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Soil Science

Masters Theses

Soil

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Impact Of Cover Crop Species Diversity On Soil Nutrient Availability And Crop Productivity, Amanda Kramer May 2023

Impact Of Cover Crop Species Diversity On Soil Nutrient Availability And Crop Productivity, Amanda Kramer

Masters Theses

Cover crops provide multiple environmental benefits that improve both soil and water quality; however, farmers only utilize them on approximately 5% of harvested U.S. cropland. Low adoption rates are attributed to yield impact concerns, seed and planting costs, and lack of advocacy. This study, which began in October 2019, assessed the effects of nitrogen rate and cover crop diversity on weed biomass, soil coverage, in-situ residue decomposition, soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability, and cash crop yield to better understand the costs and benefits of cover crop adoption at two locations in Tennessee (Milan and Spring Hill). Treatments were replicated 4 …


Hydrologic Controls On Phosphorus Speciation And Mobilization In A Subalpine Watershed (East River, Colorado), Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long Oct 2021

Hydrologic Controls On Phosphorus Speciation And Mobilization In A Subalpine Watershed (East River, Colorado), Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long

Masters Theses

The cycling of phosphorus (P) through floodplain environments is critical to ecosystem productivity and has significant implications on both water quality and soil fertility. P export from soils in response to saturation has been well documented, but the relative vulnerability of specific P pools to mobilization remains poorly constrained, as do the mechanisms mediating its release. The prediction of P availability in and export from mountainous floodplain soils is of great importance as global climate change is projected to significantly alter precipitation regimes in alpine systems. This study combined a thorough characterization of P distribution across a hillslope to floodplain …