
Brian J ReidUniversity of East Anglia | UEA · School of Environmental Sciences
Brian J Reid
Doctor of Philosophy
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91
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
January 2000 - March 2017
October 1996 - January 2000
Education
October 1996 - January 2000
October 1992 - July 1996
Publications
Publications (91)
Regenerative agriculture is emerging as a strategy for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. However, for sequestration efforts to be successful, long-term stabilisation of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is needed. This can be achieved either through the uplift in recalcitrant carbon stocks, and/or through physical protection and occlusion...
Greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of rice straw biochar (RSB) on soil cad-mium (Cd) availability and accumulation in lettuce. The RSB was applied either in bands or broadcast in the test site of four greenhouses with soil Cd concentrations ranging from 1.70-3.14 μg g −1. Biochar doses applied in bands were half of t...
Introduction: Cadmium (Cd) has been recognized as a significant contributor to the pollution of farmland soils in China, and biochars have been reported to be effective in mitigating soil Cd pollution. However, most studies have been conducted in laboratory or greenhouse settings, not at a field scale, and the biochars used have been applied at unr...
Pasturelands, often degraded, represent most of the converted lands globally. Here we present the results from a field experiment in Brazil where we tested the impact of different soil enhancers on soil quality and productivity of three tropical forages grasses: Brachiaria (Syn. Urochloa) brizantha cv. Marandu, Brachiaria brizantha cv. BRS Piatã, a...
Soil organic carbon can be increased through sympathetic land management and/or directly by incorporating carbon rich amendments. Herein, a field experiment amended paper crumble (PC) to soil at a normal deployment rate of 50 t ha⁻¹, and at higher rates up to 200 t ha⁻¹. The nominal 50 t ha⁻¹ PC amendment resulted a mean increase in soil carbon of...
Arsenic (As) pollution remains a major threat to the quality of global soils and drinking water. The health effects of As pollution are often severe and have been largely reported across Asia and South America. This study investigated the possibility of using unmodified biochar derived from rice husk (RB) and aspen wood (WB) at 400 °C and 700 °C to...
Farmland soils in China have been reported to be diffusely contaminated, Cd has been recognized as a significant contributor to this issue and biochars have been reported to be effective in mitigating soil Cd pollution. However, previous studies have shown contradictory outcomes. Furthermore, in general, laboratory experiments and unrealistically l...
Current carbon pricing and trading mechanisms, despite their efficacy in reducing GHG emissions from industry, will not be sufficient to achieve Net Zero targets. Current mechanisms that redress emissions are largely economic disincentives , in effect financial penalties for emitters. In order to attain Net Zero futures, financial incentives for ac...
The organic matter was absent prior to planetesimal formation (4.6 Gyr) but at present abundant in planetary environments. The aim of this study was to combine information about the organic inventory of the Earth, which is accompanied by the evolution of life. A variety of available free energy sources, including geochemical energy, sunlight, oxyge...
Thiol-modified rice straw biochar (RS) was prepared by an esterification reaction with β-mercaptoethanol and used for the remediation of Cd and Pb polluted soils. Modified biochar was characterized through elemental analysis, BET analysis, FE-SEM, FT-IR and XPS. These analytical results revealed that thiol groups were successfully grafted onto the...
Purpose
Soil contamination mainly from human activities remains a major environmental problem in the contemporary world. Significant work has been undertaken to position biochar as a readily-available material useful for the management of contaminants in various environmental media notably soil. Here, we review the increasing research on the use of...
In many parts of the world, growing crops on polluted soils often leads to elevated levels of pollutants in plant tissues. Minimizing the transfer of these pollutants into edible plant tissues while improving plant growth and productivity is a major area of research. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of silicon-modified biochar in reduc...
Excessive transport of fine sediment, and its associated pollutants, can cause detrimental impacts in aquatic environments. It is therefore important to perform accurate sediment source apportionment to identify hot spots of soil erosion. Various tracers have been adopted, often in combination, to identify sediment source type and its spatial origi...
BACKGROUND
The application of biochar to sandy loam soil to reduce leaching of three representative pollutants (a persistent hydrocarbon (phenanthrene; log K OW 4.46), a herbicide (isoproturon; log K OW 2.50), and an antibiotic (sulfamethazine; log K OW 0.28)) were investigated. The wood‐derived biochar evaluated in our laboratory study was the sol...
