Edaphic and crop production changes resulting from pipeline installation in semiarid agricultural ecosystems

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5249654

Zellmer, S D; Taylor, J D; Carter, R P

The effects of pipeline installation on soil properties and crop production are being documented on three transects (pipe ditch, working side, and control) at four sites (dryland row crop, native pasture, dryland wheat, and irrigated cropland) in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Plant-cover data from the native pasture site show a 37% increase in cover on the pipe ditch during the initial growth season; no significant differences in cover were observed when the control and working side transects were compared. Wheat yield on the pipe ditch at the irrigated crop site was significantly higher, a fact attributed to increased moisture-retention capacity and lower bulk density of the pipe ditch soil. The significantly higher grain sorghum yield on the right-of-way at the dryland row crop site may have resulted from the reclamation practice of chisel plowing the right-of-way on croplands following pipeline construction. Data from the initial sampling and first year of monitoring of the Beaver County sites indicate pipeline installations in semiarid agro-ecosystems have either positive or negligible impacts on soil properties and crop production. 22 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5249654
• Report Number(s): CONF-851012-1; ON: DE85018423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
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ECOSYSTEMS
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NUMERICAL DATA
PIPELINES
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