Nitrogen fertilization of seedling legumes is a controversial practice intended to provide N to the plant during periods when seed N, soil N, and N₂ fixation may not meet plant requirements; eg. prenodulation, postharvest, or in the event of an inoculation failure. Field experiments were conducted in 3 consecutive years...
The extent of agricultural drainage has created concern for its potential undesirable effects on surface water quality. Land applications of liquid manure on tile drain fields have the potential to transport solutes and bacteria to the drains following precipitation or irrigation events and many times are directly sent to a...
Although legumes have been widely studied for their nitrogen-fixing ability, it is uncertain to what extent legume cover crops achieve their nitrogen-fixing potential under the climatic conditions encountered in western Oregon. Furthermore, it is unknown what factors control the proportions of legume cover crop N that are either sequestered into...
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) cover has more than doubled within the last century and currently occupies over 9 million acres in the Intermountain West. Encroachment has altered the spatial distribution of soil nutrients and plants in these systems, forming nutrient enriched 'resource islands,' under tree canopies. The purpose of this...
Groundwater resources have become seriously threatened
due to improper use by industrial, municipal, and even public
sectors. Widespread contamination of aquifer systems has
jeopardized human health and the environment and methods for
restoring these systems are needed. Biological and chemical
in situ remediation, where contaminants are degraded within
the natural...
Dry land agriculture using summer fallow is a common crop production
practice in the Columbia Plateau region of eastern Oregon. Farmed-over level
terraces are used to control surface water runoff and soil erosion. More than
70 percent of the average annual precipitation around Pendleton, Oregon (350 -
400 mm) falls...
The rate of removal of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the xylene isomers (BTEX) from contaminated groundwater is needed to design remediation processes. Benzylsuccinic acid (BSA) and methyl-benzylsuccinic acid (methyl BSA) are unambiguous metabolites of anaerobic BTEX biodegradation. An analytical method for quantitative determination of BSA in groundwater samples was developed....
Rubber-modified asphalt pavements have been used in Sweden and the United States since the 1970's. In these applications ground recycled tire particles (0.25 inch minus) are added to a gap-graded aggregate and then mixed with hot asphalt cement. The benefits of adding rubber to the mix include increased skid resistance...