UC Davis News: Agriculture

When, where and how wood is used impact carbon emissions from deforestation

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:20:00 -0700

A new study from the University of California, Davis, provides a deeper understanding of the complex global impacts of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, published May 13 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Climate Change, reports that the volume of greenhouse gas released when a forest is cleared depends on how the trees will be used and in which part of the world the trees are grown.

When trees are felled to create solid wood products, such as lumber for housing, that wood retains much of its carbon for decades, the researchers found. In contrast, when wood is used for bioenergy or turned into pulp for paper, nearly all of its carbon is released into the atmosphere. Carbon is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.

“We found that 30 years after a forest clearing, between 0 percent and 62 percent of carbon from that forest might remain in storage,” said lead author J. Mason Earles, a doctoral student with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. “Previous models generally assumed that it was all released immediately.”

The researchers analyzed how 169 countries use harvested forests. They learned that the temperate forests found in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe are cleared primarily for use in solid wood products, while the tropical forests of the Southern Hemisphere are more often cleared for use in energy and paper production.

“Carbon stored in forests outside Europe, the USA and Canada, for example, in tropical climates such as Brazil and Indonesia, will be almost entirely lost shortly after clearance,” the study states.

The study’s findings have potential implications for biofuel incentives based on greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, if the United States decides to incentivize corn-based ethanol, less profitable crops, such as soybeans, may shift to other countries. And those countries might clear more forests to make way for the new crops. Where those countries are located and how the wood from those forests is used would affect how much carbon would be released into the atmosphere.

Earles said the study provides new information that could help inform climate models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading international body for the assessment of climate change.

“This is just one of the pieces that fit into this land-use issue,” said Earles. Land use is a driving factor of climate change. “We hope it will give climate models some concrete data on emissions factors they can use.”

In addition to Earles, the study, “Timing of carbon emissions from global forest clearance,” was co-authored by Sonia Yeh, a research scientist with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, and Kenneth E. Skog of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

The study was funded by the California Air Resources Board and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

UC Davis plans 13 commencements, will graduate first nursing students

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:25:00 -0700

Thousands of students from the University of California, Davis, will participate in 13 commencement ceremonies this spring, including the first class from the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

Commencement season begins Thursday, May 17, and concludes Sunday, June 17.

Guest speakers will include:

Goodwin Liu, an associate justice of the California Supreme Court, at the commencement for the School of Law on May 17;
Marie V. McDemmond, president emeritus of Norfolk State University in Virginia, at the commencement for the School of Education on June 13;
James C. Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions, at the commencement for the Graduate School of Management on June 16; and
Secretary General Chris Buijink of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation for the Netherlands, at the commencements for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on June 17.

For more about speakers, visit: http://commencement.ucdavis.edu/speakers.html.

Commencement dates, times and locations are as follows:

May 17 — School of Law at 2 p.m. at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts;
May 19 — School of Medicine at 10 a.m. at the Mondavi Center;
June 13 — School of Education at 4 p.m. at the Mondavi Center;
June 14 — Graduate Studies at 4 p.m. in the ARC Pavilion;
June 15 — College of Biological Sciences at 9 a.m. in the ARC Pavilion;
June 15 — School of Veterinary Medicine at 10 a.m. at the Mondavi Center;
June 15 — College of Engineering at 3 p.m. in the ARC Pavilion;
June 16 — College of Letters and Science at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the ARC Pavilion;
June 16 — Graduate School of Management at 10 a.m. at the Mondavi Center; and
June 17 — College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the ARC Pavilion.

In addition, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing will hold a special celebration of its first graduates at 12:30 p.m. on June 14 at the UC Davis Conference Center, before students participate in the Graduate Studies commencement. About 25 nursing students are candidates for a Master of Science degree.

Established in 2009, the nursing school admitted the first students to its master’s and Doctor of Philosophy programs in fall 2010. The school focuses on preparing graduates as educators, researchers and leaders to promote health, advance quality of care and safety, and shape policy.

The School of Law will award 23 Master of Laws and 202 Juris Doctor degrees at its ceremony, and the School of Medicine will award 108 Doctor of Medicine, four Master of Health Informatics and 24 Master of Public Health degrees.

Estimates of degrees to be awarded at the other ceremonies will be available in June. In 2010-11, UC Davis conferred 8,350 degrees.

Tickets are required for all commencement ceremonies except Graduate Studies, and they are distributed to graduating students by individual schools and colleges.

