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Pressurized Hot Water: An Alternative Method Of Nutrient Extraction And Subsequent Analysis For Use In Small-Scale Agriculture, Kristy Susanne Crane

Theses and Dissertations

Soil analysis for small acreage farms in developing countries is often inconvenient and prohibitively expensive using current procedures, yet the information gained from these soil tests could have economical and environmental benefits. The pressurized hot-water (PHW) extraction coupled with colorimetric or turbidimetric analyses shows promise as an alternative to current procedures. Accepted methods of colorimetric analysis for NO3-N and P exist but an alternative method to atomic absorption spectrometry for K analysis is needed. Of the many possible methods to quantify K, tests performed in the Brigham Young University (BYU) laboratory found sodium tetraphenylborate to be unsatisfactory and sodium cobaltinitrite …

Florida Bay Microalgae Blooms: Physiological Characteristics And Competitive Strategies Of Bloom Forming Cyanobacteria And Diatoms Of Florida Bay, Ralph William, Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Areally expansive, persistent and recurring blooms frequently dominated by cyanobacteria have developed primarily in the north-central region of Florida Bay since approximately 1991. This part of the bay has a history of the following: periodic hypersalinity, high sediment-derived turbidity, P limitation, N limitation, light limitation and long water residence time. Clonal isolates of selected dominant bloom species of cyanobacteria (Synechococcus cf. elongatus and Synechocystis sp.) and diatoms (Chaetoceros cf. salsugineus and Thalassiosira cf. oceanica) from Florida Bay were examined in an effort to explain their relative dominance of the phytoplankton community.

The following physiological characteristics and nutrient …

Impacts Of Different Types Of Volatile Fatty Acids On The Bacterial Selection In Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Systems, Jose Christiano Machado

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The impacts of different carbon sources, particularly VFAs, on EBPR's microbial population were investigated using T-RFLP and FISH. System performance and both general and specific microbial changes were investigated in SBR systems fed with acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, and glucose. Acetate and a mixture of acetate and propionate promoted the best P-removal. Butyrate and valerate lead the systems to fail in the long run. Glucose and propionate promoted poor EBPR, but the performance of the system fed with propionate improved with time. T-RFLP results indicated that short carbon chain VFAs, long carbon chain VFAs, and non-VFA favored different microbial populations …

Consequences Of Reservoir Drainage On Downstream Water Chemistry, Suspended Sediment, And Nutrients, Southwest Missouri, Mark W. Bowen

MSU Graduate Theses

Construction and subsequent draining of reservoirs can have dramatic affects on the release of nutrients and sediments to waterways. This study describes how the temporary draining of a small reservoir for dam repair influences downstream water quality. The Valley Mill Reservoir has a surface area of 6.1 hectares and volume of 150,000 m3 when filled. Water chemistry monitoring and water sampling were performed at six sites during baseflow and ten sites during runoff events for one year. Water samples were analyzed for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), and total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations. Results indicate that draining of Valley …

The Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On The Decomposition Of Belowground Organic Matter In A Sagittaria Lancifolia - Dominated Oligohaline Marsh, Kristen Raye Laursen

LSU Master's Theses

Wetlands improve water quality through sedimentation and the uptake of excess nutrients. As human population increases in the coastal zone, wetlands receive greater nutrient inputs. These additional nutrients may accelerate microbial activity, leading to faster decomposition rates. This decomposition could exceed belowground organic matter production, resulting in a net reduction in soil organic matter accumulation and vertical marsh accretion. The effects of nutrient enrichment on belowground organic matter decomposition in subtropical marshes have received little attention. As such, this research examined the effects of four levels of nitrogen combined with two levels of phosphorus enrichment on belowground decomposition through the …

Stormwater Diversion As A Potential Coastal Wetland Restoration Method, Jennifer Howard Woods

LSU Master's Theses

The Barataria-Terrebonne estuary has been eroding at a rate of up to 103.6 km2 yr-1 for several decades. If the current rate of loss is not reduced, an additional 2,550 km2 of coastal wetlands will be lost by the year 2050. Currently, stormwater in Terrebonne Parish is pumped into canals, ultimately discharging into the Gulf of Mexico. An opportunity exists to use this stormwater for wetland restoration; however, the ecological impacts of stormwater diversions on wetlands are unknown. The objectives of this project were to 1) to investigate the seed banks of a degraded marsh to determine if a viable …