Traditional in-situ soil compaction monitoring methods are often limited in their application, thus quality control of compacted fills and roadway embankments remains a challenging problem. As a result, new methods are being developed to more accurately measure in-situ compaction parameters. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is one such method. Several advances have been made over the past few years to further the use of TDR technology in water content and density measurement of compacted fill. The one-step method relies on the measurement of the apparent dielectric constant in conjunction with the bulk electrical conductivity, and correlates them through two soil-specific constants, f and g. The two measurements, together with other soil specific constants, are then used to back calculate the water content and density in a single step. However, questions remain regarding the accuracy and bias of TDR measurements in relation to other "established" in-situ procedures such as the nuclear gage and speedy moisture. Results from an experimental program to obtain calibration constants for typical sands used in roadway construction are presented. A number of side-by-side tests are performed to compare the measurements obtained using the TDR one-step method to those obtained form other methods. Conducting such side-by-side tests is a critical step in the progress and eventual widespread usage of the one-step method. In addition, all the results are compared against an independent measurement of the in-place density from a slurry-replacement method. The objective of the independent measurement is to provide a baseline for accurate and unbiased evaluation of TDR and other technologies.

In Southern Manitoba, potato producers are experiencing wetter and drier conditions within the soil profile during the growing season leading to poor quality and inconsistent yields. Russet Burbank Potato cultivar was grown in Southern Manitoba on fine sandy loam soil in a two year (2013-2014) study using two water management treatments: (i) overhead irrigation and (ii) no-irrigation. The main objectives of the study were (i) to assess the impact of overhead irrigation on water table depth and potato yield (ii) to estimate the shallow groundwater contribution to potato water requirement through upward flux (iii) to track the nitrogen dynamics within the potato root-zone under overhead irrigation and no-irrigation scenarios (iv) to examine the effects of no-irrigation and overhead irrigation system at critical growth stages on marketable yield and quality of potatoes. In 2013, water was applied using a linear move irrigation system and in 2014 a rain gun irrigation system was used for the irrigated treatment. Volumetric soil water content, precipitation, irrigation depth, water table depth, nitrate concentration and electrical conductivity in potato root-zone, groundwater electrical conductivity, weather variables, total potato yield, marketable yield, and quality parameters were measured. The total yield was not significantly different between the two treatments in both years. The marketable yield of the irrigated treatment (36.89 MT/ha) was 20% higher (p = 0.017) compared to the non-irrigated treatment (30.74 MT/ha) in 2013. However, no significant difference was found between the irrigated (39.0 MT/ha) and non-irrigated (43.7 MT/ha) treatments in 2014. Potato yields from both treatments were significantly correlated with the average groundwater depth. Water balance analysis within the root-zone during rainy and rain-free periods showed that nitrate rich groundwater may have contributed to some of the crop water demand. The lack of rainfall and high temperature during tuber initiation and tuber bulking stages resulted in the accumulation of high concentration of nitrates within the root-zone by the late release of nitrates from the polymer-coated urea and the upward migration of groundwater containing 55 ppm and 70 ppm of nitrates in the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons, respectively. Overhead irrigation was found to be economically advantageous to produce better quality potatoes with higher marketable yields.