UC Davis will offer live and on-demand webcasts of each of the commencements at http://commencementvideo.ucdavis.edu/.

UC Davis academic associations award prizes for faculty teaching, research, service

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:04:00 -0700

The UC Davis Academic Senate and Academic Federation have announced their 2012 teaching and research prize recipients.

The senate each year presents Distinguished Teaching Awards and Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Awards. The federation honors its members for Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Research.

ACADEMIC SENATE

Distinguished Teaching Award: Undergraduate

• Frances Dolan, professor, Department of English — Teaching is central in her work and in her own scholarship. Describing her as a “dazzling lecturer” and mentor for students, English professor Margaret Ferguson said: “Whether teaching a course of 200 or mentoring a single MURALS (Mentorships for Undergraduate Research in Agriculture, Letters and Science) student, Fran pays extraordinary attention to the details of pedagogy; she is interested not only in introducing students to new texts, genres and critical questions, but also in strengthening their ability to read closely and to ask big questions of what they read.”

• Ari Kelman, associate professor, Department of History — He shines at the front of a lecture hall in a way that few others do, said David Biale, professor and chair, Department of History. “Working largely without notes, responding frequently to student questions without losing the thread of his own thought, he proceeds through a lecture, crafting a clear narrative and analysis as he goes along.” He added: “While he sometimes ventures into theater — his lecture on the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner is legendary — students appreciate his lectures most for their combination of sophistication and accessibility.”

• David Osleger, lecturer, Department of Geology — He has “an exceptional ability to get students involved in the course material,” his faculty colleagues wrote in nominating him. In evaluating his classes, students use words like “fascinating,” “fun” and “enlightening.” For many students, taking a general education geology class from Osleger led them to either take more geology classes, or to become geology or natural sciences majors. Osleger also is committed to recruiting students, especially from underrepresented groups, into natural sciences and geology, and mentoring undergraduates on career choices in geological sciences.

• Jay Stachowicz, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology — He is a motivator, engaging and entertaining in the classroom, and “an incredible mentor,” encouraging students to participate in his lab. “He teaches students more than just the skills needed to run different marine ecology experiments,” Natalie Caulk, Elise Hinman and Kristen Kelley wrote in a nomination letter. “He teaches the process of scientific inquiry.” Faculty colleagues Artyom Kopp and Rick Grosberg said Stachowicz’s research experience energizes all of his classes: “His teaching embodies all that a great research university stands for.”

Distinguished Teaching Award: Graduate and Professional

• Richard Sexton, professor and chair, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics — He is a master of his subject matter, communicates well and is remarkably adept at maximizing classroom participation. In addition, he has played an integral role in curriculum development, especially earning praise for master’s-level macroeconomic theory, which he began teaching in 1994 and later expanded into a two-course sequence. Those courses now attract students from many other disciplines. Sexton pioneered the incorporation of industrial organization concepts into instruction on agricultural market analysis.

• Richard Tucker, professor of cellular biology and human anatomy, School of Medicine — He is the primary instructor for the single largest course in the four-year curriculum: “Gross, Radiologic and Developmental Anatomy,” which includes foreign terminology and physically demanding laboratory sessions. Students laud his caring and motivational style, “fantastic ability to present a large amount of developmental information in a short period of time,” and his knowledge of the material, which he “can explain at any level of detail the moment demands.”

Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award

• Liz Applegate, senior lecturer, Department of Nutrition — She puts as much effort into public service as she does to her teaching, notably Nutrition 10, which draws rave reviews, owing to her philosophy of making nutrition and fitness education actionable and pertinent. Off campus, she gives countless lectures and workshops to a broad range of community groups, particularly those comprising underrepresented populations — people who are disabled or chronically ill, for example. She also works with state and national organizations, and youth sport groups. In addition, she is a valuable resource for the media.

• John Largier, professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, and the Bodega Marine Laboratory — He has played a notable and sustained role in service to the public by providing scientific advice on matters related to the health of marine and coastal environments via media events and interviews, membership on assessment and advisory teams, participation in working groups and on task forces, and presentations at public meetings. His efforts are across the spectrum from service intended to spur development of science beyond the university, to the application of science in policy, advising agencies and informing the public.

