Earth Sciences Commons^™

Relating United States Crop Land Use To Natural Resources And Climate Change, K. G. Hubbard, F. J. Flores-Mendoza

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Crop production depends not only on the yield but also on the area harvested. The yield response to climate change has been widely examined, but the sensitivity of crop land use to hypothetical climate change has not been examined directly. Crop land-use regression models for estimating crop area indices (CAIs) - the percent of land used for corn, soybean, wheat, and sorghum production - are presented. Inputs to the models include available water-holding capacity of the soil, percent of land available for rain-fed agricultural production, annual precipitation, and annual temperature. The total variance of CAI explained by the models ranged …

Land Resources Of The Bencubbin Area, Gerard J. Grealish, John Wagnon

Land resources series

This survey of the Bencubbin area is part of the Agriculture Western Australia's regional land resource mapping program, and covers approximately 1.5 million hectares in the Merredin, Trayning, Koorda, Mount Marshall, Mukinbudin, Westonia and Nungarin Shires of Western Australia. The climate is Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and cool winters. Land is used for winter cereal production and grazing, and about 60% is cropped each year. Wheat is the main crop and is grown in rotation with lupins, field peas, barley and medic pasture. This report provides primary and interpreted information on the character and capability of the land, for …

Avian Use Of Field Windbreaks, Herbaceous Fencerows And Associated Cropfields In East Central Nebraska, Natalie J. Sunderman

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Rangeland Reference Areas : Summary Of Cooperative Project Between The Western Australian Department Of Agriculture And The Environmental Protection Authority, D A. Blood

Resource management technical reports

The development of agriculture in south-western Australia has been characterised by the replacement of deep-rooted, perennial species of native vegetation with shallow-rooted, annual species. Except for the high rainfall areas, the native vegetation was able to intercept and transpire nearly all of the rainfall resulting in low stream flows and recharge to a groundwater system which was typically deep and restricted to the major valleys. The lack of surface or groundwater movement out of inland catchments used large quantities of cyclic salts to become stored in the regolith. Although annual crops and pastures can be high water users, they are …

Bermuda Solution Pipe Soils: A Geochemical Evaluation Of Eolian Parent Materials, Stanley R. Herwitz, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Solution pipes found in the Quaternary eolian and marine carbonates of Bermuda are filled with reddish to reddish-brown soil material. The bulk of the soil is composed of clay and silt-sized quartz and aluminosilicate clay minerals. The carbonates are of high purity and, therefore, are not likely to have been the parent material. Previous workers have hypothesized that Saharan dust may have been the soil parent material. The fine-grained component of loess from the Mississippi River Valley of North America also could have contributed. Paleoclimate models indicate that both North Africa and North America could have been important source areas …

Atrazine And Alachlor Dissipation Rates From Field Experiments, Stephen R. Workman, Andrew D. Ward, Norman R. Fausey, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Chemical transport is being monitored in the root zone of three agricultural management systems at the Ohio Management Systems Evaluation Area (OMSEA). Atrazine and alachlor concentration data from soil cores taken to a depth of 0.9 m and partitioned into the increments of 0.0 to 0.15, 0.15 to 0.3, 0.45 to 0.6, and 0.75 to 0.9 m show the herbicides remained in the top 0.15 m of the profile during the 1991 and 1992 growing seasons. The slow movement of herbicides was partly due to below normal rainfall during the period. Since the herbicides have not been transported out of …

Evidence Of Active Dune Sand On The Great Plains In The 19th Century From Accounts Of Early Explorers, Daniel R. Muhs, Vance T. Holliday

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eolian sand is extensive over the Great Plains of North America, but is at present mostly stabilized by vegetation. Accounts published by early explorers, however, indicate that at least parts of dune fields in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas were active in the 19th century. Based on an index of dune mobility and a regional tree-ring record, the probable causes for these periods of greater eolian activity are droughts, accompanied by higher temperatures, which greatly lowered the precipitationto- evapotranspiration ratio and diminished the cover of stabilizing vegetation. In addition, observations by several explorers, and previous historical studies, indicate …

Conglomerates Of The Upper Middle Eocene To Lower Miocene Sespe Formation Along The Santa Ynez Fault: Implications For The Geologic History Of The Eastern Santa Maria Basin Area, Jeffrey L. Howard

