ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8446-7842

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Major(s)

Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation

Document Type

Immediate Open Access

Abstract

Mitigating agricultural nutrient runoff and improving water quality are key challenges in meeting food and energy demands. To address this challenge, short rotation woody crops (SRWC), specifically Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood) and its genotypes, can be planted at the interface of riparian areas and agricultural production fields to alleviate fertilizer runoff into adjacent bodies of water. This research employed an experimental design to evaluate the effects of P. deltoides diversity on tree productivity and nutrient uptake, and how it mitigates agricultural runoff. Ion exchange resins were deployed 0.5 meters below the soil surface at three different sites in Mississippi, each containing either monoculture plantings of a single P. deltoides genotype or a mixture of two genotypes for the entire growing season to test functional diversity in nitrogen-use efficiency. Results indicated that SRWC systems were efficient at reducing soil nitrate accumulation; however, functional diversity did not significantly enhance soil nitrogen reductions. The results of this study display the efficiency of short rotation woody crops in reducing water quality degradation, which may have positive downstream impacts. This study serves as an example of mitigation techniques to reduce fertilizer runoff from agricultural fields, limit water quality degradation, and provide an additional revenue stream for agricultural producers when harvested for biomass for bioenergy.

Date Defended

4-29-2026

Funding Source

United States Department of Energy, award DE-EE0009280

Thesis Director

Dr. Courtney Siegert

Second Committee Member

Dr. Heidi Renninger

Third Committee Member

Dr. Holli Seitz

Download

Share

COinS
 

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.54718/HRBF3938