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Effects of Biofuel Crops on Soil Physical and Hydrological Properties on a Miamian Soil in Central Ohio

Clarke, Francis J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu158592486603924

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
Research on dedicated biofuel crops has typically focused on increasing yields and soil carbon sequestration. What is seldom studied is how biofuel crops affect the soil they are grown on. Soil is responsible for influencing important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, erosion control, and root development. Three biofuel crops, no-till corn (Zea mays), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus), were selected to examine their influence on soil physical and hydrological properties at three different depths (0 – 10 cm, 10 – 20 cm, and 20 – 40 cm). The goal of our study was to determine whether biofuel crops could improve soil physical and hydrological properties. The field study was conducted in Columbus, OH, on a biofuel research plot 7 years after establishment. A total of 36 bulk samples and 36 soil cores were collected. Miscanthus produced significantly higher yields (16.0 Mg ha-1) than both switchgrass (10.1 Mg ha-1) and corn (4.54 Mg ha-1) following a mid-season harvest. No-till corn produced the lowest yields because of the late seeding and poor crop stand. However, corn did not grow to maturity so the field was left to fallow. Significant differences in soil physical properties only occurred within the top 10 cm. Bulk density under miscanthus (1.39 Mg m-3) was significantly lower compared to both switchgrass (1.51 Mg m-3) and no-till corn (1.53 Mg m-3). There were no significant differences in calculated porosity and % water-stable aggregates. Mean weight diameter and geometric mean diameter were significantly higher under no-till corn (4.77 mm & 1.71 mm) and switchgrass (5.00 mm & 1.79 mm) compared to miscanthus (3.39 mm & 1.32 mm). The aggregate distribution revealed the same trend after wet-sieving, miscanthus retained significantly fewer aggregates larger than 4.75 mm compared to the other crops. When compared to a previous study conducted on the same plots in 2013, bulk density decreased under miscanthus at depth 0 – 10 cm from 1.52 Mg m-3 to 1.39 Mg m-3. At this same depth, there was little change in bulk density under no-till corn and switchgrass. At depth 10 – 20 cm bulk density increased slightly under all crop types. Aggregate stability generally increased under no-till corn and switchgrass within the top 10 cm but decreased under miscanthus. At the lower depths, aggregate stability decreased over time. There were no significant differences in penetration resistance and tensile strength. There were also few significant differences in hydrological properties. Permeant wilting point (PWP) was significantly lowest at depths 0 – 10 cm (0.21 cm3 cm-3) and 20 – 40 cm (0.22 cm3 cm-3) under no-till corn. Significant differences in infiltration only occurred within the first few minutes. Miscanthus on average had the highest infiltration rates and cumulative infiltration (11.7 mm). When conducting saturated hydraulic conductivity (K¬sat) tests little to no discharge of water through the cores was achieved. It was concluded that biofuel crops showed signs of having effects on soil physical and hydrological properties, with the results showing that miscanthus had the most beneficial influence.
Rattan Lal, PhD (Advisor)
Christine Sprunger, PhD (Committee Member)
Scott Demyan, PhD (Committee Member)
77 p.
Soil Sciences
biofuels; miscanthus; switchgrass; corn; soil physical properties; soil hydrological properties

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Citations

  • Clarke, F. J. (2020). Effects of Biofuel Crops on Soil Physical and Hydrological Properties on a Miamian Soil in Central Ohio [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu158592486603924

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Clarke, Francis. Effects of Biofuel Crops on Soil Physical and Hydrological Properties on a Miamian Soil in Central Ohio. 2020. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu158592486603924.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Clarke, Francis. "Effects of Biofuel Crops on Soil Physical and Hydrological Properties on a Miamian Soil in Central Ohio." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu158592486603924

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu158592486603924
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