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

The depositional history of the Sespe Formation was studied using sedimentary facies analysis, clast counts, paleocurrent and clast morphological measurements, and petrographic methods. Sedimentation is interpreted to have occurred mainly as part of two depositional sequences in a coastal-braid-plain forearc-basin setting. Both sequences are present in the Santa Ynez Mountains, whereas only the upper sequence is recognized in the eastern Santa Maria basin. The lower sequence is part of a late middle to late Eocene sedimentary offlap attributed to a high input of terrigenous sediment derived mostly from the Mojave Desert region. This sequence is capped by an intraformational erosional …

Avian Use Of Riparian Corridors And Adjacent Cropland In East-Central Nebraska, Rebecca L. Fitzmaurice

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Erosion, Mass Wasting, And Sedimentation On Human Activities In The Río Grande Basin, Jujuy Province, Argentina, Waldo Chayle, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nearly all dry mountainous regions are affected by severe erosion, floods, and debris flows during times of intense precipitation. The lithology, geologic structure, and climate in Jujuy Province, Argentina combine to place at serious risk the people who live along the Río Grande, the major river that drains the east side of the Cordillera Oriental and the west side of the Sierras Subandinas. Nearly all precipitation falls during summer (January–March) with little during the remainder of the year; most of the basin is semiarid to arid, although the southern end has a humid subtropical climate. Relief is great, as much …

Geomorphic And Geochemical Evidence For The Source Of Sand In The Algodones Dunes, Colorado Desert, Southeastern California, Daniel R. Muhs, Charles A. Bush, Scott D. Cowherd, Shannon Mahan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Algodones dunes of southeastern California comprise one of the largest active dune fields in the United States. The source of sand of the Algodones dunes is controversial, and the source of stabilized aeolian sand in the adjacent East Mesa area has not been investigated at all. We used mineralogical compositions and trace element concentrations to ascertain the most likely source of sand for these active and stabilized dunes. Results indicate that alluvium derived from the San Bernardino Mountains, which enters the Salton trough to the northwest of the dune fields, and alluvium derived from the Chocolate Mountains, which is …

Carbonate Deposition, Pyramid Lake Subbasin, Nevada: 2. Lake Levels And Polar Jet Stream Positions Reconstructed From Radiocarbon Ages And Elevations Of Carbonates (Tufas) Deposited In The Lahontan Basin, Larry Benson, Michaele Kashgarian, Meyer Rubin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Most of the tufas in the Pyramid Lake subbasin were deposited within the last 35,000 yr, including most of the mound tufas that border the existing lake. Many of the older tufas (> 21,000 yr B.P.) contained in the mounds were formed in association with ground-water discharge. The radiocarbon (¹⁴C) ages of the older tufas represent maximum estimates of the time of their formation. Lake Lahontan experienced large and abrupt rises in level at ~ 22,000, 15,000, and 11,000 yr B.P. and three abrupt recessions in level at ~ 16,000, 13,600, and 10,000 yr B.P. The lake-level rises …

Land Management Report For The Kent River Catchment, Sue Kelly

Natural resources published reports

The Kent River Catchment is located in the South-West of Western Australia, approximately between latitudes 34° 15' and 35° 10' South and longitudes 116° 45" and 117° 50° East. The north-eastern boundary of the catchment stretches to the Albany Highway at Tenterden, and from there the catchment curves towards Rocky Gully before continuing to the South Coast (Figure 1.1.1). The catchment is located within the Shires of Cranbrook, Plantagenet and Denmark.

The Kent River Catchment is part of Basin 604, which is the Water Authority descriptor for the Kent, Bow and Kordabup River catchments collectively. Basin 604 has a total …

Soil Information Sheets For Ravensthorpe And Part Of The Jerramungup Agricultural Areas, Tim D. Overheu, Landcare Western Australia.

Agriculture reports

The soil information sheets produced for the Ravensthorpe Land Conservation District provide an easy reference guide to the soils for part of the Jerramungup and Ravensthorpe agricultural areas, and provide land use and soil management recommendations. Soil data are shown on the front of the sheet, and land use and land management information is given on the back. The information should be used as a guide, and encourage the user to seek further information through the relevant people and organisations.

