Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Cover Crop Effects On Infiltration, Aggregate Stability, And Water Retention On Loessial And Alluvial Soils Of The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Shelby G. Lebeau

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cover crops are a widely considered practice to improve soil health in the form of erosion control, organic matter additions, and improving water-holding capacity. Despite the well-documented benefits, little is known about the effect of cover crops on soils in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), an area historically dominated by intensive cultivated agriculture, with soils prone to erosion, and unsustainable aquifer withdrawals for irrigation. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of cover crops [with cover crops (CC) and without cover crops (NCC)] on near-surface soil physical/chemical- and infiltration-related properties, aggregate stability, and water retention. …

Assessing Impacts Of Winter-Hay Feeding On Soil And Forage Nutrient Dynamics In A Rotationally-Grazed Pasture System In Arkansas, Lawrence Gordon Berry Iv

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than 38 % of United States’ rural land area was used for grazing (i.e., pastureland or rangeland) ruminant animals in 2017, constituting the largest private land use group. The expansive nature of these lands means that grazing and pasture management decisions have potential to impact water quality as well as profit margins. As a result, beef producers are under increased pressure from economic and environmental standpoints to limit application of nutrients beyond those required to grow the forage needed for animal consumption. At the same time, a large amount of nutrients is recycled back to pasture systems directly from …

Long-Term Changes In Soil Surface Properties As Affected By Management Practices In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System, Machaela Morrison

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Long-term agricultural sustainability and productivity are controlled by the integrative effects of different management practices on the soil. Many Arkansas producers use the double-crop system to grow soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Studying combinations of different, non-traditional, alternative agricultural techniques may help producers better understand the long-term implications of various management practice options on sustainability and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices, including residue level, tillage, irrigation, and burning, and soil depth on the change in various soil properties from 2010 to 2020 in …

Irrigation Design In Montana: Accommodating Varying Water Accessibility Across The Continental Divide., John Garrett Lampson

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The design work performed in this project was conducted over two summers (2018, 2019) of internship experience with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) across the state of Montana. The first summer’s design work was based out of Glendive, MT, in Dawson County, approximately 50 kilometers from the North Dakota border. The second summer was in Missoula, MT, in Missoula County, near the Idaho border. The two areas differ significantly in topography, weather, and water availability with the main separating geographic influence being the Rocky Mountains.

This paper focuses on the design process and requirements for two farms located outside …

The Conservation And Population Ecology Of The Imperiled Crawfish Frog (Lithobates Areolatus) In Human-Altered Landscapes, Chelsea Shannon Kross

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus) is an imperiled amphibian currently experiencing severe declines across its range. As a species with unique habitat requirements that is threatened by habitat loss, understanding their status across the landscape and how they respond to environmental stressors is key to developing effective conservation strategies that maintain and expand viable populations. We used a combination of observational, experimental, and theoretical approaches to understand the status of Crawfish Frog populations in Northwest Arkansas (NWA), their individual and population-level response to human-induced changes in vegetation surrounding breeding wetlands, and the effects of fire management on larval development within …

Soil Properties That Influence The Occurrence Of Hydrogen Sulfide Toxicity In Rice Fields, Julia Marie Fryer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) producers face many challenges throughout each growing season. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) toxicity is a physiological disorder where sulfate (SO42-) is excessively reduced to the toxic gas, H2S. This can reduce yield and, in severe cases, result in crop death. The main research objectives were to: i) understand chemical and physical characteristics in soils prone to H2S toxicity, ii) determine influential soil characteristics on the incidence of H2S toxicity, iii) determine ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) fertilizer additions influence on H2S toxicity, and iv) predict when and where H2S will occur. Three greenhouse experiments were conducted using Arkansas field …

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Nutritionally Equivalent Meals With And Without Pork, Kelli Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following report details a life cycle assessment of several dietary and meal scenarios with and without pork. The goal of the LCA was to identify the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and land use of pork containing and porkless diets and meal plans in a field-to-fork analysis. The dietary and meal plan scenarios are iso-caloric meaning they contain the same number of calories. The first set of diets is based on a USDA consumption pattern, 2000 kcal per day. This diet was used to create three other dietary scenarios with and without pork. The USDA recommended food …

A Pump Monitoring Approach To Irrigation Pumping Plant Performance Testing, William Merritt Mcdougall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, irrigation pumping plants have been tested using an instantaneous appraoch, which tests performance parameters over a very short time interval. Using this method, the tester measures the necessary work and energy use parameters to calculate the desired pumping plant performance values. The primary limitation of this approach is its inability to determine the season long efficiency of an irrigation pumping plant.

