Progress 09/30/05 to 01/04/10
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The objective of this cooperative research project is to examine the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens at a dairy lagoon water application site and assess the performance of comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to protect groundwater resources. Approach (from AD-416) A CNMP field study will be initiated at a local dairy farm in San Jacinto, CA. This site will be instrumented to monitor and quantify the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens. Complementary laboratory and numerical modeling studies will be conducted to improve our understanding of basic transport processes, to predict the transport behavior at other locations, and to address potential weaknesses in the land application design and operation processes. Documents SCA with UC Riverside. This is a subproject of 5310-32000-002-01R. Work related to this SCA was ended in September of 2009. No research done in FY10. However, this SCA was left open for part of FY10 so that billing transactions could be completed.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The objective of this cooperative research project is to examine the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens at a dairy lagoon water application site and assess the performance of comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to protect groundwater resources. Approach (from AD-416) A CNMP field study will be initiated at a local dairy farm in San Jacinto, CA. This site will be instrumented to monitor and quantify the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens. Complementary laboratory and numerical modeling studies will be conducted to improve our understanding of basic transport processes, to predict the transport behavior at other locations, and to address potential weaknesses in the land application design and operation processes. Documents SCA with UC Riverside. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations This is a subproject of 5310-32000-002-01R. The research was monitored via onsite visits, conference calls and email correspondence. We have implemented a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) at two 5x5m plots in the field. During the summer of 2008 we have used dairy lagoon water as the nutrient source in combination with well water to grow Alfalfa. Two irrigation strategies were studied, namely: Cyclic and Blending application strategies. During the spring and summer of 2009 we have used dairy manure as the nutrient source for Alfalfa, and have applied the same amount of manure to both plots but at different frequencies (single season application or smaller monthly applications). Both NMPs were based on measured information for water and nitrogen mass balance in the root zone. The main difference in the NMPs is the dominant form of the nutrient species (inorganic compared to organic). The field site was heavily instrumented to monitor ET and precipitation rates, irrigation amount and uniformity, and soil water status and composition with depth and time. The nutrient composition of the lagoon water and manure, the uptake rate of nitrogen by the plants, nitrogen losses to the atmosphere and by leaching, nitrogen transformation rates, and the transport and fate of salts in the root zone were also measured. The data from these NMP approaches is currently being analyzed, but is designed to provide useful insight on the management of inorganic compared with organic forms of nutrients. Natural soil and groundwater environments experience transients in solution chemistry as a result of rainfall, irrigation, and evapotranspiration. These transient conditions influence the chemical interactions between soil particles and colloids, such as pathogenic microorganisms, and colloid-associated contaminants. Packed column and micromodel transport studies were therefore conducted in the laboratory to gain insight on mechanisms of colloid retention and release during transients in solution chemistry. Results indicate the importance of chemical interactions to immobilize colloids. When the ionic strength (IS) of the eluting solution was reduced a sharp pulse of released of colloids occurred. When the eluting fluid IS was reduced to deionized water the final retention locations occurred near grain-grain contacts and colloid aggregation was sometimes observed. The final amount of colloid retention was demonstrated to be dependent on the porous media shape, the colloid size, and on the initial deposition IS.
