Download or read book Analyzing the Effect of Lake Dredged Sediment from the Western Lake Erie Basin on Corn and Soil Health written by Shikshya Gautam and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annually, millions of tons of sediments are dredged from the US lakes and federal navigation channels to maintain the economic activity of ports and harbors. About 1.5 million cubic yards of dredged material (DM) are excavated yearly from the Western Lake Erie Basin, Ohio. After the prohibition of open water disposal of dredged material, the State of Ohio is recommending finding beneficial uses including amending farm soils. Our research investigated whether different ratios of DM amending an organic farm soil enhances the soil and corn health and crop yield. The research objectives were (1) to characterize the soil health (total organic and inorganic carbon, nutrients, bulk density) and (2) to determine crop yield and corn health (total organic carbon, nutrients, above and below biomass weight). Our soil blends consisted of 100% farm soil, 100% DM, 95% farm soil/5% DM, 90% farm soil/10% DM, and 80% farm soil/20% DM. Our results indicated that as the DM ratio increased, the cation exchange capacity, soil calcium, and total organic carbon content also increased, but the bulk density, TN, and TP in the soil decreased. The above and below corn biomass weights were higher as the DM ratio increased. The highest corn yield was observed in 100% DM. These findings demonstrate that DM has the potential to be used as an agricultural farm soil substrate.