Kathleen Arrington

Kathleen Arrington

  • Postdoctoral Scholar

Areas of Expertise

  • Organic Agriculture
  • Cover Crops
  • Nitrogen Cycling in Agroecosystems

Websites

Education

  • Ph.D. Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009)
  • M.S. Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2003)
  • B.S. Environmental Resource Management, Penn State (1998)

Current Projects:

Nitrogen Decision Support Tool for Corn 

The nitrogen decision support tool provides farmers with site-specific fertilizer recommendations for corn. The tool is based on a biogeochemical model which estimates yield credits from soil organic matter and decomposing cover crops using a few soil and cover crop characteristics. We have compiled over a decade of data from research station and on-farm sites to calibrate a tool that is appropriate for Pennsylvania fields with a wide variety of soil textures, organic matter levels and cover crops grown before corn. We are working closely with Pennsylvania corn growers to test this web-based tool.

Optimizing Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for Fruit and Vegetable Production

Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation (ASD) is a biologically-based treatment to suppress soilborne pests and pathogens. We are testing several combinations of cover crops and organic amendments for their effectiveness in ASD treatments as well as their impact on the nutrient supply to the following fruit or vegetable crop. Our project team from Pennsylvania and Florida is working to optimize ASD treatments for these two climates through research-station experiments and collaborations with local fruit and vegetable producers to test these treatments in commercial operations. 

Publications:

Arrington, K.E., S.J. Ventura, and J.M. Norman, 2013.  Predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity for estimating maximum infiltration rates.  Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 77:748-758. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2012.0288

Arrington, K.E., C.W. Abdalla, D.B. Beegle, R.E. Graves and K.S. Blunk. 2007. Nutrient budgets for Pennsylvania cropland: What do they reveal and how can they be used? Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Research and Extension Publication #UA442. University Park. PA. 12 pp.

Lanyon, L.E, K.E. Arrington, C.W. Abdalla, and D.B. Beegle. 2006. Phosphorus budgets for Pennsylvania cropland: 1939 to 2002. J. Soil Water Conserv. 61:51-58.

Arrington, K.E. and A. Roa-Espinosa. 2004. Protecting cold water streams: GIS tackles thermal loading in urban watersheds. Land Information Bulletin from the National Consortium for Rural Geospatial Innovations- Great Lakes Section. Madison, WI. 4 pp.  

Arrington, K.E., J.M. Norman, A. Roa-Espinosa and S.J. Ventura. 2004. Implementing a Thermal Urban Runoff Model (TURM). p. 427-458. In Innovative Modeling of Urban Water Systems, Monograph 12, W. James (ed.). Computational Hydraulics International. Guelph, Ontario.

Arrington, K.E., S.J. Ventura, J.M. Norman and A. Roa-Espinosa. 2003. Protecting cold water streams in urbanizing watersheds. J. Soil Water Conserv. 58:62A-65A.