• Mark J. Mannis, professor and chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, and director, Eye Center — Recognized for his efforts to increase the number of high-quality ocular tissues available for transplant, as well as the number of ophthalmologists and technicians trained in the latest corneal transplant and eye-banking methodologies — thus restoring sight for tens of thousands of people with blinding diseases around the globe. Starting 30 years ago, Mannis and the UC Davis Medical Center turned the Lions Club’s fledgling eye bank into the well-established Sierra Eye and Tissue Donor Services.

• Robert K. Washino, emeritus professor, Department of Entomology — Throughout his academic career and now in retirement, he gives freely of his time and expertise to local, state, federal and international agencies, as well as the private sector. He served on U.S. Department of Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture task forces targeting such insects as the Africanized honeybee and Mediterranean fruit fly. He added breadth and depth to such organizations as the Entomological Society of America and the World Health Organization.

ACADEMIC FEDERATION

Excellence in Teaching

• Eric Mann, lecturer, Department of Microbiology — His faculty colleagues said he is enthusiastic about his teaching and strives to stimulate his students to think independently. In their evaluations, students praise his clear lecture style, meticulous organization and remarkable sense of humor. His extensive work in curriculum development included a revamp of introductory microbiology to meet the needs of preprofessional students, and a reorganization of the MIC 101 labs so they could be offered in the summer. His dedication is astounding, said his colleagues, noting that he supervises lab instruction 18 hours a week in a typical quarter.

• John Rundin, lecturer, Classics Program — He is described as being abundantly generous to students inside the classroom and out, keeping an open door for those in need of assistance in one of the most difficult subjects: Latin. “His office is next to mine, so I can hear him patiently explaining Latin forms or grammar — never losing his sense of compassion and his conviction that every student can grasp the language — and also offering encouragement and advice,” wrote Emily Albu, associate professor and Classics Program director. “I see the academic results in the number of students who continue to a classics major or minor.”

Excellence in Research

• Wei Yao, assistant adjunct professor, School of Medicine — Her most recent work, published in Nature Medicine earlier this year, involved the development of a novel technique (using the molecule LLP2A-Ale) to enhance bone growth — offering a potential treatment for osteoporosis. Nancy E. Lane, who holds the Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging and Geriatric Medicine, said Yao has made a number of seminal scientific discoveries at UC Davis. “The scope of inquiry, the importance of the topic matter, the methodical construction of a unified approach to the questions and the gratifying results all speak for themselves,” Lane said.

Beer foam examined In new book by UC Davis brewing expert

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:33:00 -0700

Foam capping a glass of beer is not just a frothy byproduct of the brewing process but a key component of beer quality and consumer satisfaction, writes highly acclaimed brewing scientist Charles Bamforth of the University of California, Davis, in a new book, “Foam.”

“Foam,” published by the American Society for Brewing Chemists, is the first in what Bamforth plans as a six-volume series. “The Practical Guides for Beer Quality” series is intended to help brewers, retailers and consumers ensure excellence in their beer.

Foam, notes Bamforth, is of utmost importance to beer quality when the beverage is consumed from a glass, rather than from a can or bottle.

“Despite my frequent protestations that the only civilized way to sip beer is from a glass, I am prepared to admit that there are drinking occasions when the informal approach is relevant — when fishing, for example,” Bamforth writes. “I do not fish,” he adds.

Bamforth goes on to share research findings from several consumer perception studies on beer foam conducted in California, England, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Scotland and the Czech Republic. Findings from those studies include:

U.S. consumers favor a good head of foam on their beer;
Most beer drinkers don’t like excessive foam;
Many consumers find that foam makes beer look colder; and
Men tend to appreciate foam more than women.

Throughout the remainder of the 72-page, paperback book, Bamforth examines the more technical aspects of beer foam. These include physical and chemical factors of foaming; the impact of raw materials, processing and dispensing on foaming; measuring foam; and how to address foaming problems.

“Anyone who wants to know how to pour the perfect pint will find the answers here,” Bamforth says.

The book also includes a discussion of “gushing,” that sudden, uncontrolled release of foam when the beer can or bottle is opened. Bamforth advises that “beer does not take well to shaking,” and dispels the myth that gushing can be prevented by simply allowing the beer to stand and settle.

The new book is available for $39.95 from the American Society for Brewing Chemists’ online store at http://www.asbcnet.org/.

Bamforth, who is the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, began his work in the brewing industry in 1978.

