Jackie Webb

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Joining forces: The role of the natural and social sciences in addressing the Global Nitrogen Problem

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 Jackie Webb 0 Comments agricultural pollution, environmental policy, fertilizer, food security, nitrogen, resources, social-ecological, Sustainability

A wealth of scientific knowledge exists on the role of nitrogen in the natural and agricultural world, with research dating back over a century. Nitrogen sustains life and has enabled modern food production to keep up with the demands of the growing human population. However, we have reached a critical state where the use of synthetic nitrogen needs to be regulated due to the multitude of environmental impacts. The problem is that the effect nitrogen has on the planet is rarely discussed outside of scientific circles. With the recent development of international campaigns to address the global nitrogen problem, it’s time to put nitrogen research into practice with the help of social science.

Environmental Science

Leaving aquaculture ponds ‘out-to-dry’ has implications for nitrous oxide budgets

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 Jackie Webb 0 Comments agriculture, aquaculture, Dry flux, greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide

Researchers from China and the UK have demonstrated that the dormant period of shrimp farming, when aquaculture ponds are drained and left ‘out-to-dry’ for half a year, is associated with increased nitrous oxide emissions. The global aquaculture industry is currently growing at a rate that surpasses most other food sectors, yet the potential climatic impacts from increased greenhouse gas production has implications for the sustainability of this farming system. Through an extended field campaign of nitrous oxide measurements, emissions from the dry-period of aquaculture ponds made up the vast majority of total nitrous oxide emissions. As a previously unaccounted for part of the pond farm greenhouse gas budget, this dry phase of the aquaculture period is too large to be ignored.

Environmental Science

Modelling nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture once fertilizer leaves the field

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 Jackie Webb 0 Comments agricultural pollution, emissions, nitrogen pollution, nitrous oxide, rivers, water quality, wetlands

Countries need to keep track of their national greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to meet targets to combat climate change. Even though carbon dioxide gets most of the attention, nitrous oxide is the most potent of the top three greenhouse gases that contribute to current global warming, having 300 times the warming strength of carbon dioxide. In many countries agriculture is the largest source of nitrous oxide emissions. Keeping track of these emissions after they leave the farm fields via water pathways is difficult.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Double trouble: how floods after bushfire affect the health of our rivers

March 19, 2020 Jackie Webb 0 Comments bushfire, climate extreme, flooding, rivers, Wildfire

Between Christmas 2019 and the 2020 New Year, forested mountain ranges across drought-stricken areas in Eastern Australia came alight, with fires ravaging 11 million hectares of bush (Eucalyptus woodlands and rainforests) – a size comparable to England’s land area. These megafires threw the states of New South Wales and Victoria into a state of emergency. The bushfire crisis took a sudden turn when heavy rainfall flooded the scorched land in the span of just two weeks. Unfortunately, while rainfall might appear to be a blessing in light of the megafires, the resulting floods were ultimately not sweet relief for rivers.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Not so blue anymore: how dead mangroves burden coastal carbon sinks

August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 Jackie Webb 0 Comments blue carbon, Climate Change, coastal environments, mangroves, methane

Mangrove forests have been feeling the pressure of climate change. With heat waves and low rainfall, many mangroves along a 1000 km stretch of coastline in northern Australia have been wiped out. However, the dead trees are living on by contributing large methane emissions which has consequences to global mangrove carbon stores and climate change. Read on to find out how the living dead remain active methane emitters.

Environmental Science

Ancient groundwater brings a new lease of life to arid ecosystems

June 2, 2019 Jackie Webb 0 Comments anthropogenic stress, desert, ecosystems, groundwater, streams, water resource, wetlands

How does a living fish have a radiocarbon age of ~9,000 years BC? A recent study revealed that very old carbon from ancient groundwater actually provides a life-sustaining source of energy to the contemporary food web of wetlands in dry (“arid”) climates.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Small artificial waterbodies – it’s time to start paying attention

April 4, 2019April 8, 2019 Jackie Webb 0 Comments agriculture, Artificial waters, carbon accounting, greenhouse gases, water resource

What are small artificial waterbodies and should we care about their greenhouse gas impact? Recent research in Australia demonstrates to us why we need to start paying attention to farm dam emissions.