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Comparison Of Private And Public Lab Fertilizer Recommendation Impacts On Field Crop Production And Soil Test Results, Megan Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

There are many sources that farmers utilize to determine fertilizer needs for crops such as private and public labs, crop advisors, and fertilizer dealers. In many cases, these sources provide recommendations for a specific crop that can vary greatly, which can lead to large differences in cost. An experiment was established in 2021 with 12 sites across the state of Utah in alfalfa, small grains, and corn to test and compare fertilizer recommendations from five labs. The recommendations tested were from two public labs (Utah State University and the University of Idaho) and three commercial labs located in the Western …

Effect Of Plant Derived Tannins On Nitrogen And Carbon Cycling In Pasture Soils, Kathryn A. Slebodnik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pasture-finished beef has become increasingly popular, but nitrogen losses from these pastures are of concern. Legumes containing condensed tannins such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) may serve as environmentally and economically viable alternative forages in pasture finishing systems while reducing soil nitrogen loss. The goal of this project was to understand how tannin type and concentration affects soil nitrogen cycling both in the lab and the field. This thesis: 1) compared the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soil samples obtained from grazed grass and tannin and non-tannin containing legume pastures, 2) …

Hydrocarbon And Co2 Emissions From Oil And Gas Production Well Pad Soils Comparative To Background Soil Emissions In Eastern Utah, Cody S. Watkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

What effect does the development of oil and gas have on the observed air quality (i.e., increased ozone, carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and/or methane emissions) in northeastern Utah? What percentage of these gases is natural background emissions, and what percentage is due to the recent oil and gas development in the region? Emissions in this text refer to gases released from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere. Methane is the primary compound in natural gas. Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture. Emissions of methane, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and CO₂ at 27 …

Novel Techniques To Determine Soil Evaporation Rates: Heat Pulse Probe And Automated Microlysimeter, Kashifa Rumana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increase in world population rate has augmented the global water use in municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors, with renewable water resources changing
very little with time. Climate change and variability, degradation of water quality as a result of industrial waste streams, animal manure and waste, application of chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, etc. have largely influenced the quantity and quality of soil water. Root zone water helps sustain the agricultural industry by providing much of the water needed for irrigation. It is critical to monitor the soil water availability, especially within the plant root zones. The subsurface water tends to …

Methylmercury Fate In The Hypersaline Environment Of The Great Salt Lake: A Critical Review Of Current Knowledge, Danielle Barandiaran

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a highly potent neurotoxic form of the environmental pollutant Mercury (Hg). The processes that are responsible for the conversion of Hg to MeHg are known to be both biotic and abiotic in freshwater systems. Although MeHg contamination is well documented in Great Salt Lake (GSL), the conversion of Hg into MeHg is not well-understood in saline environments much less in hypersaline waters such as GSL. The GSL is a broad, shallow high altitude (1280 m above sea level) lake that is exposed to large amounts of ultraviolet radiation and evaporation, which lead to great volatilization losses of …

Phosphorous And Potassium Fertility Management For Maximizing Tart Cherry Fruit Quality And Productivity On Alkaline Soils, Sean D. Rowley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suitable orchard land in regions of the Intermountain West is becoming more limited due to urban sprawl. With the loss of suitable farmland, increasing production costs, and the lack of sound fertility information for these regions, fruit growers face challenges to produce high quality fruit for market demand. Current standard management practices are not sufficient to optimize yield and fruit quality in the marginal farm land that is currently be used for fruit production. Fertility management of orchard trees is vital to tree health, yield, and fruit quality.

Three different approaches were used to investigate the effects of Phosphorus (P) …

Finding The Soul In The Soil: How Welfare Farms Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Create Spiritual Communities, Matthew L. Maughan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, but its connection with agrarian themes is found in all of LDS canonized scripture, implying a sense of antiquity from the time of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Scriptural examples and teachings of LDS leaders build the foundation of the Latter-day Saint agrarian theology. Valuing this connection to the land remained constant during the Church’s early development, but diminished in theological focus years before the Great Depression. During the Depression, the Church proactively created a Church Security Plan (later renamed the Church Welfare Plan) …

A Parametric Study Of Embankments On Clay Soils During Earthquake Shaking, Karla I. Reynoso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study is a parametric evaluation of reduction in undrained shear strength of fine grained soils required to cause failure beneath embankments during earthquake loading. The evaluated parameters are: crust thickness, normalized undrained strength, maximum past pressure, and embankment height. Both finite element and limit equilibrium analyses were used to determine strength reductions that would lead to embankment failure. It was found that reductions of undrained strengths of 55% to 65% would lead to failure during earthquake loading.

