North-central Ohio Research Articles

First you need the farmers: The microfarm system as a critical intervention in the alternative food movement

After more than three decades, the alternative food movement has developed multiple strategies, most of which are still struggling. This essay surveys the literature on six key alternative food movement (AFM) strategies, assessing their strengths and weaknesses before describing a novel strategy, the microfarm system, which is being implemented in north central Ohio. It argues that key omissions from most AFM scholarship and practices include sustained attention to training and supporting suc­cessful farmers, concerted efforts to help facilitate needed social networks or communities of prac­tices around alternative food developments, and forwarding a set of ambitions that do not appreci­ate the scale of existing food systems nor the limits of alternative food systems’ impact. It offers the microfarm system as an emerging approach to address these omissions.

Assessing nutrient concentrations and field-scale seepage load under an automated drainage water management system in Ohio

Automated drainage water management (ADWM) leverages technological advancements to control flow volumes and nutrient loads leaving farm fields through the ADWM system outlet while also promoting lateral groundwater seepage through the edge of the field (EOF). The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of ADWM on nutrient concentrations, namely total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), in groundwater and soil water sampled within and across the EOF for an agricultural field located in northcentral Ohio. Water samples collected from shallow groundwater wells showed that TP and TN concentrations were higher at the EOF relative to in the field while water samples collected from suction lysimeters showed that TP and TN concentrations were higher in the field relative to at the EOF. Further, seasonal nutrient loads across the EOF as lateral groundwater seepage were estimated using an application of the Riparian Flow-Concentration Integration method. We found that the maximum contribution of flow volume and nutrient load across the EOF as lateral groundwater seepage occurred in Spring while minimum contributions occurred in the Winter compared to other seasons of the year. The ADWM system considered in this study, which was programmed to automatically open based on water level rise in the outlet structure, appears to achieve the greatest potential for reductions in nutrient load during Winter by altering flow pathways from the drainage system through the EOF.

Nutrient Sequestration by Two Aquatic Macrophytes on Artificial Floating Islands in a Constructed Wetland

Artificial floating islands (AFIs) have been documented as an efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solution to address nutrient pollution. However, most AFI studies to date have been conducted in controlled experiments, and AFI applications in natural settings, particularly in the U.S. Midwest, are limited. Here, we present the results of a combination of field and mesocosm experiments with two native aquatic plant species (Carex comosa and Eleocharis palustris) in a constructed wetland in north-central Ohio. Results showed that C. comosa outperformed E. palustris with respect to biomass accumulation and root system development. In natural conditions, C. comosa had a total dry biomass production of 58.5 ± 22.2 g/plug compared to 6.1 ± 3.2 g/plug in E. palustris. The maximum estimated mean nutrient storage for C. comosa was 20.24 g/m2 of N and 1.33 g/m2 of P, whereas it was 2.31 g/m2 of N and 0.17 g/m2 of P for E. palustris. In addition, the more developed root system of C. comosa suggests that AFIs containing this plant have better total nutrient removal capacity. The growth conditions of both species were significantly impacted by seasonal dynamics with respect to their biomass production and root elongation, as evidenced by reduced growth towards the end of the growing season.

The impact of automated drainage water management on groundwater, soil moisture, and tile outlet discharge following storm events

Tile outlet discharge, soil moisture, and groundwater response were monitored for one year from a 10-ha catchment in north-central Ohio to understand the impact of automated drainage water management (ADWM) following 16 storm events. Under ADWM the tile outlet valve was programmed to open and release water when the water level in the control structure reached a user defined set point below the soil surface. Average groundwater level, soil moisture, and percentage of surface flooding indicated by groundwater levels were not significantly different following precipitation events during periods of ADWM compared to free drainage. However, the time to achieve maximum soil water moisture following precipitation onset was significantly longer and lateral hydraulic gradients were greater during periods of free drainage compared to periods of ADWM, which potentially alters how agricultural fields contribute water through edge-of-field buffers and waterways. In addition, maximum discharge occurred significantly later for storm events that occurred during ADWM; however, total tile outlet discharge was surprisingly not significantly different for events that happened under ADWM compared to events that occurred during free drainage. Tile outlet discharge for precipitation events occurring under ADWM was significantly correlated with the percentage of time during the event in which the tile outlet valve was opened. ADWM for this study was thus more effective at retaining water in the field and reducing tile outlet to near zero discharge during low-intensity precipitation events and when dry antecedent conditions were present. Our results highlight that fields under ADWM are not isolated from the surrounding landscape as they still allow water to move beyond the boundary of the field through combinations of (1) redistributions or reconnections of subsurface flow pathways and (2) periodic opening of outlet valves to release tile drainage water during large storm events and wet conditions.

