Soil Science Commons^™

Reductions Of Wheat Yield And Yield Components And Nitrogen Loss Following Frozen Soil Nitrogen Applications, Carrie Ann Knott, Edwin L. Ritchey, Lloyd W. Murdock

Plant and Soil Sciences Research Report

Most wheat producers in Kentucky apply nitrogen (N) as a split application. The first N increment is applied when wheat plants begin actively growing (green-up) in late winter, which is typically in mid- February between growth stages Feekes 2 to 3. The second N increment typically occurs in March when wheat is between Feekes 5 to 6. Many producers in Kentucky, especially Western Kentucky, have become accustomed to beginning first N applications in late January when the ground is frozen and the wheat is still dormant. This practice allows them to apply N to large acreages of wheat while avoiding …

The Effects Of Industrial Biomass Gasification Ash As A Soil Amendment On The Earthworm Eisenia Fetida, Michael J. Blackowicz

Masters Theses

Soil application of solid residues from thermal conversion of biomass (i.e. combustion and pyrolysis) has become a topic of interest in recent years. However, there exists a gap in the literature with regard to soil application of gasification residues and their effects on soil health and soil macroorganisms. This study investigates the effects of three different ashes (hardwood oak/hickory, hardwood willow, corn stover), collected from industrial biomass gasification reactors (University of Minnesota Morris, Eastern Illinois University), as a soil amendment on the composting worm Eisenia fetida. Additionally, ash samples were analyzed for total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potentially toxic …

Nitrogen Management Of Forages In Relation To Gaseous Emissions – New Approaches And Considerations, Shabtai Bittman, Derek Hunt

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forages have a high N demand, a long growing season, and an effective root system all contributing to effective nutrient capture. However forages are restrictive in methods available for mitigating gaseous losses both as NH₃ and as N₂O, due to both practical and cost considerations. Strategies are needed to address the challenges of both N efficiency and N losses. Agronomic techniques in long term experiments can enhance estimates of N loss pathways and N efficiency, and demonstrate the importance of integrated multinutrient approaches. The dual manure stream concept divides manure into a thin fraction suitable as an …

Impact Of Market Forces On Product Quality And Grassland Condition, David L. Michalk, Jianping Wu, Warwick B. Badgery, David R. Kemp

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Meeting demands for livestock products which are predicted to more than double during the next 20 years, is central to the challenge of feeding the world sustainably. Smallholders will play a key role in achieving global security in animal protein. However, this requires a shift from subsistence to market-oriented farming where production efficiency not the number of livestock is the key focus with the aim of producing ‘more from less’. For grassland-based ruminant production, reducing stocking rate from current unsustainable levels under subsistence management is an essential first step to producing more production and profit from fewer animals. This is …

Stakeholders Integration For Sustainable Use Of Temperate Forage/Livestock Agriculture, Garry D. Lacefield, Don Ball

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage/livestock production is complex, and best management options are often site-specific, but some concepts have broad application. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of research-based management approaches that the authors believe are necessary to ensure the sustainability of forage/livestock farms. This overview discussion is needed because livestock agriculture is changing, thus creating both challenges and opportunities for producers. In the last 30 years, beef numbers in the USA have declined by 20%, but production per cow has more than doubled, resulting in increased total production on less land with fewer animals. Similar statistics exist for the …

Socio-Cultural Factors Challenging Development Interventions In Cattle Production In The Remote Areas Of Vietnam, Duong-Nam Ha, Pham-Van Hung, Tran-The Cuong, Ninh-Xuan Trung, Tran-Van Long, Laurie Bonney, Peter A. Lane, Guillaume Duteurtre, Stephen Ives

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The northwest highlands of Vietnam are characterized by high altitude, low infrastructure, and low population densities composed of a wide diversity of different ethnic groups. Their socio-cultural characteristics strongly influence their lifestyle and production systems, including agricultural activities. The majority of these people have suffered from slow economic development, with the highest poverty rate in the country. This is a real need for plausible interventions where behavioral changes of smallholders throughout local value chains would be a critical foundation. Our project implemented in this context of development in the Northwest highlands of Vietnam aims to understand the role of socio-cultural …