The method proposed by Idriss and Boulanger was also used to predict strength reductions for each model over a range of earthquake …

Interaction Of Soil And Seepage Barrier Cracks Under Seepage Flow, Justin Whitmer

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Seepage barriers are commonly installed in earthen dams and levees all over the world and consist of slurry walls, concrete walls, jet grouted walls, secant pile walls, sheet pile walls, and deep soil mixed walls. The purpose of the barrier is to reduce the amount of flow and seepage through the embankment and the foundation of the dam or levee. When seepage barriers were first being used it was under the impression that barriers would be a permanent mitigation of seepage problems. However, in prior research (Rice, 2007) it is mentioned that there are several cases where the seepage barriers …

Identification Of Subsoil Compaction Using Electrical Conductivity And Spectral Data Across Varying Soil Moisture Regimes In Utah, Jay Murray Payne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subsoil compaction is a major yield limiting factor for most agricultural crops. Tillage is the most efficient method to quickly treat compacted subsoil, but it is also expensive, increases erosion, and accelerates nutrient cycling.

The use of real-time electrical conductivity (EC) and near-infrared (NIR) reflectance values to differentiate compacted areas from uncompacted areas was studied. This method has potential to reduce monetary and time investments inherent in traditional grid sampling and the resultant deep tillage of an entire field. EC and NIR reflectance are both very sensitive to spatial variability of soil attributes.

The objective of this research was to …

Influence Of Soil Compaction On Nitrogen Volatilization In A Management Intensive Grazing System: Estimation Of Gaseous N Losses Using Mass Balance In Intact Soil Cores, Luke Alan Petersen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Increasing concern about the environmental impacts of greenhouse gases and PM 2.5 particulates has prompted many researchers to examine the processes of gaseous loss of nitrogen (N) from agricultural land. As agricultural production becomes more competitive and producers strive to become more efficient by reducing input costs, they will increasingly employ practices such as the rotational stocking, also called Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). MIG utilizes high animal stocking rates for short periods of time to efficiently harvest pasture crops. Unfortunately, MIG also produces relatively high concentrations of livestock excreta. This has caused intensive grazing practices to become a focal point …

Field Testing Of Abrasion Resistant Carbides, Kevin C. Orme

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Chromium, tungsten, titanium, and vanadium carbides were investigated to determine relative cost of operation for each in an agricultural environment. For use on a ripper plow, these carbides were field tested in two different soil types; one soil having a matrix of gravel and cobblestones, and the other consisting of hard dirt and large underground rocks. Each alloy was applied to a high carbon plow point using an arc welding process. Along with the welded points, cast chromium carbide was tested. The results are given in price per acre and not solely longevity of the point. It was concluded that …

The Effects Of Osmotic Potential On Ammonification, Immobilization, Nitrous Oxide Production, And Nitrification Rates In Penoyer Soil, Andrew P. Low

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An isotopic dilution method was used to test the effects of osmotic potential, (𝛹_s), upon nitrification, ammonification, N-immobilization, and nitrous oxide production rates in soil at solute concentrations encountered in Penoyer soil. A nitrification potential assay was also performed to approximate maximum nitrification rates.

Nitrification potential rates in soil slurries exponentially declined in response to decreased osmotic potential. However, nitrification was independent of salt concentration at the ambient NH₄⁺ concentrations of the soil. The differential response was attributed to the variable NH_4⁺ substrate quantities. The effects of osmotic potential were secondary to NH_{4 …}

Discussion And Measurement Of Soil Erosion In Iceland, Kimberly Jane Richardson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Soil erosion has occurred since the beginning of time. It is a natural process, but one that has been increasing at an alarming rate. Once soil is eroded--whether it is blown out to sea or washed down a river to sedimentize a lake--it is lost. It is almost impossible to reestablish similar soil components and characteristics in a given system. Since soil and vegetation reestablishment is expensive, the prevention of soil erosion by controlling its causes has become the most cost-effective reclamation effort.

After spending six months in Iceland, I wrote this paper on the unique erosion problems facing that …

Highway Drain Depth And Soil Stability, Mizher Al-Himdani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The presence of moisture in the soil reduces its shear strength. After the rain or snowmelt, the high percentage of moisture in the subgrade of highway, causes the instability resulting into failure of the highway due to high water table. Therefore, it is essential to install a drainage system to remove the excess moisture from the subgrade of highways to avoid its failure.

