Date of Award

2022

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Soil Science

Department

Soil Science

College

Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources

Faculty Advisor

DeSutter, Tom

Description

Oil and gas activity-related soil disturbances can alter soil properties and reduce microbial function, which is crucial for nutrient cycling and proper soil function. The goal of this research was to investigate effects of remediation techniques on soil biological property recovery following various types of oil and gas disturbances. A series of studies evaluating microbial abundance, crop growth, and biological properties were conducted on crude oil-contaminated subsoils remediated either with thermal desorption or land farming. Thermally desorbed subsoil achieved similar yields to non-contaminated topsoil after four years. Additionally, biological properties in blended soil (1:1 topsoil to subsoil) were studied using two biostimulant inoculant products. Overall, biostimulant amendment improved microbial responses and plant growth over the control. While blended subsoil and/or remediated subsoil could replace topsoil during instances of topsoil scarcity and can facilitate soil biological property recovery similar to topsoil, biostimulants improved biological metrics regardless of soil blend.

Rights

NDSU policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33283

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