Changing Grassland Scenario In Developing Countries--Economical And Social Perspective, Abule Ebro

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands are mainly used for livestock production in developing countries although they have been facing contradictory pressures, i.e., increased demand for natural resources and animal products to cope with rising human populations. On the other, there is a need to preserve the environment and ecosystem. This paper reviewed the causes of grassland changes, the economic and social perspective of changing grasslands with more emphasis on dry lands. Different indicators were used to assess the economic (livestock production, wildlife and tourism, crop production, ecosystem services) and social (traditional institutions, mobility, land tenure and grazing systems) perspectives of changing grassland. The major …

Conservation Of Grassland Plant Genetic Resources Through People Participation, D. R. Malaviya, Ajoy K. Roy, P. Kaushal

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Agrobiodiversity provides the foundation of all food and feed production. Hence, need of the time is to collect, evaluate and utilize the biodiversity globally available. Indian sub-continent is one of the world’s mega centers of crop origins. India possesses 166 species of agri-horticultural crops and 324 species of wild relatives. India is reported to have five grass covers identified. There have been almost nil human interference in terms of selection pressure; hence, the biodiversity is well conserved in these grazing lands. There is need of a system approach to understanding biodiversity that moves significantly beyond taxonomy and species observations. In …

Breeding Strategies To Improve Fodder Legumes With Special Emphasis On Clover And Medics, Ajoy K. Roy, D. R. Malaviya, P. Kaushal

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In India, Forage has a unique integration of agriculture and animal industry in diversified rich cultural environment. Greater part of rural economy in India relies much upon mixed farming system, a well-knit combination of crop production and livestock rearing. In India, grazing-based livestock husbandry plays an important role in the rural economy as around 50% of animals depend on grazing. Pasturelands over an area of 12 Mha constitute the main grazing resources that are available. Nearly 30 pastoral communities in hilly or arid/semi-arid regions in northern and western parts of India, depend on grazing-based livestock production. Nomadic pastoralism, a traditional …

Front Matter [23rd International Grassland Congress Proceedings], National Organizing Committee, International Grassland Congress

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Analyses Of Potential Ravine And Bluff Stabilization Sites Within The Blue Earth And Le Sueur River Basins, Anna My-Tien T. Tran

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has listed much of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) basin as impaired waters due to excessive turbidity, sedimentation, and nutrient loading. Of particular importance are the associated environmental problems (e.g. eutrophication, habitat and wetland loss, loss of biodiversity, and changes in water quality) that have developed within Lake Pepin, a popular recreational riverine lake of the UMR. Three major drainages contribute to these issues and empty in to the UMR near Lake Pepin - the Minnesota River Basin (MRB), St. Croix River, and UMR. The MRB makes up approximately one-third of the drainage …

Long-Term Litter Decomposition Controlled By Manganese Redox Cycling, Marco Keiluweit, Peter Nico, Mark E. Harmon, Jingdong Mao, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Markus Kleber

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Litter decomposition is a keystone ecosystem process impacting nutrient cycling and productivity, soil properties, and the terrestrial carbon (C) balance, but the factors regulating decomposition rate are still poorly understood. Traditional models assume that the rate is controlled by litter quality, relying on parameters such as lignin content as predictors. However, a strong correlation has been observed between the manganese (Mn) content of litter and decomposition rates across a variety of forest ecosystems. Here, we show that long-term litter decomposition in forest ecosystems is tightly coupled to Mn redox cycling. Over 7 years of litter decomposition, microbial transformation of litter …

Characterization Of Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Matter Fractionated By Ph And Polarity And Their Biological Effects On Plant Growth, Rachel L. Sleighter, Paolo Caricasole, Kristen M. Richards, Terry Hanson, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background: Humic substances are ubiquitous in the environment, complex mixtures, and known to be beneficial to plant growth. To better understand and identify components responsible for plant growth stimulation, a terrestrial aquatic DOM sample was fractionated according to pH and polarity, obtaining acid-soluble and acid-insoluble portions, as well as acid-soluble hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions using C18. The various fractions were characterized then evaluated for their biological effects on plant growth using bioassays with corn at two carbon rates.

