P. Martinez, J.R. Brehm, A.M. Nafus, A. Laurence-Traynor, S.W. Salley, S.E. McCord
Ecological site information is essential to interpreting monitoring data and guiding site-specific management of ecosystem functions and services. Ecological information includes soil properties (e.g., texture class), geomorphology characteristics (e.g., slope aspect), and ecosystem dynamics (e.g., plant succession), which are critical covariates in rangeland monitoring programs such as the Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) strategy conducted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Based on field observations, AIM identifies ecological sites according to ecological site concepts uniquely developed within individual Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA). Here, we present and evaluate the availability of ecological site identification, soil observations, and geomorphology characteristics determined by AIM data collectors between 2012 and 2021 in 14 states of the western United States. There are 31,267 monitoring plots (79% of plots) with identified ecological sites and 29,228 plots (74% of plots) containing soil morphology descriptions of soil horizons examined in excavated pits. While soil texture class is observed in most soil horizons (98%), rock fragment volume is the soil property with the least data availability (75%). The consistency of soil data (e.g., clay content observations within the ranges of texture classes) increases as a function of time following guidance in soil profile description training for AIM data collectors. Nearly 47% of AIM plots are found on gentle slopes of 0% to 5% steepness and on Flat/Plain and Hill/Mountain landscape types. We confirmed that the AIM database is a robust source of georeferenced soil and geomorphology information that can be used for land management and research on land potential, soil geography, and assessment of soil health indicators across the western United States.
{"title":"Leveraging ecological monitoring programs to collect soil and geomorphology data across the western United States","authors":"P. Martinez, J.R. Brehm, A.M. Nafus, A. Laurence-Traynor, S.W. Salley, S.E. McCord","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00068","url":null,"abstract":"Ecological site information is essential to interpreting monitoring data and guiding site-specific management of ecosystem functions and services. Ecological information includes soil properties (e.g., texture class), geomorphology characteristics (e.g., slope aspect), and ecosystem dynamics (e.g., plant succession), which are critical covariates in rangeland monitoring programs such as the Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) strategy conducted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Based on field observations, AIM identifies ecological sites according to ecological site concepts uniquely developed within individual Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA). Here, we present and evaluate the availability of ecological site identification, soil observations, and geomorphology characteristics determined by AIM data collectors between 2012 and 2021 in 14 states of the western United States. There are 31,267 monitoring plots (79% of plots) with identified ecological sites and 29,228 plots (74% of plots) containing soil morphology descriptions of soil horizons examined in excavated pits. While soil texture class is observed in most soil horizons (98%), rock fragment volume is the soil property with the least data availability (75%). The consistency of soil data (e.g., clay content observations within the ranges of texture classes) increases as a function of time following guidance in soil profile description training for AIM data collectors. Nearly 47% of AIM plots are found on gentle slopes of 0% to 5% steepness and on Flat/Plain and Hill/Mountain landscape types. We confirmed that the AIM database is a robust source of georeferenced soil and geomorphology information that can be used for land management and research on land potential, soil geography, and assessment of soil health indicators across the western United States.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141152601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Argaman, C. Xu, Z. Xu, G. Zheng, U. Basson, I. Stavi
Continual land degradation processes adversely affect the functioning of dryland ecosystems. In recent decades, extensive afforestation activities have been undertaken in marginal lands of the semiarid northern Negev region of southern Israel to mitigate such degradation processes. However, the long-term impacts of these actions in drylands, subjected to long-term drought episodes, remain unknown. We investigated the impact of landuse change from natural lands to afforestation runoff-harvesting systems—through intensive earthworks (landforming) to establish a contour bench terrace during long-term drought—on herbaceous vegetation productivity, and assessed its temporal dynamics across the multi-aged Ambassadors’ Forest. The MODIS MOD13Q1 and MYD13Q1 maximum value composite products were used to calculate normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data for the hydrological years 2000 to 2020. For this study, implemented in 2021, we selected three locations within the Ambassadors’ Forest: (1) 15-year-old afforested hillslopes, (2) 11-year-old afforested hillslopes, and (3) 4-year-old afforested hillslopes. We further delineated undisturbed hillslopes near these sites as a reference treatment. We found high spatiotemporal variability in vegetation cover. Over the short term, and specifically in the first hydrological year following the establishment of the water-harvesting systems, a substantial reduction in mean annual NDVI was observed, with values ranging from 30% to 65% lower compared to the reference sites. However, the negative impact of landuse change diminished over time, suggesting that (1) self-restoration processes occurred over a longer term after landuse changes were implemented, and (2) the establishment of water-harvesting systems improve the conservation of runoff water at the hillslope. This effect was observed for the 11- and 15-year-old afforestation sites, where vegetation productivity was 8.9% and 31.0% greater, respectively, than in the respective reference sites ( p < 0.05). Although the long-term drought occurred during the construction of the water-harvesting systems, these findings are in agreement with previous studies. Specifically, this study suggests that ecological self-restoration processes in semiarid regions occur approximately a decade after runoff-harvesting systems are established through earthworks.
