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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Application Of Semi-Hydrophobic Layers To Decrease Bare Soil Evaporation, Jesse Lee Barnes
Application Of Semi-Hydrophobic Layers To Decrease Bare Soil Evaporation, Jesse Lee Barnes
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
Evaporative water loss from bare agricultural soils is a primary area of water conservation research. Mulching is the commonly utilized method to decrease evaporative water loss. The most commonly utilized mulch is nonbiodegradable polyethylene sheeting because it tends to decrease evaporative water loss and increase crop yields more than environmentally friendly mulches. This study aimed to test the utility of sand coated with polymerized soybean oil (i.e., hydrophobic sand) as a treatment to reduce bare soil evaporation and an alternative to current practices. Evaporation rates were measured in laboratory soil columns containing both treated and untreated soils. Treatment parameters were …
Seasonal Soil Carbon Fluxes In Transitioning Agricultural Soils In Central Washington State: Relations To Land-Use, Environmental Factors And Soil Carbon-Nitrogen Characteristics, Brandon Kautzman
All Master's Theses
Changing agricultural land-use practices to increase soil carbon sequestration contributes to climate change mitigation and improved food security by moving CO2 from the atmosphere into soil as soil organic carbon (SOC). In 2016, a farm in Thorp, Washington, Spoon Full Farm, began converting land historically farmed using conventional methods of tillage and synthetic fertilizers to conservation farming methods with direct seeding and organic soil amendments with a goal of sequestering carbon in the soil. This project evaluates relationships of soil CO2 respiration and net ecological exchange (NEE) with land-use types, seasonal environmental factors (air temperature, relative humidity, soil …