ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0322-0255
Current Organisation
University of Canterbury
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2014
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-12-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-08-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00294-2
Abstract: Watercress (Lepidium sativum) is consumed as a vegetable, especially by the indigenous community in New Zealand. An investigation was carried out on the accumulation of arsenic by watercress, following earlier reports of inordinate arsenic concentrations in some aquatic macrophytes collected from the Waikato River, North Island, New Zealand. The Waikato River and some other aquatic systems in Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand have elevated arsenic concentrations due to geothermal activity. Watercress, river water and sediment s les were collected from 27 sites along the Waikato river and analysed for arsenic. Greenhouse trials with watercress grown in beakers containing added arsenic were conducted to confirm the ability of this species to accumulate arsenic. At a number of sites, the concentration of arsenic in both the water and the watercress s les exceeded the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit for drinking water (0.01 mg l(-1)) and foodstuffs (2 mg kg(-1) on a fresh weight basis). The average leaf and stem arsenic concentrations were, respectively, 29.0 and 15.9 mg kg(-1) on a fresh weight basis. Plants grown in solutions of >0.4 mg l(-1) arsenic concentration had fresh weight arsenic concentrations above the WHO limit. Despite these higher concentrations, arsenic levels in plants grown under greenhouse conditions were approximately fivefold lower than in plants growing in the Waikato River, possibly because under natural conditions, the watercress is rooted in sediment containing on average approximately 35 mg kg(-1) arsenic. It is recommended that watercress from the Waikato River, or other areas with elevated water arsenic concentrations, should not be consumed.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-07-2019
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12380
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-01-2014
DOI: 10.1080/15226514.2013.856845
Abstract: Ecological restoration of marginal land and riparian zones in agricultural landscapes in New Zealand enhances the provision of above-ground ecosystem services. We investigated whether native endemic plant assemblages have remediation potential, through modifying soil nutrient and trace element mobility. Analysis of native plant foliage in situ indicated that selective uptake of a range of commonly deficient trace elements including Zn, B, Cu, Mn and Co could provide a browse crop to avoid deficiencies of these elements in livestock, although some native plants may enhance the risk of Mo and Cd toxicity. Native plant rhizospheres were found to modify soil physico-chemistry and are likely to influence lateral and vertical fluxes of chemical elements in drainage waters. Native plants on marginal land in agricultural landscapes could add value to dairy production systems whilst helping to resolve topical environmental issues.
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2005
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-10-2020
DOI: 10.1002/LDR.3782
Abstract: We aim to understand the impact of ecological restoration on soil biogeochemistry, and the interrelationship between vegetation and soil phosphorus. In a study of two different‐aged soils in coastal New Zealand, soils are described along a transition from abandoned agricultural pasture, through 6‐year old restoration plots, towards forest fragments that have been largely undisturbed for 75 and 166 years. Soil biogeochemistry varied spatially along this restoration trajectory there were profound changes in surface soil, but little impact on deeper soil horizons. In the early stages, soil organic matter accumulation and decomposition, and increasing demand of N from fast‐growing plants corresponded with rapid nutrient mineralization. Loss of soil total P, an increase of occluded P, and the increasing importance of soil organic P as soils weathered and aged, supported conceptual models of longer‐term soil pedogenesis. There was no evidence that the success of the establishment of plants varied across the site, but this is a first report of vegetation establishment during ecological restoration markedly impacting soil P dynamics and biogeochemistry.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ETC.4713
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2017
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/SR16132
Abstract: Laboratory incubation studies were used to investigate whether and how variability of different plant litters modifies the mobility of nitrogen in soil. Fallen plant foliage from native New Zealand plants of erse fibre and nutrient content were selected, with C:N ratios ranging from 14 to 102. Different litters provided substantially different inputs of macro- and micronutrients to soil that affected the mobility of N. Both fibre content and C:N ratios were influential. A primary effect of litter addition to soil was modification of pH, largely attributable to calcium enrichment. Nitrate in soil was reduced by up to 85% following litter amendments. Incorporation of five native plant litters into soil significantly suppressed emissions of nitrous oxide. We interpret these findings in the context of plant residues from naturalistic planting on the borders of farm paddocks that may play a role in tightening the N cycle and restricting spillover of nitrogen pollutants to the wider environment.
No related grants have been discovered for Brett Robinson.