Niels G. Svendsen

Evaluation of compost blankets for erosion control from disturbed lands

Soil erosion due to water and wind results in the loss of valuable top soil and causes land degradation and environmental quality problems. Site specific best management practices (BMP) are needed to curb erosion and sediment control and in turn, increase productivity of lands and sustain environmental quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of three different types of biodegradable erosion control blankets- fine compost, mulch, and 50-50 mixture of compost and mulch, for soil erosion control under field and laboratory-scale experiments. Quantitative analysis was conducted by comparing the sediment load in the runoff collected from sloped and tilled plots in the field and in the laboratory with the erosion control blankets. The field plots had an average slope of 3.5% and experiments were conducted under natural rainfall conditions, while the laboratory experiments were conducted at 4, 8 and 16% slopes under simulated rainfall conditions. Results obtained from the field experiments indicated that the 50-50 mixture of compost and mulch provides the best erosion control measures as compared to using either the compost or the mulch blanket alone. Laboratory results under simulated rains indicated that both mulch cover and the 50-50 mixture of mulch and compost cover provided better erosion control measures compared to using the compost alone. Although these results indicate that the 50-50 mixtures and the mulch in laboratory experiments are the best measures among the three erosion control blankets, all three types of blankets provide very effective erosion control measures from bare-soil surface. Results of this study can be used in controlling erosion and sediment from disturbed lands with compost mulch application. Testing different mixture ratios and types of mulch and composts, and their efficiencies in retaining various soil nutrients may provide more quantitative data for developing erosion control plans.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK REDUCTION AND COMBAT READINESS ENHANCEMENT OF MILITARY TRAINING LANDS THROUGH RANGE DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

Constant military training is required to maintain a state of combat readiness for the US Army. The majority of this training occurs on military installations, specifically training ranges. Over time, this training exerts a toll on the landscape creating conditions that reduce training effectiveness, cause erosion and increase maintenance expenditures. To alleviate these problems, the Department of Defense has created the Sustainable Ranges Program in an effort to assist military land managers with environmental issues and provide improved training environments for Army personnel. This study evaluates training range and range structure performance based on environmental risk and sustainability and recommends design methodologies for improving range elements. This information is necessary to develop best management practices that improve environmental compliance, lengthen the range structure maintenance interval, reduce overall cost and enhance military training.

Nitrogen and phosphorus transport in runoff from compost berms on a simulated military training landscape

Compost mulches have potential to significantly offset on- and off-site environmental impacts resulting from mechanical soil disturbances and training manoeuvres on military training ranges. N and P transport was investigated in runoff from compost mulch berms made from various organic waste materials in combination with each other and with soil on a simulated military training landscape in north Alabama in 2007 and 2008. Berms were constructed using composted municipal yard waste (YW), wood chips (WC), pine bark fines (PB), and soil (SL) mixed in eight different proportions. Berms made from 100% soil which had a cumulative runoff PO4-P content of 12 mg L-1 posed the greatest threat of negatively impacting the environment from inorganic P transport. Using compost mulch material with 40% soil to build berms reduced the potential for yard waste and wood chips to cause off-site negative environmental impacts from total dissolved solids, N, and P transport. Berms made from 100% pine bark fines which had cumulative runoff values of 760, 9, 22 and 5 mg L -1, respectively, of TDS, NH4-N, NO3-N, and PO 4-P had the least potential to cause negative off-site environmental impact. To prevent negative impacts of nutrient transport in runoff from berms on training landscapes, the sites need to be well buffered to hydrologically isolate them from adjoining ecosystems.

Runoff and Sediment Transport from Compost Mulch Berms on a Simulated Military Training Landscape

Soil erosion and runoff due to mechanical disturbances on military training ranges can cause problems such as land degradation and environmental pollution of downstream ecosystems. This paper discusses runoff and sediment transport from compost mulch berms on a simulated military training landscape. The berms were constructed using mixtures of municipal yard waste (YW), wood chips (WC), pine bark fines (PB), and sub-soil (SL) in eight different proportions at Hazel Green, North Alabama, in Fall 2006. Berms made from 100% soil, which had over 140 000 L ha−1 of runoff and 13.3 kg ha−1 of sediment transport over the study period, had the greatest risk of causing off-site negative environmental effects. Berms made from 100% PB and 100% WC or combinations of compost materials without soil had the lowest risk of causing environmental pollution from runoff and sediment transport. Compared to soil, compost mulches can significantly reduce negative environmental effects to downstream ecosystems when used for berm construction on military training ranges. However, measures to minimize transport of C and N in runoff sediment, such as planting grass cover crops, need to be evaluated to make the technology more environmentally sustainable.

Military Maneuver Effects on Water Quality and Non-Point Source Pollution: Implications for Training Land Use

Constant military training is required to maintain a state of combat readiness for the US Army. The majority of this training occurs on military installations, specifically training areas. Over time, military maneuvers disturb the soil and vegetation, promote soil movement and impair surrounding waterways within and downstream of the training sector. To alleviate these problems and maintain environmental compliance, the Department of Defense has created the Sustainable Ranges Program in an effort to identify regions where military training severely degrades environmental sustainability. Identifying these regions allows military land managers the opportunity to coordinate training with land recovery efforts, ameliorate environmental issues and provide improved training environments for Army personnel. This paper examines suspended sediment concentrations at a Midwestern military reservation and investigates the sustainability of military training on the installation. This information is necessary to develop best management practices and best training practices that improve environmental compliance and ensure that the land will be available for military training in the future.

