Comparative review of the effects of organic farming on biodiversity (OF0149)

This is the final report of Defra project OF0149 1. The report reviews the impact of different farming regimes and makes a comparative study of their influence on the biodiversity of arable farmland. 2. Within this review, the evaluation of impacts on biodiversity focuses on species and habitats, and includes both the number, abundance and activity of species (section 1.3). 3. Five farming regimes are defined and discussed, namely Conventional Arable, Conventional Mixed Lowland, Organic and two integrated production regimes - LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) and IFS-Experimental regimes The main differences between the regimes in relation to the use of external inputs and other agricultural practices are discussed. The review draws on both UK and European information (section 1.4). 4. The effect of each farming regime on biodiversity is assessed according to the agricultural practices adopted and to the occurrence and management of uncropped land present. Agricultural practices are reviewed within the following categories: cultivation, crop production, crop protection and post-cropping practice (section 2.1). 5. Among the agricultural practices examined, those associated with crop protection and the artificial inputs associated with crop production were seen as the most adverse for biodiversity. Several practices were seen to benefit the biodiversity of arable land. These included set-aside, crop rotations with grass leys, spring sowing, permanent pasture, green manuring and intercropping (section 2.7). 6. Uncropped areas, such as sown grass strips (beetle banks), grass margins and conservation headlands, were seen as critical for the maintenance of biodiversity on arable farmland. Changes in the balance of cropped to uncropped land within some farming regimes, linked to increase in field size, have had a major impact on the diversity of flora and fauna associated with those regimes (section 3.4). 7. Based on the evaluation of agricultural practices used, the occurrence of uncropped land and the extent of the farming regime within England and Wales, it was concluded that Conventional Arable regimes act effectively to maintain the impoverished status of biodiversity on arable land. Extreme examples can be found of intensively managed farms that further deplete biodiversity and sympathetically managed farms that try to enhance it. Increased adoption of agricultural practices such as direct drilling, use of farmyard manure, set-aside, use of crop rotations with leys, or an increase in the incidence and sympathetic management of uncropped areas may well assist biodiversity on farms within this regime (sections 4.3 & 4.4) 8. Organic regimes were shown to have an overall benefit for biodiversity at the farm level, both in terms of the agricultural practices adopted and in the occurrence and management of uncropped areas (sections 4.3 & 4.4). 9. Conventional Mixed Lowland and LEAF regimes were both seen to have the potential for enhancing biodiversity on arable land. Here, adverse impacts associated with crop protection and crop production may be mitigated by beneficial effects associated with post-cropping practices, the occurrence of permanent pasture and uncropped land. At present, the extent to which enhancement may be achieved, may well depend on the extent, condition and management of uncropped land present within these regimes (sections 4.3 & 4.4). 10. IFS-experimental regimes were seen to have a beneficial effect on biodiversity, due to the stringent procedures used for targeting herbicides and pesticides and for establishing and managing uncropped areas. At present these regimes occupy a tiny area of the national resource of arable land and thus their impact on national biodiversity is likely to be insignificant at the present time (sections 4.3 & 4.4). 11. A number of areas are highlighted for further consideration. These include: • monitoring of biodiversity on farms pre- and post- conversion to organic farming, • comparative studies that focus on the effectiveness of different regimes or agricultural practices in enhancing biodiversity on species-impoverished intensively managed arable land, • manipulative experiments to determine the optimal balance of cropped to uncropped areas for enhancing biodiversity, • manipulative experiments to examine the separate impacts of rotational regimes and agricultural inputs on biodiversity, • an economic assessment of the costs and benefits in both production and biodiversity terms, of conversion to organic, integrated production or uptake of available agri-environment schemes

Vine Street Elementary School, Bangor, Maine 1952

A June 1952 Architectural Forum article detailing the recent construction of Vine Street School in Bangor, Maine. Contains many photographs and architectural diagrams.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/books_pubs/1336/thumbnail.jp

Property Maps Wilton Maine

Property maps of the Town of Wilton, Maine. Originally mapped by James W. Sewall Company of Old Town, Maine, April 1953. Revised in 2000 by John E. O\u27Donnell & Associates

Property Maps Woodstock Maine

Original maps prepared by James W. Sewell, Co. Revised in 2018 by John E. O\u27Donnell & Associates

New South Associates technical report ; 1187.

