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AGRN 121: Soil & Water Conservation: Home

Welcome

This Library Guide was created in Spring 2016 for students in Professor Greenwood's AGRN 121 course. The tabs on this guide provide information and links to resources intended to help with the major research assignment on a soil or water conservation topic.

Assignment Requirements

  • a minimum of four references, at least two of which must be from peer-reviewed literature (also known as scientific/scholarly/academic journals). The other references should be from credible sources such as scholarly books, government agencies, or university extension sources.
  • a topic chosen from the list provided by the instructor or otherwise approved by the instructor
  • a paper approximately 4-6 pages in length (12 point font, double spaced)
  • in-text citations and a reference list following the APA style guide
  • a ten-minute presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint

Suggested Research Paper Topics

  • Tillage types
  • Gulf of Mexico dead zone
  • Consequences of a major oil spill (i.e. Deepwater Horizon, or Exxon Valdez)
  • Degradation problems in China (i.e. Yellow River and/or Yangtze River)
  • Water conflicts in the Nile River Valley
  • Water conservation practices of ancient civilizations (you could pick one civilization or compare several)
  • Techniques to mitigate wind erosion
  • Permafrost as a carbon sink
  • Climate change impacts on ocean’s ability to hold dissolved atmospheric gases
  • Methane eruptions in the ocean due to overfishing
  • Coral reef bleaching
  • Permaculture techniques
  • Precision agriculture
  • Water conservation techniques
  • Water recycling/reuse
  • Stormwater harvesting
  • Desalination of water
  • Composting
  • Animal waste management techniques
  • Soil conservation techniques related to agriculture or construction
  • Stream restoration
  • Case study of a particular restoration effort
  • Case study of an improvement plan provided to a producer (i.e. nutrient management plan)
  • Land reclamation/bioremediation   or Superfund sites
  • Clean water act or Clean air act
  • Food Security Bill of 1985 (or recent modifications)
  • History of NRCS
  • Environmental Protection Agency (responsibilities; structure)