In New Zealand, native shrubs are considered an important potential carbon-sink in disturbed or abandoned land (e.g., pastoral land that is unsustainable for long-term pastoral agriculture). However, the impact of varying environmental drivers on carbon uptake from photosynthesis and carbon loss from respiration of a developing shrubland remains uncertain. In this study, the effects of both temperature and soil water content (θ) on photosynthesis and respiration were examined under controlled growth cabinet and field conditions in a pasture grass and the native shrub, kānuka (Kunzea ericoides var. ericoides). The purpose of the investigation was to assess the combined impacts of varying temperature and θ on canopy processes and to disentangle the effects of θ on photosynthesis and respiration for the two different plant types. A controlled growth cabinet study (Chapter 2) showed that θ had a greater effect on the short-term temperature response of photosynthesis than the temperature response of respiration. The optimum value of θ for net photosynthesis was around 30 % for both kānuka and the grass. Statistical analysis showed that the temperature sensitivity of photosynthetic parameters was similar for both plant types, but the sensitivity of respiratory parameters was different. Reduction in θ induced an inhibition of photosynthetic capacity in both plant types. The response of respiratory parameters to θ was not related to substrate limitations, however available evidence suggests that it is likely to be a species dependent plant mechanism in regulating the cost of maintenance due to reduced photosynthate assimilation and decreasing energy supply to support the activity of respiratory enzymes. Results obtained from a field study (Chapter 3) showed that photosynthesis and respiration in the grass and kānuka were sensitive to seasonal changes in temperature and θ. Photosynthetic parameters showed little acclimation following changes in seasonal growth conditions. In contrast, respiratory parameters tended to acclimate more strongly. Respiratory acclimation to multiple environmental conditions was characterised by changes in temperature sensitivity and a shift in the response of respiration to temperature, demonstrating the involvement of both ‘Type I’ and ‘Type II’ acclimation in both plant types. The results from controlled growth cabinet and field studies were used to drive a leaf level model that integrates the responses of photosynthesis and respiration to changes in temperature and θ and incorporates acclimation using variable photosynthetic and respiratory parameters (Chapter 4). This model was used to estimate the annual canopy carbon exchange of the grass and kānuka in response to seasonal changes and to predict changes in canopy carbon exchange under varying future climate change scenarios. The model highlighted the importance of considering seasonally-acclimated parameters in estimating canopy carbon exchange of both plant types to concurrent changes in multiple environmental variables. The overall results support the conclusion that understanding the combined effects of environmental variables on canopy processes is essential for predicting canopy net carbon exchange of a pasture-shrub system in a changing global environment. It has been shown here that the rate of increase in photosynthesis with increasing θ is greater than that of respiration which results in a progressively greater apparent carbon gain at moderate values of θ. Moreover, the impact of lower values of θ, which reduced the apparent sensitivity of respiration to temperature, may effectively decrease the rate of respiration during warmer summer months and enhance thermal acclimation via downregulation of respiration. Therefore, considering the influence of soil water conditions on the temperature sensitivity of photosynthetic and respiratory model parameters has important implications for precisely predicting the net carbon exchange of a pasture-shrub system.

Surface mining of the Athabasca Oil Sands of Canada is occurring at an unparalleled rate resulting in large scale disturbances over vast areas. Soil water availability for plants is one of the key issues faced when reclaiming the landscape. A factor which limits the soil water availability is soil water repellency (SWR). Soil water repellency is found on both natural and disturbed sites in this region and can cause reduced infiltration, reduced soil water storage, enhanced runoff, increased preferential flow, and reduced ecosystem productivity. Effective characterization of SWR, determination of the causes of SWR and understanding how it affects soil pores and water flow are important for environmental management. The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of SWR and fungal hydrophobicity on soil water dynamics in Athabasca Oil Sands. This was accomplished by determining the relationship between the measurement of severity and persistence of SWR and the critical water content (CWC) where SWR is greatest between different soils in the region. Examining how the water conducting porosity and soil pores are affected by SWR. Developing methods to quantify fungal strains that cause SWR and testing of these fungal strains for their ability to alter the SWR and infiltration into soil. Results show that a high severity (Contact angle) of repellency does not necessarily denote long persistence (Water Drop Penetration Time) or high CWC in soils from the region. A high severity of SWR in larger diameter pores decreased the water conducting porosity due to the larger pore contribution to the total liquid flux. The modified microscopy approach and the alcohol percentage test (APT) resulted in improved characterization of fungal hydrophobicity. Fungal strains were classified as hydrophilic, hydrophobic and chrono-amphililic based on their surface properties from these measurements. The surface property of selected fungi strains can alter the SWR in both a repellent and wettable soil and can also change the water infiltration rate. This research highlights the importance of characterization of SWR, the effects on water flow, and how fungal hydrophobicity can alter the SWR and infiltration. This will aid in improving our understanding of SWR and improve remediation efforts on water repellent soils in the Athabasca Oil Sands region.

