Digital Commons Network^™

Enhanced Photo-Fenton Activity Using Magnetic Cu0.5mn0.5fe2o4 Nanoparticles As A Recoverable Catalyst For Degrading Organic Contaminants, A. Angkaew, C. Sakulthaew, M. Nimtim, S. Imman, T. Satapanajaru, N. Suriyachai, T. Kreetachat, S. Comfort, C. Chokejaroenrat

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legacy And Emerging Contaminants In Water And Wastewater, P. Chakraborty, Daniel D. Snow

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Carbon Indicators Of Soil Health In Long-Term Agricultural Experiments, D. Liptzin, C. E. Norris, S. B. Cappellazzi, G. Macbean, Andrew E. Suyker Et Al.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Biochar: Properties And Potential Benefits For Agricultural Soil In Rwanda, Andromede Uwase

Honors Theses

Physical and chemical soil degradation is becoming a major challenge for agricultural productivity in Rwanda, which is the most important part of the country’s economy. The wide spreading soil degradation in Rwanda is mainly a result of naturally poor soils coupled with unsustainable soil management leading to, for example, accelerated soil erosion, acidification, nutrient loss, compaction, and to decreasing yields. Biochar, as an end product of pyrolysis of biomass in the absence of oxygen, has been proposed as a soil amendment in remediation strategies because of its positive effects on soil productivity relevant parameters such as soil pH, structure, nutrient …

2022 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

The purpose of beef cattle and beef product research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is to provide reference information that represents the various populations (cows, calves, heifers, feeders, carcasses, retail products, etc.) of beef production.

Dedicated in memory of Dr. Terry Klopfenstein (March 10, 1939-April 30, 2021), Professor Emeritus, Animal Science Department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cow-Calf Nutrition and Management

Impact of Cow Size on Economic Profitability in the Cow-Calf and Feedlot Production Systems

Comparison of Partially Confined and Traditional Cow-Calf Systems

Concepts in Stress Physiology

Inflammatory Modulators Improve Daily Gain of Heat-Stressed Wethers

Zilpaterol Supplementation Improved Indicators of Well-Being, but …

A Review Of Transformative Strategies For Climate Mitigation By Grasslands, Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, Elena Blanc-Betes, Caitlin E. Moore, Carl J. Bernacchi, Ilsa Kantola, Evan H. Delucia

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Grasslands can significantly contribute to climate mitigation. However, recent trends indicate that human activities have switched their net cooling effect to a warming effect due to management intensification and land conversion. This indicates an urgent need for strategies directed to mitigate climate warming while enhancing productivity and efficiency in the use of land and natural (nutrients, water) resources. Here, we examine the potential of four innovative strategies to slow climate change including: 1) Adaptive multi-paddock grazing that consists of mimicking how ancestral herds roamed the Earth; 2) Agrivoltaics that consists of simultaneously producing food and energy from solar panels on …

Impact Of Wood-Sourced Biochar On Carbon And Nitrogen Capture In Beef Feedlot Systems, Jessica L. Sperber

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A feedlot growing and finishing experiment evaluated the effect of including pine-sourced biochar at 0.8 (growing) and 1.0% (finishing) of dietary DM on steer performance, carcass characteristics, and greenhouse gas (GHG) production (Exp 1). Two nutrient mass balance experiments were conducted during winter and summer seasons to evaluate the effect of spreading unprocessed red cedar biochar on the feedlot pen surface on manure nutrient capture and cattle performance (Exp 2). In Exp. 1, the inclusion of biochar in the growing diet did not impact steer performance. The inclusion of biochar in the finishing diet significantly reduced intake and gain, resulting …

Evaluation Of A Novel Approach For Assessing Biological Activity In Agricultural Soils, Karla Melgar

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soil health is a key factor impacting soil resilience and fertility in crop production systems. Favorable soil physical and biological conditions facilitate plant nutrient absorption and nutrient cycling. Demonstrating to farmers the impacts and changes in soil biological activity under different soil management practices has been a challenge due to the limited availability of inexpensive tools for quantifying this component of soil health. The primary goal of this study was to present a simple and readily accessible tool for evaluating soil biological activity to promote the use of organic amendments in crop fields. Research plots were established in two studies …

