Soil Science Commons^™

Key To Success When Harvesting Alfalfa As Baleage, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is an excellent forage for high-producing cows and universally considered one of the highest-quality forages. Cows efficiently use the high levels of protein, calcium and high-quality fiber in alfalfa for producing milk and meat. The palatability of alfalfa is high, especially when the leaves are maintained during harvest. Typically, cows will eat more alfalfa than grass because the fiber content is usually lower in alfalfa. Harvesting alfalfa as baleage vs. hay greatly improves the chances maintaining high quality because there is less leaf loss and less loss of soluble carbohydrates. The most important factor is harvesting high quality alfalfa …

Alfalfa For Grazing, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

High grain prices, increasing nitrogen prices, droughts, need for higher quality pasture plants and improved alfalfa varieties have all contributed to a greater interest in and opportunity for alfalfa as a grazing crop.

Foreword And Recipients Of Kentucky Alfalfa Awards [2013], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Ceramic Petrofacies: Modeling The Angelina River Basin In East Texas, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

Ceramic provenance studies remain the basis of worldwide archaeological research concerned with reconstructing exchange networks, tracing migrations, and informing upon ceramic economy. Unfortunately, Texas archaeologists have been plagued with an inability to trace ceramic production sources to the same extent as researchers within other regions. Ceramic petrofacies models have been employed successfully in archaeological contexts at the San Pedro Valley, Tonto basin, Tucson basin, Agua Fria, and Gila and Phoenix basins in Arizona, but have not yet been employed east of Arizona. Data resulting from the construction of an actualistic petrofacies model in the prehistoric coastal environment of East Texas …

Predicting Anthropogenic Streambed Shifts In Beckley, West Virginia, Modeled Over 15 Years Using Landsat Tm And Dems, Andrew D. Reinhardt

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Anthropogenic change of streambeds in the Beckley, West Virginia watershed region was modeled using Landsat 5 TM satellite data from 1988 and 2003, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data for 1969 and 2005. Comparing the 15 year land cover changes and the 36 year elevation shifts, and using a modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), in ESRI ArcMap and ERDAS Imagine, a streambed shift model was created. The model predicted land cover and elevation changes for 2018, using inputs from geospatial differencing of 2003 and 1988 land cover as well as 2003 and 1969 DEM data. Further analysis using hydrodynamic …

Benefits And Costs Of Saltland Pastures On Moderately Salt-Affected Land, Justin Hardy, Arjen Ryder

Resource management technical reports

Summary The analyses in this report show that there could be significant economic benefits to the state, regions and affected farm businesses from establishing improved saltland pasture systems on moderately salt-affected land. The report clearly describes the methods of analysis and the assumptions about prices, productivity and adoption levels. The price of grain has been used as the key factor controlling the economic value of the saltland grazing because grain is the alternative supplementary feed for sheep over the summer and autumn period. Therefore, where yield is below break-even on moderately salt-affected land, it has a higher economic value and …

Field Guide For Nebraska Invasive Insects, Nebraska Invasive Species Project

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

2013-2014 Kentucky & Tennessee Tobacco Production Guide, Kenneth W. Seebold, Robert C. Pearce, William A. Bailey, Lowell P. Bush, Jonathan D. Green, Robert D. Miller, Laura A. Powers, William M. Snell, Lee H. Townsend, Mark Purschwitz, Larry G. Wells, John H. Wilhoit, Margarita Velandia, Steve Bost, Gene Burgess, Frank Hale, Darrell Hensley, Paul Denton, Neil Rhodes

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Tobacco growers in Kentucky and Tennessee have faced many challenges during the past two years, including weather, labor availability, and rising production costs. However, there have been opportunities as well. Some buying stations have closed or moved, but new buyers have come into the market and contract volumes have been stable overall. Good quality burley tobacco is in relatively short supply, and this has offered opportunities to those who have been able to overcome weather and labor challenges and produce good crops. These changes have had different impacts in different regions of both states, based largely on where buying stations …

Groundwater-Level Changes In Nebraska - Spring 2012 To Spring 2013, A. Young, M. E. Burbach, L. M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of Soil Density At A Bottomland Hardwood Forest Wetland Restoration, Chicot County, Arkansas, B. E. Sleeper, Robert L. Ficklin

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Bottomland hardwood forest (BLHF) soils provide a myriad of ecosystem services, yet much information is lacking with respect to how soil physical properties influence biogeochemical cycling along topographic gradients. Current patterns of vegetation at a 149ha wetland restoration site in Chicot County, Arkansas, suggest the presence of ecologically significant variation in soil properties within the Perry Clay soil series. A study was initiated in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) to map soil bulk density and texture as well as to identify the interrelationships between soil physical properties, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen. A random grid was used to …

Cave Ventilation Is Influenced By Variations In The Co2-Dependent Virtual Temperature, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Penélope Serrano-Ortiz, Francisco Domingo, Andrew S. Kowalski

