North East Scotland River Catchment Nitrate Loading in Relation to Agricultural Intensity

Wright, G. M.; Edwards, Anthony C.; Morrice, Jane; Pugh, K.B.

doi:10.1080/02757549108035255

Cited by 25 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…There are several small towns and villages on the banks but little polluting industry. The main river is oligotrophic, but some nutrient enrichment occurs close to Aberdeen (Wright et al, 1991;North-east River Purification Board, 1993).…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

“…), used for intensive arable and livestock farming. Although there has been an increase in sewage effluents from surrounding towns and villages as a result of rapid population growth in the area over the last 20 years, this contributes only a small proportion of the total nitrogen load in the river, which still supports some salmon and trout fishing (Raffaelli, Hull & Milne, 1989;Wright et al, 1991;North-east River Purification Board, 1993;Macdonald et al, 1995).…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

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Bats and insects over two Scottish rivers with contrasting nitrate status

Racey

Swift

Rydell

et al. 1998

Animal Conservation

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The abundance of foraging bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Myotis daubentonii) and flying insects over two rivers in north-east Scotland (Dee and Ythan), differing eightfold in nitrate levels, were compared by paired samples over three periods in summer 1995, during each of which 10 nights' sampling was undertaken using ultrasonic detectors and insect suction traps. Thirteen out of the 18 pairwise comparisons of bat passes, insect numbers, biomass and diversity were not significantly different. The oligotrophic Dee supported higher numbers of bats than the eutrophic Ythan in June, but this was attributed to an effect of adverse weather conditions affecting the Ythan. In July and August-September, neither bat abundances nor the abundance of Chironomidae and Trichoptera, the main food of the bats, differed significantly between the two rivers, although the Ythan showed higher total insect biomass than the Dee. The Ythan also showed a much higher abundance of small Diptera, mainly Psychodidae and Cecidomyiidae, associated with elevated nitrogen levels in the intensively farmed river valley. Thus a small eutrophic river can support as many bats and as high an insect density as a large oligotrophic one.

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Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

Bats and insects over two Scottish rivers with contrasting nitrate status

Racey

Swift

Rydell

et al. 1998

Animal Conservation

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“…Impacts of agricultural fertilisers in the environment are known (Sharpley et al 2010;Wright et al 1991), and they have negative impacts on regulating and supporting services, even as the amount and value of provisioning ecosystem services has generally increased. Trade-offs between different ecosystem services related to land use requires further study (Angus et al 2009;de Groot 2006;Foley et al 2005;Francis et al 2014) This understanding of ecosystem services that we present, based on an analysis that integrates inputs, outputs and flows of natural, human, social, financial and physical capitals, provides a process-based foundation for improved understanding of ecosystem services and humanenvironmental relationships.…”

Section: Accounting For Land Systems and Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem services as the products of land system dynamics: lessons from a longitudinal study of coupled human–environment systems

Aspinall

Staiano

2018

Landscape Ecol

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ContextWe address understanding of whole-system and landscape-based approaches to the ecosystem services framework by considering the supply of provisioning services and the dynamics of agricultural land use in Scotland between 1940 and2016. Objectives To characterise and understand the dynamics of change in provisioning services from agriculture in Scotland over the period 1940 to 2016. To identify ways in which funds of capitals and flows of inputs and output ecosystem goods are linked to land management practices and policies at a national scale.Methods Data describing agricultural land use, production, financial and energy inputs and outputs, and drivers of change in land use in Scotland are analysed with an accounting framework that links funds of natural, human, physical and financial capital, with flows of goods and services. Flow-fund ratios are used as benchmarks of system performance and dynamics.Results Scotland's agriculture has modernised since 1940 and become more efficient in conversion of resources, with a consequent increase in delivery of provisioning goods and services. Although the energy ratio, and flow of goods per unit hectare and per unit labour have increased, the inputs necessary to maintain those flows of ecosystem goods are also increasing, even as their relative economic costs decrease. Increases in use of fertiliser suggests that production from the soil, as a natural capital fund, is not being conserved without a large, and increasing, input. Analysis of the complexity of the coupled agricultural land system also suggests that land management rather than biodiversity is a necessary subject for evaluation of provisioning services from agriculture. Understanding of ecosystem services based on accounts that integrate inputs, outputs and flows from funds of natural, human, social, financial and physical capitals, provides a process-based foundation for improved understanding of ecosystem services and human-environmental relationships.Conclusions Adopting an accounting approach for understanding the role of agricultural land use for supply of provisioning services, and particularly examining a long time-series of accounts, enables understanding of land changes and underlying drivers, as well as the contribution of cultural and other aspects of human systems coupled with environment systems. Accounting for ecosystem services using costs as well as benefits, and use of metrics beyond financial benefit, supports debate and evaluation of trade-offs between services and has direct relevance for decision-and policy-making.

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“…In humid and sub-humid subtropical regions in developing countries, such as India, intensive runoff and concomitant transport of sediment along with agro-chemicals (fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides) are rapidly degrading land resources and polluting water resources. The rate of pollutant runoff from the watershed changes in response to land use (LU)/land cover (LC) and the characteristics of rainfall [1][2][3][4][5]. Hence, knowledge of pollutant runoff mechanism as non-point sources (NPS) is needed to understand the nature and extent of pollution from watersheds, especially under rainy conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Non-Point Source N and P Loads in a Small Mixed Land Use Land Cover Watershed

Mishra¹,

Singh²,

Singh³

2010

JWARP

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Non-point source pollution (NPS) of water resources has become a major problem in recent years due to more human interactions and disturbances to natural landscapes. The problem can have more impacts in sub-humid subtropical regions where high intensity monsoon rains have greater effects on hydrologic proc-esses and thus the assessment of those effects is necessitated for strategic water resources and environmental management. Since spatial and temporal changes of NPS pollutants are difficult to assess on a watershed scale, the assessment can be done effectively using a suitable water quantity-quality model coupled with GIS and remote sensing that incorporates spatial variations. The objective of this study was to assess the N and P loads from a small mixed type watershed comprising different land use land covers with the aid of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)-a hydrologic-water quality model. The model was calibrated for runoff and sediment transport and then simulation of associated N and P loads as NPS pollution was done and compared with measured values at the outlet of the watershed which is part of the DVC Command, Hazaribagh, India. The calibrated SWAT model was used to estimate the water soluble NO3-N, NH4-N, P, organic N and or-ganic P loads being transported as pollutants by runoff and percolated water. The estimates of these pollut-ants provided information on the extent of NPS pollution of water downstream. The results of the study re-veal that the NPS pollutant load in runoff varies with seasonal rainfall patterns and ranges from 2.57 to 4.52 kg/ha in case of NO3-N which accounts for a maximum load of 7661.40 kg of NO3-N in surface runoff from the watershed under study. The total loss of N from the watershed accounts for as high as 8.84 kg/ha, whereas the P load is 0.02 kg/ha. These losses can be as high as 14984.14 kg of total N and 50.85 kg of total P when estimated as NPS pollutants from the watershed. The study is therefore important to get an estimate of the extent of these pollutants and develop measures for mitigating the losses as nutrient as well as pollu-tion of water resources

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North East Scotland River Catchment Nitrate Loading in Relation to Agricultural Intensity

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

Bats and insects over two Scottish rivers with contrasting nitrate status

Bats and insects over two Scottish rivers with contrasting nitrate status

Ecosystem services as the products of land system dynamics: lessons from a longitudinal study of coupled human–environment systems

Evaluation of Non-Point Source N and P Loads in a Small Mixed Land Use Land Cover Watershed

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