Soil Science Commons^™

Nutrient Addition Shifts Plant Community Composition Towards Earlier Flowering Species In Some Prairie Ecoregions In The U.S. Central Plains, Lori Biederman, Brent Mortensen, Philip Fay, Nicole Hagenah, Johannes Knops, Kimberly La Pierre, Ramesh Laungani, Eric Lind, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Sally Power, Eric Seabloom, Pedro Tognetti

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The distribution of flowering across the growing season is governed by each species’ evolutionary history and climatic variability. However, global change factors, such as eutrophication and invasion, can alter plant community composition and thus change the distribution of flowering across the growing season. We examined three ecoregions (tall-, mixed, and short-grass prairie) across the U.S. Central Plains to determine how nutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium (+micronutrient)) addition alters the temporal patterns of plant flowering traits. We calculated total community flowering potential (FP) by distributing peak-season plant cover values across the growing season, allocating each species’ cover to only ...

Some Effects Of Method Of Application Of Fertilizers On Corn And Soils, Frederick B. Smith

Research Bulletin (Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station)

These fertilizer experiments in the greenhouse and field gave the following results:

1. The 2-12-2 and 0-12-2 had a greater effect on the development of both the primary and secondary roots of corn than the 0-12-0.

2. Germination and root growth of corn were retarded when the fertilizers were applied in contact with the seed.

3. The desirable effects of fertilizers on the early growth, maturity and yield of corn appeared to be in proportion to the development of the roots of the plant.

4. The greatest development of both the primary and secondary roots was secured when the fertilizers ...

Influence Of Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Grown In Elevated Co2 On Apatite Dissolution, Brian Matthew Morra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO₂ brought about by human activity creates changes in plant morphology, growth rate and exudate production. Our study sought to understand the effect of these changes on soil mineral weathering using plants grown under two conditions, ambient CO₂ (400ppm) and elevated CO₂ (1000ppm). Phaseolus vulgaris (common beans) were grown in flow-through microcosms consisting of a mixture of quartz and apatite sands. Plant growth was sustained by a nutrient solution devoid of calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P). Using Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy and colorimetry, Ca and P content of the leachate and plant tissue served ...

Sclerocactus Wetlandicus: Habitat Characterization, Seed Germination And Mycorrhizal Analysis, Kourtney T. Harding

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Uinta Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus wetlandicus) is a threatened species native to Eastern Utah. The cactus is found in a landscape highly disturbed by non-renewable energy production. To understand the environmental conditions that support natural growth of this cactus, we asked whether plant communities differed in the undisturbed areas where the cactus is and is not found. We then compared undisturbed communities to those found on disturbed areas such as reclaimed well pads. Plant community characterization was accomplished with the line-point intercept method, and data were analyzed using Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling. There was no significant difference in occupied and ...

Soil Science Lesson Plan For The Cal Poly Learn By Doing Lab, Kelsey Ormonde

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

To increase interest in soil science and other related sciences, educational materials need to be tailored to appeal to younger students. The purpose of this project was to create a soil science lesson plan that could be utilized by the Cal Poly Learn By Doing Lab. Information from several articles, textbooks, lesson plans, and websites was reviewed to create a soil science lesson plan for students in 5-8^th grade. The lesson plan focused on the three sub-disciplines of soil science; physical, chemical, and biological. Activities were created to correspond to the three sub-disciplines. Alternate activities were created to allow ...

Influence Of Algae On Soil Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: An In Situ Treatment Option For Reducing Infiltration Beneath Unlined Algae Cultivation Ponds, Molly Brianne Pattullo

Masters Theses

Commercial production of algal biofuels is currently limited by high capital costs, including the cost of installation and maintenance of plastic pond liners, which mitigate seepage of cultivation fluids and control the release of salts and nutrients into the subsurface beneath outdoor algae cultivation ponds. However, studies of animal waste settling lagoons show that underlying soils ranging from sands to clay loams can exhibit reduced hydraulic conductivity within days to weeks after construction, reducing the need for plastic liners. The mechanisms of the hydraulic conductivity reductions, or “soil sealing”, are physical rearrangement of soil particles, buildup of fines, and the ...

Effect Of Foliage And Root Carbon Quantity, Quality, And Fluxes On Soil Organic Carbon Stabilization In Montane Aspen And Conifer Stands In Utah, Antra Boča

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forest soils store as much carbon (C) as the vegetation that grows on them, and the carbon in soil is more stable than the C in biomass. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widespread tree species in North America, and aspen forests in the Western US have been found to store more soil organic carbon (SOC) in the mineral soil than nearby conifers. Fire exclusion and grazing often promote the succession of aspen to conifer dominated forests due to their effect on aspen regeneration. So far the factors driving the differential SOC accumulation, and the effects of the ...

