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This article concerns UK commercial fruit and vegetable growers' narratives regarding the sustainability of water use for food production. In it we explore their perspectives on efforts by regulators to limit agricultural withdrawals of water from the natural environment in line with EU Water Framework Directive objectives, alongside their views on retailer sustainability commitments. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how the growers contested restrictive regulation, constructed their identities, portrayed other supply chain stakeholders, and conveyed their social relations with them. Using Erving Goffman's theory of frontstage and backstage performances, the implications for the growers' water management decisions and their internalisation of sustainability agendas for water are examined. Whilst the growers gave accounts of purposely misrepresenting their water withdrawal practices and their discourse illustrated significant polarisation between environmental and agricultural interests, their underlying commitment to environmental sustainability was ambivalent, with both anti and pro‐environmental attitudes expressed. The growers also frequently gave critiques of superficial sustainability in fresh produce supply chains. We argue that, given contemporary shifting definitions of agricultural identities, settings in which their construction is negotiated can provide windows of opportunity for conventional growers to engage in genuine pro‐environmental performances that may deepen their assimilation of environmental goals and commitment to sustainable water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to assess the long‐term phosphorus (P) removal in a land treatment system (LTS) in the UK. Different sections of the site have been irrigated with wastewater effluent for different periods of time for up to 85 years. The amounts of P discharged and accumulated were calculated from historical data, estimations of water consumption, composition and soil measurement. The total P input during the study period was estimated to be 90 010 kg, the average P removal was 4% and there was no significant difference in the total P accumulated between plots irrigated for different periods, indicating that the sorption capacity of the soil might be saturated. Despite the low P retention rates in the LTS, there is no evidence that emissions from this system are affecting P concentrations in either the nearby river or the local chalk aquifer. Gaps remain, however, in performance optimisation and longevity forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water footprint concept has been used by agricultural, commercial, and industrial water users to measure and report their water consumption, assess the magnitude of potential environmental impacts arising from this consumption, and identify opportunities for risk mitigation strategies that promote sustainable water use. However, water and wastewater utilities have not studied and documented the application of this concept in the same manner that other industries have. This article summarizes the growing body of information on the water footprint concept and the opportunities for integrating the concept into water utility planning efforts as a broader means of achieving and maintaining sustainable communities. The application of the water footprint concept for capital improvement planning, water resources decision-making, operational benchmarking, and stakeholder communications is discussed, as is how the methodology, developed by the International Organization for Standardization, can be used for a water utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a common cause of mortality in solid organ transplant recipients (OTRs), but knowledge of epidemiology in this population is limited. Method: The present analysis describes data from 15 US centers that prospectively identified IC from nearly 17 000 OTRs. Analyses were undertaken to determine predictors of infection and mortality. Results: A total of 639 cases of IC were identified. The most common species was Candida albicans (46.3%), followed by Candida glabrata (24.4%) and Candida parapsilosis (8.1%). In 68 cases >1 species was identified. The most common infection site was bloodstream (44%), followed by intra-abdominal (14%). The most frequently affected allograft groups were liver (41.1%) and kidney (35.3%). All-cause mortality at 90 days was 26.5% for all species and was highest for Candida tropicalis (44%) and C. parapsilosis (35.2%). Non-white race and female gender were more commonly associated with non-albicans species. A high rate of breakthrough IC was seen in patients receiving antifungal prophylaxis (39%). Factors associated with mortality include organ dysfunction, lung transplant, and treatment with a polyene antifungal. The only modifiable factor identified was choice of antifungal drug class based upon infecting Candida species. Conclusion: These data highlight the common and distinct features of IC in OTRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrological classification systems seek to provide information about the dominant processes in the catchment to enable information to be transferred between catchments. Currently, there is no widely agreed-upon system for classifying river catchments. This paper develops a novel approach to classifying catchments based on the temporal dependence structure of daily mean river flow time series, applied to 116 near-natural 'benchmark' catchments in the UK. The classification system is validated using 49 independent catchments. Temporal dependence in river flow data is driven by the flow pathways, connectivity and storage within the catchment and can thus be used to assess the influence catchment characteristics have on moderating the precipitation-to-flow relationship. Semi-variograms were computed for the 116 benchmark catchments to provide a robust and efficient way of characterising temporal dependence. Cluster analysis was performed on the semi-variograms, resulting in four distinct clusters. The influence of a wide range of catchment characteristics on the semi-variogram shape was investigated, including: elevation, land cover, physiographic characteristics, soil type and geology. Geology, depth to gleyed layer in soils, slope of the catchment and the percentage of arable land were significantly different between the clusters. These characteristics drive the temporal dependence structure by influencing the rate at which water moves through the catchment and/or the storage in the catchment. Quadratic discriminant analysis was used to show that a model with five catchment