Kentucky Soil Atlas

From preface: Kentucky has a diverse array of geologic, topographic, physiographic, ecological, and aquatic features that have contributed to the development and present characteristics and productivity of the soils in the state. This Soil Atlas has been prepared as an aid to further the knowledge of soils in our state and provide a basic exposure of Kentucky’s soil resources to educators, students, natural resource planners, policy makers, citizens and visitors. The objective of the publication is to present the prominent characteristics of representative soils and how they may affect soil use and management. The Atlas is meant to give a generalized view of the soil resources in the state and serve as an introduction to understanding their complex nature. More complete information about the soils found in Kentucky is available in the Web Soil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm) and archived PDF files of the soil survey manuscripts (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/surveylist/soils/survey/state/?stateId=KY). The information compiled in this publication is a product of great efforts by many soil scientists throughout the state over the last 50 years. These efforts included strong collaborations among the Kentucky USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the University of Kentucky, the US Forest Service and the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. Employees of these agencies have worked for decades to map the state soils and produce the information needed for developing improved land-use planning and resource management practices. An assortment of landscape, geology, and soils images along with associated maps has been included in this publication to document the uniqueness of Kentucky’s soils and other resources. It was impractical to present information about all the soils mapped in the state. Instead, certain soils were selected from different regions based on their importance, areal extent, or uniqueness of their characteristics. Many of the selected soil profile images and some landscape pictures have been published in soil survey reports. Others have been obtained by soil scientists, colleagues, and University of Kentucky extension agents. Geology and some physiography maps were obtained from the Kentucky Geological Survey. Other maps have been acquired from various web sites or generated by USDA-NRCS personnel. Each depicted soil is classified according to the Soil Taxonomy System. Soil profile descriptions and characterization data for selected soils have also been included to provide additional information for some important soils. These data were produced by the Pedology Laboratory of the University of Kentucky. Additional soil characterization data for about 1000 soil sites in the state have been published in several reports and are also available from the National Cooperative Soil Survey Soil Characterization Database.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_book/1004/thumbnail.jp

West Virginia Food Dessert Summit Handout

Handout from the 2019 West Virginia Food Desert Summit

Perennial Filter Strips Reduce Nitrate Levels in Soil and Shallow Groundwater after Grassland-to-Cropland Conversion

Many croplands planted to perennial grasses under the Conservation Reserve Program are being returned to crop production, and with potential consequences for water quality. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of grassland-to-cropland conversion on nitrate-nitrogen (NO3–N) concentrations in soil and shallow groundwater and to assess the potential for perennial filter strips (PFS) to mitigate increases in NO3–N levels. The study, conducted at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge (NSNWR) in central Iowa, consisted of a balanced incomplete block design with 12 watersheds and four watershed-scale treatments having different proportions and topographic positions of PFS planted in native prairie grasses: 100% rowcrop, 10% PFS (toeslope position), 10% PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips), and 20% PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips). All treatments were established in fall 2006 on watersheds that were under bromegrass (Bromus L.) cover for at least 10 yr. Nonperennial areas were maintained under a no-till 2-yr corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation since spring 2007. Suction lysimeter and shallow groundwater wells located at upslope and toeslope positions were sampled monthly during the growing season to determine NO3–N concentration from 2005 to 2008. The results indicated significant increases in NO3–N concentration in soil and groundwater following grassland-to-cropland conversion. Nitrate-nitrogen levels in the vadose zone and groundwater under PFS were lower compared with 100% cropland, with the most significant differences occurring at the toeslope position. During the years following conversion, PFS mitigated increases in subsurface nitrate, but long-term monitoring is needed to observe and understand the full response to land-use conversion

Groundwater resources in the Jabal Al Hass region, northwest Syria: an assessment of past use and future potential

In many cases, the development of groundwater resources to boost agricultural production in dry areas has led to a continuous decline in groundwater levels; this has called into question the sustainability of such exploitation. In developing countries, limited budgets and scarce hydrological data often do not allow groundwater resources to be assessed through groundwater modeling. A case study is presented of a low-cost water-balance approach to groundwater resource assessments in a 1,550 k

Growing Carbon: A New Crop That Helps Agricultural Producers and the Climate Too

[Contents:] Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect -- What Could Happen to Agriculture in the United States as the Climate Changes? -- How Agricultural Producers Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions -- How Producers Increase the Storage of Carbon on Agricultural Lands --What Are the Benefits of These Practices? -- International Climate Change Agreements and U.S. Agriculture -- A Market for Carbon? -- To Learn More About . .

Summary Report: 2017 National Resources Inventory

Excerpts from the report Introduction: This report presents summary results from the 2017 National Resources Inventory (NRI). The 2017 NRI is the latest in a series of natural resource inventories conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It provides updated information on the status, condition, and trends of land, soil, water, and related resources on the Nation’s non-Federal lands. Non-Federal lands include privately owned lands, tribal and trust lands, and lands controlled by State and local governments. This report presents national- and state-level estimates from the 2017 NRI for the 48 conterminous states, Hawaii, and the Caribbean territories for basic NRI data themes, including status, changes and trends in land cover/use, irrigation, land capability class and subclass, prime farmland, soil erosion, and wetlands

Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory

Excerpts from the report: This report presents summary results from the 2007 National Resources Inventory (NRI). The 2007 NRI is the latest in a series of natural resource inventories conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It provides updated information on the status, condition, and trends of land, soil, water, and related resources on the Nation’s non-Federal lands. Non-Federal lands include privately owned lands, tribal and trust lands, and lands controlled by State and local governments. This report presents national- and state-level estimates from the 2007 NRI for the 48 conterminous states for basic NRI data themes, including changes and trends in land cover/use, irrigation, land capability class and subclass, prime farmland, soil erosion, and wetlands

West Virginia Food Dessert Summit Program

Program from the 2019 West Virginia Food Desert Summit, held in Bridgeport, WV on December 10, 2019

West Virginia Food Dessert Summit Highlight Video

Video highlights from the 2019 West Virginia Food Desert Summit held in Bridgeport, West Virginia on December 10, 2019