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Full-Text Articles in Soil Science

Assessing Minimal-Input Restoration Strategies For Desert Soil And Vegetation Restoration, Audrey Jean Rader May 2019

Assessing Minimal-Input Restoration Strategies For Desert Soil And Vegetation Restoration, Audrey Jean Rader

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Mojave and Sonoran Deserts have been negatively impacted by anthropogenic disturbances. Considering that these ecosystems may recover on millennial timescales, research has shown that restoration techniques can be fairly successful in initiating long-term recovery processes in these sensitive environments. However, uncertainty remains as to which techniques are effective in different circumstances, such as in different climates or across different soil properties, and which techniques may best avoid unintended consequences, such as facilitating non-native plants. To reduce fugitive dust as a human health hazard, increase soil stability, and enhance wildlife habitat, further work is necessary to develop restoration techniques for …


Soil Moisture Recognition And The Spatial Distribution Of Storm Activity In The Mojave Desert Using High-Resolution Aster And Modis Imagery For Thermophysical Mapping, Russell J. Skuse May 2013

Soil Moisture Recognition And The Spatial Distribution Of Storm Activity In The Mojave Desert Using High-Resolution Aster And Modis Imagery For Thermophysical Mapping, Russell J. Skuse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Climate models suggest that the Mojave Desert ecoregion is vulnerable to becoming drier in the future, and as the human population grows and development increases, environmental stresses will likely increase. Determining the spatial distribution and variation of soil moisture on a regional scale is an essential component to climate change, hydrologic, and habitat analyses. Soil permeability and sediment stability are characteristics that have been shown to be measurable from remote sensing observations. The primary objective of this project is to map the mechanical composition of the surface materials in the Mojave Desert ecoregion with implications for soil permeability, sediment stability, …


Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine Dec 2012

Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …


The Impact Of Creosote Bush (Larrea Tridentata) And Biological Soil Crust On Ca Distribution In Arid Soils Of The Mojave Desert, Brittany Myers Dec 2012

The Impact Of Creosote Bush (Larrea Tridentata) And Biological Soil Crust On Ca Distribution In Arid Soils Of The Mojave Desert, Brittany Myers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ca is an important nutrient that plays a role in membrane stability and cell repair in plant life. This study examines the impact of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and biological soil crust on calcium cycling and distribution in desert soils in order to explore the use of Ca as a biosignature. Samples of creosote bush, biological soil crust and eolian dust were taken at two field sites in the Mojave Desert. The first site is located in Eldorado Valley, NV, a soil formed on a young (800-1200 years) alluvial fan deposit; the second site is located on a late Holocene-aged …


Environmental Impact Of The Three Kids Mine Tailings, Henderson, Nv, Ji Hye Park Dec 2011

Environmental Impact Of The Three Kids Mine Tailings, Henderson, Nv, Ji Hye Park

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research focused on the distribution of the Three Kids Mine tailings in surface soils in and around the mine in Henderson, Nevada. It is situated next to the communities of Calico Ridge and Lake Las Vegas Resort, and, just the west of the Lake Mead Recreation area. Even though the mine has been inactive for almost 50 years (1917-1961), tailing piles and other sources of contamination on the mine are currently exposed to the atmosphere. In this study, surface soil samples were collected along eight transects emanating from the center of Three Kids Mine tailing piles up to five …


Relationships Of Exotic Plant Invasions With Biological Soil Crust, Desert Pavement, And Soil Carbon In The Eastern Mojave Desert, Adria Decorte May 2011

Relationships Of Exotic Plant Invasions With Biological Soil Crust, Desert Pavement, And Soil Carbon In The Eastern Mojave Desert, Adria Decorte

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In a matter of 50 years, exotic annual plants have become widespread in the Mojave Desert, contributing to drastic landscape changes such as those caused by recent fires. Invasions by exotics threaten native Mojave Desert plant communities by altering community functions (e.g. fire regimes) and by reducing plant diversity. Because it is not practical, or even possible, to eradicate these exotics, developing effective prevention techniques is the key to controlling these invasions.

This thesis used a greenhouse experiment, a field experiment, and a correlational field study to examine the affect soil surface types have on the establishment of three exotic …


Co-Development Of Biological Soil Crusts, Soil-Geomorphology, And Landscape Biogeochemistry In The Mojave Desert, Nevada, U.S.A. – Implications For Ecological Management, Amanda Jean Williams May 2011

Co-Development Of Biological Soil Crusts, Soil-Geomorphology, And Landscape Biogeochemistry In The Mojave Desert, Nevada, U.S.A. – Implications For Ecological Management, Amanda Jean Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are complex matrices of soil particles, mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria that prevent erosion and influence water and energy balances, soil fertility, and vascular plant germination. The processes that form BSCs, the factors that control their distribution, and the ecosystem feedbacks that they sustain are poorly understood. This dissertation employed a novel interdisciplinary approach to address those research unknowns through investigations of the micromorphological structure, soil-geomorphic relationships, and biogeochemical feedbacks of BSCs in the Mojave Desert.

A micromorphological study of BSCs resulted in a succession model that illustrates how crust formative processes and structures change through time. …


Temporal And Spatial Assessment Of Evaporation, Transpiration, And Soil Moisture Redistribution, Brian M. Bird Aug 2010

Temporal And Spatial Assessment Of Evaporation, Transpiration, And Soil Moisture Redistribution, Brian M. Bird

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

At a native stand of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in North Las Vegas, a rainfall simulation study was conducted over a 12 month period from October 2005 to October 2006. Simulated rainfall occurred during the winter, spring, summer, and fall periods. Rainfall simulation systems were positioned on each of 12 plots, each containing a single creosote bush. Simulated rainfall events occurred at night with multiple short pulses designed to maximize infiltration while minimizing ponding. Yearly simulated rainfall amounts were set at 0, 15, 30 and 60 cm (replicated three times) and were approximately 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 times the …


Effects Of Plant Uptake And Micro-Topography On Chloride Transport In Arid Soils, Wenming Nie Jan 2009

Effects Of Plant Uptake And Micro-Topography On Chloride Transport In Arid Soils, Wenming Nie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chloride concentration profiles to depths of 1 m were evaluated on a young alluvial fan in Eldorado Valley, NV. It was found that chloride beneath plant canopies were 11 to 222 times higher than adjacent (1 - 2 m away) bare soil locations. Two-dimensional numerical simulations using HYDRUS 2D/3D model were used to further explore the impact of plants on chloride transport. The simulation results indicated that lateral flow driven by root uptake concentrated chloride toward root zones, leading to the accumulation of chloride under plant canopies. Results also suggest that locally micro-topography can have a substantial impact on chloride …


Genesis And Morphology Of Soil Pendants In Quaternary Landforms Of Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, Amy Lynn Brock Aug 2002

Genesis And Morphology Of Soil Pendants In Quaternary Landforms Of Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, Amy Lynn Brock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Five geomorphic surfaces present in the northern Pahranagat Valley, Lincoln County, Nevada range in age from Early Pleistocene to Recent (Q1-Q5) and vary in clast lithology from dolomite to volcanic tephras. Two chronosequences and 5 lithosequences were compared to evaluate micro and macromorphic characteristics and development of soil pendants. This study presents a new interpretation for soil pendant development. Key features observed in the Pahranagat Valley pendants provide evidence for precipitation at the clast-pendant contact suggesting that newer deposits are not always found at the pendant terminus as other studies have assumed. These features include a void at the clast-pendant …