AFSRC scientists are studying the effects of pasture management practices on the transport of nutrients and pathogens to ground water. This block of pasture soil shows numerous macropores that were found to be important for transport of Cryptosporidium oocysts to the subsurface. Results of the study were recently published.

Boyer, D. G., E. Kuczynska, and R. Fayer. 2009. Transport, Fate, and Infectivity of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts Released from Manure and Leached Through Macroporous Soil. Environmental Geology, 58(5)1011-1019. doi: 10.1007/s00254-008-1580-x