Digital Commons Network^™

Compost And Biochar To Promote Soil Biological Activities Under Sweet Potatoes Cultivation In A Subtropical Semiarid Region, Josabeth Navarro, Jahdiel Salazar, James Jihoon Kang, Jason Parsons, Chu-Lin Cheng, Alexandria Castillo, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

South Texas is located in a subtropical semiarid climate, and due to high temperature and irregular precipitation, farmers opt to leave their fields fallow during the summer months jeopardizing overall soil health. We evaluated whether sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivation coupled with drip irrigation could restore soil biological activities compared with bare fallow. Additionally, because sweet potatoes have high demand of soil nutrients, especially potassium (K), we evaluated the nutrient supply of locally sourced soil amendments. Sweet potato was cultivated during summer 2018 in McAllen, Texas, under control (no fertilizer), NPK (synthetic fertilizer), RC (yard-waste compost), and AC (compost produced …

Soil‐Atmosphere Exchange And Mitigation Of Nitrous Oxide And Methane Emissions In New Zealand's Terrestrial Biosphere, Surinder Saggar, K. R. Tate, D. L. Giltrap, J. Singh

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Pyrolysis Characteristics And Pyrolysis Product Composition Of Bituminous Coal Under Weak Oxidizing Atmosphere, Zang Libin, Cui Hufeng, Li Qingchun

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to improve the light tar and gas yield, the yield distribution and composition characteristics of pyrolysis products of bituminous coal from Shaanxi Hongliulin in the nitrogen atmosphere and weak oxygen atmosphere were studied in a fixed bed reactor. The results showed that the yield of char and tar were reduced under the weak oxygen atmosphere, and the yield of CO and CO₂ increased significantly, leading to the increase of total gas yield. Due to the oxidation combustion reaction, the yield of H₂, CH₄ and C₂-C₃ gradually decreased with the increase of …

Solid Waste Co-Conversion By Hydrothermal Treatment Using Natural Zeolite, Lalak Tarbiyatun Nasyin Maleiva, Chandra Wahyu Purnomo

Makara Journal of Science

Hydrothermal treatment is a thermal conversion technology for processing high-moisture-content solid waste to coal-like materials. In this research, mixtures of sawdust and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste were treated in a 2000 mL hydrothermal reactor to produce hydrochar and a liquid product. The effects of zeolite addition and temperature variations during the treatment on the product characteristics were investigated. During the treatment, the utilized temperatures were 180, 200, and 220 °C, and the zeolite contents in the mixture were 10 and 20 wt%; the temperature and zeolite content were varied, while the other processing parameters were fixed, i.e., a biomass-to-PET ratio …

Spatial Distribution Of Soil Nutrients In Reclamation Dump Sites Based On Subdivision Idw, Zhao Yanling, Zhao Bincheng, Wang Xin, Xiao Wu, Liu Huifang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Accurately grasping the spatial distribution of soil nutrients is of great significance for evaluating the soil quality of reclamation dumps and formulating corresponding reclamation measures. The general interpolation method of the complex terrain of the dump site has a poor prediction effect. The northern dump of Shengli No.1 open-pit mine in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia was selected as an example in the paper. The soil nutrients(available nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorus and organic matter) were spatially interpolated using the inverse distance weighting method based on terrain partitioning, and compared with the conventional inverse distance weighting method and kriging interpolation method. The …

Soil Health Assessment On Arid Rangeland Soils Impacted By Oil And Gas Exploration, Development, And Extraction, Justin Allred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oil and gas well pad reclamation in arid environments such as in the Uinta Basin of Utah, presents unique challenges, including remote locations, limited water, and elevated soil salinity and sodicity. Successfully reclaimed Plugged and Abandoned (P&A) well pads should resemble the surrounding rangeland once fully reclaimed. Revegetation of native species is the primary indicator of successful reclamation, but the lack of water makes it challenging to re-seed native plants, while trying to prevent the encroachment of invasive plant species such as Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), Salsola tragus (Russian thistle), and Halogeton glomeratus (halogeton). Could successful reclamation be reflective of good …

