Originally built for agricultural purposes by Acadians, dykes and dykelands have now found wider uses in protecting life and property in Nova Scotia and require regular maintenance. This research identifies some values that can be associated with dykes and dykelands and people’s perceptions of them. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews comprising open- and closed-ended questions were used in data collection. Agriculture, flood prevention and Acadian history and heritage were the most important values to most respondents in both open- and closed-ended responses. The results identified differences in people’s perceived values when they were provided with more information. The values placed on dykes and dykelands depended on their physical location, available information, and the activities and properties around the dykes. Peoples’ connections with dykes and dykelands had little influence on their values and perceptions. These findings provide important baseline information for further discussion about dyke and dykeland values and the case for effective maintenance.

The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of starter N inputs and Bradyrhizobium inoculation on soybean symbiotic N fixation and grain yield under field and greenhouse conditions. The study was conducted in the Wellington and the Habitant dykelands in NS. The treatments consisted of 0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 g/kg seed rates of inoculant and 0, 10, 20, and 30 kg/ha rates of N fertilizer. Under acidic soil conditions, the inoculated plants showed significant N fixation responses in the Wellington field while saline soil conditions suppressed N fixation in the Habitant field. The soybean grain yield showed an increasing trend with the inoculant rate 4.5 g/kg seed. The starter N fertilizer did not facilitate the soybean grain yield in the dykelands. Under controlled environment conditions, inoculant rate 3 g/kg seed alone produced the same amount of yield as 1.5 and 4.5 g/kg seed rates with N fertilizer.