{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/51620"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/51620","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A Measurement of Conservation Agriculture’s Effect on Nitrogen and Carbon Mineralization Rates for Agricultural Recommendations in Haiti’s Central Plateau","abstract":"Much of Haitian agriculture is characterized by subsistence farming systems on eroded and nutrient-poor soils. Implementation of Conservation Agriculture systems has proven effective at improving soil quality and crop yield in many areas of the world, including areas similar to those in Haiti. While most Haitian smallholder farmers are highly resource-limited and adoption of new technologies is limited, these farmers are known to adopt new crops and practices if benefits that outweigh risks are demonstrated. Cover crops that help provide soil cover and increase nutrient mineralization are one of the most potentially beneficial changes that could be made on most smallholder farms. However, before specific cover crop recommendations can be made, their potential benefits need to be quantified. One field experiment in the summer of 2013 assessed decomposition rates and nutrient mineralization from common cash crops and two potential cover crops either on the soil surface or buried at 15 cm. The relative difficulty and expense of conducting these types of field trials led to the development and assessment of a laboratory-based system that could be used to simulate plant residue decomposition and nutrient release under controlled conditions. Additional benefits of a laboratory-based study include the ability to test significantly more treatment combinations than would likely be possible under field conditions and to control nearly all other experimental variables, other than the desired treatment comparisons.","abstract_html":"Much of Haitian agriculture is characterized by subsistence farming systems on eroded and nutrient-poor soils. Implementation of Conservation Agriculture systems has proven effective at improving soil quality and crop yield in many areas of the world, including areas similar to those in Haiti. While most Haitian smallholder farmers are highly resource-limited and adoption of new technologies is limited, these farmers are known to adopt new crops and practices if benefits that outweigh risks are demonstrated. Cover crops that help provide soil cover and increase nutrient mineralization are one of the most potentially beneficial changes that could be made on most smallholder farms. However, before specific cover crop recommendations can be made, their potential benefits need to be quantified. One field experiment in the summer of 2013 assessed decomposition rates and nutrient mineralization from common cash crops and two potential cover crops either on the soil surface or buried at 15 cm. The relative difficulty and expense of conducting these types of field trials led to the development and assessment of a laboratory-based system that could be used to simulate plant residue decomposition and nutrient release under controlled conditions. Additional benefits of a laboratory-based study include the ability to test significantly more treatment combinations than would likely be possible under field conditions and to control nearly all other experimental variables, other than the desired treatment comparisons.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lynch, Madalyn Josephine"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences","degree_department":"Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Thomason, Wade E."],"committee_members":["Mulvaney, Michael J.","Hodges, Steven C.","Thompson, Thomas L."],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-03-16","date_published":"2015-03-16","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:25Z","subjects":["Haiti","Conservation Agriculture","Soil organic matter","Haiti -- Central Plateau","Residue decomposition"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:4195"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:4195","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51620","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Thomason, Wade E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Mulvaney, Michael J.","Hodges, Steven C.","Thompson, Thomas L."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lynch, Madalyn Josephine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-03-17T08:00:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-03-17T08:00:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-03-16"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Haiti","Conservation Agriculture","Soil organic matter","Haiti -- Central Plateau","Residue decomposition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:4195"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51620"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Much of Haitian agriculture is characterized by subsistence farming systems on eroded and nutrient-poor soils. Implementation of Conservation Agriculture systems has proven effective at improving soil quality and crop yield in many areas of the world, including areas similar to those in Haiti. While most Haitian smallholder farmers are highly resource-limited and adoption of new technologies is limited, these farmers are known to adopt new crops and practices if benefits that outweigh risks are demonstrated. Cover crops that help provide soil cover and increase nutrient mineralization are one of the most potentially beneficial changes that could be made on most smallholder farms. However, before specific cover crop recommendations can be made, their potential benefits need to be quantified. One field experiment in the summer of 2013 assessed decomposition rates and nutrient mineralization from common cash crops and two potential cover crops either on the soil surface or buried at 15 cm. The relative difficulty and expense of conducting these types of field trials led to the development and assessment of a laboratory-based system that could be used to simulate plant residue decomposition and nutrient release under controlled conditions. 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The relative difficulty and expense of conducting these types of field trials led to the development and assessment of a laboratory-based system that could be used to simulate plant residue decomposition and nutrient release under controlled conditions. 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