Understanding antibiotic biodegradation is important to the appreciation of their fate and removal from the environment. In this research an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) method was developed to evaluate the extent of biodegradation of the antibiotic, sulphanilamide, in contaminated groundwater. Results indicted an enrichment in δ¹³C of 8....
AbstractAlthough increasing numbers of research papers regarding biochar are being published worldwide, in some countries growing interest in biochar has only recently been observed; this is true of Poland. We analysed information on biochar research in Poland alongside lessons learned elsewhere in order to identify the significant opportunities an...
Greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of rice straw biochar (RSB) on soil cadmium (Cd) availability and accumulation in lettuce. The RSB was applied either in bands or broadcast in the test site of four greenhouses with soil Cd concentrations ranging from 1.70-3.14 μg g(-1). Biochar doses applied in bands were half of t...
Globally, rapid urbanization, along with economic development, is dramatically changing the balance of biogeochemical cycles, impacting upon ecosystem services and impinging on United Nation global sustainability goals (inter alia: sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; good health and well-being; clean water an...
The chemical and physical properties of 20 biochars produced at 350, 450, 550 and 650 °C were investigated to determine the key roles they play in the sorption and desorption of three potentially toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As). Biochar surfaces were studied using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction...
Background
Sorption and biodegradation are the primary processes of organic pollution remediation in aquatic and soil/sediment environments. While researchers have substantially reported their findings regarding these processes, little attention has been given to description of experimental apparatus. This technical paper aims to present the develo...
Much research has considered the influence of biochars on the availability and phytoaccumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from soil. However, the vast majority of these studies use, what are arguably, unrealistic and unpractical amounts of biochar (10, 50 and even up to 100 t/ha). To offer a more realistic insight into the influence of...
The combination of high tides, strong winds and low pressure between the 5th and 7th of December 2013 caused a destructive storm surge along the east UK coastline. Along parts of the North Norfolk coast this tidal surge reached higher levels than the devastating surge caused by the 1953 storm. Loss of life due to flooding was avoided due to improve...
Soil hydraulic parameters θ
s, α, n, K
s, L and θ
r of the van Genuchten-Mualem model were estimated using three pedotransfer functions (PTFs) based on soil properties for surface soils of the largest main tributary catchment (the Jialing River) of the upper Yangtze River in China. The soil database was from the second national soil survey of China...
A hydrologically contained field study, to assess biochar (produced from mixed crop straws) influence upon soil hydraulic properties and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching, was conducted on a loamy soil (entisol). The soil, noted for its low plant-available water and low soil organic matter, is the most important arable soil type in the upper...
The effects of sewage sludge (SS) and its derived biochar (SSBC) on the availability and uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potential toxic elements (PTEs) by Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) fruits grown in contaminated urban soil were investigated. Increasing application rates of SS and SSBC (2, 5, and 10 %) decreased PAH availabi...
A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of bean stalk (BBC) and rice straw (RBC) biochars on the bioavailability of metal(loid)s in soil and their accumulation into rice plants. Phytoavailability of Cd was most dramatically influenced by biochars addition. Both biochars significantly decreased Cd concentrations in iron plaque (35...
Field studies of subsurface transport of colloids, which may act as carriers of contaminants, are still rare. This is particularly true for heterogeneous and fractured matrices. To address this knowledge gap, a 30-m long monitoring trench was constructed at the lower end of sloping farmland in central Sichuan, southwest China. During the summer of...
The combination of high tides, strong winds and low pressure between the 5th and 7th of December 2013 caused a devastating storm surge that reached the North Norfolk coast (fig. 1a). Tides along parts of the North Norfolk coast reached higher levels than the devastating floods of 1953. Natural and man made sea defences were breached (fig. 1c, 2a) a...
Consumption of rice contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a major pathway for human exposure to PTEs. This is particularly true in China's so called "Cancer Villages". In this study, sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) was applied to soil (at 5% and 10%) to suppress PTE phytoavailability and as a consequence to reduce PTE levels in rice g...