In 1999, he joined the faculty at UC Davis, where the brewing science program is the oldest and most acclaimed of its kind in the United States. It has been an integral component of the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology since 1958, graduating hundreds of students who have gone on to careers in the brewing and brewing-supply industries throughout North America and beyond.

Before coming to UC Davis, Bamforth was the deputy director-general of Brewing Research International and research manager and quality assurance manager of Bass Brewers.

In addition to his faculty appointment at UC Davis, Bamforth also serves as a special professor in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, England, and is a fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, the Society of Biology, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. And he is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.

He has written numerous books on beer and brewing including “Beer Is Proof God Loves Us,” published in 2010.

More information on Bamforth’s books is available at: http://foodscience.ucdavis.edu/bamforth/BookLinks.html.

Genomes of two champion bulls sequenced

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:49:00 -0700

With more than 60,000 descendants in six generations, Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief and his son Walkway Chief Mark cast a long genetic shadow. New research on the genomes of the two bulls show how portions of their DNA that control important traits such as disease resistance or milk production have spread throughout the contemporary Holstein breed, the world’s highest-producing dairy animal.

The research, published online April 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may provide for faster and less costly methods to breed genetically elite cattle.

"The technique we developed, called ‘haplotracking,’ allows researchers to identify chromosome segments that are under selection in a certain population and match them with genes controlling specific traits," said Harris Lewin, senior author of the paper, who led the research project while at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Lewin is now vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Davis.

The cattle genome research offers a window into evolution, showing how selection affects genes that control complex traits like resistance to infectious diseases, Lewin said.

Chief, born in 1962, and Mark, born in 1978, each account for about 7 percent of the genomes of the current North American Holstein cow population, according to research published previously by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The new study allows researchers to track specific genes in the population.

"These were two of the greatest bulls in the history of the Holstein breed," Lewin said.

Lewin and his colleagues sequenced the genomes of both bulls, identifying more than one million single-nucleotide polymorphisms. These changes, known as SNPs, occur when a single letter of the genetic code is changed. The researchers used this information to identify haplotypes, or stretches of DNA, that Chief and Mark had passed down to their descendants intact.

Within these haplotypes, the researchers identified genes and SNPs related to fertility, milk yield and virus resistance – all traits that could potentially and significantly augment the economic viability of a dairy cattle-breeding operation or dairy farm.

Dairy cattle have been under intense selection for economically important traits such as milk yield and milk fat for more than a half-century, resulting in large databases of production data and DNA samples – much more information than is available for human populations. The comparative wealth of genetic information about cattle, especially the ability to reconstruct and track individual haplotypes, may prove vital in understanding the genetic basis for complex traits in both human and other animal populations, Lewin said.

The first author of the paper is Denis Larkin of the Department of Animal Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, now at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom. In addition to Lewin, other authors include: Hans Daetwyler, Mike Goddard, Iona Macleod and Ben Hayes at the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia; and other researches at UIUC; the University of Melbourne, Australia; La Trobe University, Australia; Roche Inc., Indianapolis; and 454 Life Sciences, Branford, Conn. The research was partly supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

$25 million grant aims to boost food security in developing world

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:10:00 -0700

A UC Davis agricultural economist will direct a $25 million federal program aimed at creating financial systems that can boost agricultural productivity and food security in developing countries.

The five-year project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, will finance research projects that design and test financial technologies, such as linked credit and insurance contracts, that can reduce the vulnerability of poor households to adverse events, making it easier for them to invest in new agricultural technologies and break the cycle of poverty.

“Many developing country farmers are mired in low levels of agricultural productivity, and new seeds and markets by themselves can go only so far in solving the problem,” said Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the newly funded project at UC Davis. The project is called the BASIS Assets and Market Access Collaborative Research Support Program.

“Closing that productivity gap now requires that we address financial, risk-management and asset constraints that are hindering poor, rural households,” Carter said. “In a world in which more than one billion people suffer from chronic hunger, this is one research effort in which failure is not an option.”

An authority on development economics and poverty dynamics, Carter has focused his recent research on agricultural risk management and the economics of sustainable food security.

The newly funded UC Davis-based program is designed to work with other research partners worldwide. It will soon put out a first call for research proposals.

The program will cooperate with the I-4 Index Insurance Innovation Initiative, also directed by Carter and housed at UC Davis. The initiative has developed an innovative livestock insurance program intended to prevent rural livestock producers in arid east Africa from falling into indigence and food-aid dependence

Index-based insurance protects against risks shared by an entire community. In this case, the index, or statistical measure of risk, is the availability of forage based on satellite imagery. When the forage index predicts livestock mortality in excess of 15 percent, an insurance payment is triggered to all clients within the defined geographic area.

