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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Predicting Combined Effects Of Land Use And Climate Change On River And Stream Salinity, John Olson Dec 2018

Predicting Combined Effects Of Land Use And Climate Change On River And Stream Salinity, John Olson

John Olson

Agricultural, industrial and urban development have all contributed to increased salinity in streams and rivers, but the likely effects of future development and climate change are unknown. I developed two empirical models
to estimate how these combined effects might affect salinity by the end of this century (measured as electrical conductivity, EC). The first model predicts natural background from static (e.g. geology and soils) and dynamic
(i.e. climate and vegetation) environmental factors and explained 78% of the variation in EC. I then compared the estimated background EC with current measurements at 2001 sites chosen probabilistically from all conterminous USA streams. …


Can The Desiccation Of Great Salt Lake Be Stopped?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Craig Miller, Sarah E. Null, R. Justin Derose, Peter Wilcock Nov 2018

Can The Desiccation Of Great Salt Lake Be Stopped?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Craig Miller, Sarah E. Null, R. Justin Derose, Peter Wilcock

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake, with its watershed in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Like all terminal lakes, the water inflows are balanced only by evaporative loss from its surface—when inflows decrease the lake shrinks until evaporation matches that inflow.


Hydrological Hazard Assessment For Irrigated Agriculture In The Irwin Focus Area, Russell J. Speed, Adele L. Killen Nov 2018

Hydrological Hazard Assessment For Irrigated Agriculture In The Irwin Focus Area, Russell J. Speed, Adele L. Killen

Resource management technical reports

The Midlands groundwater and land assessment project aimed to identify 2000–3000 hectare precincts suitable to develop intensive irrigated horticulture. The primary focus area was at Irwin, where the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation investigated groundwater resources and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development undertook a multi-faceted site assessment. This report describes the hydrological hazards assessment for the Irwin focus area.

The Irwin focus area is located on fertile loam and clay flats associated with the Irwin River. In the east, it encompasses the Irwin River valley floor and the western boundary loops to the south of the …


Climate And Plant Controls On Soil Organic Matter In Coastal Wetlands, Michael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. Mccoy, Jennie L. Mcleod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg Jun 2018

Climate And Plant Controls On Soil Organic Matter In Coastal Wetlands, Michael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. Mccoy, Jennie L. Mcleod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, there is a need to advance understanding of environmental controls on wetland SOM. Here, we investigated the influence of four soil formation factors: climate, biota, parent materials, and topography. Along the northern Gulf of Mexico, we collected wetland plant and soil data across elevation and zonation gradients within 10 …


Identifying And Characterizing Salt-Tolerant Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa Subsp Falcata Germplasm, Katelin E. Frerichs, Lan Xu Jan 2018

Identifying And Characterizing Salt-Tolerant Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa Subsp Falcata Germplasm, Katelin E. Frerichs, Lan Xu

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Soil salinity limits plant growth and crop production. More than 20% of cultivated land worldwide is affected by salinity. The situation is becoming more severe due to shifts in precipitation and evaporation patterns and improper irrigation. There is an urgent need to develop salt-tolerant, economically valuable plants to minimize the loss of and to sustain agricultural production. Alfalfa is one of the most extensively cultivated forage crops. Some yellow-flowered alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. falcata) have exhibited morphological and physiological drought tolerance. Since soil salinity is associated with physiological drought, it is reasonable to expect that these drought tolerant falcata populations …


A Combined Field, Experimental And Modeling Approach To Understand The Impacts Of Flood Irrigation On Pedogenic Caco3 And Co2 Dynamics In Drylands, Anna Cristina Ortiz Jan 2018

A Combined Field, Experimental And Modeling Approach To Understand The Impacts Of Flood Irrigation On Pedogenic Caco3 And Co2 Dynamics In Drylands, Anna Cristina Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Soil salinization is a global problem affecting 10% of agricultural soils, particularly in irrigated arid-lands. This study investigated salt loading through flood-irrigation, particularly of calcite (CaCO3) salt in the southwest of the United States. To evaluate the impact that flood-irrigation has on CaCO3 buildup and its effect on C-cycling, a natural soil and two agricultural soils were sampled: a pecan orchard and an alfalfa field in the El Paso, TX region. Agricultural soils in this study are flood irrigated by the Rio Grande river and by ground waters in its absence, both of which are oversaturated with calcite.

To trace …