Proceedings of the Conference on Nitrogen as a Water Pollutant

ica, I considered myself an old hand: when I started to study the environment of the North Bohemian region in 1963, the ecosystemic changes and health effects result ing from extremely high concentrations and deposition of sulfurous and nitrogenous air pollutants and particulate matter could not be ignored. When I returned to the area in 1966 to work there for nearly three years as a consultant in energy and environmental affairs, I came to realize the difficulties of efficiently controlling the problem. Hiking on the crest of the Ore Mountains overlooking the valley, I saw much destruction and degradation of coniferous plantings-but I was also repeatedly surprised by the contrast of the withering tops and stunted dried-out growth of spruces and firs with the magnificent beech trees and the healthy understory of shrubs and wild flowers. I recall this impressive lesson of ecosystemic vulnerability and resistance every time I read sweeping generalizations about the environmental effects of acid deposition. At the same time, in the second half of the 1960s, I was introduced by a friend, an engineer working in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, to some of the mysteries of enzymes; this led me to nitrogenase, one of the most incredible sub stances on this planet, and to an interest in various aspects of the nitrogen cycle, which was further strengthened by my later work on the energy cost of crop production, involving inevitable comparisons between natural nitrogen fixation and Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis.

Ninth International Conference on Water Pollution Research focuses on the methods, measures, and technologies involved in the treatment of wastewater, including the treatment of sludges and pollutants in bodies of water. The selection first offers information on carbon adsorption as an advanced wastewater treatment process, nitrification of surface water, and methods for measuring the thickenability of sludges. Topics include factors that influence adsorption, principle of biological nitrification, and characterization of sludges. The text also discusses the utilization of pulped newsprint as a conditioning aid in the vacuum filtration of a municipal sludge and the purification of pulp-bleaching wastewater with aluminum oxide. The publication reviews the properties and treatment of lime-algae sludge, concept of filterability, prediction of bacterial pollution in sea water, and the role of retained particles in deep bed filtration. The text also describes the immediate and continuous measurement of activated sludge quantity in sewage biological treatment tanks; comparative assessment of pollution loadings from non-point sources in urban land use; and wastewater control technology in steam-electric power plants. The book is a vital reference for readers interested in water pollution research.

This book presents innovative research on soil nitrogen cycling and nitrate leaching with a view to improving soil management and fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency and reducing nitrogen leaching losses. In this regard, nitrogen-15 (15N)-labelled fertiliser was used as a biochemical and physical stable isotope tracer in laboratory and field experiments. The major outcome of the research was the development, validation and application of a new compound-specific amino acid 15N stable isotope probing method for assessing the assimilation of fertiliser nitrogen by soil microbial biomass. The novelty of the method lies in its tracing of incorporated nitrogen into newly biosynthesised microbial protein in time-course experiments using gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The approach provides previously unattainable insights into the microbial processing of different nitrogen fertilisers in different soils. Further, it identifies the mechanistic link between molecular-scale processes and observations of field-scale fertiliser nitrogen immobilisation studies. The method and the results presented here will have far-reaching implications for the development of enhanced recommendations concerning farm-based soil management practices for increasing soil productivity and reducing nitrogen losses, which is essential to minimising environmental impacts.