Phosphorus export from coastal plain drainage into the Peel-Harvey estuarine system of Western Australia

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
PB Birch
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Benthic Alga ◽  
Clay Soils ◽  
Estuarine System ◽  
Phosphorus Export ◽  
Alluvial Clay

Excessive growth of the benthic alga Cladophora aff. albida in the Peel-Harvey estuarine system has coincided with greatly increased inputs of phosphorus from rivers over the last 20-25 years. At present, about 90%, of phosphorus input is derived from rural coastal plain catchments, where use of superphosphate increased fourfold over the period 1945-1975. The present export of phosphorus from these catchments was found to be positively correlated with rates of superphosphate application, dairy farming, and presence of alluvial clay soils, and negatively correlated with beef farming. Reduction of phosphorus input to the estuary from the coastal plain, therefore, could be achieved by reducing or modifying the present use of superphosphate, and reducing runoff from dairy farms into waterways.

scholarly journals A partial life cycle assessment approach to evaluate the energy intensity and related greenhouse gas emission in dairy farms

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lelia Murgia ◽  
Giuseppe Todde ◽  
Maria Caria ◽  
Antonio Pazzona
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Feeding Management

Dairy farming is constantly evolving towards more intensive levels of mechanization and automation which demand more energy consumption and result in higher economic and environmental costs. The usage of fossil energy in agricultural processes contributes to climate change both with on-farm emissions from the combustion of fuels, and by off-farm emissions due to the use of grid power. As a consequence, a more efficient use of fossil resources together with an increased use of renewable energies can play a key role for the development of more sustainable production systems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the energy requirements (fuels and electricity) in dairy farms, define the distribution of the energy demands among the different farm operations, identify the critical point of the process and estimate the amount of CO2 associated with the energy consumption. The inventory of the energy uses has been outlined by a partial Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, setting the system boundaries at the farm level, from cradle to farm gate. All the flows of materials and energy associated to milk production process, including crops cultivation for fodder production, were investigated in 20 dairy commercial farms over a period of one year. Self-produced energy from renewable sources was also accounted as it influence the overall balance of emissions. Data analysis was focused on the calculation of energy and environmental sustainability indicators (EUI, CO2-eq) referred to the functional units. The production of 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) required on average 0.044 kWhel and 0.251 kWhth, corresponding to a total emission of 0.085 kg CO2-eq). The farm activities that contribute most to the electricity requirements were milk cooling, milking and slurry management, while feeding management and crop cultivation were the greatest diesel fuel consuming operation and the largest in terms of environmental impact of milk production (73% of energy CO2-eq emissions). The results of the study can assist in the development of dairy farming models based on a more efficient and profitable use of the energy resources.

Micromorphology and Stable-Isotope Geochemistry of Historical Pedogenic Siderite Formed in PAH-Contaminated Alluvial Clay Soils, Tennessee, U.S.A.

2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 943-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Driese ◽  
G. A. Ludvigson ◽  
J. A. Roberts ◽  
D. A. Fowle ◽  
L. A. Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Clay Soils ◽  
Stable Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Alluvial Clay

A revision of the textricellin spider genus Raveniella (Araneae:Araneoidea:Micropholcommatidae): exploring patterns of phylogeny and biogeography in an Australian biodiversity hotspot

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Rix ◽  
Mark S. Harvey ◽  
J. Dale Roberts
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Swan Coastal Plain ◽  
Coastal Species ◽  
Eastern Australia

South-western Western Australia is a biodiversity hotspot, with high levels of local endemism and a rich but largely undescribed terrestrial invertebrate fauna. Very few phylogeographic studies have been undertaken on south-western Australian invertebrate taxa, and almost nothing is known about historical biogeographic or cladogenic processes, particularly on the relatively young, speciose Quaternary sand dune habitats of the Swan Coastal Plain. Phylogeographic and taxonomic patterns were studied in textricellin micropholcommatid spiders belonging to the genus Raveniella Rix & Harvey. The Micropholcommatidae is a family of small spiders with a widespread distribution in southern Western Australia, and most species are spatially restricted to refugial microhabitats. In total, 340 specimens of Raveniella were collected from 36 surveyed localities on the Swan Coastal Plain and 17 non-Swan Coastal Plain reference localities in south-western Western Australia. Fragments from three nuclear rRNA genes (5.8S, 18S and ITS2), and one mitochondrial protein-coding gene (COI) were used to infer the phylogeny of the genus Raveniella, and to examine phylogeographic patterns on the Swan Coastal Plain. Five new species of Raveniella are described from Western Australia (R. arenacea, sp. nov., R. cirrata, sp. nov., R. janineae, sp. nov., R. mucronata, sp. nov. and R. subcirrata, sp. nov.), along with a single new species from south-eastern Australia (R. apopsis, sp. nov.). Four species of Raveniella were found on the Swan Coastal Plain: two with broader distributions in the High Rainfall and Transitional Rainfall Zones (R. peckorum Rix & Harvey, R. cirrata); and two endemic to the Swan Coastal Plain, found only on the western-most Quindalup dunes (R. arenacea, R. subcirrata). Two coastally restricted species (R. subcirrata, R. janineae) were found to be morphologically cryptic but genetically highly distinct, with female specimens morphologically indistinguishable from their respective sister-taxa (R. cirrata and R. peckorum). The greater Perth region is an important biogeographic overlap zone for all four Swan Coastal Plain species, where the ranges of two endemic coastal species join the northern and south-western limits of the ranges of R. peckorum and R. cirrata, respectively. Most species of Raveniella were found to occupy long, highly autapomorphic molecular branches exhibiting little intraspecific variation, and an analysis of ITS2 rRNA secondary structures among different species of Raveniella revealed the presence of an extraordinary hypervariable helix, ranging from 31 to over 400 nucleotides in length.

Susceptibility of Plant Species in Banksia Woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia, to Infection by Phytophthora cinnamomi

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 433 ◽  
Author(s):  
BL Shearer ◽  
M Dillon
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Swan Coastal Plain ◽  
Adjacent Soil ◽  
Cross Tabulation

Estimates of the susceptibility of plant species in Banksia woodland to Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands were obtained by determining the incidence of plant death and frequency of isolation of the pathogen, among species occurring in 46 disease centres on the Swan Coastal Plain south of Perth, Western Australia. In the disease centres, dicotyledons outnumbered monocotyledons. About half of all species occurring in the disease centres were from four families of dicotyledons, with the largest number of species from the Myrtaceae, Proteaceae and Papilionaceae. The greatest number of species of monocotyledons were from the Anthericaceae and Cyperaceae. No deaths were recorded for 47% of species found in three or more disease centres. These species were mainly from the Cyperaceae, Haemodoraceae, Myrtaceae and Papilionaceae. The species that tended to die frequently in disease centres were mainly from the Papilionaceae, Proteaceae, Epacridaceae, Xanthorrhoeaceae and the Zamiaceae. Phytophthora cinnamomi was isolated from 26 of the 95 species occurring in three or more disease centres. For most species, the frequency of isolation of P. cinnamomi from recently dead plants was much less than the frequency of dead plants sampled. Isolation from plants was less frequent than from adjacent soil. The pathogen was isolated from recently dead plants or soil mainly for species of the Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, Papilionaceae, Dasypogonaceae, Iridaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae. Cross-tabulation of species by incidence of plant death and isolation of P. cinnamomi from plant and soil, provided the opportunity to classify the response of plant species to infection by P. cinnamomi.

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