Soil moisture is a key state variable of the hydrologic cycle. It plays a significant role in many hydrological, meteorological and other natural processes in the land-atmosphere continuum. In the past two decades we have conducted several field campaigns to better understand the underlying processes controlling the spatio-temporal variations of soil moisture using multiple ground, air, and spa...

When manures from intensive livestock operations are applied to agricultural or vegetable fields at a high rate, large amounts of salts and metals will be introduced into soils. Using a column leaching experiment, this study assessed the leaching potential of the downward movement of Cu and Zn as well as some salt ions after an intensive farm pig manure at rates of 0%, 5% and 10% (w/w) were app...

Experiments were conducted using truck-based microwave radiometers operating at 1.41(L-band) and 2.65-GHz (S-band) horizontal polarization to observe small plots during and following sprinkler irrigation. These experiments were conducted on a sandy loam soil in 1994 and a silt loam in 1995. Sandy loam soils typically have higher infiltration capabilities than clays, and in our studies, we were ...

Contarinia nasturtii (Kieffer) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a common insect pest in Europe and a new invasive pest in North America, causes severe damage to cruciferous crops. Currently, many counties in Canada and the United States in which C. nasturtii has not been previously reported are at risk of being infested by C. nasturtii. Effectiveness of chemical control is limited, especially under hi...

Bacterial biocontrol strains used as an alternative to chemical fungicides may influence bacterial communities in the rhizosphere and effects might differ depending on the soil type. Here we present baseline data on the effects of Pseudomonas jessenii RU47 on the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere of lettuce grown in diluvial sand, alluvial loam and loess loam at the same field ...

Animal wastes are a major contributor of nutrients and enteric microorganisms to surface water and ground water. Polyacrylamide (PAM) mixtures are an effective flocculent, and we hypothesized that they would reduce transport of microorganisms in flowing water. After waste water running at 60.0 1 min(-1) flowed over PAM + Al2(SO4)3, or PAM + CaO in furrows, total coliform bacteria (TC) and fecal...

Vegetated buffer strips were evaluated for their ability to remove waterborne Cryptosporidium parvum from surface and shallow subsurface flow during simulated rainfall rates of 15 or 40 mm/h for 4 h. Log(10) reductions for spiked C. parvum oocysts ranged from 1.0 to 3.1 per m of vegetated buffer, with buffers set at 5 to 20% slope, 85 to 99% fescue cover, soil textures of either silty clay (19:...

The frequency and volume of Asian sand dust (ASD) (Kosa) are increasing in Japan, and it has been reported that ASD may cause adverse respiratory effects. The pulmonary toxicity of ASD has been previously analyzed in mice exposed to ASD particles by intratracheal instillation. To study the pulmonary toxicity induced by inhalation of ASD, ICR mice were exposed by inhalation to 50 or 200 mg/m³ Ka...

It is widely recognised that complex interactions occur between chemicals in mixtures. In many agricultural situations, the use of tank mixes and complex spray programs is a common practice. Insecticides, fungicides and a herbicide being applied in potato protection were used in this research. Interactions between linuron and insecticides, such as thiamethoxam or clothianidin, and fungicides, s...

Global models projected that, precipitation in Great Plains of the United States will decrease in summer and increase in spring and winter. However, few studies had carefully examined ecosystem responses to this intra-annual redistribution of precipitation. Here we used a process-based model, Terrestrial ECOsystem (TECO) Model, to evaluate responses of ecosystem carbon processes (including net ...