Sustainability Science and Technology: An Introduction explains the root causes of global failures in natural and human systems, as well as the most readily available technological solutions. The book dispels risky scientific and technological ideas that further complicate the current environmental and socioeconomic predicaments. It also bridges ga...
The influence of biochar (5%) on the loss, partitioning and bioaccessibility of (14)C-isoproturon ((14)C-IPU) was evaluated. Results indicated that biochar had a dramatic effect upon (14)C-IPU partitioning: (14)C-IPU extractability (0.01 M CaCl2) in biochar-amended treatments was reduced to <2% while, (14)C-IPU extractability in biochar free treatm...
The influence of sewage sludge (SS) and sewage sludge biochar (SSBC) upon biomass yield and the bioaccumulation of PAHs into lettuce plants grown in contaminated soil (∑16PAH 20.2 ± 0.9 mg kg(-1)) is presented. All SSBC amendments (2, 5 and 10%) and the 2% SS amendment significantly (P < 0.01) increased lettuce biomass. Both SS and SSBC amendments...
Xiamen is one of China's most rapidly developing metropolises. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to establish the levels and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil across the Xiamen metropolis, (2) to evaluate the extent to which PAH concentrations were elevated in the high urbanization area (HUA) of the...
Nine dissimilar biochars, produced from varying feedstock at different pyrolysis temperatures, are appraised with respect to concentrations of potentially toxic elements, specifically, metals, metalloids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Concentrations of the metals and metalloids varied with the following ranges (mg kg(-1)): 0.02-0.94,...
Mechanistic insights into the relative contribution of sorption and biodegradation on the removal of the herbicide isoproturon (IPU) are reported. (14)C-radiorespirometry indicated very low levels of catabolic activity in IPU-undosed and IPU-dosed (0.1, 1, 100 μg L(-1)) river water (RW) and groundwater (GW) (mineralisation: <2%). In contrast, level...
Persistence or degradation of synthetic antibiotics in soil is crucial in assessing their environmental risks. Microbial catabolic activity in a sandy loamy soil with pig manure using 12C- and 14C-labelled sulfamethazine (SMZ) respirometry showed that SMZ was not readily degradable. But after 100 days, degradation in sulfadiazine-exposed manure was...
Beyond the current regulatory regime there is ongoing research into the environmental fate of pollutants that could potentially be integrated into contaminated land decision making. In an era of great demand for decision support tools it is increasingly urgent for scientists to develop reliable methodology assisting sustainable land management and...
Information on contaminant bioaccessibility has been recognized by researchers, legislators and regulators as a decision-support tool for contaminated land assessment and has been subject to interest and discussion at both national and international levels. A sustainable, proportionate and risk-based approach to contaminated land management has bee...
A rapid sequential subcritical (superheated) water extraction method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soil and sediment is presented. Decreasing the polarity of water by successive increase of the extraction temperature from 50 degrees C to 200 degrees C at the moderate pressure (10.3MPa) enabled selective, non-exhaustive...
The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment has attracted much concern owing to their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. Regulatory authorities have favored the use of biological indicators as an essential means of assessing potential toxicity of environmental pollutants. This study aimed to assess the toxicity of...
Advances towards sustainable land management necessitate application of a broader portfolio of decision-support tools that improve evaluation of contaminated land. Over the last decade regulators have directed concerted effort towards rationalization of risk-based contaminated land policies recognizing bioavailability and bioaccessibility as concep...
Despite numerous reviews suggesting that microbial biosensors could be used in many environmental applications, in reality they have failed to be used for which they were designed. In part this is because most of these sensors perform in an aqueous phase and a buffered medium, which is in contrast to the nature of genuine environmental systems. In...
This study sought to assess the influence of compost and earthworms (Dendrobaena veneta) upon the level of hydrocarbon catabolism in petroleum contaminated forecourt soil (extractable petroleum hydrocarbons (EPH) 10 + 1.8 g kg−1 and total 16 United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) 1.62 ± 0.5 g kg−1...
Due to their biological, chemical and physical actions, earthworms can be directly employed within bioremediation strategies to promote biodegradation of organic contaminants. Earthworms have been shown to aerate and bioturbate soils and improve their nutritional status and fertility, which are variables known to limit bioremediation. Earthworms ha...
