No description available.

A field lysimeter experiment was conducted on a sandy loam soil during the 1990 and 1991 growing seasons. The experiment tested the effects of different watertables on soybean yields, and on moisture distribution and nitrogen concentration of the soil profile. The watertable depths were 40, 60, 80, and 100 centimeters (cm). / Yields were measured in terms of number of beans per plant, number of pods per plant, number of beans per pod, and seed protein content at harvest. / Soil samples collected at depths of 30 and 70 cm from the soil surface were analyzed for moisture content and NO$ sb3 sp-$-N and NH$ sb4 sp+$-N concentrations. / The experimental results showed that controlled watertable management increased the yield and decreased soil NO$ sb3 sp-$-N levels. The best results from the watertables tested were found to be at 60 and 80 cm. This is suggested as the range of watertable depths that should be maintained for optimum soybean production.

Cover crops may be used as a management tool in modifying soil water content, helping lower agriculture’s impact on water quality and lead to greater crop yields. During the 2012 growing season, a field study was conducted in Albany, IN to determine: 1) the impact of cover crops on soil moisture throughout the growing season and 2) cover crops’ influence on corn (Zea mays) yield. Treatments of a monoculture of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) (AR), a mixture of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), and groundhog radish (Raphanus sativus) (MIX), were compared with a no cover crop control (CTRL) in a randomized complete block design, with blocks positioned in moderately well drained (MWD) and poorly drained (PD) soils. Cover crop treatments were similar to each other in accelerating moisture removal before the corn growing season, resulting in soil profiles that were 47% drier in the MWD soil and 22% drier in the PD soil than controls. Abnormally hot and dry weather conditions made water availability a limiting factor and decreased the relative importance of soil nitrogen while corn was growing. In the MWD soils, corn grown after MIX treatments had 21% higher yields than CTRL treatments and 11% higher yields than AR treatments due to increased subsoil water usage. Corn grain yields in PD soils were related to surface moisture conservation, leading to 3-5% higher yields in MIX and AR treatments. Implications for improved field trafficability, reduced runoff and tile drainage flow, and enhanced water availability to crops are discussed. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Measurements of the energy balances and net photosynthesis rates of two low productivity coniferous forest canopies (12 and 22 years old), were made successfully during both wet and dry growing seasons, using a modified Bowen Ratio method. Canopy conductances (gc) were calculated from canopy evaporation rates (E) using the Penman-Monteith equation. A model was developed to predict canopy growth and evaporation rates from basic soil and weather data, and compared with the measured data. The photosynthesis model was physiologically based, derived from recent work of Farquhar and coworkers. The canopy conductance model used an empirical approach, based on simple relationships with recorded environmental variables, while canopy E was predicted from the Penman-Monteith equation. Findings were: (1) Daytime E and canopy net photosynthesis rates (Fc) were generally lower in the younger canopy. (2) In the old canopy, E was more strongly decoupled from net irradiance (Rn) and more dependent on the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (D) in accordance with the predictions of McNaughton and Jarvis (1983). (3) In the old canopy, Fc was significantly reduced by low soil water potential (Ψs) within the range of soil water storages at which measurements were made, while gc was less dependent on Ψs. From consideration of changes in intercellular C0₂ concentration, gc was not found normally limiting to Fc. (4) No simple relationship was apparent between solar irradiance (S) and F at the canopy level. However highest Fc and canopy water use efficiency ratios occurred on cloudy days with low air temperature and low D. (5) Night-time Fc measurements indicated that canopy respiration rates are generally very high and hence air temperature was a major factor limiting overall forest productivity. (6) The computer model could predict gc from four variables (D, S, root-zone soil water storage, W and time since dawn, t) with reasonable 2 success (r² 0.75). However, on days when gc was low, due to high D, E was occasionally significantly in error, because the Penman-Monteith equation is more sensitive to gc when the latter is low. Best agreement between measured and modelled E occurred on cloudy days when D was low and gc consequently high. (7) Values for the maximum rates of carboxylation, as limited by foliar carboxylase activity and electron transport rate, were set at one third of those reported by Farquhar and coworkers, in order to obtain best overall agreement between measured and modelled data. This requirement indicated that poor nutrition was also limiting to stand productivity. (8) Model prediction of canopy net photosynthesis was not satisfactory (r² 0.50), attributed mainly to using too simple an approach to estimating irradiance at the individual leaf level, and partly to unexplained variation in the measurements of Fc. In spite of its limitations, the model was found to respond realistically to changes in weather and Ψs, suggesting the approach was valid, and might be more successful with further development. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

A study of the humus content and the water content of San Saba clay and Denton clay. Studies show that the physical properties of soil are conducive to moisture retention and the availability of moisture to plants.