International Journal of Speleology

Dynamics and drivers of ventilation in caves are of growing interest for different fields of science. Accumulated CO₂ in caves can be exchanged with the atmosphere, modifying the internal CO₂ content, affecting stalagmite growth rates, deteriorating rupestrian paintings or creating new minerals. Current estimates of cave ventilation neglect the role of high CO₂ concentrations in determining air density – approximated via the virtual temperature (T_v) –, affecting buoyancy and therefore the release or storage of CO₂. Here we try to improve knowledge and understanding of cave ventilation through the use of T …

Influence Of Organic Groundcovers On Mycorrhizal Colonization And Symbiosis Of Organically Managed Fruit Crops, Raven Anai Bough, Curt R. Rom

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Ground covers have the potential to impact the crop rhizosphere biology, which includes organisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which in turn affect the crop host plant through symbiosis. There has been evidence that a ground cover that provides a suitable environment for colonization of AMF and subsequent symbiosis could be a tool in organic fruit production. The objective of this research was to compare colonization of AMF in strawberry plant (Frageria x ananassa cv. Radiance) and apple rootstocks (Malus x domestica, cv. M. 26) grown in a greenhouse affected by various ground cover treatments. Inoculation was achieved by …

The Influence Of Poultry Litter Biochar On Early Season Cotton Growth, Taylor D. Coomer, David E. Longer, Derrick M. Oosterhuis, Dimitra A. Loka

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Cotton is known for being sensitive to cool, wet soils, especially in the early stages of growth. Amendments to soil can aid cotton seedlings in development and nutrient uptake. However, soil amendments can be costly and detrimental to the environment, and alternatives such as the addition of biochar have been considered. Biochar is produced from biomass that has gone through pyrolysis and has been shown to improve plant yield, microbial response, soil structure, soil cation–exchange capacity, and water use efficiency. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of biochar on early season cotton growth. The aim of this study …

Evaluation Of Cover Crops In High Tunnel Vegetable Rotation, Tyler A. Patrick, Neal Mays, Jason Mcafee, Curt R. Rom

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Organic vegetable production within high tunnels allows for an extended growing season, crop protection, and environmental control. The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards mandate evidence that the soil has been maintained and improved over the course of production. Previous studies have indicated the potential of cover crops for reducing competitive vegetation, and improving soil quality, thus resulting in greater plant growth, nutrient uptake, and yield. However, there has been limited work in the confines of high tunnels as part of a tunnel-system rotation. Ten nitrogen-fixing and ten non-legume cover crops were established under a high tunnel and evaluated for …

Three-Dimensional Hydrostratigraphy Of The Firth, Nebraska Area: Results From Helicopter Electromagnetic (Hem) Mapping In The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (Enwra), Jesse T. Korus, R. Matthew Joeckel, Dana Divine

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Saturated Thickness Of The Unconfined Portions Of The High Plains Aquifer, Conservation And Survey Division

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2013, A. R. Young, M. E. Burbach, L. M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Groundwater Atlas Of Nebraska, Jesse T. Korus, Leslie M. Howard, Aaron R. Young, Dana P. Divine, Mark E. Burbach, J. Michael Jess, Douglas R. Hallum, R.F. Diffendal, Jr., R.M. Joeckel

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Groundwater has long been important to inhabitants of Nebraska. Native Americans in the Great Plains erected their villages near water sources. Early explorers from Europe and pioneers heading west following river valleys depended on ample freshwater in the Nebraska Territory for drinking water and livestock supplies. These Europeans, however, considered the Nebraska Territory part of “The Great American Desert” and few people had an idea of the vast groundwater resource in Nebraska.

Three-Dimensional Hydrostratigrapy Of The Swedeburg, Nebraska Area: Results From Helicopter Electromagnetic (Hem) Mapping For The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (Enwra), Dana Divine, Jesse T. Korus

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Anchored Sheet Pile Wall Design In Expansive Soils, Ömer Bilgin, Eman Mansour

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Expansive soils cause damage to civil engineering structures in various parts of the world, because they swell when absorb water and shrink when dry out. Due to swelling pressures, retaining walls can be subjected to additional lateral pressures causing increased wall deformations and bending moments. Anchor forces can also increase, if the walls are anchored. When expansive soils are present behind retaining walls, swell pressures should also be considered during design in addition to the traditional lateral earth pressures. This study proposes a method to predict potential swell pressures acting on retaining walls for use in design of these walls. …

Managing Soil Microbial Communities With Organic Amendments To Promote Soil Aggregate Formation And Plant Health, Shawn T. Lucas

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The effects of managing soil with organic amendments were examined with respect to soil microbial community dynamics, macroaggregate formation, and plant physio-genetic responses. The objective was to examine the possibility of managing soil microbial communities via soil management, such that the microbial community would provide agronomic benefits. In part one of this research, effects of three amendments (hairy vetch residue, manure, compost) on soil chemical and microbial properties were examined relative to formation of large macroaggregates in three different soils. Vetch and manure promoted fungal proliferation (measured via two biomarkers: fatty acid methyl ester 18:2ω6c and ergosterol) and also stimulated …

Transformations, Bioavailability And Toxicity Of Manufactured Zno Nanomaterials In Wastewter, Sewwandi Rathnayake