Application Of Biochar As Beneficial Additive In Concrete, Temirlan Barissov

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biochar is a high-carbon solid material produced via thermal decomposition of organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment. Characterized with high water retention properties and high alkalinity, biochar is generally used for soil amendment and fertilization purposes. This study is intended to explore the feasibility of using biochar as a beneficial additive of the most used manmade material, concrete. Literature review revealed several studies where biochar was successfully implemented as an additive in concrete. The beneficial influence of biochar on the mechanical characteristics of concrete is based on nucleation and densification effects. However, the internal microstructure, porosity and chemical composition of …

Feasibility Discussion Of Potential Carbon Offsetting Options For Nebraska, Andrew Mwape

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of carbon offsetting options in the context of the state of Nebraska, this discussion shows that the choice and decisions about which option is better than the other depends on the interests at play and expected outcomes of the participation in carbon markets. However, irrespective of the motive to engage in emission reduction projects for carbon marketing, factors such as cost, and project efficiency can never be overlooked. Given the options discussed in this report, Nebraska has a lot of potential for carbon offsetting or emission reduction projects that would not only reduce and …

Impact Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Organic Carbon Contents Of Soil Aggregates, Daphne Topps, Imam Ul Khabir, Hagir Abdelmagid, Todd Jackson, Javed Iqbal, Boakai K. Robertson, Zahida Hassan Pervaiz, Muhammad Saleem

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops are considered an integral component of agroecosystems because of their positive impacts on biotic and abiotic indicators of soil health. At present, we know little about the impact of cover crop types and diversity on the organic carbon (OC) contents of different soil aggregate-size classes. In this study, we investigated the effect of cover plant diversity on OC contents of different soil aggregates, such as macro- (<2000–500 µm), meso- (<500–250 µm), and micro-aggregates (<250 µm). Our experiment included a total of 12 experimental treatments in triplicate; six different monoculture treatments such as chickling vetch (Vicia villosa), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), field peas (Pisum sativum), oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus), and mighty mustard (Brassica juncea), and their three- and six-species mixture treatments, including one unplanted control treatment. We performed this experiment usingdeep pots that contained soil collected from a corn-soybean rotation field. At vegetative maturity of cover plants (about 70 days), we took soil samples, and the soil aggregate-size classes were separated by the dry sieving. We hypothesized that cover crop type and diversity will improve OC contents of different soil aggregate-size classes. We found that cover plant species richness weakly positively increased OC contents of soil macro-aggregates (p = 0.056), whereas other aggregate-size classes did not respond to cover crop diversity gradient. Similarly, the OC contents of macroaggregates varied significantly (p = 0.013) under cover crop treatments, though neither monoculture nor mixture treatments showed significantly higher OC contents than the control treatment in this short-term experiment. Interestingly, the inclusion of hairy vetch and oilseed radish increased and decreased the OC contents of macro- and micro-aggregates, respectively. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between shoot biomass and OC contents of macroaggregates. Overall, our results suggest that species-rich rather than -poor communities may improve OC contents of soil macroaggregates, which constitute a major portion of soil systems, and are also considered as important indicators of soil functions.

Pilot-Scale H2S And Swine Odor Removal System Using Commercially Available Biochar, Kyoung S. Ro, Brian Woodbury, Mindy Spiehs, Ariel A. Szogi, Philip J. Silva, Okhwa Hwang, Sungback Cho

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Although biochars made in laboratory seem to remove H2S and odorous compounds effectively, very few studies are available for commercial biochars. This study evaluated the efficacy of a commercial biochar (CBC) for removing H2S and odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We found that the well-known Ergun equation may not be adequate in predicting pressure drop for properly sizing a ventilation system. The H2S breakthrough adsorption capacity of the CBC was 2.51 mg/g under humid conditions, which was much higher than that for dry conditions. The breakthrough capacity increased with the influent concentration of H2S. The efficacy of a pilot-scale biochar …

Biotransformation Of Doxycycline By Brevundimonas Naejangsanensis And Sphingobacterium Mizutaii Strains, Ting He, Jianguo Bao, Yifei Leng, Daniel D. Snow, Shuqiong Kong, Tong Wang, Xu Li