Evidence for Possible Late Paleozoic Alleghenian Deformation Structures in the Devonian Rocks of Erie County, Ohio, USA

Partially exposed bedrock beneath Pleistocene glacial till in Erie County (north-central Ohio) displays unusual structural deformation in the Devonian Berea Sandstone, Bedford Shale, and Ohio Shale. These folded and faulted units are exposed in creeks as anticlines and synclines. Past studies of this area proposed Pleistocene ice movement and soft-sediment deformation during the Late Paleozoic as the deformation mechanisms, but these hypotheses cannot explain the extent of layer displacement or the contradiction between the southwest travel direction of the ice sheet and the structural sense of motion on the folded units. A new interpretation using field data and constructing geologic profiles explains the development of these structures. This study investigated 17 anticlines that trend in different directions. Four of these anticlines are tightly folded with steep or overturned flanks and thrust-faulted Ohio Shale in their cores. Structural analysis of these folds shows that the incompetent shaly units of the Plum Brook–Ohio–Bedford and competent Berea Sandstone were folded above the Delaware–Niagara carbonates as a result of the compressional stress during the Late Paleozoic. Development of these tight or overturned folds, and change in trend of the anticlines, is caused by unusual stratigraphic thickness variations in the Berea and Bedford units. Preserved and undeformed fine sedimentary structures, and sharply faulted beds, in the Berea and Bedford indicate that soft-sediment deformation was not the cause of the regional structural deformation. Finally, the absence of physical features of glacially deformed bedrock demonstrates that Pleistocene glacial ice shove was not the cause of deformed bedrock units in the study area.

Cover crops differentially influenced nitrogen and phosphorus loss in tile drainage and surface runoff from agricultural fields in Ohio, USA

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss from crop production agriculture is transported to adjacent and downstream water bodies, resulting in negative environmental impacts including harmful and nuisance algal blooms. Cover crops are a conservation management practice that replaces bare soil with vegetation outside of the cash crop growing season, purportedly reducing N and P loss by increasing water and nutrient demand in agroecosystems. In this study, we compared nitrate (NO3−-N), total N (TN), dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total P (TP) loads in subsurface (tile) drainage and surface runoff from fields with cover crop management (CC) and fields without cover crop management (NoCC) using continuous monitoring data from 40 agricultural fields located throughout northcentral Ohio, United States (US). We found that average monthly tile NO3−-N and TN loads from CC fields were ~50% less than NoCC fields, while average monthly tile discharge, DRP, and TP loads did not differ between CC and NoCC fields. Cover crops also did not significantly influence average monthly surface metrics. Cover crops reduced monthly totals of tile NO3−-N and TN loads by ~1.0–2.6 kg N ha−1 from January to June (winter and spring), coinciding with critical periods of nutrient loss from agroecosystems in the midwestern US, but increased monthly totals of tile DRP (by 0.4–12.1 g DRP ha−1) and TP (by 1.2–31.6 g TP ha−1) loads during some months. We found similar patterns at the annual time scale whereby CC fields had lesser cumulative annual totals of tile NO3−-N and TN but greater cumulative annual totals of tile DRP and TP. These results show that the influence of cover crops on N loads, but not P, were consistent across temporal scales of examination, demonstrating that cover crops effectively increased N demand and mitigated N losses from agricultural fields. The variable influence of cover crops on P loads underscores the need for greater understanding of the factors and mechanisms that control P loss in systems that include cover crop management. Furthermore, these findings stress the importance of identifying and selecting conservation management practices tailored to the natural resource concern.