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The objective of this cooperative research project is to examine the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens at a dairy lagoon water application site and assess the performance of comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to protect groundwater resources. Approach (from AD-416) A CNMP field study will be initiated at a local dairy farm in San Jacinto, CA. This site will be instrumented to monitor and quantify the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens. Complementary laboratory and numerical modeling studies will be conducted to improve our understanding of basic transport processes, to predict the transport behavior at other locations, and to address potential weaknesses in the land application design and operation processes. Documents SCA with UC Riverside. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations ADODR coordinated work schedules and research activities for personnel on this project and detailed progress reports are required for this project by the EPA. During 2006-2007 we implemented a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) at two 5x5m field plots using dairy lagoon water as the nutrient source in combination with well water. Three crops have been considered: Sudan grass, a Rye-Barley hybrid, and Sorghum. Two irrigation strategies have been studied: Cyclic and Blending application strategies. The field site was heavily instrumented to monitor evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation rates, irrigation amount and uniformity, and soil water status and composition with depth and time. The nutrient composition of the lagoon water, the uptake rate of nitrogen by the plants, nitrogen losses to the atmosphere and by leaching, nitrogen transformation rates, and the transport and fate of salts in the root zone were also measured. Execution of the NMP required water application to meet ET demands, and pretreatment of the dairy lagoon water to lower the organic N and increase the fraction of inorganic N in the irrigation water. Under these conditions nitrate and ammonium were mainly removed by plant roots during the growing season and losses due to drainage were minimal. However, salt that accumulated in the root zone may influence subsequent crop yields and soil quality. A pre-irrigation was used to leach these salts below the root zone, but this resulted in the flushing of nitrate that was mineralized during the fallow period. This observation suggests that NMPs should be based primarily on inorganic N forms that have low values of organic N in CAFO wastewater and soils, and that leaching of salts should occur at the end of the growing season. The subsurface transport and survival of indicator microorganisms (total E. coli, fecal coliforms, Enterococcus, and somatic coliphage) in the lagoon water were also studied under the NMP conditions. When crops were irrigated using sprinklers at a rate that was 25% of the saturated soil conductivity, little transport of the indicator microorganisms was observed. Survival in the root zone was highly dependent on the microorganism type, with high survival rates for Enterococcus and much lower survival rates for total E. coli, fecal coliforms, and somatic coliphage. Complementary lab column transport experiments were also started using repacked and undisturbed field soil. These experimental studies and matching numerical modeling exhibit the likely importance of irrigation regime, soil texture, and soil structure on microorganism transport and survival. In October 2007 severe winds (excess of 100 miles per hour) caused extensive damage to our research site. Damage that occurred at the site included covering the site with 2-3 feet of sand, filling the culvert pipes with sand, and destroying the equipment shed. We spent November 2007 through April 2008 cleaning and repairing the field NMP site. In April 2008 the field site was planted with alfalfa and the NMP was again implemented in June of 2008. We are collecting additional information on the transport and fate of nitrogen species and microorganisms at this site.
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416) The objective of this cooperative research project is to examine the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens at a dairy lagoon water application site and assess the performance of comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to protect groundwater resources. Approach (from AD-416) A CNMP field study will be initiated at a local dairy farm in San Jacinto, CA. This site will be instrumented to monitor and quantify the transport and fate of nitrate and pathogens. Complementary laboratory and numerical modeling studies will be conducted to improve our understanding of basic transport processes, to predict the transport behavior at other locations, and to address potential weaknesses in the land application design and operation processes. Documents SCA with UC Riverside. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations This section serves to document progress on the Specific Collaborative Research agreement between the USDA-ARS and the University of California Riverside (UCR) Department of Environmental Science (Dr. Jiri Simunek) entitled �Transport and fate of Nitrate and pathogens at a dairy lagoon water application site: An assessment of CNMP performance�. This is a subproject to 5310-32000-002-01R that is used in part by UCR collaborators to hire personnel to work on this project. In particular, UCR has hired an Assistant Research Specialist from UCR to work full time on this project, a part-time Visiting Associate Researcher, and several undergraduate students. Dr. Bradford coordinates the work schedules for all of these personnel and meets with the Assistant Research Specialist and undergraduate students almost daily, and coordinates research with the Visiting Associate Researcher at least monthly. The interested reader is referred to the above discussion for information about the research activities that are associated with this project.
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
Progress Report 4d Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement (SCA) between the USDA-ARS and the University of California Riverside, Department of Environmental Sciences. This SCA is funding through a Reimbursable Interagency Agreement between the USDA-ARS and the Environmental Protection Agency (5310-32000-002-01R) with this same title. The USDA-ARS parent project number is 5310-32000-002-00D and is entitled Detection, Source Identification, Environmental Transport, Fate, and Treatment of Pathogenic Microorganisms Derived from Animal Wastes. The primary objective of this project is to test the assumption that a well designed and executed Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) is protective of groundwater, and to address potential weaknesses in the land application design and operation processes. Collectively, this information should lead to the development of science based recommendations to
improve CNMP performance, thereby protecting groundwater under Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations from both nutrients and pathogens. Personnel that assist on this project (undergraduate and graduate students, and a postdoc) have been hired through this SCA and provide valuable expertise and manpower to accomplish these research objectives. This past year we have focused on the field site instrumentation and characterization in preparation for the initiation of the CNMP plan at this site. SCA project personnel have also assisted in laboratory studies that are complimentary to this project. This has included studies looking at the design and operation of field experimental equipment such as the solution sampler and drainage gauge. Other studies have focused on unsaturated transport of microorganisms and colloids in porous media. Additional information about the SCA research is available in the reimbursable agreement progress report (5310-32000-002-01R) with this same title.
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