Soil Science Commons^™

Effect Of Plant Derived Tannins On Nitrogen And Carbon Cycling In Pasture Soils, Kathryn A. Slebodnik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pasture-finished beef has become increasingly popular, but nitrogen losses from these pastures are of concern. Legumes containing condensed tannins such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) may serve as environmentally and economically viable alternative forages in pasture finishing systems while reducing soil nitrogen loss. The goal of this project was to understand how tannin type and concentration affects soil nitrogen cycling both in the lab and the field. This thesis: 1) compared the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soil samples obtained from grazed grass and tannin and non-tannin containing legume pastures, 2) …

Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Mitchell William Jensen

Materials Engineering

This project was intended to be a continuation of senior project work done last year by a group consisting of two Materials Engineering students and a Soil Science student. Their report was crucial in identifying a range of food thickeners that could be capable of performing in the mud thickening application. All thickeners that were chosen both this year and last year are biocompatible, to alleviate some toxicity concerns. The food thickeners all belong to a class of compounds known as colloids. Since water is the fluid being thickened, these compounds are more accurately referred to as hydrocolloids. Hydrocolloids are …

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 …