Browsing by Author "Bellamy, Patricia H."
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Item Open Access An assessment of the risk to surface water ecosystems of groundwater P in the UK and Ireland(Elsevier , 2010-03-15T00:00:00Z) Holman, Ian P.; Howden, Nicholas J. K.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Willby, N.; Whelan, Michael J.; Rivas Casado, MonicaA good quantitative understanding of phosphorus (P) delivery is essential in the design of management strategies to prevent eutrophication of terrestrial freshwaters. Most research to date has focussed on surface and near-surface hydrological pathways, under the common assumption that little P leaches to groundwater. Here we present an analysis of national patterns of groundwater phosphate concentrations in England and Wales, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland, which shows that many groundwater bodies have median P concentrations above ecologically significant thresholds for freshwaters. The potential risk to receptor ecosystems of high observed groundwater P concentrations will depend on (1) whether the observed groundwater P concentrations are above the natural background; (2) the influence of local hydrogeological settings (pathways) on the likelihood of significant P transfers to the receptor; (3) the sensitivity of the receptor to P; and, (4) the relative magnitude of P transfers from groundwater compared to other P sources. Our research suggests that, although there is often a high degree of uncertainty in many of these factors, groundwater has the potential to trigger and/or maintain eutrophication under certain scenarios: the assumption of groundwater contribution to river flows as a ubiquitous source of dilution for P-rich surface runoff must therefore be questioned. Given the regulatory importance of P concentrations in triggering ecological quality thresholds, there is an urgent need for detailed monitoring and research to characterise the extent and magnitude of different groundwater P sources, the likelihood for P transformation and/or storage along aquifer- hyporheic zone flow paths and to identify the subsequent risk to receptor ecosystems. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Item Open Access Can we model observed soil carbon changes from a dense inventory? A case study over England and Wales using three version of Orchidee ecosystem model (AR5, AR5-PRIM and O-CN)(Copernicus Publications, 2013-07-12T00:00:00Z) Guenet, B.; Moyano, F. E.; Vuichard, N.; Kirk, Guy J. D.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Zaehle, Sönke; Ciais, P.A widespread decrease of the top soil carbon content was observed over England and Wales during the period 1978-2003 in the National Soil Inventory (NSI), amounting to a carbon loss of 4.44 Tg yr-1 over 141 550 km2. Subsequent modelling studies have shown that changes in temperature and precipitation could only account for a small part of the observed decrease, and therefore that changes in land use and management and resulting changes in soil respiration or primary production were the main causes. So far, all the models used to reproduce the NSI data did not account for plant-soil interactions and were only soil carbon models with carbon inputs forced by data. Here, we use three different versions of a process-based coupled soil-vegetation model called ORCHIDEE, in order to separate the effect of trends in soil carbon input, and soil carbon mineralisation induced by climate trends over 1978-2003. The first version of the model (ORCHIDEE-AR5) used for IPCC-AR5 CMIP5 Earth System simulations, is based on three soil carbon pools defined with first order decomposition kinetics, as in the CENTURY model. The second version (ORCHIDEE-AR5-PRIM) built for this study includes a relationship between litter carbon and decomposition rates, to reproduce a priming effect on decomposition. The last version (O-CN) takes into account N-related processes. Soil carbon decomposition in O-CN is based on CENTURY, but adds N limitations on litter decomposition. We performed regional gridded simulations with these three versions of the ORCHIDEE model over England and Wales. None of the three model versions was able to reproduce the observed NSI soil carbon trend. This suggests that either climate change is not the main driver for observed soil carbon losses, or that the ORCHIDEE model even with priming or N-effects on decomposition lacks the basic mechanisms to explain soil carbon change in response to climate, which would raise a caution flag about the ability of this type of model to project soil carbon changes in response to future warming. A third possible explanation could be that the NSI measurements made on the topsoil are not representative of the total soil carbon losses integrated over the entire soil depth, and thus cannot be compared with the model output.Item Open Access Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978−200(Nature Publishing Group, 2005-09-08T00:00:00Z) Bellamy, Patricia H.; Loveland, Peter J.; Bradley, R. Ian; Lark, R. Murray; Kirk, Guy J. D.Most terrestrial carbon is held in soils, more than twice as much as in vegetation or the atmosphere 1 , and changes in soil carbon content can have a large effect on the global carbon budget. The possibility that climate change is being reinforced by increased carbon dioxide emissions from soils with rising temperature is the subject of a continuing debate 29 . But to date evidence for the suggested feedback mechanism has come solely from small-scale laboratory and field experiments and modelling studies 29 . Here we use data from the National Soil Inventory of England and Wales obtained between 1978 and 2003 to show that