Evaluation of Buffer Strips on Golf Courses Located Throughout Northeast Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin in comparison to Algal Growth in Local Ponds — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Evaluation of Buffer Strips on Golf Courses Located Throughout Northeast Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin in comparison to Algal Growth in Local Ponds

Name: Bradley Hyland
Major: Environmental Science and Marketing
Hometown: Crystal Lake, Illinois
Faculty Sponsor: Tracy Gartner
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Today’s world has caused our soils to become degraded due to the extreme usage of synthetic fertilizers and heavy machinery. These degraded soils have led to an increase in runoff into local waterways. Mass farming has increased the implementation of synthetic fertilizers; however, farmers are beginning to realize that there are ways in which they can reduce the runoff into these local waterways. The most common method is through the use of buffer strips. Although farming is a leading cause to runoff of synthetic fertilizers, golf courses across the country are putting more synthetic fertilizers into the ecosystem than large-scale farm operations. With over 13,000 golf courses across the United States, water features located within or adjacent to these courses are at extreme risk of containing high nutrient levels. These high nutrient levels can lead to eutrophication, which can lead to a decrease in biodiversity of the ecosystem.

Poster file