The Nelson stone tool cache, North-Central Ohio, U.S.A.: Assessing its cultural affiliation

The Nelson stone tool cache was discovered in 2008 in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The cache does not include any diagnostic materials, and independent age control is unavailable. Although aspects of its 164 bifaces are suggestive of a Clovis affiliation – including the occasional occurrence of unmistakable flute scars – nearly all are in the early- to mid-stages of production, there are no definitive finished Clovis fluted points that would make it possible to assign the cache to that time period. To ascertain its cultural affiliation, we undertook a detailed qualitative and quantitative comparison of the Nelson cache bifaces with ones known to be both Clovis and post-Clovis in age. We also conducted geochemical sourcing, ochre analyses, and microwear analysis to understand the context of the cache, regardless of its age and cultural affinity. By some key measures it is consistent with Clovis caches in this region and elsewhere, but the case remains unproven. Nonetheless, if the Nelson cache is from the Clovis period, it is significant that most of its bifaces appear to be made on large flakes, in keeping with Clovis technology in the Lower Great Lakes, and an economically conservative, risk-mitigating strategy that conforms to predictions of human foragers colonizing the area in late Pleistocene times.

Response of American and European elderberries to extreme winter temperature in North Central Ohio

Response of American and European elderberries to extreme winter temperature in North Central Ohio

Influence of tillage on soil physical properties and three varieties of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in Ogbomoso, southwestern Nigeria

Influence of tillage on soil physical properties and three varieties of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in Ogbomoso, southwestern Nigeria

Morphology of Salammoniac From the Huron River Shale Fire, Huron County, Ohio

Unless otherwise noted, all mineral photos are digital images by R. Peter Richards of specimens in his collectionHuron County, in north-central Ohio, is not a place one would expect to find an oil ...

Reducing CO2 Flux by Decreasing Tillage in Ohio: Overcoming Conjecture with Data

While the literature is clear about excessive tillage decreasing soil carbon (C) content, there are few experimental studies that document the comparative effects of soil and crop management on C sequestration. Using micrometeorology we measured CO2 flux from a maize crop grown on both no-till and tilled soils in north-central Ohio. We used Bowen Ratio Energy Balance (BREB) systems to quantify the flux between the atmosphere and either the soil surface (at crop planting) or 0.2 m above the canopy once the crop was established and growing. The no-till plot sequestered 263 g CO2 m-2 (90% confidence interval -432.1 to -99.9) while the tilled plot emitted 146 g CO2 m-2 (90% confidence interval -53.3 to 332.2) during 104 days of the 2015 growing season; a net difference of 410 g CO2 m-2. The difference is statistically significant at the 90% confidence level (based on a bootstrap analysis). The results indicate that no-tillage practices can sequester C, maintain soil productivity, and ensure landscape sustainability.

Identification of dialect cues by dyslexic and non-dyslexic listeners

Spoken language encodes two different forms of information: linguistic (related to the message) and indexical (e.g., speaker’s age, gender, and regional dialect). However, some speech-language impairments (such as dyslexia) can reduce a listener’s ability to process both linguistic and indexical speech cues. For example, Perrachione et al. (Science, 333, 2011) demonstrated that individuals with dyslexia were less able to identify new voices than were control listeners. This study examines the ability of listeners with and without dyslexia to identify speaker dialect. Eighty listeners—40 adults and 40 children (20 in each group were dyslexic, 20 were not; 40 were males and 40 were females)—listened to a set of 80 sentences produced by English speakers from Western North Carolina or central Ohio and were asked to identify which region the speaker came from. Results demonstrated that adult listeners were significantly better at dialect identification and that listeners with dyslexia were significantly poorer at dialect identification. More notably, there was a significant age by listener group interaction—the improvement in dialect identification between adults and children was significantly smaller in listeners with dyslexia. This indicates that an initial limitation in language learning can inhibit long-term development of speaker-specific phonetic representations.

