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      Effect of land use and hydrological processes on Escherichia coli concentrations in streams of tropical, humid headwater catchments

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          Abstract

          Lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation continues to be a major brake on development. Here we present the results of a 12-month investigation into the dynamics of Escherichia coli, a commonly used indicator of faecal contamination in water supplies, in three small, rural catchments in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. We show that land use and hydrology are major controlling factors of E. coli concentrations in streamwater and that the relative importance of these two factors varies between the dry and wet seasons. In all three catchments, the highest concentrations were observed during the wet season when storm events and overland flow were highest. However, smaller peaks of E. coli concentration were also observed during the dry season. These latter correspond to periods of intense farming activities and small, episodic rain events. Furthermore, vegetation type, through land use and soil surface crusting, combined with mammalian presence play an important role in determining E. coli loads in the streams. Finally, sampling during stormflow revealed the importance of having appropriate sampling protocols if information on maximum contamination levels is required as grab sampling at a fixed time step may miss important peaks in E. coli numbers.

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          Most cited references35

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          Microbial hotspots and hot moments in soil: Concept & review

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            Soil biodiversity and human health.

            Soil biodiversity is increasingly recognized as providing benefits to human health because it can suppress disease-causing soil organisms and provide clean air, water and food. Poor land-management practices and environmental change are, however, affecting belowground communities globally, and the resulting declines in soil biodiversity reduce and impair these benefits. Importantly, current research indicates that soil biodiversity can be maintained and partially restored if managed sustainably. Promoting the ecological complexity and robustness of soil biodiversity through improved management practices represents an underutilized resource with the ability to improve human health.
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              A short review of fecal indicator bacteria in tropical aquatic ecosystems: knowledge gaps and future directions

              Given the high numbers of deaths and the debilitating nature of diseases caused by the use of unclean water it is imperative that we have an understanding of the factors that control the dispersion of water borne pathogens and their respective indicators. This is all the more important in developing countries where significant proportions of the population often have little or no access to clean drinking water supplies. Moreover, and notwithstanding the importance of these bacteria in terms of public health, at present little work exists on the persistence, transfer and proliferation of these pathogens and their respective indicator organisms, e.g., fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms in humid tropical systems, such as are found in South East Asia or in the tropical regions of Africa. Both FIB and the waterborne pathogens they are supposed to indicate are particularly susceptible to shifts in water flow and quality and the predicted increases in rainfall and floods due to climate change will only exacerbate the problems of contamination. This will be furthermore compounded by the increasing urbanization and agricultural intensification that developing regions are experiencing. Therefore, recognizing and understanding the link between human activities, natural process and microbial functioning and their ultimate impacts on human health are prerequisites for reducing the risks to the exposed populations. Most of the existing work in tropical systems has been based on the application of temperate indicator organisms, models and mechanisms regardless of their applicability or appropriateness for tropical environments. Here, we present a short review on the factors that control FIB dynamics in temperate systems and discuss their applicability to tropical environments. We then highlight some of the knowledge gaps in order to stimulate future research in this field in the tropics.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Sci Rep
                Sci Rep
                Scientific Reports
                Nature Publishing Group
                2045-2322
                08 September 2016
                2016
                : 6
                : 32974
                Affiliations
                [1 ]iEES-Paris (IRD, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, INRA, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot) , CC237, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France
                [2 ]Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) , UMR 5563 (CNRS-UPS-IRD), 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
                [3 ]IRD-iEES-Paris, Department of Agricultural Land Management (DALaM) , P.O. Box 4199, Ban Nongviengkham, Xaythany District, Vientiane, Lao PDR
                [4 ]Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI), Duc Thang Ward, Bac Tu Liem District , Hanoi, Vietnam
                [5 ]National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPD) , 61 Phaholyotin Road, Ladyao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
                [6 ]National University of Laos (NUoL), Faculty of Agriculture, Nabong Campus, Ban Paksap Mai , Xaythany District, Vientiane, Lao PDR
                [7 ]iEES-Paris (IRD, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, INRA, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot), Centre IRD France-Nord , 32 avenue Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy Cedex, France
                Author notes
                Article
                srep32974
                10.1038/srep32974
                5015105
                27604854
                8a03a507-730b-49bf-952c-a95b52a02e38
                Copyright © 2016, The Author(s)

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

                History
                : 20 March 2016
                : 18 August 2016
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