Digital Mapping Of Togo’S Soil Fertility: Savannah Region, Aminou Saibou

English Language Institute

A soil assessment was carried out in the savannah region of Togo in 2018, aiming at drawing the digital map of Togo’s soil fertility and making fertilizer recommendations. Soil samples were taken from geo-referenced GPS points and were analyzed for parameters such as water pH, Organic matter, available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium. Thematic maps have been drawn using an ArcGIS package. The results showed that the soils of the Savannah region in Togo are mainly (84%) not very acidic (pH = 5.5 to 6.5), overall poor to very poor (84%) in organic matter (<2% OM), essentially poor to very poor (86%) in available phosphorus (<15 mg/kg of soil) and mostly very poor (87%) in exchangeable potassium (<90 mg / kg of soil). These results allowed the agricultural research institute of Togo to make fertilizer use recommendations and to develop, in partnership with Morocco, a digital platform (fertitogo.tg ) for decision making in crop fertilization.

De-Icing Soil Impacts, Spring 2020, Rachel Holstein, Alex Kattan, Ali Michel, Jesse Strod

Sustainability Exchange

De-Icing Impacts on the Danforth Campus, Spring 2020. Poster and presentation on de-icing impacts on Danforth Campus, Washington University in St. Louis, Sustainability Exchange, Spring 2020. Faculty Mentor: Dr. Avni Solanki

Remediation Strategies To Reduce Heavy Metal Uptake In Lettuce Grown In Contaminated Urban Soil, Ryley Thomas

UCARE Research Products

Urban soils are increasingly used to produce food for local consumption, which requires at the same time management strategies that prevent the plant uptake of potentially present contaminants. This study was conducted to test different soil amendments for their ability to retain lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) within the soil matrix. The analyzed soil was taken from a potential community garden lot near a railroad in Lincoln, NE where elevated concentrations in Pb and As had been detected. Ponderosa pine biochar and spent coffee grounds were used as soil additives because of their documented chemical reactivity towards soil cations or …

Burning With Potential: Understanding The Relationship Between Biochar And Agriculture Of The Northern Glaciated Plains Ecoregion, Kaitlyn Abrahamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Achieving global sustainable agriculture is one of the most incredible challenges of this century, yet many continue to try to solve this problem through the development of precision technologies. Biotechnologies, such as biochar, can perform like a precision technology while protecting agricultural land from soil erosion and fertility loss. The Northern Glaciated Plains ecoregion of the United States is little researched in the benefits from the use of biochar through improved soil nutrient capture and water retention, crop health improvements, and yield increases. The study plot has four sections of corn stover biochar and eight sections of control sections. This …

Guide To Urban Gardening In Winooski Valley, Vermont, Grace Claire O'Neil

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Urban gardens have become a growing interest in the Burlington, Vermont area. As interest grows, soil management, amendment, and health are integral to garden productivity. A baseline of soil health for the Burlington Area Community Gardens was created. Explored hypotheses include how nutrient concentrations changed over time (2011 to 2018) in till and no-till scenarios.

Ten sites in the Winooski Valley area were soil sampled in the Fall of 2018, along with eight sites in the Chittenden County vicinity in the Spring of 2019 for comparison. Using the Modified Morgan’s Universal Extraction Solution, soil nutrients such as phosphorus (P), potassium …

Understanding And Measuring Net Positive Business Strategies, Luke Ruffner Robinson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite their attempts to mitigate ecological impacts through sustainability initiatives, businesses are a major cause of the world's ecological problems. Some progressive businesses are attempting to move beyond “net zero” in terms of achieving neutral environmental impacts and instead are now pursuing a goal of net positive. Net positive refers to the idea that business activities could contribute value-added benefits to earth’s ecological systems, for example, by using technologies that sequester and store carbon. However, except for a handful of high-profile corporate case studies, little is known about how companies are developing their strategies to become net positive and …

Soil Carbon Dynamics And Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Conservation Tillage Systems At Multiple Scales, Yawen Huang

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Conservation tillage practices like no-tillage and reduced tillage have been widely implemented worldwide, with expectations they would provide multiple benefits (e.g., yield enhancement and soil carbon sequestration) for food security and climate adaptation and mitigation. However, the adoption of conservation tillage faces both opportunities and challenges. A knowledge gap still exists regarding the effects of conservation tillage on the carbon cycle in agroecosystems. This dissertation reflects a comprehensive evaluation of conservation tillage at multiple scales using an integrated systems approach, a combination of data synthesis, the agriculture ecosystem model, and field observations and measurements. I first conducted a meta-analysis to …