No description available.

Ecological aspects of desert vegetation in relation to a moisture gradient of an ephemeral stream in central Arizona were investigated. The stream channel, flood plain and north, west, south, east facing slopes represent a moisture gradient going from most mesic to most xeric conditions. In parts of the system, vegetation from the stream channel intergraded into flood plain vegetation which in turn intergraded into slope vegetation types. In other areas there are sharp delineations between stream channel and flood plain, and between flood plain and slope. Trees and legumes preferred medium moisture habitats, while forbs, shrubs and succulents preferred the dryer moisture areas. Family groups like the Compositeae and the Gramineae were found to be distributed ubiquitously. Niche widths were broadest for flood plain species. Diversity was highest on the slopes. Negative correlations between diversity and the Synthetic Stand Moisture Index existed, i.e. as moisture increased diversity decreased. It was postulated that factors other than moisture, i.e. disturbance also strongly influenced diversity.

The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of sublethal water stress on the physiology of loblolly and Aleppo pine. Gas exchange characteristics, uncoupled thylakoid electron transport capacity, and needle osmotic potentials were measured. Seedlings of both species were watered only when their needle water potential fell below -1.8 and -2.2 MPa respectively (water stress conditioning) or were kept well watered (controls). After 10 weeks of water stress conditioning, both regimes were allowed to dry down. During this period of increasing water stress, photosynthesis in both species was determined at 5 different cuvette CO₂ concentrations (approximately 200, 330, 500, 650, and 800 ppm). With Aleppo pine only, mesophyll resistances and stomatal limitations to gas exchange were estimated. Thylakoids were extracted from both species and their activity was measured in a liquid phase O₂ electrode (Hansatech L^td) as rate of O₂ consumption. Methyl Viologen (1,1’ -dimethyl -4, 4’- bipyridinium ion ) was included in the reaction medium. Photosynthesis decreased with increasing water stress but fell more slowly in the conditioned seedlings. As water stress increased, total resistance to CO₂ exchange increased for both regimes to a much higher level than explained by stomatal resistance alone. In the conditioned seedlings, resistances increased less precipitously than in controls. Osmotic adjustment as measured with thermocouple psychrometers occurred in both species. Decreases in photosynthesis (both species) and increases in mesophyll resistance (Aleppo pine) were not accompanied by a decrease in whole chain uncoupled electron transport capacity. / Master of Science

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in southwestern Alberta were studied to determine the water sources used and the effect of changing soil moisture on tree ecophysiological function. The hydrogen stable isotope ratios of water from local groundwater and precipitation were compared to tree stem water to determine the amount of stem water coming from those two sources. There were no significant differences between species in the portion of summer precipitation taken up. However, Douglas-fir shifted towards using more groundwater as shallow soil moisture declined. In addition, Douglas-fir showed large changes in shoot water potential, but maintained relatively constant rates of oxygen evolution, whereas lodgepole pine exhibited smaller changes in shoot water potential and had severely reduced rates of oxygen evolution during mid-summer drought. Lower leaf-area to sap-wood area and higher leaf δ13C (carbon isotope composition) suggested a less efficient hydraulic system in Douglas-fir compared to lodgepole pine. / x, 91 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

"July 2004." / Bibliography: leaves 120-136. / vii, 136 leaves : ill. (some col.), maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates the effects of soil moisture dynamics on the growth and interactions between invasive annual grasses and native perennial grasses in the mid-north of South Australia. At most sites annual grass abundance was positively correlated with rainfall, soil moisture after rainfall and higher soil productivity. Perennial grass abundance was negatively correlated with annual grass abundance and soil moisture after rainfall, and was weakly positively correlated with percentage summer rainfall, elevation, radiation, gravel and slope. Overall perennial grasses responded little to the environmental variables investigated, but strongly to annual grass abundance, while for annual grasses soil moisture was the driving variable. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Discipline of Environmental Biology, 2004