Simulation and Modeling for the Optimal Allocation of Military Lands

The military extensively utilizes simulation and virtual training to prepare troops for combat. The OneSAF (One Semi-Automated Forces) computer generated simulation is one of the U.S. Army’s next generation systems that can represent a full range of military operations, systems, and control processes. It is an entity-level simulation, meaning that it can simulate the activities of an individual or groups of individual combatants or weapons platforms. Additionally, OneSAF also provides the appropriate representations of the physical environment (e.g., terrain features, weather, and illumination) and its effect on simulated activities and behaviors. The ability of this software program to provide improved training realism within a simulation environment that is closely related to the actual conditions in the field provides an opportunity for land managers and other environmental decision makers to predict land use patterns before disturbance events actually occur or to track events as they occur. This would provide a proactive means for installation land managers to mitigate land use impacts. The development of such a tool would be invaluable, because this capability does not currently exist. As a precursor to an effort to extend OneSAF software capabilities to encompass land management activities, this presentation will present a methodology to harness fielded simulation and training systems to generate information on vehicle mobility density throughout a landscape, utilizing among other resources the Deployable Force-On-Force Instrumented Range System (DFIRSTTM), shown in Figure 1. For land managers, the major benefit to this approach is to rapidly identify those locations that are intensely utilized and therefore subject to land degradation. Additionally, this approach provides a means to readily rank and quantify those impacts. The benefits and limitations of this approach will be discussed to guide future work in this area and determine the refinements needed to adjust the tracking and simulation systems to accurately capture land use impacts.

The Role of Biomass in Erosional and Soil Strength Influences Under Military Land Management

Multiple anthropogenic activities occur concurrently on Army training lands, in addition to training. These activities can include forestry operations, agricultural out-leasing, and even recreational activities. This inevitably leads to natural resource disturbances and potential conflicts with training activities. The focus of this research is on the responses of vegetation and soil strength to these multiple land uses on military lands, with a goal of exploring ways to re-focus historic land management practices for erosion reduction and improved military carrying capacity. Much research has been conducted on single controlled systems such as controlled grazing or burning. Although this single system research does not always apply to how military lands are used it has historically been the basis for contemporary military land management. The Engineering Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) new focus is on determining how the interactions of land management in the presence of vehicle impacts can be expressed in relation to above and below ground biomass responses. The research presented here includes preliminary results of a long-term program with a series of field experiments to determine the effects of trafficking (Figure 1), burning, and haying/cutting on vegetated soil strength. The research program is developing algorithms to relate vegetated soil strength to biomass and the impacts of co-occurring land use influences on above and below ground biomass.

Predicting Soil Erosion Potential from Military Vehicle Tracking and Terrain Impacts

Military vehicle maneuvers remove vegetation and increase the potential for soil erosion. Quantifying the vegetation removed during military maneuvers is needed to assist land managers in maintaining the environmental integrity of the training area. A terrain-vehicle impact model was used to predict terrain impacts (disturbed width and impact severity), based on vehicle properties, operating characteristics and soil strength properties. The cumulative impact width (CIW), a product of the disturbed width and impact severity, is the width of vegetation removed resulting from a passing wheeled or tracked vehicle. The vegetation removed is a direct indicator of increased soil erosion from the training area.

Assessment of Various Erosion and Sediment Control Practices within an Experimental Facility

Land development and construction projects often alter intrinsic hydrologic responses, thereby contributing to increased rates and volumes of storm water runoff and soil erosion. This in turn leads to more intense and frequent floods, channel erosion, sediment transport and deposition, degradation of structures due to high runoff rates, and nonpoint source pollution of streams, lakes and reservoirs. Soil erosion is a major global environmental problem and the fourth leading cause of water quality impairment in the United States. Although many commercial products are available for erosion and sediment control, there is currently a lack of objective quantitative performance evaluations of such products under an adequate range of locally relevant climate conditions and soil types.

Cumulative Interactions for Military Vehicle Impact Assessment

Military vehicle impacts must be understood in order to minimize the erosion risks associated with military training exercises. While these risks are influenced by many factors, understanding the cumulative interactions between soil strength, soil moisture content, and vegetative cover is vital. Due to the large size and variability of military training lands, the ability to measure these factors quickly and accurately is required. To investigate these interactions and the capability of different instruments to measure them, five vegetative treatments were applied to fifteen plots. Within these plots, soil strength parameters were measured using a drop cone penetrometer, soil cone penetrometer, and Clegg impact soil tester. Surface and subsurface biomass were collected and weighed monthly. This paper discusses correlations between soil strength measurement techniques and investigates the relationship between soil moisture and strength. It also investigates the change in soil strength as vegetation matures and its implications in predicting military vehicle impacts.