3 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
STS Research Agenda Task Force: Survey Results
As part of our charge to provide STS members with recommended areas for exploration in science and technology library research, we sent out a survey in the Fall of 2014. The 258 responses helped create a snapshot of what areas are currently being researched and what could be important areas of future research.Poster presented at the ACRL 2015 Conference in Portland, OR.UT Librarie
Transition from conventional to low-input agriculture changes soil fertility and biology
Growers converting from conventional to low-input and organic farming systems must
rely on organic sources for adequate soil fertility. At the Sustainable Agriculture
Farming Systems (SAFS) project at UC Davis, we measured soil fertility and biological
parameters in four farming systems. By the end of the first 4 years, pH and percent
nitrogen were consistently higher in organic and low-input than conventional plots
for all crops. Levels of organic matter, phosphorus and potassium were significantly
higher in the organic than conventional 2-year plots. Microbial biomass levels were
consistently higher in organic and low-input systems, while plant parasitic nematode
numbers were consistently lower. Nitrogen deficiency appeared to be a problem in organic
tomatoes during the transition period. More research is needed into the dynamics of
soil nutrient availability in low-input systems. For instance, we may need to develop
new methods of assessing soil fertility in organically fertilized systems