characteristics is able to predict the temporal dependence structure for un-gauged catchments. This method could form the basis for future regionalisation strategies, as a way of transferring information on the precipitation-to-flow relationship between gauged and un-gauged catchments. © 2014 The Authors. Hydrological Processes by published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of fresh water and the quality of aquatic ecosystems are important global concerns, and agriculture plays a major role. Consumers and manufacturers are increasingly sensitive to sustainability issues related to processed food products and drinks. The present study examines the production of sugar from the growing cycle through to processing to the factory gate, and identifies the potential impacts on water scarcity and quality and the ways in which the impact of water use can be minimised. We have reviewed the production phases and processing steps, and how calculations of water use can be complicated, or in some cases how assessments can be relatively straightforward. Finally, we outline several ways that growers and sugar processors are improving the efficiency of water use and reducing environmental impact, and where further advances can be made. This provides a template for the assessment of other crops. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dwindling water supplies, increasing drought frequency and uncertainties associated with a changing climate mean Europe's irrigated agriculture sector needs to improve water efficiency and produce more 'crop per drop'. This paper summarizes the drivers for change, and the constraints and opportunities for improving agricultural water management through uptake of precision irrigation technologies. A multi-disciplinary and integrated approach involving irrigation engineers, soil scientists, agronomists and plant physiologists will be needed if the potential for precision irrigation within the field crop sector is to be realized. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Businesses have an unrivalled ability to mobilize human, physical and financial capital, often manage large land holdings, and draw on resources and supply products that impact a wide array of ecosystems. Businesses therefore have the potential to make a substantial contribution to arresting declines in biodiversity and ecosystem services. To realize this potential, businesses require support from researchers in applied ecology to inform how they measure and manage their impacts on, and opportunities presented to them by, biodiversity and ecosystem services. 2. We reviewed papers in leading applied ecology journals to assess the research contribution from existing collaborations involving businesses. We reviewed applications to, and grants funded by, the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council for evidence of public investment in such collaborations. To scope opportunities for expanding collaborations with businesses, we conducted workshops with three sectors (mining and quarrying, insurance and manufacturing) in which participants identified exemplar ecological research questions of interest to their sector. 3. Ten to fifteen per cent of primary research papers in Journal of Applied Ecology and Ecological Applications evidenced business involvement, mostly focusing on traditional rural industries (farming, fisheries and forestry). The review of UK research council funding found that 35% of applications mentioned business engagement, while only 1% of awarded grants met stricter criteria of direct business involvement. 4. Some questions identified in the workshops aim to reduce costs from businesses’ impacts on the environment and others to allow businesses to exploit new opportunities. Some questions are designed to inform long-term planning undertaken by businesses, but others would have more immediate commercial applications. Finally, some research questions are designed to streamline and make more effective those environmental policies that affect businesses. 5. Business participants were forward-looking regarding ecological questions and research. For example, representatives from mining and quarrying companies emphasized the need to move beyond biodiversity to consider how ecosystems function, while those from the insurance sector stressed the importance of ecology researchers entering into new types of interdisciplinary collaboration. 6. Synthesis and applications. Businesses from a variety of sectors demonstrated a clear interest in managing their impacts on, and exploiting opportunities created by, ecosystem services and biodiversity. To achieve this, businesses are asking diverse ecological research questions, but publications in leading applied ecology journals and research council funding reveal limited evidence of direct engagement with businesses. This represents a missed opportunity for ecological research findings to see more widespread application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Data from the Woburn Erosion Reference Experiment (Bedfordshire, UK) were used to test the hypothesis that losses of phosphorus (P) in small erosion events are as great as those in infrequent large events, and to examine the effect of storm characteristics on the selective enrichment of P in eroded sediment. For almost every plot event in the period 1988 to 1994, the clay‐sized fraction of the sediment was enriched compared with the soil of the plots. There was more variation in clay enrichment for smaller erosion events than for larger ones. The clay and P contents of the sediment were strongly correlated (p < 0.01), and there was a wider range of P concentrations in the sediment derived from small events than in that from large events. However, individual events resulting in small soil losses (<100 kg) did not account for greater P losses than larger events (>100 kg). The greater frequency of smaller events, combined with the likelihood of higher P concentrations in the sediment, therefore accounted for a greater proportion of the P lost over the 6‐yr period than the infrequent large events. Phosphorus concentrations generally increased with increasing peak discharge and decreased with increasing event duration. For the same return period, P losses were generally greater from plots cultivated up and down the slope than from those cultivated across the slope. Overall, our results suggest that small erosion events should be controlled to prevent P contamination of surface waters and that the most effective means of doing this are by the introduction of minimal tillage techniques and across‐slope cultivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]