Estimating CO2-EOR Potential and Co-sequestration Capacity in Ohio's Depleted Oil Fields

Abstract The goal of this project is to develop process understanding and evaluate technical and economic feasibility of CO2 utilization and storage in Ohio. Our focus will be on depleted oil fields in the Clinton sandstone in eastern Ohio at depths ranging from 3400 to 5000 ft and the Knox dolomite in North-Central Ohio at depths ranging from 3000 to 8000 ft. These fields appear to be promising candidates for CO2-assisted EOR because of poor primary recovery efficiency that leaves behind ∼80-90% original oil in place. However, a systematic assessment of enhanced recovery and co-sequestration potential in these under-pressured low- permeability depleted oil fields does not appear to have been undertaken – which is the focus of this research project. This paper describes ongoing activities in the areas of source-sink matching, production history assessment, reservoir characterization and fluid property characterization, as well as plans for reservoir simulation.

Ohio Hopewell Depictions of Composite Creatures

AbstractHopewellian peoples in southwestern, south-central, and north-central Ohio sculpted, engraved, and cut out six depictions of creatures that combine the bodily elements of different ordinary animals. Detailed zoological identification of the component animals documents that all were associated with the underwater-underground realms of historic Woodland and Plains Indian cosmoses, in contrast to some later Mississippian and Historic period composite creatures with both sky and water-earth associations. However, strong continuities are found in the kinds of underwater-underground creatures known to historic Woodland-Plains and prehistoric Ohio Hopewellian Indians. A survey of historic Woodland and Plains knowledge about underwater-underground creatures sheds light on both their helpful and harmful roles and the very wide spectrum of domains of life they affected, in contrast to some current Woodland ethnographic, ethnohistorical, and archaeological lines of interpretation that caricature the creature...

Hybridization between an invasive and a native species of the crayfish genus Orconectes in north-central Ohio

Hybridization between native and invasive species is an important but little-studied factor in crayfish invasions, with few documented natural cases. Here, we report genetic evidence of hybridization between invasive O. rusticus (Girard, 1852) and native O. sanbornii (Girard, 1852) in the Huron River in north-central Ohio based on a combination of molecular markers: nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and allozymes. Although we found no fixed differences between the species at nuclear DNA loci, fixed differences in mtDNA and allozyme loci confirmed the presence of individuals of hybrid ancestry. We also found preliminary evidence of possible mitochondrial recombination and biparental inheritance (though the existence of rare haplotypes cannot be excluded at the present time). We examined morphological features of both species in sympatry and allopatry and confirmed species-diagnostic morphological features including gonopod traits and shape of the annulus ventralis. This study is the second to detect hybridization between O. rusticus and a congener, which suggests that this may be an important mechanism of invasion by O. rusticus when closely related species are present. Further study of this system, including more extensive sampling and additional molecular markers, is necessary to understand the extent and implications of hybridization for the native species.

Artificial Nest Cavity Used Successfully By Native Species and Avoided by European Starlings

We describe a weather-durable cavity design used successfully by cavity-nesting species native to the eastern USA and, although accessible, avoided by European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). The artificial nest cavity was constructed using 9.5-cm inside diameter polyvinyl chloride tubes cut to 27.5-cm lengths. The tubes were mounted horizontally with 5.1-cm entry holes drilled through one of the capped ends. Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis), House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon), and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nested in 49 of 100, newly mounted tubes on utility poles in north-central Ohio, USA from April through June 2009. These species nested in 85% of the tubes during the same period in 2010 and fledged young from 94.1% of nests. We added 10 nest tubes (27.5-cm long × 17-cm inside diam) at sites similar to the smaller tubes in 2010. Two of the larger tubes were used by nesting starlings and six by native species. Cavity vertical depth has been shown to be an important feature in starling nest site selection, but our data from the larger tubes indicate that other factors are likely important. The smaller design could offer nesting opportunities for a range of native cavity-nesting species while limiting use by starlings.