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

In order to properly evaluate the ecological and human health risks of ZnO Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) released to the environment, it is critical to understand the likely transformation products in the wastewater treatment process and in soils receiving biosolids. To address this critical knowledge gap, we examined the transformation reactions of 30 nm ZnO MNMs in single component and multi-component systems, with phosphate and natural organic matter (NOM). We also assessed the influence of nano ZnO transformation on the bioavailability, and toxicity of ZnO transformation products to Triticum aestivum. The data revealed that ZnO MNMs react with phosphate at …

Using Existing Programs As Vehicles To Disseminate Knowledge, Provide Opportunities For Scientists To Assist Educators, And To Engage Students In Using Real Data., Steven Smith, Kristin Wegner, Benjamin D. Branch, Bridget Miller, Darrell G. Schulze, Ann M. Bessenbacher

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Many national and statewide programs throughout the K-12 science education environment teach students about science in a hands-on format, including programs such as Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), Project Learning Tree (PLT), Project Wild, Project Wet, and Hoosier River Watch. Partnering with one or more of these well-known programs can provide many benefits to both the scientists involved in disseminating research and the K-12 educators. Scientists potentially benefit by broader dissemination of their research by providing content enrichment for educators. Educators benefit by gaining understanding in content, becoming more confident in teaching the concept, and increasing …

Providing Educators Authentic Scientific Research Opportunities Through Integration Of Research Content And Technology With Globe Teacher Workshops Using An Integrated Model Of Professional Development, Steven Smith, Kristin Wegner, Benjamin D. Branch, Bridget Miller, Darrell G. Schulze, Ann M. Bessenbacher

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

Slurry Seeding Cover Crops, Edwin Alexander Suarez

Open Access Theses

Cover crops improve soil quality through increased organic matter, biological activity, aggregate stability, water infiltration, and nutrient cycling. Slurry seeding, the co-application of cover crop seed and swine (Sus domesticus) manure, is a new practice that saves fuel, time and labor. High salinity and/or ammonia, among other components in swine manure, may reduce cover crop seed germination and limit the use of slurry seeding. Ten cover crop species were evaluated to compare the effects of swine manure components on cover crop seed germination. Seed germination percentages and rates were affected by swine manure but not by equivalent salinity levels established …

Factors Influencing The Establishment And Survival Of Native Hardwood Tree Seedlings Of The Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Blue Ash-Oak Savanna-Woodland, James D. Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Historically, the Kentucky Inner Bluegrass blue ash-oak savanna-woodland was the primary ecosystem of the Inner Bluegrass Region (IBR) of Kentucky. After European settlement, the majority (>99%) of Bluegrass savanna was converted to agricultural and urban land uses. Currently remnant savanna tree species are failing to recruit. Therefore, a long-term restoration ecology project researching competition and disturbance on seedling establishment, survival, and growth has been established at Griffith Woods (the largest remaining savanna in Kentucky) in Harrison Co., KY. Fourteen native hardwood tree species (a total of 6,168 seedlings) have been experimentally planted. Light, soil, surrounding vegetation, and herbivory, factors …

Abiotic Nitrate And Nitrite Reactivity With Iron Oxide Minerals, Prakash Dhakal

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Under iron (Fe³⁺)-reducing conditions where aqueous Fe²⁺ and unreduced solid Fe³⁺-oxides commonly coexist, soil Fe²⁺ oxidation has been shown to be coupled with nitrate (NO₃^-) reduction. One possible secondary reaction is the involvement of NO₃^- and nitrite (NO₂^-) with Fe-oxide minerals found in many natural environments. Yet, spectroscopic measurements and kinetic data on reactivity of NO₃^- and NO₂^- with Fe-containing oxide minerals such as goethite (a-FeOOH), and magnetite (Fe₃O­₄) are not found in the literature. The reactivity of …

Characterization Of Mass Wasting Through The Spectral Analysis Of Lidar Imagery: Owyhee River, Southeastern Oregon, Christopher Earl Markley

All Master's Theses

Quantifying landslide character is an important aspect of understanding hillslope-channel interactions. Spectral analysis of high-resolution, LiDAR derived, DEMs was carried out following methods described by Booth et al. (2009) to determine the characteristic spectral signature inherent in different styles of landslides in the Owyhee River Canyon in southeastern Oregon. The main factor in landslide generation in this location is a lithologic contact in which a coherent basaltic caprock overlies relatively weak sediments where most of the landslide failure surfaces originated. Changes in spectral power distribution through time were quantified by comparing a sequence of adjacent rotational landslides of apparent different …

Carbon Farming In Wa, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Department Of Regional Development And Lands, Western Australia

Natural resources published reports

Fact sheets:

1. Applying biochar to improve soil quality and crop productivity

2. Reducing methane emissions from cattle using feed additives

3. Cattle breeding for lower greenhouse gas emissions

4. Managing genetic codes to reduce methane emissions from cattle

5. Managing pastures and stocking rate to reduce methane emissions from cattle

6. Claying as a method of increasing soil carbon content

7. Green and brown manuring as part of carbon farming

8. Permanent environmental plantings to earn carbon credits

9. Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils

10. Sheep genetics in methane reduction

11. Managing sheep pastures to reduce methane production …