An essential component for evaluating the performance of a mine site after its closure includes the tracking of water movement through mine waste such as tailings and overburden. A critical element of this evaluation is the measurement of the volume of water stored in the closure landform. The objective of this project was to design a time domain reflectometry (TDR) device that could be used to measure the volumetric water content of a soil profile to depths of 10 to 20 m. Upon completion of this project, the device will be integrated onto ConeTec’s cone penetration testing (CPT) shaft for initially monitoring Syncrude Canada Limited’s northeastern Alberta oil sands mine site. The objective of this project will be achieved through at least two phases of research and development; this thesis concentrates on the first phase. In this phase, research focused on prototype development through laboratory testing to determine appropriate TDR probe geometries and configurations that could be integrated onto a CPT shaft. Considerations also had to be made for protecting the integrity of the probe during field use and mitigating the effects of highly electrically conductive soils common in reclaimed mine sites. A number of different prototype designs were initially investigated in this research, leading to the development of a refined prototype for advanced testing. Testing for the project was carried out first in solutions of known dielectric constants and salinities, and then proceeded to soils with a range of known water contents and salinities. Good quality electrical connections were found to be crucial for generating waveforms that were easy to interpret; bad connections resulted in poor results in a number of cases. Decreased probe sensitivity was observed in response to increased rod embedment within the probe variants. A far greater decrease in sensitivity was seen in the results of the fully sheathed rods, although the sheathing was effective for extending the range of the probe in electrically conductive testing conditions. Despite poor results that were seen in some of the tests, overall the results were promising. In particular, results from the push-test showed that the probe was able to monitor changes in water content with depth.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2001. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-14Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:16:30Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 lagoa_ao_me_jabo.pdf: 218029 bytes, checksum: 5ecf13bf97693832189adc3184113f86 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / As sementes de milho superdoce possuem fino pericarpo e formato irregular dificultando a operação de semeadura. Em função disso, surge a possibilidade de utilizar o processo de peletização para facilitar a semeadura e obter estande uniforme sem a necessidade de desbaste de plantas. Embora essa técnica seja conhecida há muitos anos, pouco se estudou sobre o efeito desse procedimento na plantabilidade e na qualidade fisiológica de sementes de milho superdoce. Sendo assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da peletização na qualidade fisiológica e na ocorrência de falhas e de sementes duplas. A qualidade fisiológica das sementes e péletes foi avaliada pelos testes de germinação, primeira contagem de germinação e teste de frio. Foram avaliados também alguns atributos físicos das sementes e dos péletes por meio dos testes de fragmentação, retenção de peneiras, massa de mil sementes e volume aparente. O recobrimento foi muito eficiente na redução das falhas e da ocorrência de sementes duplas, proporcionando resultados altamente satisfatórios para esses atributos. Não houve efeito do armazenamento no potencial fisiológico nem nos resultados do teste a frio para as sementes nuas. As sementes recobertas foram afetadas negativamente pela peletização a partir dos 90 dias de armazenamento. Durante esse período todos os lotes de sementes peletizadas apresentaram-se dentro do padrão de germinação exigido pelo Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento, os resultados permitiram concluir que o revestimento melhora a plantabilidade das sementes afetando positivamente a eficiência do processo de semeadura / The supersweet corn seeds have thin pericarps and irregular shape difficulting the sowing operation. As a result, there is the possibility of using the pelleting process to facilitate the seeding and more uniform stand without the need of thinning plants. Although this technique has been known for many years, little has been studied on the effect of this procedure in plantability and in physiological quality of supersweet corn seeds. