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Environmental Sciences

University of Vermont

Soil

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Tile Drainage Flow Partitioning And Phosphorus Export In Vermont Usa, Ryan Ruggiero, Donald Ross, Joshua W. Faulkner Jan 2022

Tile Drainage Flow Partitioning And Phosphorus Export In Vermont Usa, Ryan Ruggiero, Donald Ross, Joshua W. Faulkner

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Tile drainage (TD) has been identified as a potential non-point source of phosphorus (P) pollution and subsequent water quality issues. Three fields with TD in Vermont USA were monitored to characterize hydrology and P export. Fields were in corn silage and used minimal tillage and cover cropping practices. Preferential flow path (PFP) activity was explored by separating TD flow into flow pathway and source connectivity components using two hydrograph separation techniques, electrical conductivity end member unmixing, and hydrograph recession analysis. TD was the dominant P export pathway because of higher total discharge. Drought conditions during this study limited surface runoff, …


Trace Metal Contamination In Urban Soils: A Field To Laboratory Methodological Framework For Characterization And Education, Sandra Leighanne Walser Jan 2021

Trace Metal Contamination In Urban Soils: A Field To Laboratory Methodological Framework For Characterization And Education, Sandra Leighanne Walser

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Urban soils around the world have been found to possess elevated concentrations of toxic trace metals such as As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Zn known to pose human health risks. Tightening environmental legislation and further elucidation of the detrimental health impacts from trace metals has necessitated more efficient means of contamination assessment, as well as greater public awareness. Within this thesis, I sought to develop an array of tools to holistically approach the socially relevant environmental challenges derived from heavy metal soil contamination. These tools consist in providing means to simplify Pb, Zn and Cu analysis in-situ, develop strategies …


Investigating Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Environmental And Biological Controls On Riparian Soil Denitrification, Brittany Victoria Lancellotti Jan 2021

Investigating Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Environmental And Biological Controls On Riparian Soil Denitrification, Brittany Victoria Lancellotti

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Soil denitrification is a critical component of nitrogen (N) cycling on Earth. It is a microbially-mediated process that removes N from soils by reducing nitrate (NO3-), a highly bioavailable molecule and significant contributor to eutrophication, to gaseous forms of N (N2 or N2O). Riparian areas, which are located at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, are areas of elevated denitrification rates, as they frequently exhibit favorable conditions for this process. Denitrification provides a critical ecosystem service by reducing N inputs to streams and rivers. However, this process is highly variable in time and space, making it difficult to predict …


Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri Jan 2021

Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As the ripple-effects of a changing climate shape our planet, understanding relationships between agriculture and climate change is critical. With agricultural practices shaping soils on over a third of the earth’s land surface, the soils and lands where food is produced are integral grounds for examining these relationships. While not all humans practice agriculture in similar or damaging ways, nevertheless, dominant agricultural practices are displacing beings and ecosystems and perturbing global nutrient cycles across the planet. These entwined imbalances of dominance and nutrients result in flows of excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon that are responsible for nearly three-fourths of the …


Quantifying Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Soil Carbon Storage To Determine Best Management Practices In Agroecosystems, Tyler Goeschel Jan 2016

Quantifying Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Soil Carbon Storage To Determine Best Management Practices In Agroecosystems, Tyler Goeschel

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Intensive agriculture, coupled with an increase in nitrogen fertilizer use, has contributed significantly to the elevation of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Rising GHG emissions usually mean a decrease in soil carbon. Currently, soil C is twice that of all standing crop biomass, making it an extremely important player in the C cycle. Fortunately, agricultural management practices have the potential to reduce agricultural GHG emissions whilst increasing soil C. Management practices that impact GHG emissions and soil C include various tillage practices, different N fertilization amounts and treatments (synthetic N, cattle …