Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems
Nitrogen remains a ubiquitous pollutant in surface and groundwater throughout the United States, despite 30 years of pollution control efforts. A detailed multicompartment N balance for the Central Arizona-Phoenix ecosystem is used to illustrate how an ecosystem-level approach can be used to develop...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2001-01-01
|
| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.98 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832564758790799360 |
|---|---|
| author | Lawrence A. Baker Diane Hope Ying Xu Jennifer Edmonds |
| author_facet | Lawrence A. Baker Diane Hope Ying Xu Jennifer Edmonds |
| author_sort | Lawrence A. Baker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nitrogen remains a ubiquitous pollutant in surface and groundwater throughout the United States, despite 30 years of pollution control efforts. A detailed multicompartment N balance for the Central Arizona-Phoenix ecosystem is used to illustrate how an ecosystem-level approach can be used to develop improved N management strategies. The N balance is used to demonstrate how nitrate in pumped groundwater used for crop irrigation could be used to reduce inputs of commercial fertilizer and decrease N leaching to aquifers. Effectively managing N pollution also will require an understanding of the complex factors that control the N balance, including targeted regulations, individual human behavior, land-use conversion, and other ecosystem management practices that affect the N balance. These sometimes countervailing factors are illustrated with several scenarios of wastewater treatment technology and population growth in the Phoenix area. Management of N eventually must be coupled to management of other elements, notably carbon, phosphorus, and salts. We postulate that an ecosystem framework for pollution management will result in strategies that are more effective, fairer, and less expensive than current approaches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-781772248dc94c66bda0e75e34037f55 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2001-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-781772248dc94c66bda0e75e34037f552025-02-03T01:10:17ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2001-01-01180280810.1100/tsw.2001.98Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human EcosystemsLawrence A. Baker0Diane Hope1Ying Xu2Jennifer Edmonds3Baker Environmental Consulting, Mounds View, MN 55112, USABaker Environmental Consulting, Mounds View, MN 55112, USABaker Environmental Consulting, Mounds View, MN 55112, USABaker Environmental Consulting, Mounds View, MN 55112, USANitrogen remains a ubiquitous pollutant in surface and groundwater throughout the United States, despite 30 years of pollution control efforts. A detailed multicompartment N balance for the Central Arizona-Phoenix ecosystem is used to illustrate how an ecosystem-level approach can be used to develop improved N management strategies. The N balance is used to demonstrate how nitrate in pumped groundwater used for crop irrigation could be used to reduce inputs of commercial fertilizer and decrease N leaching to aquifers. Effectively managing N pollution also will require an understanding of the complex factors that control the N balance, including targeted regulations, individual human behavior, land-use conversion, and other ecosystem management practices that affect the N balance. These sometimes countervailing factors are illustrated with several scenarios of wastewater treatment technology and population growth in the Phoenix area. Management of N eventually must be coupled to management of other elements, notably carbon, phosphorus, and salts. We postulate that an ecosystem framework for pollution management will result in strategies that are more effective, fairer, and less expensive than current approaches.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.98 |
| spellingShingle | Lawrence A. Baker Diane Hope Ying Xu Jennifer Edmonds Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems |
| title_full | Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems |
| title_short | Multicompartment Ecosystem Mass Balances as a Tool for Understanding and Managing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Human Ecosystems |
| title_sort | multicompartment ecosystem mass balances as a tool for understanding and managing the biogeochemical cycles of human ecosystems |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.98 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lawrenceabaker multicompartmentecosystemmassbalancesasatoolforunderstandingandmanagingthebiogeochemicalcyclesofhumanecosystems AT dianehope multicompartmentecosystemmassbalancesasatoolforunderstandingandmanagingthebiogeochemicalcyclesofhumanecosystems AT yingxu multicompartmentecosystemmassbalancesasatoolforunderstandingandmanagingthebiogeochemicalcyclesofhumanecosystems AT jenniferedmonds multicompartmentecosystemmassbalancesasatoolforunderstandingandmanagingthebiogeochemicalcyclesofhumanecosystems |