On Sat, 6 Mar 2021 01:37:41 -0000 (UTC), RS Wood <
rsw@therandymon.com>
wrote:
See how extreme weather has affected an vital reservoir in California.
See how using low-sulfer coal and more NG affects farmlands
Study finds declining sulfur levels
May 9, 2016
With the move from burning coal to natural gas and low-sulfur coal
and an increase in the use of scrubbers, only about 25 percent as much atmospheric sulfur is available today, compared to 40 years ago.
Sulfur balances in agricultural fields are now negative, with more
removed each year in crop harvests and leaching than is added from
fertilizers and deposition.
Fields with tile drainage move sulfate quickly to surface waters, contributing to the low levels in the soil.
Rivers in agricultural watersheds have declining sulfate
concentrations, a direct response to declining atmospheric deposition.
Farmers may need to apply sulfur fertilizer at some point in the
future, particularly on fields with less soil organic matter.
URBANA, Ill. - Air pollution legislation to control fossil fuel
emissions and the associated acid rain has worked - perhaps leading to
the need for sulfur fertilizers for crop production. A University of
Illinois study drawing from over 20 years of data shows that sulfur
levels in Midwest watersheds and rivers have steadily declined, so
much so that farmers may need to consider applying sulfur in the not
too distant future.
"We don't think there are actual sulfur deficiencies yet, but clearly
more sulfur is coming out of the soil and water than what is going
in," says U of I biogeochemist Mark David. "As the Clean Air Act and
amendments have taken effect there has been a reduction in sulfur
emissions from coal combustion, so that the amount of atmospheric
sulfur deposited each year is only 25 percent of what it used to be.
At some point, farmers are going to have to fertilize with sulfur."
<
https://nres.illinois.edu/news/study-finds-declining-sulfur-levels>
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