**-  North Atlantic  
-  University Park, Pennsylvania 
Printable VersionE-mail this pageThis site onlyAll ARS Advanced Search UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">		You are here: 						Research / 																				**Research Project:**Fate and Transport of Arsenic in Land-Applied Poultry Litter: Effects on Soils, Ditches, Streams, and Wetlands
**Location: University Park, Pennsylvania**
**2009 Annual Report**
**1a.Objectives (from AD-416)**													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.						
**1b.Approach  (from AD-416)**													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.						
**3.Progress Report**													Research this year focused on the transport of arsenic and phosphorus from farms to wetlands. Specifically arsenic and phosphorus were tested in soils and runoff from fields, and the transport of arsenic in ditches of the research farm at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore were detailed. The results of this work has been documented in three invited talks and one invited poster presentation and are included in a journal article that is now in the publication process. The work is garnering national attention from the Environmental Protection Agency, and we are informing EPA of our results as to the occurrence and possible extent of arsenic transport from the farm to receiving waters.
Progress for this project was monitored by weekly meetings, contact via a Penn State graduate student housed in the PSWMRU offices, and regular phone calls and email.						
    Project TeamChurch, Clinton Dell, Curtis Kleinman, Peter Bryant, Ray Feyereisen, Gary Schmidt, John  
Project Annual Reports FY 2009 
Related National Programs Soil Resource Management(202) Water Availability and Water Management(211)  							Last Modified: 03/24/2010 		ARS Home |USDA.gov |Site Map |Policies and Links FOIA |Accessibility Statement |Privacy Policy |Nondiscrimination Statement |Information Quality |USA.gov |White House

**