Turfgrass establishment on sand-based rootzones is routinely accomplished by using sod produced on a fine-textured native soil. As a result, soil layering occurs, potentially causing initial reduction in water infiltration, rooting, aeration, and overall turfgrass quality. This research was aimed at determining the feasibility of applying sand over existing native soil to produce hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy) sand-based sod. Factors evaluated were visual quality and scalping. Treatments were harvested and transplanted to a sand-based research green where handle-ability, tensile strength, and infiltration were also evaluated. Results indicate aerify and topdress treatments showed higher quality pre-harvest. Control and 25 mm treatments were best in terms of harvesting, handle-ability, and sod tensile strength. Infiltration data indicated no significant differences between treatments. These outcomes along with further analysis could provide sod producers with a valuable product for use on sand-based rootzones.

Green roofs are an emerging technology promoted primarily for stormwater management but little has been published about their potential for biodiversity performance. This is the first study to explore the potential for creating prairie-like, non-succulent, native plant communities on unirrigated extensive green roofs in the southeastern United States. Ten experimental green roof platforms were used to: 1) identify native species and methods of establishment appropriate for green roof applications in the southeastern United States; 2) examine the effects of introducing natural soil into a commercially available green roof soil media mixture on the survival and establishment of native prairie species; and 3) examine the composition of early successional green roof plant communities. Eleven planted species were successfully established and 46 colonizing species were identified. It was found that the addition of native prairie soil did not significantly affect survival, overall cover, or biodiversity in terms of species richness and evenness.

鄉土文學作為一種文學類別，源出於作家們對前現代、傳統文化與土地關係的關懷。隨著時代變遷，鄉土文學被賦予更多的功能。不再只是再現吾人現代性精神危機的烏托邦救贖，也不單純只是對逝去的純美人情的哀悼，更不僅被當作現代性的對立面。從五四時期以來的鄉土文學至今，已然發展出全然不同的面貌，唯一不變的是，鄉土文學的核心價值依舊是以「人與土地」為主軸，從人與土地的關係出發，思考不同階段的社會轉型與文化衝擊。在持續的現代化與全球化的當下，鄉土文學必然受到衝擊，在現代化與高度資本主義的社會環境中，都市文學與大眾娛樂文化的雙重夾擊下，鄉土文學成為一種艱難的文類，在世代差異之下，鄉土文學必然喪失其影響力與活力。 此外，中國特殊的政治體制與其制度，使得鄉土文學產生不同的變化，轉型成為一種彈性的文類，將鄉土視為全球化的在地資本，再者，因中國快速的全面轉型，使得新舊文化被雜揉於同一時期。新與舊、現代與傳統、都市與鄉村就這樣被濃縮在同一時期裡。因此鄉土文學在中國，除了因疆域廣大，現代化程度的普及性仍有一定限度外，最重要的是，當今中國的中堅世代，都是歷經高度文化衝擊下的一員，在他們身上仍舊保留傳統文化的親歷性，也同樣對現代化的利弊具有深刻理解，作家們依循自己的生命經驗試圖理解當代中國與世界。 本研究先以中國當代文化語境與鄉土文學之發展脈絡為背景，再以三位50後作家韓少功、莫言、阿來之專章，討論其鄉土小說中的身分認同。此三位作家皆完整經歷中國當代劇烈的社會變遷，並循著自身的「鄉土經驗」，重新審視中國現代性如何擺盪在現代性與民族性之間，並展現其中的文化能動性，以多元的鄉土文體形式來界定主流政治。 自新時期以來，中國作家與主流政治共同自「鄉土」汲取文化動能，建構屬於自身獨特的話語形式（discourse）回應中國新時期的後革命論述。 / As a literary category, the native-soil literature was originated from the care that the writers had on the relationship between pre-modern, traditional culture and the land. With the changing times, the native-soil literature has been given more functions. It is no longer just to re represent the utopian salvation of our modern spiritual crisis, or just the mourning for the passed-by beautiful interpersonal affection, or only be viewed as the opposite of modernity. Since the May Fourth period, the native-soil literature has now developed a completely different appearance. The only constant is that the core value of the native-soil literature remains to be centered around the “people and the land”, rooting from the relationship between people and the land to think about the different stages of social transformation and cultural impact. Under the ongoing modernization and globalization, the native-soil literature is bound to be impacted. In the modern and highly capitalist social environment and under the double attacks of urban literature and mass entertainment culture, the native-soil literature has become a difficult genre. Due to the generation differences, the native-soil literature will inevitably lose its influence and vitality. In addition, the special political framework and system of China cause the native-soil literature to have different changes, transforming into a flexible genre and viewing the “native soil” as the globalized local capital. Moreover, due to rapid and comprehensive transformation of China, the old and new cultures were rubbed into the same period. The concepts of new and old, modern and traditional, and urban and rural were all condensed into the same period as well. Therefore, while the native-soil literature of China has been somewhat limited in terms of degree of modernization and popularity due to the vast territory, the most important thing is that the backbone generation in China today all went through high cultural impact, and they still retain the traditional cultural experiences while having deep understandings about the pros and cons of modernization. The writers try to understand the contemporary China and the world through their own life experiences. This study uses the development processes of Chinese contemporary cultural context and native-soil literature as background, and then discuss the identity identification within the native-soil novels through dedicated chapters of three writers who were born after 1950 – Han Shao-gong, Mo Yan and Alai. All three writers went through dramatic social changes of contemporary China, and with their “native-soil experiences”, they re-examined how China's modernity swung between the modernity and nationality, displayed the cultural motility therein, and defined the mainstream politics in the form of multivariate native-soil literature. Ever since the new era, writers and mainstream politics in China have all been drawing cultural energies from the “native-soil” to construct their own unique discourse forms, so as to respond to the post-Revolution discourse of China’s new era.