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Information about several papers discussed at a workshop on Agricultural Air Quality is presented. Included are papers regarding ammonia emission estimates and emission factors from agricultural sources in the U.S. and Europe.

Information on several papers discussed at the "International Phosphorus Workshop: Diffuse Phosphorus Loss to Surface Water Bodies-Risk Assessment, Mitigation Options, and Ecological Effects in River Basins," is presented. Key topics include managing agricultural Phosphorus (P) losses-effectiveness, uncertainties and costs, and functioning of riparian buffers. The workshop was supported by several sponsors including University of Aarhus, and the Danish Research council for Technology.

This article reports that the International Conference "Rhizosphere 2004: Perspectives and Challenges: A Tribute to Lorenz Hiltner," was held in Munich, Germany, from September 12-17, 2004. It was initiated as a main activity of COS, an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research was a European initiative in 2004 to create a network of scientists from all disciplines involved in research of the plant root-soil interface. The session was organized to provide an overview on the role of the rhizosphere in terms of the behavior of both organic and inorganic pollutants in soil-plant-microbe systems, and to explore the prospects of manipulating the rhizosphere for control of pollutants and remediation of contaminated soils. Currently, there are only a few practical applications of such rhizotechnology. A main limitation is the lack of detailed understanding of the processes that a involved, making plant microbe-based remedial actions hardly predictable. Some papers addressed the effects of altered chemical milieus in the rhizosphere on metal or radiocesium mobility and/or phytoavailability.