This project provided new insights into Charleston history and culture. The study suggested that the households under consideration used material culture related to dining and tea drinking as one of several ways of demarcating their class positions and affiliations. One of the findings of this study was that stylistic devices on ceramic teawares may have served to signal class affiliations among the planters. This study also explored the meanings attached to certain artifacts in the context of southern society

Value Engineering Study of Curbs and Drainage

DTFH61-86-C-00734A Value Engineering Study was performed by four State highway agencies (Michigan, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin), covering various aspects of curbs, drainage structures, drainage castings, and gutters. Twenty-seven specific proposals are given for the consideration of highway agencies. To add credibility, a draft report was circulated to the members of the AASHTO Task Force on Hydraulics and Hydrology. Some of the proposals are: minimize cover over pipes, broaden specifications and standards, air entrained concrete, inlet frames with inward protruding flanges, high efficiency grates, eliminate ribs on manhole covers, eliminate adjustable manhole frames, minimize curb drainage, creative uses for slotted vane grates, provide designers with relative costs, reduce the number of standard grates, eliminate metal frames from concrete inlet boxes, standardize design of curbs and gutters, have only six standard curbs and gutters, minimize thickness of gutter pans, eliminate reinforcement in curbs and gutters, specify batter, minimize tight specifications, increase hydraulic capacity of gutters, use curbs to minimize right of way, and avoid oversized drainage inlets

Groundwater Control in Tunneling: Executive Summary

DOT-FH-11-9516This Executive Summary briefly describes a three-volume report on Groundwater Control During Tunneling and in Completed Tunnels

Bridge distress caused by approach embankment settlement

Surtees Bridge, which carries the A66(T) over the River Tees near Thornaby-on-Tees in the UK, has been showing signs of distress that predate its opening in 1981. Subsequent investigations have shown that the bridge distress is related to unexpectedly large settlement of the eastern approach embankment. Recent ground investigations prompted by a proposed widening of the river crossing have produced many new data on the alluvial deposits underlying the site, and explain why embankment settlement was so much larger than originally anticipated. Comparison of the geotechnical parameters obtained from the original and more recent ground investigations suggests that the original investigation significantly underestimated the thickness of an alluvial clay layer underlying the site, and that its coefficient of consolidation was overestimated. Settlement analyses using geotechnical data from the original ground investigations predict moderate embankment settlements occurring principally during construction. Settlement analyses based on all the available data predict far larger embankment settlements occurring over extended time periods. The latter analyses predict an embankment settlement similar to that observed and of sufficient magnitude to cause the observed lateral displacement of the bridge due to lateral loading of its piled foundation

Operating Larger Trucks on Roads With Restrictive Geometry: Summary Report

DTFH61-88-R-00072Changes in the 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) allowing wider and longer trucks on the National Network have raised questions about highway safety. The Federal Highway Administration sponsored a study by Goodell-Grivas, Incorporated, that investigated the performance of trucks of various lengths and widths on roads with restrictive geometry. The report summarized here highlights the main findings of that study for transportation officials and practicing engineers. Field studies at both urban and rural sites indicated that truck drivers compensate for the reduced operating capabilities of larger trucks. Despite driver skill, however, trucks on urban roads encroached into other lanes on streets with widths less than 12 ft. Intersections with less than 60-ft corner radii caused some problems for most truck types, especially those wider than 102 in. Prohibiting large trucks from turning onto narrow urban streets, employing turn movement templates in roadway design, adjusting signal and/or left-turn lane lengths, and manufacturing 48-ft semitrailers with axles forward only may minimize these and other problems. On rural roads, lanes wider than 12 or 13 ft allowed oncoming vehicles to move further right to avoid trucks, and shoulders wider than 4 ft allowed oncoming vehicles a greater margin of safety. At sharp curves (7 to 15 degrees), opposing vehicles slowed down significantly and made other undesirable changes to pass large trucks. Consideration should be given to reducing the sharpness of curves greater than 7 degrees and to allowing large trucks only on two-lane rural roads with lanes at least 12 ft wide and shoulders greater than 4 ft. This summary report was based on the following study: "The Operation of Larger Trucks on Roads with Restrictive Geometry Volume I: Final Report: FHWA/RD-86/157

New Methods for Determining Requirements for Truck-Climbing Lanes

DTFH61-88-R-00072To facilitate traffic flow and to improve highway safety on upgrades, highway design engineers have constructed hill-climbing lanes. A recent FHWA-sponsored study found that current guidelines may be leading designers to overdesign highways, adding and maintaining unnecessary hill-climbing lanes. The report summarized here highlights four major findings of the earlier FHWA study: (1) current design guidelines are conservative for single-unit trucks and tractor-semitrailers and current critical lengths of grade are thus shorter than these two truck types would warrant, (2) single-unit trucks with trailers and doubles do not perform nearly as well as single-unit trucks and tractor-semitrailers, which may indicate that the performance of the latter two types of trucks match current guidelines, (3) critical length of grade should be based on the weight-to-available power ratio of current truck mix, rather than on assumptions about the performance of a 300-lb/hp truck which was typical in 1965, and (4) highway designers need more comprehensive methods for deciding when hill-climbing lanes are warranted. This report also presents tools developed in the study for designing hill-climbing lanes. This report was based on the following study: "Methods for Predicting Truck Speed Loss on Grades - Final Technical Report: FHWA/RD-86-059" (A)