ASSESSING BIOCHAR AS A SOIL AMENDMENT TO HELP MITIGATE EFFECTS OF CONCENTRATED FLOW PATHS IN AGRONOMIC SYSTEMS

Main Goal: Provide the initial steps in scientific discovery towards assessing biochar's ability in mitigating agricultural surface runoff, especially focused on concentrated flow paths (CFP).Objective 1: Establish biochar application trial plots on agricultural CFPs directly adjacent toriparian forest buffers for this proposed and future biochar research assessing biochar as a best management practice.Objective 2: Determine impact that biochar application has on soil surface infiltration withinagricultural CFPs by measuring surface infiltrate rates and important soil physicalproperties for promoting surface water infiltration including bulk density, particledensity, porosity, wet aggregate stability, and hydrophobicity as well as determine the texture of the soil.Objective 3: Determine potential water quality implications from this biochar application byanalyzing leached nutrient ions (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate) using resinlysimeters within the soil profile under the biochar application.