The feasibility of using composted civic waste for the remediation of a soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons (extractable petroleum hydrocarbons (EPH) 10 ± 1.8 g kg− 1 and total 16 USEPA PAH 1.62 ± 0.5 g kg− 1) was assessed. The effects of compost to soil ratio, in combination with and without earthworm presence (Dendrobaena veneta), upon...
Numerous reports have indicated that hydrophobic organic compound bioaccessibility in sediment and soil can be determined by extraction using aqueous hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) solutions. This study establishes the compatibility of HPCD with Selenastrum capricornutum and assesses whether its presence influences the toxicity of reference...
This study sought to extend validation of a cyclodextrin based extraction method for the assessment of PAH-biodegradation potential to complex multi-contaminant matrices. To this end, four reference materials (RMs) were produced by blending, in different proportions, soils impacted with diesel, lubricating oil and spent oxide. These reference mater...
The evaluation of microbial availability of contaminants is of high importance for better reflecting the processes governing contaminant fate in soil and for establishing the risk associated with contaminated sites. A sub-critical water extraction technique was assessed for its potential to determine the microbially degradable fraction of [(14)C]ph...
Traditionally, solvent extractions are routinely used in the assessment of contaminated land. However, vigorous solvent extractions only give total concentrations rather than that relating to the bioaccessible fraction. Recently, less harsh, aqueous-based extraction methods have been shown to be a better estimate of the microbial degradation of pol...
This work aimed to evaluate the relative contribution of soil catabolic activity, contaminant bioaccessibility, and nutrient levels on the biodegradation of field-aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds in three municipal gas plant site soils. Extents of biodegradation achieved, in 6 week-long soil slurry assays, under the foll...
Algal growth assays are the most frequently used methods to detect herbicide toxicity in environmental samples; however, these require several days to detect reductions in growth rate with adequate precision. Hence, a need exists for more rapid assays. Two in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence assays, one using pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) fluores...
Biodegradation has been identified as a major loss process for organic contaminants in soils and, as a result, microbial strategies have been developed for the remediation of contaminated land. Prediction of the biodegradable fraction would be important for determining bioremediation end-points in the clean-up of contaminated land. The aim of this...
This study was carried out to assess the influence of diesel, applied over a log concentration range, on the loss and extractability of phenanthrene (measured as putative 14C-phenanthrene residues) in two different soils. The influence of diesel on the ability of a cyclodextrin based extraction method to predict the microbial bioavailability of 14C...
Groundwater is an important resource in England and Wales and provides on average 33% of the total public drinking water supply1. This figure rises to around 80% in the southeast of England, where large areas of chalk and limestone aquifer outcrop in regions under intensive cultivation. Consequently, protection of the resource from diffuse agricult...
In this study, an aqueous-based hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) extraction technique was assessed for its capacity to determine the microbially degradable fraction of mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in four dissimilar soils. A linear relationship (slope=0.90; R2=0.89), approaching 1:1 between predicted and observed phenanthrene mi...
The catabolic activity of incumbent microorganisms in soil samples of eleven dissimilar soil series was investigated, with respect to the herbicide isoproturon. Soils were collected from a 30x37 km area of river catchment to the north-west of London, England. Catabolic activity in each soil type during a 500 h assay was determined by 14C-radiorespi...
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of diesel on the loss and bioavailability of soil-associated [14C]phenanthrene with time. In addition, the temporal development of phenanthrene catabolic activity and the impact of co-contaminant mixtures on the soil microflora were also assessed. With respect to compound fate, the results sugg...
Recently, it has become apparent that the use of total contaminant concentrations as a measure of potential contaminant exposure to plants or soil organisms is inappropriate and that bioavailability of contaminants is a better measure of potential exposure. In light of this, non-exhaustive extraction techniques are being investigated to assess thei...
This paper describes the validation and application of a simple flask-based 14C-respirometer system designed to assess mineralisation of 14C-labelled substrates under defined conditions. Validation of this respirometer system indicated stoichiometric CO2 trapping up to a maximum of 400 μmol of CO2 (in a single trap). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon...