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The fate of doxycycline (DC), a second generation tetracycline antibiotic, in the environment has drawn increasing attention in recent years due to its wide usage. Little is known about the biodegradability of DC in the environment. The objective of this study was to characterize the biotransformation of DC by pure bacterial strains with respect to reaction kinetics under different environmental conditions and biotransformation products. Two bacterial strains, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis DD1 and Sphingobacterium mizutaii DD2, were isolated from chicken litter and characterized for their biotransformation capability of DC. Results show both strains rely on cometabolism to biotransform DC with tryptone as …

Uavs For Vegetation Monitoring: Overview And Recent Scientific Contributions, Ana I. De Castro, Yeyin Shi, Joe Mari Maja, Jose M. Pena

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper reviewed a set of twenty-one original and innovative papers included in a special issue on UAVs for vegetation monitoring, which proposed new methods and techniques applied to diverse agricultural and forestry scenarios. Three general categories were considered: (1) sensors and vegetation indices used, (2) technological goals pursued, and (3) agroforestry applications. Some investigations focused on issues related to UAV flight operations, spatial resolution requirements, and computation and data analytics, while others studied the ability of UAVs for characterizing relevant vegetation features (mainly canopy cover and crop height) or for detecting different plant/crop stressors, such as nutrient content/deficiencies, water …

Uavs For Vegetation Monitoring: Overview And Recent Scientific Contributions, Ana I. De Castro, Yeyin Shi, Joe Mari Maja, Jose M. Peña

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

This paper reviewed a set of twenty-one original and innovative papers included in a special issue on UAVs for vegetation monitoring, which proposed new methods and techniques applied to diverse agricultural and forestry scenarios. Three general categories were considered: (1) sensors and vegetation indices used, (2) technological goals pursued, and (3) agroforestry applications. Some investigations focused on issues related to UAV flight operations, spatial resolution requirements, and computation and data analytics, while others studied the ability of UAVs for characterizing relevant vegetation features (mainly canopy cover and crop height) or for detecting different plant/crop stressors, such as nutrient content/deficiencies, water …

Effects Of Residue Removal And Tillage On Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Continuous Corn Systems As Simulated With Rzwqm2, Haomiao Cheng, Kexin Shu, Zhiming Qi, Liwang Ma, Virginia L. Jin, Youjia Li, Marty R. Schmer, Brian J. Wienhold, Shaoyuan Feng

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Agricultural production is a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) globally. The effects of conservation practices on soil CO2 and N2O emissions remain a high degree of uncertainty. In this study, soil CO2 and N2O emissions under different residue and tillage practices in an irrigated, continuous corn system, were investigated using the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2). Combinations of no/high stover removal (NR and HR, respectively) and no-till/conventional tillage (NT and CT, respectively) field experiments were tested over the four crop-years (Apr. 2011–Apr. 2015). The model was calibrated using the NRCT, and validated with other …

Bibliometric Review Of Digital Archive Research: Contemporary Status, Research Hotspots And Future Trends, Abu Ks

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Digital archiving has been practised more and more in recent years, because of its significant potentials and long-term benefits. Bibliometric based review was applied to examine the digital archive research publications from the web of science from 1989 to 2019. A total of 639 publications were obtained with a steady increase of publications every year. There were diversified research topics, which were categorized as computational aspects of digital archiving, libraries role in digital archiving and digital archiving practices in medicine. Keyword analysis highlighted the interdisciplinary approach of digital archiving practices. The study also aids in summarizing the status quo and …

Removal Of Carbamazepine Onto Modified Zeolitic Tuff In Different Water Matrices: Batch And Continuous Flow Experiments, Othman A. Al-Mashaqbeh, Diya A. Alsafadi, Layal Z. Alsalhi, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments effluent by wastewater treatment plants. Batch and column experiments were conducted to evaluate the removal of CBZ from ultra-pure water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent using raw zeolitic tuff (RZT) and surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). Point zero net charge (pHpzc), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were investigated for adsorbents to evaluate the physiochemical changes resulted from the modification process using Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br). XRD and FTIR showed that the surfactant modification of RZT has created an amorphous surface with new alkyl …

