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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Cover Cropping And Organic Amendments To Improve Sandy Soils Under Organic Vegetable Production, Charles Williamson Dec 2022

Cover Cropping And Organic Amendments To Improve Sandy Soils Under Organic Vegetable Production, Charles Williamson

All Theses

Coastal Plain soils in the Southeastern USA are typically sandy with poor soil structure, low soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and meager soil fertility that pose challenges to organic agriculture. Adding organic inputs is a strategy to improve these soils' physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Here, we aim to investigate the impacts of Cover Cropping (CC) and manure inclusions on sandy soils under organic vegetable production. The experiment design was a randomized complete block with two treatments of manure application (with and without) and four CC treatments of cereal rye (Secale cereale), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), …


Characterization Of Water Flow And Solute Transport Driven By Preferential Flow In Soil Vadose Zone, Abdullah Al Mamun May 2022

Characterization Of Water Flow And Solute Transport Driven By Preferential Flow In Soil Vadose Zone, Abdullah Al Mamun

All Dissertations

The vadose zone acts as a buffer zone between the ground surface and the aquifers underneath and controls the transmission of infiltrating water and contaminants, for example, pesticides and chemical spills. Therefore, understanding the flow and transport processes that dominate the vadose zone is important. Macropores are ubiquitous and particularly found in abundance in the vadose zone. These macropores facilitate preferential flow, through which water travels rapidly deep into the soil, bypassing most of the porous matrix. Preferential flow and transport have environmental significance as their processes impact hydrology, ecology, agriculture, subsurface contamination, and waste management sectors. Thus, the overall …


Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act: The Costs Of Inaction From Land Conversions, Grayson L. Younts May 2022

Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act: The Costs Of Inaction From Land Conversions, Grayson L. Younts

All Theses

The Vermont (VT) Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA, 2020) sets greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets as 26% below 2005 by 2025, 40% below 1990 by 2030 and 80% below 1990 by 2050 for energy-related emissions only. Vermont’s omission of GHG emissions from land conversions can result in significant costs of inaction (COI), which can hinder state’s mitigation and adaptation plans and result in a climate crisis-related risks (e.g., credit downgrade). Science-based spatio-temporal data of GHG emissions from soils as a result of land conversions can be integrated into the conceptual framework of “action” versus “inaction” to prevent GHG emissions. …


Fate And Transport Of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocysts In Saturated Porous Media: Effects Of Electrolytes And Natural Organic Matter, Christian Pullano May 2022

Fate And Transport Of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocysts In Saturated Porous Media: Effects Of Electrolytes And Natural Organic Matter, Christian Pullano

All Theses

Toxoplasma gondii is a pathogenic microorganism that is currently a threat to public health. Understanding the fate and transport of T. gondii through the soil and groundwater is vital in determining the risk it poses to water resources and human health. The physico-chemical interactions between the groundwater and the bio colloid within an aquifer will dictate its mobility and its ability to infect humans. This research examines how various naturally occurring groundwater chemistries containing organic compounds and monovalent and divalent salt solutions will alter the fate and transport of T. gondii. Solutions containing various concentrations of humic acid, fulvic …