Results: Approximately 43% and 57% of the carbon, and 31% and 69% of the iron, was found in the acid-insoluble and acid-soluble …

Geologic Map Of The Welcome Quadrangle And An Adjacent Part Of The Wells Quadrangle, Elko County, Nevada, Allen J. Mcgrew, Arthur W. Snoke

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Located in central Elko County, the Welcome and adjacent part of the Wells quadrangles expose a remarkable array of critical relationships for understanding the geologic history of the State of Nevada and the interior of the southwestern U.S. Cordillera. Covering the northern end of the East Humboldt Range and adjacent Clover Valley and Clover Hill, this map includes the northern terminus of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex. The oldest rocks in the State of Nevada (the gneiss complex of Angel Lake), and Nevada’s only exposures of Archean rock, form the core of a multikilometer scale, southward-closing recumbent …

Grassland Resources And Protections In The Yellow River Source Zone On The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xilai Li, Gary J. Brierley, Youming Qiao, George L. W. Perry, Jay King Gao

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This paper summarises resources and protections of the Yellow River Source Zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A concerted effort has been made to address concerns for overgrazing on the alpine steppe and alpine meadow landscapes in the source zone of the Yellow River. An assessment of the impacts of overgrazing includes consideration of the role of small mammals (on the one hand they are considered as a critical ecosystem engineer, on the other they are perceived as a major threatening pest). Analyzed in this paper are management options in the restoration of degraded grasslands.

Importance Of Livestock Production From Grasslands For National And Local Food And Nutritional Security In Developing Countries, Iain A. Wright

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grazing lands cover more than a quarter of the world’s land surface, often on land that is unsuitable for other forms of use. Despite the perception that productivity is inherently low, the contribution of grasslands in food security in developing countries is significant. However the challenges of spatial and temporal variability of primary productivity need to be managed and mobility of livestock is key to this. Appropriate land management and governance arrangements are essential for facilitating this mobility and for creating the circumstances in which technical options for reducing variability and risk in livestock keeping can be deployed and to …

Front Matter [Preface And List Of Contributors], National Organizing Committee, International Grassland Congress

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Promising Forage Options To Enhance Livestock Production In Mediterranean Climate Agricultural Systems, Serkan Ates, Hayley C. Norman, Hichem Ben Salem, Bradley Nutt, Harun Cicek

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The increasing demand for food, fibre and animal products inevitably requires intensifying agricultural production worldwide. This can present a number of environmental and farming systems challenges in Mediterranean climate areas of the world. Developments of novel strategies, employing ecologically sound intensification practices, are crucial to enhance production in the Mediterranean agropastoral production systems. In this paper, we have discussed forage based systems that improve productivity, profitability, environmental quality and resilience of the farming systems. Key opportunities include better use and integration of diverse genetic resources, new agronomic techniques and the utilization of perennial forage plants that are adapted to land …

New Methodologies For Grasslands Monitoring, Katarzyna Dabrowska-Zielinska, Piotr Goliński, Marit Jorgensen, Jørgen Mølmann, Gregory Taff, Monika Tomaszewska, Barbara Golińska, Maria Budzynska, Martyna Gatkowska

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Monitoring grassland areas to assess changes in their condition over time has been the subject of a lot of research at different scales. Initially the techniques focused on field-based measurements, and modelling. However, several obtained data were site specific. Based on the increase in availability of remote sensing data and products, there is an expectation that remote sensing can provide rapid and definite answers to the challenges of detecting and monitoring grassland conditions and associated changes in productivity. At the time of European Copernicus Programme, the new possibilities of satellite data from the group of Sentinel satellites give the new …

Grazing Management Options For Maintaining Optimum Pasture Composition And Utilization, Glen E. Aiken

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Global demand for meat and dairy products will continue to increase over the 21st century, however, the global forage-based livestock industry will be challenged in meeting production goals with minimal impact of the environment. Sustainable production of grazing livestock will depend on the use of carefully planned grazing management strategies. Development of a grazing management plan involves making two decisions: determining the livestock density at which pastures are stocked and settling on the method used to graze the pastures. Stocking rate indirectly affects output per animal and per hectare through its direct effect on forage mass and pasture composition. A …