Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Dairy farm heavy use areas are a known contributor of runoff pollution. A paired watershed study evaluated the soil additive Stabilizer® and its effect on pollutants in runoff from a dairy heavy use area in Connecticut. During the calibration period when no treatment was applied, a statistically significant (p=0.05) relationship between paired observations from the control and treatment watersheds was found for discharge, suspended solids (SSC), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) mass exports in runoff. During the treatment period Stabilizer® was applied to the treatment watershed at a rate of 0.08 kg m -2 and was disked 3 cm into the soil. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) determined there was a significant change in the y-intercept of the regression equations before and after the application Stabilizer® for discharge, runoff depth, runoff coefficient, mass exports of TP and SSC, but not the export of TN and E. coli. Stabilizer® reduced discharge by 79%, TP mass export by 95% and mass SSC by 84%. TN concentration increased after the application of psyllium by 87%. Psyllium should be considered as a possible treatment method for dairy heavy use area runoff but more research is needed to determine the effect of psyllium on TN in runoff.
Author: Alexander J Pivarnik
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: University of Connecticut
OpenAlex ID: W922141673