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of pelleting on the water content during the storage and the occurrence of double seeds and lack of seeds in the holes during the sowing test. The physiological quality of seeds and pellets was evaluated by germination, first germination and cold test. It also was evaluated other physical attributes of seeds and pellets by means of fragmentation tests, retention sieves, seed weight and apparent volume. The coating was very effective in reducing seed double faults and providing highly satisfactory results for these attributes. There was not effect of storage on physiological potential or in the results of the cold test for naked seeds. The coated seeds were negatively affected by the coating from 90 days of storage. During this period all batches of pelleted seeds were inside the physiological pattern required by the ministry of agriculture. The results showed that the coating improves plantability seeds positively affecting the efficiency of the seeding process. Based on the results it can be concluded that the coating improve seed plantability, positively affecting the efficiency of the seeding process

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-04-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:50:29Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 almeida_cx_me_jabo.pdf: 1204259 bytes, checksum: 236a0af5f42cb1b639ed5de10c3cc693 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A estimativa da curva de resistência do solo à penetração (CRP), a partir de variáveis de fácil obtenção, como o conteúdo de água (Ug), representa uma medida muito útil não só para a quantificação do estado de compactação, mas também para facilitar a interpretação da resistência do solo à penetração (RP), obtida em diferentes condições de campo. O objetivo foi estimar a CRP em solos de diferentes granulometrias e densidades, a partir de dados obtidos com o penetrômetro de impacto. O experimento foi realizado em laboratório, na Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP. Foram utilizadas quatro classes de solos: Neossolo Quartzarênico, Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo, Latossolo Vermelho Distrófico e Latossolo Vermelho Acriférrico, os quais foram amostrados na camada de 0-0,20 m. Colunas de PVC foram preenchidas de forma a se obter diferentes condições de densidade: solo não compactado e compactado. O Ug, inicialmente elevado até o ponto de saturação, foi monitorado diariamente através de um medidor eletrônico composto pelo Profile Probe PR2 acoplado ao Moisture Meter HH2. A RP foi mensurada através de um penetrômetro de impacto adaptado para vaso. Os pares de dados entre a RP e o Ug foram ajustados e as CRP submetidas ao teste de significância. A relação entre a RP e o Ug foi descrita pelo modelo exponencial decrescente, representado pela seguinte equação: RP = a+be Ug/c em que: RP representa a resistência do solo à penetração (MPa); Ug o conteúdo gravimétrico de água (kg kg-1) e a, b e c são os parâmetros da equação. Foram obtidos coeficientes de determinação que variaram de 0,57 a 0,96. / The estimate of soil resistance to penetration curve (RPC) from easy attainment variables, like the water content (Wc), represents a very useful measure not only in the evaluation of soil compaction, but also to simplify the interpretation of the soil resistance to penetration (SR) obtained in different field conditions. The objective was to estimate the RPC in soils of different textures and bulk densities, from data obtained with the impact penetrometer. The experiment was carried out in Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP, and four classes of soil were used: Entissol, Alfissol, Oxisol medium texture and clayey Oxisol, which were collected at 0-0.20 m soil depth. The PVC columns filled in manner to obtain a condition of non compacted and compacted soil. The Wc, initially elevated to the saturation point, was daily monitored through an electronic measurer composed by Profile Probe (PR2) connected to a Moisture Meter HH2. The SR was measured by an impact penetrometer adapted to the vase. The pairs of data between SR and Wc were adjusted and the RPC submitted to the significance test. The equation that best described the relationship between the SR and Wc was the exponentially decreasing, as follows: SR = a+be Wc/c where SR is the soil resistance to penetration (MPa), Wc soil water content (kg kg-1) and a, b and c are the parameters of the equation. There was a significant relation between soil resistance to penetration and water content and the equations fit the data with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.57 to 0.96.