Remnant Vegetation Inventory On The Southern Agricultural Areas Of Western Australia., G R. Beeston, G Mlodowski, A Sanders, D True

Resource management technical reports

Remnant vegetation mapping and its incorporation into a Geographical Information System (GIS) data base is the first stage in an overall documentation and promotion of conservation of remnant vegetation in Western Australia. The primary objective of this project being to determine the amount, distribution and regional location of native vegetation remaining on private land in the agricultural area of south-west Western Australia.

Reading The Rangeland: A Guide To The Arid Shrublands Of Western Australia, Don Burnside, Alec Holm, Alan Payne, Georgina Wilson

All other publications

Managing the rangelands is complex. Soils and vegetation can vary considerably over short distances in distinct or subtle ways. Separating climatic from management influences on the condition of the land has always been difficult. Whether we live on a sheep station, in a country town, in an Aboriginal community, a mining camp, or even if we only visit the Australian outback, it is vital that we understand and appreciate the unique character and management requirements of the rangelands. Learning to ‘read the rangeland’ has been a slow process, involving the knowledge and skills of pastoralists, Aboriginal people and scientists. This …

Kimberley Landcare Teachers Resource Kit. Cross Curriculum Resources For Upper Primary And Lower Secondary Students, Carolyn Davey, Philip Belfrage

Natural resources published reports

The project has been funded by the National Landcare Program and administered by the Department of Agriculture.

The project was established to improve community awareness and education of landcare and management issues in the Kimberley.

The Kimberley has a diverse and often fragile environment that requires careful management. To care for this land we need to understand the dynamics of its environment, appreciate how important the land is to us and recognise how our interactions effect all components.

The resources in the kit will provide the understandings needed for the development of lifestyles that integrate knowledge and appreciation of the …

Converted Railroad Corridors As Avian Habitat In Southeast Nebraska, Kevin L. Poague

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

A Guide To Floodplain Cattle Fencing, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Main Roads, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock published reports

A seminar and workshop was held at Fitzroy Crossing in October 1993 to address the consequences of flooding to landholders and communities.

Damage to flood plain fencing was identified as one of the major concerns to landholders.

An outcome from the workshop was the decision to draw on local knowledge and collate information on options for fence and floodgate designs.

This information was to be made available to land holders and other interested parties - hence this publication.

Miscellaneous Publication 39/94 - Horticulture On The Swan Coastal Plain - A Study Of Grower Concerns, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Water Authority, Western Australia, Csiro, Australia

Horticulture published reports

This study reports on issues, concerns and desired actions expressed in 60 interviews with people directly involved in horticulture on the Swan Coastal Plain in the region between Gingin and Mandurah. I stress that in compiling this report every effort has been made to avoid biasing or changing the information provided by growers.

These interviews were conducted over ten days during April 1994.

The study also presents information on what is currently being done to address some of these concerns by the Department of Agriculture and the Water Authority of Western Australia as well as other agencies and organisations and …

Interaction Of A Group Of Dislocations Within The Framework Of The Continuum Frenkel-Kontorova Model, Naum I. Gershenzon

Physics Faculty Publications

The Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model of edge dislocation is analyzed. Solutions of the continuum limit of the FK model [the sine-Gordon (SG) equation] are obtained in a form convenient for investigation of dynamics of a large number of interacting dislocations. We consider, based on these solutions, some nonstationary processes: dislocation generation, diffusion of dislocations, and crack-dislocation interaction. Simple relations connecting the velocity of plastic deformation, density and velocity of dislocations, and the force of interaction between dislocations are obtained. The nucleation of dislocations at a moving crack tip is described.

Use Of Riparian Vegetated Filter Strips To Reduce Nitrate And Fecal Contamination In Surface Water, Mark S. Coyne, Robert L. Blevins, Rebecca A. Gilfillen

KWRRI Research Reports

This research assessed fecal bacteria trapping in surface runoff by grass filters and their potential to enhance NO₃^- removal via denitrification. Grass filter strips 9.0 m long trapped over 99% of the soil in surface runoff in 1992. Fecal coliform removal was less than 75%. In 1993, 9.0 and 4.5 m grass filter strips trapped 99 and 95% of the sediment, respectively. Fecal coliform trapping efficiency was 90% in 9.0 m grass filters and 75% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal streptococci trapping efficiency was 77% in 9.0 m grass filters and only 56% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal …

Phosphorus Immobilization In Poultry Litter And Litter-Amended Soils With Aluminum, Calcium And Iron Amendments, D. M. Miller, P. A. Moore Jr., T. C. Daniels