Researcher's waste-to-energy technology moves from the lab to the marketplace

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:00:00 -0700

Technology invented by a University of California, Davis, researcher that converts solid waste into renewable energy is debuting today as the first commercially available, high-solid anaerobic digestion system in the United States.

Ruihong Zhang, a UC Davis professor of biological and agricultural engineering, has been working on her anaerobic digester technology for the past decade, bringing it from the laboratory to the pilot stage in 2006. When Clean World Partners, a Sacramento-based startup that licensed the technology from UC Davis, unveils the biodigester today at a Sacramento, Calif., packaging company, it will mark the first time her research has reached the market.

“I applaud Professor Zhang for this tremendous accomplishment," said UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. "Scientists like Professor Zhang are helping UC Davis address the most pressing global problems of our time. Her work brings us a giant step closer to the sustainable future we all hope for.”

The anaerobic digestion system is located at American River Packaging. It will convert 7.5 tons per day of food waste from regional food producers, including Campbell’s Soup Company, and a half ton each day of unrecyclable corrugated material from ARP into natural gas. The system will generate roughly 1,300 kWh of renewable energy per day, meeting about 37 percent of ARP’s electricity needs and preventing an estimated 2,900 tons of waste from entering landfills each year. The project has created about 22 jobs.

“This kind of project and technology is actually changing how societies treat and view waste as a resource, which, overall, leads to a better world, a cleaner environment and new jobs,” said Zhang.

Anaerobic digestion relies on bacteria to break down biodegradable waste material in the absence of oxygen. Zhang’s system turns that waste into such valuable byproducts as renewable energy, compost, water, and natural fertilizer. While anaerobic digestion is not a new technology in itself, operational and material-handling limitations had prevented its commercial adoption.

Unlike most other digesters that primarily treat liquid waste, such as manure from dairy farms and municipal wastewater, Zhang’s high-rate digester technology can convert both liquid and solid waste, including food waste, yard waste, plant residues, paper and cardboard.

Zhang also sought to overcome two key barriers to the widespread use of anaerobic digesters: time and money. The new technology makes such waste conversion systems replicable, with many components prefabricated, reducing the time it takes to build them. For example, the Clean World Partners system at ARP went from bare ground to energy production within 90 days and cost about $2 million to $3 million.

Zhang’s system also turns waste into energy in half the time of other digesters and produces more gases that can be turned into clean energy. These efficiency improvements are expected to drive down cost and maximize the amount of energy produced and the volume of waste diverted from the landfill.

Clean World Partners formed in 2009 to commercialize Zhang’s anaerobic digestion technology and bring it to a wider market. The company plans to open a second waste conversion facility using Zhang’s technology at Sacramento County’s south area transfer station in June.

“Ruihong’s contributions continue to be critical to our success as a key adviser,” said Clean World Partners CEO Michele Wong, a UC Davis alumna. “We are proud to work with UC Davis and Ruihong to commercialize these technologies.”

The anaerobic digestion facility was first developed and tested as a pilot plant at UC Davis. The university is currently working with Clean World Partners to bring a full-scale biodigester to campus. Though still in the planning stages, that biodigester is expected to help UC Davis West Village, the nation’s largest planned zero-net-energy community achieve its goal of generating as much power as it consumes in the course of a year.

Major public funding for Zhang’s biodigester research came from the Department of Energy’s Community Renewable Energy Development project, the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research program, and CalRecycle.

Leadership for BGI@UCDavis appointed

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:15:00 -0700

Bart Weimer, a professor in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Hao Zhang, chief operating officer of BGI Americas, have been appointed co-directors of BGI@UCDavis, a partnership between UC Davis and BGI, the world's largest genome sequencing organization.

Weimer and Zhang will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the center, to be located on UC Davis' Sacramento campus.

"Professor Weimer brings a wide range of experience both in genomic science and industry partnerships to this role. This exciting joint venture will benefit greatly from his leadership," said Harris Lewin, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis.

The center will be managed by a steering committee, of which Weimer and Zhang will be members, and a governance committee. The two committees will include both UC Davis and BGI personnel, consistent with the closely collaborative nature of this partnership.

