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This issue of Louisiana Agriculture is devoted to the water resources of Louisiana and the commitment the LSU AgCenter has made to protecting and improving these resources. 36 pages. Fall 2011, Vol. 54, No. 4
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.
About 40 percent of the nation’s coastal wetlands are in Louisiana and include contiguous freshwater wetlands, contiguous brackish wetlands, and low and high salt marshes. These natural ecosystems are highly productive and serve as critical nursery areas for Gulf of Mexico sea life, ensuring a thriving marine and fisheries industry.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Crawfish study in mecocosms begins, Birders flock to south Louisiana, Field day shows dairy business from 'cow to cone.'
The LSU AgCenter conducts extension programs to inform Louisiana citizens about water resources and ecosystem policy, protection and conservation.
As the largest bottomland hardwood swamp ecosystem in the United States, the Atchafalaya River Basin offers a tremendous diversity of terrestrial and aquatic habitats that support many economically and recreationally important activities including oil and gas extraction, shipping, farming, timber harvesting, hunting, and commercial and recreational fishing.
Saltwater intrusion into rice production has been a cause for concern in southwest Louisiana for decades. But storm surges from recent hurricanes coupled with recent droughts have brought this problem to the forefront.
Water is an essential resource for aquaculture. No single factor influences the success of aquaculture operations more than the availability of good-quality water.
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.
Most agricultural producers who irrigate are using older diesel power units and old wells where upgrading to newer wells and diesel engines or electric motors needs to be technically and economically evaluated.
Water quality describes the chemical, physical and biological properties of water. It embodies many complex characteristics including temperature, dissolved oxygen and other gases
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important indicator for water quality in surface water bodies. Like most terrestrial organisms, fish and many other aquatic organisms are adapted to a narrow range of DO concentrations.
THORNWELL, La. – Birdwatchers from 23 states and two countries converged on rice fields in Jefferson Davis Parish to get a glimpse of the small, elusive bird called the yellow rail.
A system to test various aspects of crawfish biology and culture has recently been completed at the South Unit of the Rice Research Station in Crowley.
For an urban university, it may be a well-kept secret that some of the best dairy products in Louisiana are produced on the LSU campus.
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.
In 2011, Texas experienced a severe drought that state officials declared as the worst on record. Sustained dry, hot conditions caused fires and damage to the ranching and farming industry, as well as placed a strain on the state’s recreational hunting and fishing sector.
Flooding from Hurricane Katrina has resulted in federal and state mandates to raise levees in New Orleans and surrounding parishes.
The Mississippi-Atchafalaya River carries a large quantity of nutrients, making Louisiana’s estuarine and coastal waters highly productive for commercial fisheries.
Louisiana Agriculture Magazine
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.
Louisiana Agriculture Magazine