Vowel change across three age groups of speakers in three regional varieties of American English

This acoustic study examines sound (vowel) change in apparent time across three successive generations of 123 adult female speakers ranging in age from 20 to 65 years old, representing three regional varieties of American English, typical of western North Carolina, central Ohio and southeastern Wisconsin. A set of acoustic measures characterized the dynamic nature of formant trajectories, the amount of spectral change over the course of vowel duration and the position of the spectral centroid. The study found a set of systematic changes to /ɪ, ɛ, æ/ including positional changes in the acoustic space (mostly lowering of the vowels) and significant variation in formant dynamics (increased monophthongization). This common sound change is evident in both emphatic (articulated clearly) and nonemphatic (casual) productions and occurs regardless of dialect-specific vowel dispersions in the vowel space. The cross-generational and cross-dialectal patterns of variation found here support an earlier report by Jacewicz, Fox, and Salmons (2011) which found this recent development in these three dialect regions in isolated citation-form words. While confirming the new North American Shift in different styles of production, the study underscores the importance of addressing the stress-related variation in vowel production in a careful and valid assessment of sound change.

Regional Dialect Variation in the Vowel Systems of Typically Developing Children

To investigate regional dialect variation in the vowel systems of typically developing 8- to 12-year-old children. Thirteen vowels in isolated h_d words were produced by 94 children and 93 adults (males and females). All participants spoke American English and were born and raised in 1 of 3 distinct dialect regions in the United States: western North Carolina (Southern dialect), central Ohio (Midland dialect), and southeastern Wisconsin (Northern Midwestern dialect). Acoustic analysis included formant frequencies (F1 and F2) measured at 5 equidistant time points in a vowel and formant movement (trajectory length). Children's productions showed many dialect-specific features comparable to those in adult speakers, both in terms of vowel dispersion patterns and formant movement. Different features were also found, including systemic vowel changes, significant monophthongization of selected vowels, and greater formant movement in diphthongs. The acoustic results provide evidence for regional distinctiveness in children's vowel systems. Children acquire not only the systemic relations among vowels but also their dialect-specific patterns of formant dynamics. Directing attention to the regional variation in the production of American English vowels, this work may prove helpful in better understanding and interpreting the development of vowel categories and vowel systems in children.

Regional variation in vowel acoustics in children.

This study examines the acquisition of the American English vowel system by children who grew up in one of the three distinct dialect areas in the United States: western North Carolina, central Ohio, and southeastern Wisconsin. Of interest is the extent to which children acquire dialect‐specific vowel dispersion patterns and dynamic formant movements (vowel‐inherent spectral change). Ninety‐four children (8–12 years) and 93 adults (51–65 years), males and females, produced 13 vowel categories in isolated hVd words. The results for children clearly show the presence of dialect‐specific features found in adult speakers. The regional positional relations among vowels are generally maintained in children. For some vowels, the correspondence in the amount of spectral change and formant trajectory shape between children and adults is remarkable. Two major changes in children are common across dialects: reduction of formant movement in selected monophthongs and more uniform production of diphthongs in which dialectal differences present in adults tend to disappear. These results show that children are able to adopt and reproduce dialect‐specific acoustic vowel characteristics quite well despite their exposure to highly variable input, which creates opportunities for dialect convergence and standardization through interaction with mass media and telecommunication. [Work supported by NIH.]

Cross‐generational differences in dynamic formant patterns in vowels.

As the position of a vowel changes within the vowel space across generations of speakers, so does its dynamic formant pattern. This study examines variation in the dynamic patterns of vowel formants across two age groups: children (8–12 years) and older adults from their grandparents’ generation (51–65 years). The cross‐generational changes in vowels /ɪ, ε, æ/ were examined for each of the three regional variants of American English spoken in Southeastern Wisconsin (affected by the Northern Cities Shift), Western North Carolina (affected by the Southern Vowel Shift) and Central Ohio (not considered to be affected currently by any vowel shift). The following vowels in children’s productions were monophthongized as compared to those of their grandparents’ generation: Wisconsin /ɪ, ε/ (but not /æ/), North Carolina /ε, æ/ (but not /ɪ/), and Ohio /ɪ, ε, æ/. In addition to the reduced formant movement, some of the children’s vowels had a different direction of formant change. These cross‐generational changes were assessed in a set of measures including formant trajectory length, spectral rate of change and angle of formant change. The measures were calculated from formant frequencies extracted at points in the vowels corresponding to 20, 35, 50, 65, and 80% of the vowel’s duration. [Work supported by NIH.]