The co-directors will also act as liaisons to their respective institutions to develop projects and look for opportunities to bring BGI's capabilities to bear on scientific problems and challenges in areas including human and animal health, agriculture and the environment.

Weimer joined the faculty at UC Davis in 2008 from Utah State University, where he was director of the Center for Integrated BioSystems, which provided core biotechnology services to the campus and conducted genomic science research. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. from Utah State, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in both academia and the private sector, including three startup companies based on technology developed in his lab.

In his research, Weimer uses functional genomic techniques to study microbial systems biology, especially of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness.

Zhang was born and educated in China. After he received his bachelor's degree from Peking University, he moved to the U.S., where he earned his Ph.D. degree from The Ohio State University in 2007. He joined Cambridge, Mass.-based BGI Americas in 2010 as an application biologist before becoming the organization’s chief operating officer. As co-director of BGI, he will be based in Sacramento.

Through BGI, campus researchers will have access to the capabilities and expertise of one of the world’s premier genomics and bioinformatics institutes, while BGI researchers will have the ability to collaborate with UC Davis researchers, thereby benefiting from the university’s diverse resources and expertise, especially in biology, medical sciences, agriculture, the environment and education.

An interim facility with three DNA sequencing machines began operations in renovated space on the Sacramento campus at the end of 2011. The eventual facility, once completed, will house up to 20 such machines. Renovation and construction of the new facility should be complete by end 2012.

Nitrate in drinking water raises health concerns for rural Californians

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

One in 10 people living in California’s most productive agricultural areas is at risk of exposure to harmful levels of nitrate contamination in their drinking water, according to a report released today by the University of California, Davis. The report was commissioned by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

The report, “Addressing Nitrate in California’s Drinking Water,” is the first comprehensive scientific investigation of nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake Basin, which includes Fresno and Bakersfield, and the Salinas Valley, which includes Salinas and areas near Monterey. It defines the extent of the problem, suggests promising solutions and outlines possible funding mechanisms.

“Cleaning up nitrate in groundwater is a complex problem with no single solution,” said Jay Lund, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and a report co-author. “This report should help inform discussions among people involved with drinking water, waste discharge, and agricultural issues, including various local and state government agencies.”

The study was funded by the State Water Board in response to state legislation passed in 2008 that required an examination of nitrate contamination in the Tulare Lake and Salinas basins.

“California groundwater quality is a significant concern to the Water Boards, and this comprehensive report presents current science and potential solutions on how to deal with this chronic and longstanding issue,” said State Water Board executive director Thomas Howard.

Nitrogen in organic and synthetic fertilizers has dramatically increased crop production in California in recent decades. However, excess nitrate in groundwater from surface nitrogen use has been linked to thyroid illnesses, some cancers and reproductive problems.

In their new report, UC Davis scientists examine data from wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, parks, lawns, golf courses and farms. The report concludes that more than 90 percent of human-generated nitrate contamination of groundwater in these basins is from agricultural activity.

The nitrate study area includes four of the nation’s five counties with the largest agricultural production, representing 40 percent of California’s irrigated cropland and more than half of the state’s confined animal farming industry.

Since the 1940s, synthetic fertilizer use, increased manure applications to cropland, and a shift from pasture-raised dairy cattle to confined animal facilities have resulted in the accumulation of excess nitrate in groundwater, the report says.

Much of that excess is only now beginning to affect water quality in the Tulare Lake Basin and Monterey County portion of the Salinas Valley. Today’s discharges will continue to contaminate drinking water decades from now, the report says.

Fixes for drinking water systems in these basins could cost about $20 million to $35 million per year for decades, the report concluded. As nitrates continue to spread, drinking water system costs could increase for Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley communities.

The UC Davis report outlines several potential funding solutions, including a fee on nitrogen fertilizer use to help fund drinking water costs.

The report found that 10 percent of the 2.6 million people in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley rely on groundwater that may exceed the nitrate standard of 45 milligrams per liter set by the California Department of Public Health for public water systems. The problem is likely to worsen for decades, as nitrogen applied to today’s crops slowly makes its way into groundwater as nitrate.

Communities often respond to initial contamination by drilling a new well or shifting to cleaner water sources. But as high nitrate concentrations continue to persist, communities are faced with using expensive treatment and alternatives. In addition to the public health risk, nitrate groundwater contamination imposes major abatement costs on small rural communities, which often have little financial means or technical capacity to maintain safe drinking water.