Removal Of Carbamazepine Onto Modified Zeolitic Tuff In Different Water Matrices: Batch And Continuous Flow Experiments, Othman A. Al-Mashaqbeh, Daniel D. Snow, Diya A. Alsafadi, Layal Z. Alsalhi, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments effluent by wastewater treatment plants. Batch and column experiments were con-ducted to evaluate the removal of CBZ from ultra-pure water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent using raw zeolitic tuff (RZT) and surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). Point zero net charge (pHpzc), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were investigated for adsorbents to evaluate the physiochemical changes resulted from the modification process using Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br). XRD and FTIR showed that the surfactant modification of RZT has created an amorphous surface with new alkyl …

Advanced Concrete Composites For Improved Performance: A Bibliometric Survey, Dhruv Patel, Aryan Tiwari, Nishnat Nikhare, Rohit Shinde, Ashutosh Dubey, Manan Shah, Shalaka Hire, Sayali Sandbhor

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Concrete is the core component of any civil engineering construction. Conventional concrete can be modified depending upon the needs and requirements of the construction. Such concrete is called advanced concrete and this report aims to study advanced concrete and its composites. The main objective of this report is to perform a bibliographic survey on the latest research literature available under the domain of advanced concrete composites for improved performance. Timespan considered for the survey is from the year 2015 to 2020. The bibliographic survey consists of literature from online platforms such as the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus database. …

Variations In Bacterial Community Structure And Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Abundance In Cattle Manure And Poultry Litter, Biyensa Gurmessa, Amanda J. Ashworth, Yichao Yang, Mary Savin, Philip A. Moore Jr, Steven C. Ricke, Giuseppe Corti, Ester Foppa Pedretti, Stefania Cocco

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Cattle manure and poultry litter are widely used as fertilizers as they are excellent sources of nutrients; however, potential adverse environmental effects exist during land applications, due to the release of zoonotic bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. This study was conducted to understand linkages between physiochemical composition, bacterial diversity, and AMR gene presence of cattle manure and poultry litter using quantitative polymerase chain reaction to enumerate four AMR genes (ermB, sulI, intlI, and blactx-m-32), Illumina sequencing of the 16 S region, and analysis of physical and chemical properties. Principal coordinate analysis of Bray–Curtis distance revealed distinct bacterial community structures …

Ecosystem-Scale Biogeochemical Fluxes From Three Bioenergy Crop Candidates: How Energy Sorghum Compares To Maize And Miscanthus, Caitlin E. Moore, Adam C. Von Haden, Mark B. Burnham, Ilsa B. Kantola, Christy D. Gibson, Bethany J. Blakely, Evan C. Dracup, Michael D. Masters, Wendy H. Yang, Evan H. Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Perennial crops have been the focus of bioenergy research and development for their sustainability benefits associated with high soil carbon (C) and reduced nitrogen (N) requirements. However, perennial crops mature over several years and their sustainability benefits can be negated through land reversion. A photoperiod-sensitive energy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) may provide an annual crop alternative more ecologically sustainable than maize (Zea mays) that can more easily integrate into crop rotations than perennials, such as miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus). This study presents an ecosystem-scale comparison of C, N, water and energy fluxes from energy sorghum, maize and miscanthus during a typical …

Flawed Citations In Indian Scientometric Literature: A Case Study, Dr. Vishnu Kumar Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study explores the citation errors and level of reference accuracy in the Indian scientometric journal entitled, Journal of Scientometric Research (JSR). One hundred and seventy four journal citations appended in eight research articles appeared in the JSR, volume 9, issue 1, Jan-Apr, 2020, were checked meticulously by breaking them into seven bibliographic components, i.e. author(s) name, article title, journal name, year, volume and issue numbers, and pages (both first and last page); and they were matched with the original source articles. Results reveal that 44.25% (77) citations in JSR were erroneous and remaining 55.75% (97) citations were error free. …

Allelopathy Research In Global Perspective: A Scientometric Study Of Academic Productivity Over A Period Of 25 Years (1995 - 2019), Abdurahiman Pattukuthu, Abdul Jaleel Pottachola, Mohamed Idhris

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research is concerned with the Allelopathy research literature published from 1995 to 2019 obtained from SCOPUS and studied to identify the trends in research publication in terms of various document types, annual growth, the share of publication, citation growth, average citation per paper, most productive country, authors, journals, highly cited articles during this period. These factors were identified and compared for their research impact over a period of 25 years.

