we assessed cytosolic Pi and PPi levels, sodium-dependent Pi uptake, Pit-1 Pi co-transporter expression, and iPPiase and TNAP activity and expression. We also assessed the function of transfected Ppa1 in osteoblasts. Results Inorganic pyrophosphatase but not TNAP was elevated in Enpp1−/− calvariae in situ. Cultured primary Enpp1−/− calvarial osteoblasts demonstrated increased calcification despite flat TNAP activity rather than physiologic TNAP up-regulation seen in WT osteoblasts. Despite decreased cytosolic PPi in early culture, Enpp1−/− osteoblasts maintained cytosolic Pi levels comparable to WT osteoblasts, in association with increased iPPiase, enhanced sodium-dependent Pi uptake and expression of Pit-1, and markedly increased collagen I synthesis. Suppression of collagen synthesis in Enpp1−/− osteoblasts using 3,4-dehydroproline markedly suppressed calcification. Last, transfection of Ppa1 in WT osteoblasts increased cytosolic Pi and decreased cytosolic but not extracellular PPi, and induced both collagen I synthesis and calcification. Conclusions Increased iPPiase is associated with “Pi hunger” and increased calcification by NPP1-deficient osteoblasts. Furthermore, iPPiase induces collagen I at the levels of mRNA expression and synthesis and, unlike TNAP, stimulates calcification by osteoblasts without reducing the extracellular concentration of the hydroxyapatite crystal inhibitor PPi.

Soils are crucial in regulating ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. To a large extent, these functions are carried out by highly diverse and dynamic soil microbiomes that are in turn governed by numerous environmental factors including weathering profile and vegetation. In this study, we investigate geophysical and vegetation effects on the microbial communities of iron-rich lateritic soils in the highly weathered landscapes of Western Australia (WA). The study site was a lateritic hillslope in southwestern Australia, where gradual erosion of the duricrust has resulted in the exposure of the different weathering zones. High-throughput amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used to investigate soil bacterial community diversity, composition and functioning. We predicted that shifts in the microbial community would reflect variations in certain edaphic properties associated with the different layers of the lateritic profile and vegetation cover. Our results supported this hypothesis, with electrical conductivity, pH and clay content having the strongest correlation with beta diversity, and many of the differentially abundant taxa belonging to the phyla Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. Soil water repellence, which is associated with Eucalyptus vegetation, also affected beta diversity. This enhanced understanding of the natural system could help to improve future crop management in WA since the physicochemical properties of the agricultural soils in this region are inherited from laterites via the weathering and pedogenesis processes.

Cosmogenic radionuclides (CRNs) are commonly employed to quantify both the production rates and residence times of mobile regolith. Meteoric and in situ CRNs have different accumulation mechanisms and can independently constrain landscape evolution rates. Here we use both in situ and meteoric 10 Be to investigate where in the regolith 10 Be is stored, and to quantify production rates and residence times of mobile regolith on active hillslopes in Gordon Gulch, within the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), Colorado, USA. Our data reveal that two-thirds of in situ 10 Be in regolith is produced within saprolite, and at least one-tenth of the meteoric 10 Be inventories is stored in saprolite, highlighting the importance of consistent terminology and identifi cation of the mobile regolith-saprolite boundary. We fi nd that mobile-regolith production rates are on average 3.1 cm/k.y., and residence times are between 10 and 20 k.y. A notable exception exists at the depositional north-facing footslope, where residence times likely exceed 40 k.y. Close agreement between the meteoric and in situ results indicates that upperand mid-slope positions are consistent with steady, uniform lowering of the landscape. In addition to comparing the two methods, we develop a one-dimensional analytical model for the 10 Be concentration fi elds on an active, steady-state catena with uniform erosion. We then compare model predictions with measurements to evaluate how well our sites adhere to the steady-state assumption underlying the calculations for mobile-regolith resi dence time and production rates. Such comparisons suggest that calculated residence times and lowering rates are likely no closer than ±25% of the geomorphic reality.