A new approach to evaluating irrigation pumping plant performance is the use of pump monitoring systems which use high frequency, real-time data collection and telemetry to relay information directly from the pump to the user. This method of …

Swine Waste Demonstration And Training Project, C. V. Maxwell, K. Vandevender, K. P. Coffey, P. A. Moore, I. Chaubey, D. R. Smith

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Upper White River Bmp Implementation Project (Nps Final Report), Paul F. Vendrell, K. F. Steele, M. A. Nelson, R. W. Mcnew

Technical Reports

The project objective was to monitor agricultural best management practices implemented to minimize sediment, nutrient, and bacterial impact on water quality of the Upper White River watershed. The project targeted the primary agricultural causes of non-point source nutrient and bacterial pollution in three sub-basins of the White River in the Beaver Lake Watershed. Areas with high animal densities targeted high source areas. High source areas were treated with best management practices (BMP) in an effort to reduce the impact to the White River and Beaver Lake. The predominant BMP implemented was waste management, a component of the farm nutrient management …

The Moore's Creek Monitoring Project, D. R. Edwards, T, C, Daniel, J. F. Murdoch, P. F. Vendrell, D. J. Nichols

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Correlating Soil Test Phosphorus Losses In Runoff, D. H. Pote, T. C. Daniel, P. A. Moore Jr., D. J. Nichols, D. R. Edwards, A. N. Sharpley

Technical Reports

Phosphorus in agricultural runoff is often a major cause of accelerated eutrophication of lakes and streams. Previous research has indicated that the amount of dissolved P (DP) in runoff is directly related to P content of the surface soil. Decades of fertilizer application at rates exceeding those of crop uptake have elevated soil test P (STP) levels in areas of intensive crop and livestock production, making this the major source of DP loss in runoff. The objective of our experiment was to relate STP content of Captina silt loam to P concentration and loss in runoff, and determine which STP …

Reconnaissance Survey Of Nitrate Concentrations In Ground Water In Howard And Pike Counties, Arkansas, Travis Thornton, Kenneth F. Steele

Technical Reports

In recent years, the rapid growth of poultry and hog production in Arkansas has caused concern regarding nitrate contamination of the ground water. In the study area of Pike and Howard Counties, the number of hogs has increased from 3,300 hogs in 1970 to 75,000 hogs in 1990. Poultr¥ production for the area has increased from 38,933,000 per year 1n 1970 to 62,774,000 per year in 1990. As animal production increases, so does the amount of animal waste that must be disposed. Hog production is of particular concern. Typical hog operations store concentrated animal waste in lagoons prior to land …

Determination Of Optimal Timing Of Poultry Waste Disposal By Meteorological, Hydrological, And Water Quality Modeling Techniques, D. R. Edwards, T. C. Daniel

Technical Reports

Approximately one million Mg of broiler litter were generated in conjunction with Arkansas' 1989 broiler production. Common practices for disposal of the waste have the potential to damage the quality of downstream rivers and lakes. This possibility is enhanced due to the concentration of broiler production in areas of the state with shallow soils, steep slopes, and limited suitable disposal area. Since the risk of pollution is greatest immediately following disposal and increases with rainfall depth and intensity, adverse water quality impacts may be mitigated by timing the application to coincide with low probability of surface losses of the nutrients …

Analyses Of Groundwater For Trace Levels Of Pesticides, T. L. Lavy, J. D. Mattice, T. C. Cavalier

Technical Reports

Agricultural production is a major source of revenue in Arkansas. In order to increase productivity, it has been necessary to rely increasingly on the use of pesticides and irrigation water. In the last 15 years several states have reported finding pesticides in groundwater as a result of normal agricultural practices. Since almost half of the population also relies on groundwater as their source of drinking water, it is necessary to conduct research as to ascertain the presence or absence of commonly used pesticides in groundwater. Multi residue analytical techniques were developed for the analysis of acifluorfen, alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, diuron, …