Project Number: 1902-13000-011-19
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 15, 2008
End Date: Sep 30, 2010

Objective:
The objectives of the project are to 1) Assess the occurrence of arsenic in UMES soils as a result of agricultural practices and determine the major pathways of arsenic transport from fields to drainage ditches and wetlands, 2) Determine the fate of arsenic in wetland systems, and 3) examine the effects of different farming practices on arsenic transport.

Approach:
1. Occurrence and transport of arsenic from farm to wetlands. The occurrence of arsenic in soils, runoff from fields, and transport in ditches of the research farm at UMES will be assessed to determine the potential transfer from barn to the environment. To determine the occurrence and subsurface transport of arsenic, cores will be extracted at various locations in the fields and in ditch bottoms. Soil horizons will be determined, and the cores will be subsampled, tested for arsenic and phosphorus, and sorbtion/desorbtion experiments for both arsenic and phosphorus will be conducted to determine relative sorbtion capacities for each. Discrete-depth peizometers will be installed in wells left from core extraction and will be sampled periodically to determine movement of arsenic and phosphorus in the shallow subsurface. 2. Fate of arsenic in entrained wetlands. The fate of arsenic in wetlands entrained in ditches will be determined by sampling arsenic concentrations at inflow and outflow of wetlands and core sampling and sorbtion/desorbtion experiments will be performed on sediments from wetlands (as above). Sampling, digestion, and analysis of plant material will be conducted to determine whether arsenic is being taken up and concentrated biologically. 3. Effects of farming practices on arsenic transport. Arsenic transport as a result of various farming practices (till, no-till, litter injection, etc.) will be assessed by quantifying arsenic in runoff and leachate of intact columns extracted following the application of chicken litter by the different methods.