More than 17 percent of the residents in the Tulare Lake Basin and 10 percent of residents in the Monterey County portion of the Salinas Valley live below the poverty line.

“First and foremost, this is about getting safe drinking water to people,” said report co-author Thomas Harter of the UC Davis Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources. “In the intermediate and long-term, it’s about fixing the source of the problem.”

The report also calls for a statewide effort to integrate water-related data collection by various state and local agencies.

“The report defines the extent and costs of the problem, for the first time, and outlines how we can address it,” said Harter. “We hope it provides the foundation for informed policy discussions.”

Key findings include:

Drinking water supply actions, such as water treatment and finding alternative water supplies, are most cost-effective. However, well supplies will become less available as nitrate pollution continues to spread.
While many options exist to provide safe drinking water, there is no single or ideal solution for every community affected.
Agricultural fertilizers and animal manure applied to cropland are the two largest regional sources of nitrate leached to groundwater — representing more than 90 percent of the total.
Reducing nitrate in the groundwater is possible, with methods such as improved fertilizer management and water treatment. Costs range from modest to quite expensive.
Directly removing nitrate from large groundwater basins is extremely costly and not technically feasible.

Part of the natural global nitrogen cycle, nitrogen is a key element that plants require for growth. Yet, in addition to contaminating groundwater, the surge in human-related nitrate over the past century has also created marine “dead zones,” nitrogen oxide emissions that contribute to climate change and a host of other environmental problems.

The State Water Board will be conducting a public workshop on May 23 to consider public comment, as well as discuss the findings and options outlined in the UC Davis report. The board will review the public comment and issue recommendations to the state Legislature, as called for in the legislation.

The board has posted the documents on the Internet for public review and comment.

For the full UC Davis report, videos, maps, and more information, visit the report's website.

Read the news release in Spanish.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $684 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

About the State Water Resources Control Board

The State Water Resources Control Board’s mission is to preserve, enhance and restore the quality of California’s water resources, and ensure their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of present and future generations. For more information visit their website.

About Senate Bill X2 1

The bill amended Water Code Section 83002.5 to require that the State Water Resources Control Board, in consultation with other agencies, develop pilot projects in the Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley to study nitrate contamination and identify remedial solutions and funding options to recover costs associated with cleanup or treatment of groundwater and report to the Legislature within two years.

Fused genes tackle deadly Pierce’s disease in grapevines

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

A gene fusion research project led by a University of California, Davis, plant scientist delivers a one-two punch to Pierce's disease, a deadly threat to California’s world-renowned wine industry.

The study is set for publication the week of Feb. 20 in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Many disease-causing microbes can evade one defensive action by a host plant, but we believe that most microbes would have difficulty overcoming a combination of two immune-system defenses,” said UC Davis plant sciences professor Abhaya Dandekar, the lead researcher.

He and his colleagues tested this hypothesis on Xylella fastidiosa, the bacteria responsible for Pierce's disease in grapevines. Strains of the bacteria also attack and damage other host plants, including citrus, stone fruits, almonds, oleander, and certain shade trees, such as oaks, elms, maples and sycamores.

The findings further strengthen UC Davis’ standing as a world leader in the science of plant improvement through advances in genetics, genomics, plant breeding and biodiversity.

First noted in California near Anaheim around 1884, Pierce's disease in grapevines is now known to exist in 28 California counties. From 1994 to 2000, the disease destroyed more than 1,000 acres of northern California grapevines, causing $30 million in damages. There is currently no known cure for Pierce’s disease.

In grapevines, Xylella fastidiosa is carried from plant to plant by half-inch-long insects known as sharpshooters. The bacteria infect and clog the plant’s water-transporting tissue, or xylem. Grapevines with Pierce's disease develop yellow and brown leaves and die within a few years.

To block such infections, the researchers engineered a hybrid gene by fusing together two genes that are responsible for two key functions of the plant’s innate immune response: recognizing Xylella fastidiosa as a bacterial invader and destroying its outer membranes, causing the bacteria to die.

The researchers then inserted this hybrid gene into grapevines.

They found that sap from plants genetically engineered with the hybrid gene effectively killed Xylella fastidiosa in the laboratory. And grapevines engineered to carry the hybrid gene had significantly less leaf scorching and xylem clogging, indicating resistance to Pierce’s disease.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborated on the project. Funding came from the state Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pierce’s Disease Program, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hispanic bar association, Mensa honor UC Davis professors

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

University of California, Davis, faculty members recently received top honors from the Hispanic National Bar Association and Mensa. In addition, the California Invasive Plant Council recognized a UC Davis expert in weed control.