Development Of A Multiband Remote Sensing System For Determination Of Unsaturated Soil Properties, Cyrus D. Garner

Theses and Dissertations

A multiband system including active microwave sensing and visible-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was developed to measure unsaturated soil properties in both field and laboratory environments. Remote measurements of soil volumetric water content (θv), soil water matric potential (ψ), and soil index properties (liquid limit [LL], plastic limit [PL], and clay fraction [CF]) were conducted. Field-based measurement of θv was conducted using a ground-based radar system and field measurements within 10 percentage points of measurements acquired with traditional sampling techniques were obtained. Laboratory-based, visible and near infrared spectroscopy was found to be capable of obtaining empirical, soil specific regression functions (partial ...

Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Upland Soil Properties In Mark Twain National Forest, Southeast Missouri Ozarks, Megan Lynn Hente

MSU Graduate Theses

In the Mark Twain National forest there is a collaborative effort to restore parts of the forest to its original shortleaf pine-oak woodland areas by using a combination of silviculture and prescribed fire. The purpose of this project is to assess the effects of prescribed burning on upland forest and soil physical properties that influence erosion processes across a gradient of burned sites of different ages and unburned sites. A combination of geospatial, field, laboratory, statistical (one-way ANOVA) and modeling (USLE) methods were used to assess the effects of prescribed burns on forest and soil characteristics in Big Barren Creek ...

Mathematical Model Of The Shell With The Infill For Retaining Structures, Alexander T. Bekker, Nikita Ya. Tsimbelman, Dmitriy A. Potyanikhin, Andrey I. Mamontov, Ömer Bilgin, Tatiana I. Chernova

Ömer Bilgin

A description of finite element model and analysis of a shell with an infill is performed. A large diameter thin cylindrical shell structure with the edge leaning against compressible foundation soil is analyzed. Different materials are considered individually for the models of each structure shell and infill component (metal or reinforced concrete shell, and granular or elastic infill in a shell and foundation soil loaded by the structure). Contact conditions between 1) the infill and the shell’s inner surface and 2) between the foundation material and the shell edge are analyzed. An example of calculating strain conditions in the ...

Draft Nuclear Genome Sequence Of The Liquid Hydrocarbon–Accumulating Green Microalga Botryococcus Braunii Race B (Showa), Daniel R. Browne, Jerry Jenkins, Jeremy Schmutz, Shengqiang Shu, Kerrie Barry, Jane Grimwood, Jennifer Chiniquy, Aditi Sharma, Thomas Daniel Niehaus, Taylor L. Weiss, Andrew T. Koppisch, David T. Fox, Suraj Dhungana, Shigeru Okada, Joe Chappell, Timothy P. Devarenne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Botryococcus braunii has long been known as a prodigious producer of liquid hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into combustion engine fuels. This draft genome for the B race of B. braunii will allow researchers to unravel important hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathways and identify possible regulatory networks controlling this unusual metabolism.

A Study Of The Secondary Effects Of Hill Fertilization, Horace J. Harper

Research Bulletin (Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station)

A field, laboratory, and greenhouse study of secondary effects of hill fertilization was made using several different soils as follows: Carrington loam, Webster silt loam, Grundy silt loam, Knox silt loam, Marion silt loam, and Buckner coarse sand. The effect of hill fertilization on the root development of the corn plant was also investigated.

Acid phosphate was found to have a more pronounced effect on the hydrogen ion concentration of the soil solution than either ammonium sulfate or potassium chloride. In most cases the first effect of acid phosphate was to increase the acidity of the soil solution. In poorly ...

Relationships Between Hydrogen Ion, Hydroxyl Ion And Salt Concentrations And The Growth Of Seven Soil Molds, Harlan W. Johnson

Research Bulletin (Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station)

Comparatively few data have been recorded relative to the effect of hydrogen ion concentration on the development and activities of molds and other fungi, altho such records have been secured for the bacteria. For both groups much more work has been accomplished on the effect of titratable acidity. The importance of molds in transforming plant food in the soil has made advisable the securing of such data. The present paper records the results of a study of the limiting and optimum hydrogen and hydroxyl ion concentrations and the limiting concentrations of several salts as related to the growth of seven ...