carbon was lost from soils across England and Wales over the survey period at a mean rate of 0.6 per cent per year (relative to the existing soil carbon content). We find that the relative rate of carbon loss increased with soil carbon content and was more than two per cent per year in soils with carbon contents greater than 100 grams per kilogram. The relationship between rate of loss and carbon content held across the whole country and across all forms of land use suggesting a link to climate change. Our findings indicate that losses of soil carbon in England and Wales, and by inference other temperate regions, are likely to have been offsetting absorption of carbon by terrestrial siItem Open Access Elasmobranch cognitive ability: using electroreceptive foraging behaviour to demonstrate learning, habituation and memory in a benthic shark(Springer Science Business Media, 2014-01-31T00:00:00Z) Kimber, Joel A.; Sims, David W.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Gill, Andrew B.Top predators inhabiting a dynamic environment, such as coastal waters, should theoretically possess sufficient cognitive ability to allow successful foraging despite unpredictable sensory stimuli. The cognition-related hunting abilities of marine mammals have been widely demonstrated. Having been historically underestimated, teleost cognitive abilities have also now been significantly demonstrated. Conversely, the abilities of elasmobranchs have received little attention, despite many species possessing relatively large brains comparable to some mammals. The need to determine what, if any, cognitive ability these globally distributed, apex predators are endowed with has been highlighted recently by questions arising from environmental assessments, specifically whether they are able to learn to distinguish between anthropogenic electric fields and prey bioelectric fields. We therefore used electroreceptive foraging behaviour in a model species, Scyliorhinus canicula (small-spotted catshark), to determine cognitive ability by analysing whether elasmobranchs are able to learn to improve foraging efficiency and remember learned behavioural adaptations. Positive reinforcement, operant conditioning was used to study catshark foraging behaviour towards artificial, prey-type electric fields (Efields). Catsharks rewarded with food for responding to Efields throughout experimental weeks were compared with catsharks that were not rewarded for responding in order to assess behavioural adaptation via learning ability. Experiments were repeated after a 3-week interval with previously rewarded catsharks this time receiving no reward and vice versa to assess memory ability. Positive reinforcement markedly and rapidly altered catshark foraging behaviour. Rewarded catsharks exhibited significantly more interest in the electrical stimulus than unrewarded catsharks. Furthermore, they improved their foraging efficiency over time by learning to locate and bite the electrodes to gain food more quickly. In contrast, unrewarded catsharks showed some habituation, whereby their responses to the electrodes abated and eventually entirely ceased, though they generally showed no changes in most foraging parameters. Behavioural adaptations were not retained after the interval suggesting learned behaviour was not memorised beyond the interval. Sequences of individual catshark search paths clearly illustrated learning and habituation behavioural adaptation. This study demonstrated learning and habituation occurring after few foraging events and a memory window of between 12 h and 3 weeks. These cognitive abilities are discussed in relation to diet, habitat, ecology and anthropogenic Efield sources. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Item Open Access Morphological and physico-chemical properties of British aquatic habitats potentially exposed to pesticides.(Elsevier, 2006-04) Brown, Colin D.; Turner, Nigel; Hollis, John; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Biggs, Jeremy; Williams, Penny; Arnold, Dave; Pepper, Tim; Maund, SteveApproaches to describe the exposure of non-target aquatic organisms to agricultural pesticides can be limited by insufficient knowledge of the environmental conditions where the compounds are used. This study analysed information from national and regional datasets gathered in the UK describing the morphological and physico-chemical properties of rivers, streams, ponds and ditches. An aggregation approach was adopted, whereby the landscape was divided into 12 hydrogeological classes for agricultural areas and a 13th class that comprised non-agricultural land. The data describe major differences in the abundance, dimensions and chemistry of waterbodies in the different landscapes. There is almost an order of magnitude difference in the total input of pesticide per unit area between the different landscapes. Ditches are shown to be most proximate to arable land, streams and rivers intermediate and ponds the least proximate. Results of the study have implications for the development of standard scenarios for use in protective screening steps within the risk assessment. Data can be used to produce more realistic estimates of the exposure of aquatic systems to pesticides and to examine how that exposure varies across the landscape.Item Open Access Simulating pesticides in ditches to assess ecological risk (SPIDER): I. Model description.(Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2008-05-01T00:00:00Z) Renaud, Fabrice G.