Although environmental modelling is increasingly performed within a GIS framework, analysis of the associated error is far from routine, and rarely presented with the results. An important benefit of performing error analysis is its value in determining which elements of a vulnerability assessment framework need improving. With this in mind, it was...
This study correlated extractabilities of 37 d aged phenanthrene residues in four dissimilar soils with the fraction that was available for earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) accumulation and microorganism (Pseudomonas sp.) mineralisation. Extractability was determined using two established techniques, namely, (1) a water based extraction using CO(2) e...
This study investigated the use of an aqueous hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) shake extraction to predict the degree of microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils. Three different aged PAH-contaminated soils were studied: A soil from a former coke works (CW) and two artificially contaminated soils (AC1 and AC2)...
Lead tolerance in individuals of the earthworm species Aporrectodea rosea collected from a clay pigeon shooting site was investigated. Lead concentrations in the shooting site soil and the un-shot control site were 6410±2250 and 296±98mgPbkg−1 dry weight, respectively. Of these concentrations 1050±240 and 12±9mgPbkg−1 dry weight were suggested to b...
The catabolic activity with respect to the systemic herbicide isoproturon was determined in soil samples by (14)C-radiorespirometry. The first experiment assessed levels of intrinsic catabolic activity in soil samples that represented three dissimilar soil series under arable cultivation. Results showed average extents of isoproturon mineralisation...
A study was conducted to investigate the effect of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) on the aging and biodegradation of phenanthrene (PHE) in soil. Soil was spiked with PHE at 25 mgPHE/kgSOIL and HPCD at a range of concentrations from 0 to 3.5 gHPCD/kgSOIL and aged for 1, 84, and 322 d. At each time point, a variety of analyses were performed...
A study was conducted to investigate the effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) on the aging and biodegradation of phenanthrene (PHE) in soil. Soil was spiked with PHE at 25 mgPHE/kgSOIL and HPCD at a range of concentrations from 0 to 3.5 gHPCD/kgSOIL and aged for 1, 84, and 322 d. At each time point, a variety of analyses were performed to...
This paper describes the induction of phenanthrene-catabolism within Phase II mushroom compost resulting from its incubation with (1) phenanthrene, and (2) PAH-contaminated soil. Respirometers measuring mineralization of freshly added 14C-9-phenanthere were used to evaluate induction of phenanthrene-catabolism. Where pure phenanthrene (spiked at a...
This paper describes the validation and application of a simple flask-based (14)C-respirometer system designed to assess mineralisation of (14)C-labelled substrates under defined conditions. Validation of this respirometer system indicated stoichiometric CO(2) trapping up to a maximum of 400 micromol of CO(2) (in a single trap). Polycyclic aromatic...
Chemical pollution of the environment has become a major source of concern. Studies on degradation of organic compounds have shown that some microorganisms are extremely versatile at catabolizing recalcitrant molecules. By harnessing this catabolic potential, it is possible to bioremediate some chemically contaminated environmental systems. Compost...
Traditionally, soil extraction techniques have been concerned with the determination of “total” organic contaminant concentrations, following an “exhaustive” extraction. However, in light of the increasing body of knowledge relating to organic contaminant availability and aging, such methods have little relevance to the amount of contaminant that m...
It has been observed that as soil-pollutant contact time increases, pollutant bioavailability and extractability decreases. This phenomenon has been termed 'ageing'. Decreased chemical extractability with increased soil-chemical contact time is evident where both 'harsh' techniques, e.g. dichloromethane Soxhlet extraction, and 'non-exhaustive' tech...
Subsurface high voltage electric cables are commonly insulated using dodecylbenzene in combination with mineral oil. This work assessed the impact of increasing concentrations of cable insulating oil (0-10% dry weight) on soil microbial respiration as determined by mineralisation of [1-(14)C]glucose (11 microg C g(-1) soil). Acute impact was assess...
The ability of reeds (Phragmites sp.) to bioremediate the chlorinated organic pollutants (chlorobenzene and 1,2-dichloroethane) in soils and surface water collected from a former site for aviation fuel production and crude oil refinery was studied. Biodegradation of both compounds was proven although this may be controlled by the physico-chemical p...