Acid-base reactions and the concept of pH are critical concepts in chemistry, environmental sciences and Earth science. First, students will present hypotheses of whether the pH will increase or decrease when calcite or pyrite are dissolved in water. Second, in a facilitated activity, students (in groups) will dissolve pyrite and calcite in water and measure the pH after the minerals dissolve. Third, they will hypothesize what happens to the pH when they mix the pyrite and calcite together (in water). Fourth, they will then test their hypotheses by mixing them and measuring pH. Fifth they will discuss if their results support their hypotheses. Last, they will expand what they learned in the experiments to how minerals can be used in water treatment.

Aquatic biodiversity is the rich and wonderful variety of plants and animals—from crayfish to catfish, from mussels to mayflies, from tadpoles to trout—that live in watery habitats. It is the number of different native species, or species richness.

The diversity of insects can only be described as amazing. More than half of all known species of living things (microbes, plants, and animals) are insects.

Manure storage is a critical part of a nutrient management plan in a livestock or poultry operation. It's essential to recognize manure as a valuable resource, rich in organic matter and nutrients that can be used as fertilizer or for energy production. While manure can accumulate rapidly, effective management is key to reducing the potential for odors, surface water, and groundwater contamination. This responsible environmental practice not only mitigates these risks but also allows for a strategic approach to managing and using manure. It provides livestock and poultry operations with the flexibility to schedule its use, maximizing the benefits of the resources it contains. Our publication offers guidelines and information for choosing the type of storage and setting them up for farming operations, emphasizing the importance of this responsibility.

Storing manure is a common practice on farms and for those who keep animals. However, a well-designed manure storage facility must also be well-managed to prevent environmental concerns from developing. In most cases, manure storages are used when cold weather, wet conditions, and/or a lack of time do not allow field application. To get the most benefit out of the manure, good management practices and observation of safety practices that minimize manure hazards on the farm are crucial. This publication provides guidelines that stress the importance of good management and safety practices for manure storage to inform the safety and security of a farming operation.

If not managed properly, manure can negatively impact the environment. Therefore, regardless of size, all livestock and poultry operations must handle manure effectively for economic benefits and environmental protection. Media reports often highlight community conflicts arising from livestock and poultry odors, fish kills, and the pollution of surface or groundwater due to poor manure management. These issues have strained relationships between the public and animal agriculture and can be minimized responsibly by managing manure and other agricultural wastes. Effective manure management begins with recognizing its value as a nutrient source for crops and understanding its potential negative effects on air, water, and soil. This publication provides general guidelines for managing livestock and poultry manure. It includes a list of resources with detailed information on best practices for manure management and uses that contribute to good environmental stewardship.

This publication describes procedures for treating and renovating water quality of acid-mine drainage discharges using "passive treatment" technologies such as constructed wetlands.

This publication describes procedures for converting reclaimed mined lands that are unmanaged into productive forest ecosystems with native trees as dominant vegetation.

Protection of water quality is a critical component of forest harvesting operations. Virginia’s silvicultural water quality law (§10.1-1181.1 through 10.1-1181.7) prohibits excessive sedimentation of streams as a result of silvicultural operations. Virginia’s logging businesses invest substantial resources implementing BMPs to protect water quality. The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) is responsible for enforcing this law and inspects all logging operations to ensure protection of water quality.

Since at least the late 1800s, scientists and forest managers in the United States have recognized that forests have strong influences on water resources (Hewlett 2003). Today the connections between forests and water are widely reported in the news media, promoted by natural resource agencies, and investigated by specialists such as hydrologists, dendrologists, foresters, forest biologists, and water managers. Tree structures and functions influence at least four major areas of water-resources concerns: (1) water quality, (2) aquatic habitat, (3) water quantity, and (4) the interactions among water, climate, and energy use. This publication provides a basic introduction to Virginia's trees and a foundation for assessing the connections between water and trees.

In this publication, information is presented on how to increase farm productivity while potentially reducing greenhouse gas* (GHG) contributions from agricultural production. Some of the practices may be familiar to many producers, such as building soil organic matter (SOM) or increasing nitrogen fertilization efficiency, but many producers may not know that these same productivity-boosting activities also help to reduce GHG emissions and their impact on climate change. While informative to the producer, this publication will also inform those with an interest in both agriculture and the environmental impact of GHG emissions on the atmosphere.

