Aquaculture is a nearly half-billion dollar per year industry in Louisiana. Many aquaculture systems include water filtration to protect fish and maintain water quality, enhancing productivity and the environment.

With an annual statewide-average rainfall of approximately 60 inches per year, only Hawaii receives more rain on an average statewide basis. Louisiana’s proximity to the Gulf of Mexico is the primary source for the state’s rains and makes her just slightly wetter than her central Gulf Coast sisters, Mississippi and Alabama – and notably wetter than Florida

Runoff from highway rights-of-way can be difficult to manage. Following extended rainfall duration and short periods of high intensity rainfall water, seepage on sloping soils commences and becomes the dominant mechanism that initiates runoff and erosion.

The quality of water resources is a major concern in Louisiana and nationally. Surface and subsurface water quality depends in large part on human activities in the surrounding areas.

In addition to being the showplace for home building ideas, the LSU AgCenter’s LaHouse in Baton Rouge also serves as a model for a sustainable home landscape.

Population growth and urbanization over the last century have raised concerns about stormwater runoff and the environmental impact of the pollutants it may carry, such as fertilizer from home lawns and recreational turf areas.

Managing and restoring coastal wetlands requires knowledge of wetland conditions and the factors creating the desired conditions. Flooding stress, nutrient starvation and salinity stress are the most likely suspects in wetlands that have higher loss rates or appear less productive than typical wetlands.

Tidal surges from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike deposited enormous amounts of salt in the sugarcane fields of coastal Louisiana in a period of active tropical weather from 2005 to 2008.

Trying to keep the University Lakes in Baton Rouge clean and healthy is a goal of LSU AgCenter researcher Yi Jun Xu, associate professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources.

The mantra of the environmental movement reads – Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. In this regard, the ancient farming practice of land application of animal waste is an environmental trifecta – excreta is reused as a fertilizer, thereby reducing the application of inorganic fertilizer while recycling organic matter back into the soil.