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Georgia Water Resources Conference

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Field evaluation of compost and mulches for erosion control
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Risse, L. Mark ; Faucette, L. Britt ; Gaskin, Julia W. ; Jordan, Carl F. ; Cabrera, Miguel L. ; West, Larry T.
    Soil erosion is one of the largest contributors to nonpoint source pollution in Georgia. The use of surface applied organic amendments has been shown to reduce runoff and erosion and improve vegetative establishment on degraded soils such as those common to Georgia. In this study, four types of compost blankets, hydroseed, silt fence, and a bare soil (control) were applied in field test plots. Treatments were seeded with common bermuda grass. Simulated rainfall was applied at an average rate equivalent to a 50 yr one-hour storm event, and runoff samples were collected and analyzed for solids as well as runoff quantity. Three simulated rain events were conducted: immediately after treatment application, at vegetation establishment, and at vegetation maturity. In the short term, compost treatments produced significantly less runoff than the hydroseeded and bare soil plots. All treatments proved better than the control at reducing solids loss. Total solids loads were as much as 350% greater from the hydroseeded plots compared to the composts during the first storm and as much as 36 times greater during the second storm. Vegetative growth and nutrient loss data were also evaluated.
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    Using the Georgia P-Index to identify high risk management of poultry litter
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Gaskin, Julia W. ; Harris, Keith ; Cabrera, Miguel L. ; Risse, L. Mark
    The Georgia P Index was developed as a tool to evaluate the risk of bioavailable P loss in fields under various management practices. We compared the results of the P Index with four years of data from 1.5 m by 4.6 m bermudagrass plots fertilized with poultry litter at 8.9 Mg ha-1 (recommended rate); poultry litter at 17.9 Mg ha-1; composted poultry litter, poultry litter with alum, commercial fertilizer; and a control (no amendments). P Index ratings above 75 indicate high risk where management should be changed. The P Index indicated management changes would be needed for the 17.9 Mg ha-1 treatment during all 4 years, for composted PL during year 4, and for PL with alum during years 3 and 4. The P Index did not indicate management changes were necessary using the recommended rate of 8.9 Mg ha-1 after 4 years of application; however, volume-weighted P concentrations in the 8.9 Mg ha-1 treatment were double the control concentrations during years 3 and 4. The comparison indicates that the P Index does identify high risk management practices under the conditions of this study.
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    Watershed assessment through ecological research/farmers active in research
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Franklin, Dorcas H. ; Cabrera, Miguel L. ; Steiner, Jean L. ; Risse, Larry A. ; Risse, L. Mark ; Hibbs, Henry E.
    Producers in the Southern Piedmont graze and manage their lands in a variety of ways across watersheds and across individual farms. These land management practices may have an impact on the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in stream base flow and storm flow. A group of producers, researchers and educators (WATER/FAIR) pulled together to assess stream nutrient concentrations relative to land management practices in two typical Southern Piedmont watersheds. The objective of this paper is to increase awareness of participatory monitoring and of the spatial and temporal distribution of stream nutrients (N & P) at watershed and farm levels. Results showed that dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations were highly variable depending on the management system. Stream base flow nitrate concentrations were lower leaving farms than going into farms more than more than 75 percent of the time and were 16 percent lower in 2000 than in 1999. These lower concentrations coming out of farms could suggest that these management systems are not losing nutrients to aquatic systems but rather utilizing them on the farm.
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    AWARE Team Activities in Georgia
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999-03) Risse, L. Mark ; Radcliffe, David E. ; Harris, Glen ; Newton, G. Larry ; Worley, John ; Cabrera, Miguel L.
    This paper will discuss the development of the AWARE (Animal Waste Awareness in Research in Extension) team and some of its recent activities. It will cover the goals of the team and how it functions to obtain these goals. It will also discuss some of the tools the team uses including the webpage, listserve, and meetings and discuss how they are helping people throughout the state with information exchange on animal waste management issues. It will also discuss some of the AWARE teams past activities and plans for future activities.