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Brehm_MSc_Thesis_Final.pdf (1.63 MB)

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Evaluating the effects of underground pipeline installation on soil and crop characteristics throughout Ohio, USA

Brehm, Theresa L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650551091519984

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
Oil and natural gas pipelines are essential to the transport of energy materials, but construction of these pipelines commonly causes major disturbance to ecosystems. Due to variability in pipeline installation practices and environments, drawing consensus about how pipeline installations typically impact agricultural ecosystems has been challenging. Here, we conducted a systematic literature review and quantitative analysis of current pipeline studies to determine the magnitude of soil and vegetative responses to pipeline installation and found detrimental impacts to both soil and vegetation variables, including compaction, aggregate stability, and plant biomass. However, best management practices and remediation timeframes vary between studies. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine impacts of pipeline installation on Ohio soil and crop characteristics after a 4- to 5-year remediation period across three independent pipeline installations: the Rover, Utopia, and Nexus pipelines. We performed a 2-year on-farm study in 2020 and 2021 over 29 sites in 8 Ohio counties, directly comparing right-of-way (ROW) and adjacent, unaffected areas (ADJ) of the same agricultural fields. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties were evaluated, as well as yield and stand counts for field corn, corn silage, and soybean. Detrimental impacts to soil physical characteristics which occurred during pipeline installation persisted through this study period, while variable impacts to soil chemical properties were observed on an individual iii site basis. Finally, satellite image-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to analyze if ROW versus ADJ differences in agricultural crop yields can be evaluated in a less time- and labor-intensive process compared with traditional on-farm sampling methods. Various soil and yield metrics show that degradation of agricultural land persists past the 4- to 5-year remediation period suggested by pipeline companies.
Steve Culman (Advisor)
Scott Demyan (Committee Member)
Sami Khanal (Committee Member)
136 p.
Agronomy; Energy; Environmental Science; Soil Sciences
Pipeline installation; degradation; soil; yield; NDVI

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Brehm, T. L. (2022). Evaluating the effects of underground pipeline installation on soil and crop characteristics throughout Ohio, USA [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650551091519984

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Brehm, Theresa. Evaluating the effects of underground pipeline installation on soil and crop characteristics throughout Ohio, USA. 2022. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650551091519984.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Brehm, Theresa. "Evaluating the effects of underground pipeline installation on soil and crop characteristics throughout Ohio, USA." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650551091519984

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1650551091519984
351
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.