The objectives of this publication are (1) to outline some climate-related challenges facing agriculture, (2) to address challenges in communicating climate change issues, and (3) to propose best practices when attempting to communicate climate change issues to agricultural stakeholders. Extension educators and agricultural service providers can use the information presented here to develop outreach and educational programs focused on the impacts of climate change, the effects of climate change on agricultural production, and the best ways to motivate behavior change.

This publication highlights recent advances in adapting denitrifying bioreactors developed in the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic region. Denitrifying bioreactors are edge-of-field management practices that harness the activity of soil bacteria to remove excess nitrogen from drainage waters. Agricultural drainage is a significant source of nutrients to the Chesapeake Bay and important to manage. Although challenges remain with respect to adapting designs to treat ditch drainage, denitrifying bioreactors hold promise to yield water quality improvements in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Row crop agriculture in Virginia and other Eastern states is largely rainfed, but there is increasing interest in irrigation as a way to manage dry periods and weather variability. However, irrigation systems require substantial installation and operating costs, and it can be very difficult to determine if yield improvements will be sufficient to justify these costs. This publication provides an overview on the Irrigation Financial Estimator Tool, which was recently developed to help row crop producers estimate financial aspects of supplemental irrigation. The tool estimates installation and operating costs, as well as revenues from improved yields, using user-supplied information and historic data on weather and prices for crops and fuel. It accounts for uncertainty in these estimates by presenting a range of values for each cost.

Row crop agriculture in Virginia and other Eastern states is largely rainfed, but there is increasing interest in irrigation as a way to manage dry periods and weather variability. However, irrigation systems require substantial installation and operating costs, and it can be very difficult determine if yield improvements will be sufficient to justify these costs. This publication provides an overview on the Irrigation Financial Estimator Tool, which was recently developed to help row crop producers estimate financial aspects of supplemental irrigation. The tool estimates installation and operating costs, as well as revenues from improved yields, using user-supplied information and historic data on weather and prices for crops and fuel. It accounts for uncertainty in these estimates by presenting a range of values for each cost.

Irrigation scheduling is the process of deciding when and how much irrigation to apply to a field. Applying too little irrigation water can cause crop losses and yield reduction, but applying too much water can waste money, fertilizer, and labor, and can even decrease yields in some cases. The goal of this bulletin is to provide information that can help irrigators schedule irrigation using the checkbook method. It describes some of the benefits of irrigation scheduling and general factors that influence the amount and timing of irrigation needs. It then describes the data needed for checkbook irrigation scheduling and how to get this data, the calculations involved, and software/apps that can be used to help with these calculations.

Drone based imagery shows the potential to highlight differences in crop status pertaining to nematode populations in soybean. In addition, integrating the imagery with machine learning models enables yield estimation much before harvest up to an accuracy of 87%. This provides growers with insights into crop health and yield conditions prompting for timely management decisions such as application of fertilizer or fungicides and irrigation. In addition, growers would also benefit from preharvest yield estimations for harvest, storage, and sales planning. This helps to realize optimal yield.

Woodland owners increasingly hear about opportunities to earn income by participating in emerging forest carbon markets. This publication provides an overview of these markets and introduces the carbon credit programs operating in Virginia. This information is intended to help Virginia’s woodland owners decide if taking part in a forest carbon credit program is a good fit for their management objectives.

The mature and dried stem, leaves, and chaff remaining after barley and wheat are harvested is known as straw. Many farmers around Virginia harvest straw by baling in small bales, large round bales, or large square bales that range in weight from 40 to 1,000 lbs. plus per bale.

Early summer often means locally heavy and sporadic rainfall as thunderstorms deliver intense rains, and 2018 appears to be no different with many areas in eastern Virginia receiving 3+ inches of rain in a few days (Figure 1). These storms also often coincide with the timing of sidedress nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) applications on corn. While some rainfall after sidedress is very beneficial to facilitate N movement into soil, heavy rain (2+ inches) often leaves us wondering how much, if any, of that recently-applied N remains and if additional N is needed.

This guide provides key information for selecting trees suitable for silvopasture operations in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. – states include Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. This guide includes species native to North America with an emphasis on those native to Mid-Atlantic states. Only woody plants over 25 feet tall at maturity that are primarily single stemmed were considered. Both deciduous and evergreens are included.