Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Soil Science Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Soil

Colby College

Discipline
Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Soil Science

Asian Jumping Worm (Megascolecidae) Impacts On Physical And Biological Characteristics Of Turfgrass Ecosystems, Ella L. Maddi Jan 2019

Asian Jumping Worm (Megascolecidae) Impacts On Physical And Biological Characteristics Of Turfgrass Ecosystems, Ella L. Maddi

Honors Theses

Asian Jumping worms (Megascolecid spp) were introduced to North America in the early 1900s and have been altering soils in forest ecosystems as they spread throughout the continent. The worms differ from other introduced earthworms in their ability to consume large densities of organic material and potentially alter nutrient cycling in the ecosystems that they invade (Greiner et al. 2012). This study examined if and how Asian jumping worms alter turfgrass systems by changing the biological or physical properties of soil. To do this we conducted a mesocosm experiment and observational field study. For the mesocosm study we inoculated boxes …


Geochemical Differences In Calcic Horizons Due To Parent Material And Anthropogenic Water Input In Southeastern Arizona, Alicia Fischer Jan 2018

Geochemical Differences In Calcic Horizons Due To Parent Material And Anthropogenic Water Input In Southeastern Arizona, Alicia Fischer

Honors Theses

Calcic soil horizons are significant carbon sinks. Yet, despite their abundance in semiarid environments, calcic soils are enigmatic for two reasons: (1) some authors hypothesize that dust input does not, independently, control the geochemical properties of these soils; and (2) few studies have examined how these calcic soils change geochemically with respect to irrigation. A 2017 pilot study used portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) on calcic soils in Southeastern Arizona (SEAZ) to address these questions. However, this technology has not been widely employed to evaluate soils. The current study addresses whether pXRF and XRF data obtained from the same soil samples …