The bar association presented its highest honor, the Lincoln-Juarez Award, to Professor Emeritus Cruz Reynoso, recognizing him as “a lifelong trailblazer who is dedicated to helping those of humble beginnings have access to the legal system.”

Reynoso joined the law school faculty in 2001 and was the first to hold the Boochever and Bird Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.

From civil rights attorney representing California farmworkers, Reynoso rose to become an associate justice of California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court. President Clinton appointed him to the Commission on Civil Rights and subsequently presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Reynoso co-founded the Hispanic National Bar Association, which named its highest award after Abraham Lincoln and Benito Juarez, the presidents of the United States and Mexico, contemporaries, both lawyers who fought injustice.

Psychology professor Dean Simonton and one of his former graduate students, Anna V. Song, shared the 2011 Mensa Award for Excellence in Research. Song is now an assistant professor at UC Merced.

Mensa International Ltd., whose goals include fostering human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, joined with the Mensa Education and Research Foundation in honoring Simonton and Song for their study, “Eminence, IQ, Physical and Mental Health and Achievement Domain: Cox’s 282 Geniuses Revisited,” published in 2009 in Psychological Science.

The California Invasive Plant Council presented its highest honor to Joe DiTomaso, a Davis-based UC Cooperative Extension specialist who serves as director of the UC Weed Research and Information Center.

DiTomaso helped establish the state council in 1992. Over the years, he has provided “extremely valuable resources, tools and books for land managers in California and beyond, and for helping guide Cal-IPC in many endeavors,” the council declared in giving him the Jake Sigg Award for Vision and Dedicated Service.

Cal-IPC, in cooperation with other nonprofit organizations, as well as industry and government agencies, works to protect California’s land and water from invasive plants through science, education and policy.

DiTomaso is a fellow of the Weed Science Society of America and editor-in-chief of the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management.

Mad cow disease experts at UC Davis

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Two Northern California residents were recently diagnosed as having a type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that is sometimes associated with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The following UC Davis experts are available to answer questions about mad cow and associated diseases.

Diseases caused by prion proteins

Christina Sigurdson is an assistant professor in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, based at UC San Diego as part of the UC Veterinary Medical Center - San Diego. Her research focuses on the molecular basis of a group of diseases, including BSE and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which are caused by proteins called prions. She studies the genetic and the environmental factors that influence prion transmission. Contact: Christina Sigurdson, UCVMC - SD, (858) 534-0978, csigurdson@ucsd.edu.

Dairy cattle

Terry Lehenbauer, director of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, can discuss procedures that are taken to protect dairy cows from mad cow disease/BSE and programs in place to ensure the safety of the beef supply against exposure to BSE. Lehenbauer is an expert on dairy cattle herd health, the epidemiology of cattle diseases, and animal health economics of cattle production systems. Contact: Terry Lehenbauer, Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, (559) 688-1731, tlehenbauer@ucdavis.edu.

Protecting against mad cow

James Cullor is a UC Davis veterinary professor and director of the UC Davis Dairy Food Safety Laboratory. He is an authority on dairy cattle and dairy farming. Cullor can discuss the biology of mad cow disease/BSE, how it spreads and is controlled, the adequacy of U.S. surveillance programs and the prevention of BSE in large dairy herds. He can also discuss the proportion of dairy cattle in the U.S. beef supply. His research lab developed a quick test that uses DNA forensic techniques to detect the presence in livestock feed of prohibited materials from cows, sheep, goats and deer. Contact: James Cullor, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, in Tulare at (559) 688-1731 (extension 202), cell (559) 936-0510, jscullor@ucdavis.edu.

Beef cattle

John Maas, a UC Davis Cooperative Extension veterinarian, is a national expert on raising animals for food, particularly for beef. He also has been an active cattle rancher for 40 years. Maas has been to several European countries on a USDA mission to review mad cow disease/BSE diagnosis, testing and control systems. He is a frequent speaker to consumer, beef producer and veterinary groups and to the media. Maas can discuss U.S. cattle-tracking methods and disease-surveillance programs from regulatory, industry and university perspectives. Contact: John Maas, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, (530) 752-3990, jmaas@ucdavis.edu. (Maas is away from campus but will respond to messages.)