Single-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis Of Biochar From H3po4-Activated Lettucewaste For Efficient Adsorption Of Cd(Ii) In Aqueous Solution, Quyun Chen, Tian C. Zhang, Like Ouyang, Shaojun Yuan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Developing an ideal and cheap adsorbent for adsorbing heavy metals from aqueous solution has been urgently need. In this study, a novel, effective and low-cost method was developed to prepare the biochar from lettuce waste with H₃PO₄ as an acidic activation agent at a low-temperature (circa 200°C) hydrothermal carbonization process. A batch adsorption experiment demonstrated that the biochar reaches the adsorption equilibrium within 30 min, and the optimal adsorption capacity of Cd(II) is 195.8 mg⋅g^-1at solution pH 6.0, which is significantly improved from circa 20.5 mg⋅g^-1 of the original biochar without activator. The fitting …

2021 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Cow-Calf Nutrition and Management: Metabolic Profile Associated with Pre-Breeding Puberty Status in Range Beef Heifers 5 • Milk Production Impacts on Cow Reproductive and Calf Growth Performance 8 • Genetic Selection Tools: Using Pooling to Capture Commercial Data for Inclusion in Genetic Evaluations 11 • Categorization of Birth Weight Phenotypes for Inclusion in Genetic Evaluations Using a Deep Neural Network 14 • Genetic Parameter Estimates for Age at Slaughter and Days to Finish in a Multibreed Population 16

Growing Calf and Yearling Management: Effects of Monensin and Protein Type on Performance of Yearling Steers Grazing Smooth Bromegrass Pastures 18 • …

Evaluation Of Biochar On Nutrient Loss From Fresh Cattle Manure, Jessica L. Sperber, Tyler Spore, Galen E. Erickson, Andrea K. Watson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of biochar and time on manure nutrient retention. Pans were used to simulate feedlot pens with 10 replications per treatment. Biochar was included at 0, 5, or 10% of manure dry matter with 30 and 60 day durations to evaluate pan contents over time. There was a 13- percentage unit increase in organic matter losses from day 30 to 60 for pans without biochar, and a 3- percentage unit increase for pans containing biochar. The least nitrogen loss was measured on the pans without biochar harvested at 30 days. Pans harvested at …

Impact Of Biochar Supplementation In Growing Diets On Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Jessica L. Sperber, Braden C. Troyer, Levi Mcphillips, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding biochar growing diets on cattle performance and methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Two treatments were evaluated, a forage- based control diet without biochar and a diet with biochar included at 0.8% of the diet dry matter, replacing ! ne ground corn in the supplement. Pens of cattle were rotated through a two- sided emissions barn (2 pens evaluated simultaneously) to capture CH4 and CO2 production. " ere were no statistical differences in performance or gas emissions for steers fed a biochar supplemented diet compared to control. Numerically, biochar supplemented steers …

Does Biochar Improve All Soil Ecosystem Services?, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Biochar is considered to sequester C and deliver other soil ecosystem services, but an overview that synthesizes the current knowledge of biochar implications on all essential soil ecosystem services is difficult to find in the ample biochar literature. Most previous research and review articles on this topic focused on a single ecosystem service and did not integrate all essential soil ecosystem services. This overview paper (1) synthesizes the impacts of biochar on water and wind erosion, C sequestration, soil water, nutrient leaching, soil fertility, crop yields, and other soil ecosystem services based on published literature and (2) highlights remaining research …

Coal Char Effects On Soil Chemical Properties And Maize Yields In Semi-Arid Region, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Xiaocun Sun, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soil amendments with high carbon (C) content can be effective in semi-arid regions where soils are characterized by low C. A field study was conducted in 2016–2018 to evaluate the effect of char on soil chemical properties and irrigated maize (Zea mays L.) yields in sandy loam fertilized with urea or composted manure. Carbon-rich char used was a product of coal combustion residue from a local factory in western Nebraska. The experiment was arranged in a split-plot randomized complete block design in four replications with char (0, 6.7, 13.4, 20.1, and 26.8Mg C ha⁻¹) as main and …