In the present study, six different soil samples have been studied to observe its failure by triaxial shear strength and corresponding moisture content was noted. The tension applied to remove moisture was converted to equivalent drain depth. …

Effect Of Short Duration Grazing On Soil Moisture Depletion And Plant Water Status In A Crested Wheatgrass Pasture, Jon M. Wraith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A short duration grazing system was utilized to determine the effects of intensive periodic defoliation during spring on soil moisture depletion patterns and plant water status in a crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum and A. desertorum) pasture in central Utah. Exclosures were constructed to compare grazed and ungrazed responses. Soil moisture was monitored to a depth of 193 cm at one to two week intervals from mid-April to late-September using a neutron moisture gauge. Predawn and midday leaf water potentials were estimated using a pressure chamber technique. The two paddocks included in the study were grazed three times between …

Temporal And Spatial Partitioning Of The Soil Water Resource Between Two Agropyron Bunchgrasses And Artemisia Tridentata, Halldor Thorgeirsson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dynamics of soil water use by two cool-season Agropyron bunchgrasses during the warm season depletion of soil water reserves were monitored for two years in experimental plots in the field. Agropyron desertorum, an introduced, competitive species from Eurasia, extracted more water from the deeper ( > 50 cm) soil layers than the native, less competitive Agropyron spicatum. Agropyron desertorum both extracts this water earlier and to lower soil water potentials than Agropyron spicatum. From the water extraction dynamics of the grasses in monocultures and in their two-way (50:50) mixtures with a shrub they commonly co-occur with, Artemisia tridentata …

Pullout Resistance Of Welded Wire Mats Embedded In Soil, Mark R. Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Welded wire mesh has been used in the past as soil reinforcement in the construction of reinforced soil embankments. Involved in the design of these embankments is the external and internal stability. The internal stability has two failure mechanisms; tension failure and pullout failure of the welded wire mesh.

This paper presents the results of laboratory tests on different sizes of welded wire mats embedded in different types of soils. These tests were performed on mats that are much larger than in previous tests. These tests measured the pullout resistance as a function of the number of embedded wires, the …

The Impact Of Surface Soil Removal On Plant Production, Transpiration Ratios, Nitrogen Mineralization Rates, Infiltration Rates, Potential Sediment Losses, And Chemical Water Quality Within The Chained And Reseeded Pinyon-Juniper Types In Utah, Steven M. Lyons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the period of October 1974 to August 1976, a study was conducted to measure the effects of surface soil removal on plant production, plant transpiration rates, nitrate nitrogen mineralization rates, and selected hydrologic parameters (infiltration rates, potential sediment production, and chemical quality of runoff water). The treatments were incremental 7.6 centimeter soil layers to a depth of 30.5 centimeters.

Plant production and transpiration ratios (or water use efficiencies) were measured in greenhouse studies using Agrogyron desertorum grown in the incremental 7.6 centimeter soil layers from five study sites throughout the state of Utah, (Blanding, Brush Creek, Milford, Huntington, and …

Effect Of Drilling Fluid Components And Mixtures On Plants And Soils, Parvin Pesaran (Djavan)

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The concern about the environment has required that the effects of drilling fluids (muds) on surrounding areas be known. This study was initiated to investigate the effects of various muds on plant growth and on soils.

In preliminary studies in Phase I (31 individual mud components), it was concluded that the obvious dominant effects on plant growth of detrimental drilling fluid components included excess soluble salts, excess exchangeable sodium percentage, possibly a high pH in some mixtures, and undesirable physical conditions. The latter resulted from the sodium and/or starch, gums, and bentonite.

Phase II, the second year's study of the …

The Accuracy Of Soil Mapping Units Of Certain Pachic And Cumulic Soils In Northern Utah, Behjat Badamchian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of mapping of pachic and cumulic soils in Cache County. The soil maps that were used for this study as the basemap were the Atlas sheets of the published soil survey of Cache County.

Five map units from Mendou, Nebeker, Avon, Hendricks and Winn which include almost 52 percent of the pachic and cumulic soils in the survey area were selected for this study. These five soils cover large areas when compared to other soil series and they are distributed throughout the county. All these map units were recognized as …

Ammonia And Nitrate Nitrogen In The Soil Profile And Its Relation To Various Nitrogen Treatments On Dry-Land Winter Wheat, Abraham E. Van Luik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In a dry-land winter wheat field, patterns of mineral nitrogen distributions were investigated before and after fertilizer additions.

Large differences in the added mineral nitrogen recoverable three weeks after treatment were found to be specific to nitrogen source and treatment within source.

Initial losses averaged 50 percent for urea treatments, 40 percent for calcium nitrate treatments, and varied from a loss of 18 percent to a gain of 22 percent for ammonium nitrate treatments. Ammonium sulfate proved the most variable with a 36 percent average loss for the before-planting treatment and a 61 percent gain for the after-planting treatment.

