Fertilizing pastures with poultry litter has led to an increased incidence of nutrient-saturated soils, particularly on highly fertilized, well drained soils. Applying litter to silvopastures, in which loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) production are integrated, may be an ecologically desirable alternative for upland soils of the southeastern USA. Integrating subt...

Most studies of forest litter dynamics examine the biochemical characteristics and decomposition of leaf litter, but fine roots are also a large source of litter in forests. We quantified the concentrations of eight biochemical fractions and nitrogen (N) in leaf litter and fine roots at four sugar maple (Acer saccharum)-dominated hardwood forests in the north-central United States. We combined ...

Most of the terrestrial net primary production enters the decomposer system as dead organic matter, and the subsequent recycling of C and nutrients are key processes for the functioning of ecosystems and the delivery of ecosystem goods and services. Although climatic and substrate quality controls are reasonably well understood, the functional role of biodiversity for biogeochemical cycles rema...

Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. The production and consumption of volatile organic compounds in soil and decomposing litter Thesis directed by Associate Professor Noah Fierer Non-methane biogenic volatile organic comp...

The application of poultry litter to agricultural fields can provide plant nutrients for crops and forage production, but fecal bacteria and the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone are components of litter that can be detrimental to the environment. Our objective was to determine if applications of poultry litter to small watersheds would contribute to the load of fecal bacteria and sex hor...

The present study investigated the effect of L-carnitine supplementation during pregnancy (125 mg/d) and lactation (250 mg/d) on milk production, litter gains and back-fat thickness in sows fed a low-energy and low-protein diet during lactation. Sows supplemented with L-carnitine produced more milk on days 11 and 18 of lactation (+18 %; P<0.05) and had higher litter gains during suckling (+20 %...

Controlling Salmonella populations on commercial broiler grow out farms is a crucial step in reducing Salmonella contamination in processing plants. Broiler litter harbors many species of pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella. Sodium bisulfate has been shown to reduce concentration of bacteria in broiler litter. In experiments 1 and 2, sodium bisulfate was applied to broiler litter at rates ...

Land degradation is the result of soil mismanagement that reduces soil productivity and environmental services. An alternative to improve degraded soils through reactivation of biogeochemical nutrient cycles (via litter production and decomposition) is the establishment of active restoration models using new forestry plantations, agroforestry, and silvopastoral systems. On the other hand, passi...

This study was carried out to evaluate the influence of temperature and poultry litter on germination vegetative growth virulence and conidial production of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) isolates on larvae and adults of the lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) (Panzer). The vegetative growth and conidial production were evaluated on culture media. Vi...

The demand for energy has been promptly increasing due to rapid growing world population and increased growth of industries. In the pursuit of renewable energy production, the anaerobic digestion of organic wastes was a proved technology that is shaping up to be the one of the reliable source of alternate energy. Even though the anaerobic digestion is an effective method of renewable energy pro...