Excess water in prairie soils: land management in an uncertain climate

Non-Peer Reviewe

The complexity of soil landscapes: variability from the macro-scale to the micro-scale

Non-Peer Reviewe

Assessing land use influences on the expression of soil iron hydric indicators

Non-Peer ReviewedHydric soil features develop over frequent and prolonged saturation. This study investigated the influence of land use on the expression Fe related hydric indicators for the overarching goal of being able to delineate Prairie Pothole Region wetlands where native species have been significantly disturbed. Initial soil classification of wetland pits showed differences among the land uses. Further laboratory analysis looking at free extractable Fe (Dithionite-Fe extraction) and magnetic susceptibility showed little significant differences among the land uses. Further study is required to determine if interacting affects among other hydric indicators, including clay leaching and carbon contents, significantly differ among land uses

Gross N-cycling rates in ephemeral wetlands

Non-Peer ReviewedEphemeral wetlands or depressions in hummocky landscapes have high levels of C, N, and soil moisture, often leading to high nutrient cycling activity. However, measuring soil nitrate and ammonium pools is typically a poor indication of N-cycling activity or of the soil N that is available for other processes such as N2O emissions. This study used stable 15N isotope dilution techniques in cultivated and uncultivated ephemeral wetlands in central Saskatchewan to quantify land use effects on gross mineralization and nitrification rates. In-field incubation experiments were repeated in early May, mid-June and late July. There was a clear land use effect on inorganic soil N levels, with significantly less NH4+ and more NO3- in the cultivated wetland soils. However, the rates of NH4+ mineralization and NO3 - nitrification were similar for both land uses, indicating similar substrate availability but different N-consuming processes. Both N pools turned over in as little as 1-2 d, highlighting the ineffectuality of measuring inorganic N pools as a predictor for N availability in these soils

Benefits and implications of agricultural drainage in southeast Saskatchewan

Non-Peer Reviewe

Response of PPR soils to changing groundwater and salinity: a microcosm study of greenhouse gas emissions

Non-Peer Reviewe

Predictive mapping of saline wetland soils in the Canadian prairie pothole region through landscape analysis

Non-Peer Reviewe

The impact of short rotation willow on soil nutrients in riparian zones of the prairie pothole region

Non-Peer Reviewe

Landscape position and depth affect microbial abundance and community composition at three positions in an agricultural landscape

Non-Peer ReviewedStabilization/destabilization mechanisms of deep soil carbon are not well understood. A number of different controlling mechanisms are suggested; here we explore differences in microbial abundance and community structure as a controlling mechanism. Microbial abundance and community composition with depth was assessed at three different positions within an agricultural landscape. Microbial abundance was significantly affected by sampling depth, while differences in community structure could be attributed to depth, landscape position, and conditions found within the depositional position. Interestingly, substantial biomass existed at a depth of 81cm in a buried A horizon found in the depositional position

The effect of hydrogen evolution from HUP field pea nodules on nitrous oxide production

Non-Peer Reviewe