This …

Nitrogen Fixation In Arid Western Soils, Robert Charles Rychert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen fixation by blue-green algae-lichen crusts from South Curlew Valley, Utah, in the Great Basin Desert, was studied using the acetylene reduction technique. A molar ratio of 3 moles C₂H₄ produced/mole of N₂ fixed was used to estimate nitrogen (N₂) fixation by acetylene reduction. Nostoc was found to be present in many of the lichen thalli examined microscopically. Crust nitrogen fixation decreased rapidly below -1/3 bar pressure (water potential) which indicated that nitrogen fixation occurs only when the crust is wet. This would suggest that most of the crust nitrogen fixation in the Great …

Effect Of Drilling Fluid Components And Mixtures On Plants And Soils, Shahnaz Honarvar (Asad Sangabi)

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Using greenhouse pot techniques, 32 drilling mud components were tested to see if, at a high rate of addition, they reduced plant growth. Green beans and sweet corn were the test plants. The excellent black, silt loam, slightly acidic, uncultivated Dagor soil (Cumulic Haploxeroll) was used for most tests. Rates used were considered to be abnormal level (high rate) and usual (low rate) amounts that might be added in commonly used drilling muds.

Drilling mud components that caused no observable or statistically significant reductions of plant yield are the following: Super Visbestos, (Asbestos), asphalt, Ben-Ex (a vinyl acetate and maleic …

Lagoon Effluent Polishing By Soil Mantle Treatment Using Various Utah Soil Types, Roger Scott Tinkey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of four Utah Great Basin soil types in removing particular chemical constituents and select enteric organisms from a sewage lagoon effluent. Sewage taken from the secondary oxidation pond in Logan, Utah was applied daily to lysimeters which allowed samples to be recovered at 7.6 and 38.1 centimeter soil depths. The texture of the soils was the most important physical property affecting their removal capacity. Drainage Farm soil (clay) provided the best bacteriological and overall chemical removal with Nibley (silty clay loam) second, then Draper (sandy loam) and Parleys (silty loam) …

Dissolution And Precipitation Of Gypsum In The Soil Under Irrigation, Badier J. Alawi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two soils were used in this soil column study. Yolo loam soil a non-calcareous, non-gypsiferous soil from central California and Vernal soil a calcareous soil from eastern Utah.

Initial studies were conducted where the solubilities of pure CaC0₃ and CaS0₄ ' 2H₂0 were determined in the presence of Logan river water, a KCl solution (2.8 mmhos/cm) and a K₂S0₄ solution (2. 7 mmhos/cm). Gypsum was more soluble in the KCl solution than in the K₂S0₄ solution. The solubility product of both gypsum and lime were determined from the analytical …

Influence Of A Soil Microfloral Crust On Hydrologic And Chemical Properties Of Soils In Southeastern Utah, Walter L. Loope

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Cryptogamic soil crusts within the Colorado Plateau were studied to determine their effect on infiltration rates, potential sediment production, permeability, and several chemical properties of the soil. Six different crust stages were identified. Undisturbed soil cores were used to determine intrinsic permeability under three treatments and disturbed soil samples were analyzed for pH, percent organic matter, soil texture, Ca+Mg content and total conductivity.

It was found that the cryptogamic crust had little effect on soil chemical properties. Analysis of undisturbed soil core data indicates that high cryptogamic cover tends to decrease intrinsic permeability; this effect was reinforced when cores were …

Boron Movement In Soil Columns, Joseph William Stucki

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three adsorption theories--Langmuir, B.E.T., and Freundlich--were applied to boron interaction with Aiken clay loam and Vernal sandy loam soils to determine which bests describes the system.

Column studies were conducted to obtain constants related to mass fluid flow and fluid dispersion within the column. An inert ion was used to obtain the pore volume and to calculate the fluid dispersion coefficient. These data were used to solve the material balance equation by the explicit numerical method developed by Lai for a digital computer. The output from the computer was a predicted profile boron distribution within the soil column.

The soil …

An Examination Of The Inorganic Nitrogen Status Of A Soil Of The Alaskan Coastal Tundra Plain, Norton R. Munn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This experiment was designed to measure in situ concentrations of NH₄⁺ and NO₃^--N in a soil of the arctic coastal tundra plain, to determine if nitrification was taking place in this soil and to determine if the vascular plants growing in this soil could assimilate NH₄⁺-N.

The extractable NH₄⁺-N concentration was approximately 40 μg/g in the 0₁ horizon and 10 μg/g in the 0₂ horizon. The NO₃^--N concentration was approximately 5 μg/g in the 0¹ horizon and 4 μg/g in the 0_{2 …}

Evaluation Of The Filter Paper Method For Estimating Soil Water Potential, Samir Al-Khafaf

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The filter paper method for measuring soil water potential was evaluated. The method was calibrated using salt solutions (-1.4 bars to -22.4 bars), sample chamber psychrometer (-1 to -50 bars), pressure plate (-0.1 to -15 bars) and soil column at equilibrium (0 to -0.2 bars). It was found that the absolute temperature had little effect on the predicted soil water potential, but a temperature variation had a large effect. It was found that the temperature fluctuation must be small. The predicted water potential was influenced by the type of contact of the soil with the filter paper. It is suggested …