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Brown, Colin D.Risk assessment for pesticides in the aquatic environment relies on a comparison between estimated exposure concentrations in surface water bodies and endpoints from a series of effect tests. Many field- and catchment-scale models have been developed, ranging from simple empirical models to comprehensive, physically- based, distributed models that require complex parameterisation, often through inverse modelling methods. Routine use of catchment models for assessment and management of pesticides requires a tool that is comprehensive in being able to address all major routes of entry of pesticides into surface water and that has reasonable parameter requirements. Current models either focus primarily on transport of pesticides in surface runoff or are restricted in application because they require calibration against data from detailed monitoring programmes. SPIDER (Simulating Pesticides In Ditches to assess Ecological Risk) was developed to address the gap in models available to simulate pesticide exposure within networks of small surface water bodies (ditches and streams) in support of ecological risk assessment for pesticides. SPIDER is a locally distributed, capacitance-based model that accounts for pesticide entry into surface water bodies via spray drift, surface runoff, interlayer flow and drainflow and that can be used for small agricultural catchments. This paper provides a detailed description of the model.Item Open Access Spatio-temporal variability of some metal concentrations in the soil of eastern England, and implications for soil monitoring.(Elsevier, 2006-08) Lark, R. Murray; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Rawlins, B. G.Previous workers have proposed the use of multivariate geostatistics for the problem of estimating temporal change in soil properties for soil monitoring, but this has yet to be evaluated. We present a case study of this approach from the Humber–Trent region in North East England. We extracted data from two sources on cobalt, nickel and vanadium concentrations in the topsoil on two dates. Auto-variograms were estimated for each metal on each date, and pseudo cross-variograms for each metal on the two dates. It was shown that robust estimators of the auto and pseudo cross-variograms were needed for the analysis of these data. A linear model of coregionalization was then fitted to describe the spatio-temporal variability of each metal.Item Open Access Validation of an intrinsic groundwater pollution vulnerability methodology using a national nitrate database.(Springer Science Business Media, 2005-10-01T00:00:00Z) Holman, Ian P.; Palmer, R. C.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Hollis, J. M.The importance of groundwater for potable supply, and the many sources of anthropogenic contamination, has led to the development of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability mapping. An Analysis of Co-Variance and Analysis of Variance are used to validate the extensively applied UK methodology, based upon nitrate concentrations from 1,108 boreholes throughout England and Wales. These largely confirm the current aquifer and soil leaching potential classifications and demonstrate the benefits of combining soil and low permeability drift information. European legislation such as the Water Framework Directive will require more dynamic assessments of pollutant risk to groundwater. These results demonstrate that a number of improvements are required to future intrinsic groundwater vulnerability methodologies. The vertical succession of geological units must be included, so that non-aquifers can be zoned in the same way as aquifers for water supply purposes, while at the same time recognising their role in influencing the quality of groundwater in deeper aquifers. Classifications within intrinsic vulnerability methodologies should be based upon defined diagnostic properties rather than expert judgement. Finally the incorporation into groundwater vulnerability methodologies of preferential flow in relation to geological deposits, soil type and land management practices represents a significant, but important, future challenge.Item Open Access Will European soil-monitoring networks be able to detect changes in topsoil organic carbon content?(Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008-10-31T00:00:00Z) Saby, N. P. A.; Bellamy, Patricia H.; Morvan, X.; Arrouays, D.; Jones, Robert J. A.; Verheijen, Frank G. A.; Kibblewhite, Mark G.; Verdoodt, A.; Üveges, J.; Freudenschuß, A.; Simota, C.Within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, articles 3.3 and 3.4 stipulate that some voluntary activities leading to an additional carbon (C) sequestration in soils could be accounted as C sinks in national greenhouse gas inventories. These additional C stocks should be verifiable. In this work, we assess the feasibility of verifying the effects of changes in land use or management practice on soil organic carbon (SOC), by comparing minimum detectable changes in SOC concentration for existing European networks suitable for soil monitoring. Among the tested scenarios, the minimum detectable changes differed considerably among the soil-monitoring networks (SMNs). Considerable effort would be necessary for some member states to reach acceptable levels of minimum detectable change for C sequestration accounting. For SOC, a time interval of about 10 years would enable the detection of some simulated large changes in most European countries. In almost all cases, the minimum detectable change in SOC stocks remains greater than annual greenhouse gases emissions. Therefore, it is unlikely that SMNs could be used for annual national C accounting. However, the importance of organic C in soil functions, and as an indicator of soil condition and trends, underlines the importance of establishing effective national SMNs.