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Arkansas produces approximately one billion broilers each year. Phosphorous (P) runoff from fields receiving poultry litter is believed to be one of the primary factors affecting water quality in Northwest Arkansas. Poultry litter contains approximately 20 g P kg-1, of which about 2 g P kg-1 is water soluble. Soils that have received repeated heavy applications of litter may have water soluble P contents of as high as 10 mg P Kg-1 soil. The objective of this study was to determine if soluble P levels could be reduced in poultry litter and litter-amended soils with Al,Ca, and/or Fe amendments. Poultry …

Pastoral Resources And Their Management In The North-Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia, H J. Pringle

Agriculture reports

This report commences with a brief section in which rangeland survey information is put into a pastoral management context. It then describes the environment in terms of types of rangeland and climate. Types of rangeland are described in terms of pasture types, land systems and land types. A pasture type is a kind of land at a plant community or landform scale. It is what is seen out of the window of a vehicle and what monitoring sites are located on. A land system can be seen as a pattern of pasture types in a characteristic position in the landscape. …

Bulletin 4279 - Streamlining - An Environmentally Sustainable Drainage Network For The Swan Coastal Plain (Peel-Harvey Catchment), Garry Heady, Neil Guise

Bulletins 4000 -

Community Catchment Centre Pinjarra

A network of over 1400 kilometres of drains and modified natural waterways constructed by the Public Works Department criss-crosses the Peel-Harvey catchment. There are also over 3300 kilometres of minor drains and natural waterways in this same region.

The expansion of agriculture relied on this extensive drainage network, which was designed to ensure rapid drainage of the region. Unfortunately there was little regard to future environmental consequences.

Along with drainage water, these same drains now carry high loads of silt and nutrients. Many of the drains are also degraded and require expensive maintenance annually.

Agenda: Water Organizations In A Changing West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Water Organizations in a Changing West (Summer Conference, June 14-16)

Conference organizers, faculty and/or moderators included University of Colorado School of Law professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell, David H. Getches and James N. Corbridge, Jr.

Water organizations in the western United States range from small, traditional acequia associations to large metropolitan water suppliers. What do these vastly different kinds of organizations have in common? All are feeling the pressures of change in the region--growing urban populations, environmental concerns, and calls for public participation.

This year's summer program will examine how water organizations are adapting to these pressures for change. Speakers drawn from urban, agricultural, and community organizations will share their experiences …

The Prediction Of Sediment And Nutrient Transport In The Buffalo River Watershed Using A Geographic Information System, H. D. Scott, P. A. Smith

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The Buffalo River was established by Congress in 1972 as the first National River in the United States. It is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in northern Arkansas. The river originates in the higher elevations of the Boston Mountains in Newton County, and generally flows northeastward, intersecting the Springfield and Salem Plateaus as it drops from approximately 2000 feet in the headwaters to around 500 feet at the confluence with the White River in Marion County. It is considered by many to be one of Arkansas' greatest natural treasures, and therefore , there is strong interest in protecting …

Historic Information On A Dump Site In Eureka, California, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

"Proposed construction of a Price Costco store at the northeast corner of Wabash and Railroad Avenues in Eureka prompted the recovery and assessment of a portion of a historic dump located on the property. In recent years. ground-disturbing activities for road and building construction and the reestablishment of wetlands, known as the PALCO Marsh at the end of Del Norte Street, revealed the location of historic archaeological resources. The size of the dump area is unknown, but, at the least, it extends underneath and along both sides of Railroad Avenue from Del Norte Street northward to 14th Street and eastward …

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

Arkansas Water Resources Center 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 …

Assessment Of Effectiveness Of Buffer Zones In Removing Impurites In Runoff From Areas Treated With Poultry Litter, I. Chaubey, D. R. Edwards, T. C. Daniels

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Land application of animal manures (e.g. poultry litter, poultry manure, and swine manure) to pasture and range can lead to runoff quality degradation during storms that occur soon after application. Vegetative filter strips (VFS) have been shown to reduce pollution in runoff from row-cropped areas but have not been extensively studied in pasture and range settings. This research involved characterizing performance of fescue VFS in improving quality of runoff from pasture land areas treated with poultry litter and swine manure. The VFS were found to be quite effective in reducing off-site transport of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), …