The Color Of Soils In Relation To Organic Matter Content, P. E. Brown, A. M. O'Neal

Research Bulletin (Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station)

The color of soils has long been considered to indicate to some extent, at least, their fertility. For centuries farmers in the humid regions have been accustomed to select their land very largely on the basis of color. Dark colored soils have been preferred because experience has shown that such soils are usually more productive than light colored types. But just what the relation is between the color of soils and their fertility or crop-producing power has never been determined. It has been assumed that the organic matter or humus content, which is mainly responsible for the color of soils ...

Catalyzed Synthesis Of Zinc Clays By Prebiotic Central Metabolites, Marcelo I. Guzman, Ruixin Zhou, Kaustuv Basu, Hyman Hartman, Christopher J. Matocha, S. Kelly Sears, Hajatollah Vali

Chemistry Faculty Publications

How primordial metabolic networks such as the reverse tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle and clay mineral catalysts coevolved remains a mystery in the puzzle to understand the origin of life. While prebiotic reactions from the rTCA cycle were accomplished via photochemistry on semiconductor minerals, the synthesis of clays was demonstrated at low temperature and ambient pressure catalyzed by oxalate. Herein, the crystallization of clay minerals is catalyzed by succinate, an example of a photoproduced intermediate from central metabolism. The experiments connect the synthesis of sauconite, a model for clay minerals, to prebiotic photochemistry. We report the temperature, pH, and concentration dependence ...

Accelerated Increase In The Arctic Tropospheric Warming Events Surpassing Stratospheric Warming Events During Winter, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Yen-Heng Lin, Ming-Ying Lee, Jin-Ho Yoon, Jonathan D.D. Meyer, Philip J. Rasch

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March-April. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as well as those documented in previous studies. Our results indicate a recent and accelerated increase ...

Tillage Effects On Soil In Southern Guatemala: A Case Study Using Remote Analyses, Sarah Irene Leichty

Honors Projects and Posters

Guatemala lacks soils information, yet soils knowledge is essential in order to reduce environmental impacts, improve food security, determine best farming practices, and increase crop yields. Reasons for the lack of information include lack of personnel and difficulty accessing equipment. This study's objective is to remedy those shortcomings via (a) the creation and sending of a soil testing kit, (b) corresponding manual written for non-soil scientist use, and (c) mechanisms to send data to ISU for thorough analysis. The soil testing kit included basic laboratory materials used to test essential soil characteristics such as soil aggregate stability, aggregate size ...

Evaluating The Impacts Of Grassland Conversions To Experimental Forest On Groundwater Recharge In The Nebraska Sand Hills, Zablon A. Adane

Dissertations & Theses in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

The Nebraska Sand Hills grasslands provide the greatest groundwater recharge rates in the High Plains Aquifer. However, the grasslands and their ecological services have become vulnerable to land use change and degradation. This study used a series of field data to investigate the effects of grassland conversions to forest on recharge rates in a century-old experimental forest in the Sand Hills. The results show that the impact of grassland conversion on recharge was dependent on the species and plantation density. Estimated recharge rates beneath the dense plantations represent reductions of 86–94% relative to the native grassland. Results of ^{1 ...}

Soil Respiration Rates And Caron Isotope Emissions Under Differing Herbivory And Plant Diversity Treatments In A Restoration Prairie, Miranda E. Salsbery

Honors Projects and Posters

As we attempt to restore native habitat, particularly in the Midwestern United States, we cannot overlook the importance soil microbes play in carbon cycling. Agricultural fields provide different ecosystems for microbes and may have long term effects on restoration efforts. By measuring soil respiration rates and carbon isotope emissions, it is possible to gage variations in the sources of respired carbon. In this project we looked at these two factors under herbivory and non-herbivory condition as well as low and high plant species diversity conditions to examine how these treatments effect sources and pool size of rapidly-cycling carbon. We hypothesize ...

Soil Residual Nitrogen Under Various Crop Rotations And Cultural Practices, Upendra M. Sainju, Andrew W. Lenssen, Brett L. Allen, William B. Stevens, Jalal D. Jabro

Agronomy Publications

Crop rotation and cultural practice may influence soil residual N available for environmental loss due to crop N uptake and N immobilization. We evaluated the effects of stacked vs. alternate-year crop rotations and cultural practices on soil residual N (NH4-N and NO3-N contents) at the 0–125 cm depth, annualized crop N uptake, and N balance from 2005 to 2011 in the northern Great Plains, USA. Stacked rotations were durum (Triticum turgidum L.)–durum–canola (Brassica napusL.)–pea (Pisum sativum L.) (DDCP) and durum–durum–flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)–pea (DDFP). Alternate-year rotations were durum–canola–durum–pea (DCDP ...