{"title":"Eco-hydrological functioning of multi-aged dryland afforestation systems","authors":"E. Argaman, C. Xu, Z. Xu, G. Zheng, U. Basson, I. Stavi","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00053","url":null,"abstract":"Continual land degradation processes adversely affect the functioning of dryland ecosystems. In recent decades, extensive afforestation activities have been undertaken in marginal lands of the semiarid northern Negev region of southern Israel to mitigate such degradation processes. However, the long-term impacts of these actions in drylands, subjected to long-term drought episodes, remain unknown. We investigated the impact of landuse change from natural lands to afforestation runoff-harvesting systems—through intensive earthworks (landforming) to establish a contour bench terrace during long-term drought—on herbaceous vegetation productivity, and assessed its temporal dynamics across the multi-aged Ambassadors’ Forest. The MODIS MOD13Q1 and MYD13Q1 maximum value composite products were used to calculate normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data for the hydrological years 2000 to 2020. For this study, implemented in 2021, we selected three locations within the Ambassadors’ Forest: (1) 15-year-old afforested hillslopes, (2) 11-year-old afforested hillslopes, and (3) 4-year-old afforested hillslopes. We further delineated undisturbed hillslopes near these sites as a reference treatment. We found high spatiotemporal variability in vegetation cover. Over the short term, and specifically in the first hydrological year following the establishment of the water-harvesting systems, a substantial reduction in mean annual NDVI was observed, with values ranging from 30% to 65% lower compared to the reference sites. However, the negative impact of landuse change diminished over time, suggesting that (1) self-restoration processes occurred over a longer term after landuse changes were implemented, and (2) the establishment of water-harvesting systems improve the conservation of runoff water at the hillslope. This effect was observed for the 11- and 15-year-old afforestation sites, where vegetation productivity was 8.9% and 31.0% greater, respectively, than in the respective reference sites ( p < 0.05). Although the long-term drought occurred during the construction of the water-harvesting systems, these findings are in agreement with previous studies. Specifically, this study suggests that ecological self-restoration processes in semiarid regions occur approximately a decade after runoff-harvesting systems are established through earthworks.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140033255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The dairy sector has been the backbone of many rural communities across the traditional US Dairy Belt (i.e., the states from Maine to Minnesota) since the early twentieth century. The dramatic loss of dairy farms throughout the region over the past 30 years has contributed to an unraveling of the fabric of its rural communities (Spratt et al. 2021). An important driver of this trend has been extreme volatility and a downward trend in real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) farmgate milk prices. In response, many remaining dairy farms have greatly increased herd size and milk production per cow; “get big or get out” has been the clear writing on the proverbial wall. Farmers who have followed this path have generally demonstrated an impressive application of science, technology, and management to consistently produce an average of over 25,000 lb of milk per cow per year in herds with hundreds or thousands of cows. Unfortunately, there are a host of vexing issues associated with the increasing trend toward large modern confinement-feeding dairy farms. These farms are very capital-intensive and the resulting level of assets (and debt) per cow necessitates maximum milk production per cow (Winsten et al. 2000, 2010). Very high grain-to-forage feeding ratios can increase the incidence of metabolic disorders, resulting in increased use of antibiotics and increased culling rates. The very high capital requirements preclude most farm workers from becoming farm owners. The use of heavy equipment and manure-handling systems is associated with higher rates of worker injuries and fatalities (Douphrate et al. 2013). From an environmental perspective, large modern dairy farms often import much more nutrients (e.g., grain and fertilizer) onto the farm than the farm’s land base can assimilate (Kellogg 2000). The more extreme the nutrient imbalance, …
{"title":"Low-overhead dairy grazing: A specific solution to a vexing problem","authors":"Jonathan R. Winsten","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.0122a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.0122a","url":null,"abstract":"The dairy sector has been the backbone of many rural communities across the traditional US Dairy Belt (i.e., the states from Maine to Minnesota) since the early twentieth century. The dramatic loss of dairy farms throughout the region over the past 30 years has contributed to an unraveling of the fabric of its rural communities (Spratt et al. 2021). An important driver of this trend has been extreme volatility and a downward trend in real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) farmgate milk prices. In response, many remaining dairy farms have greatly increased herd size and milk production per cow; “get big or get out” has been the clear writing on the proverbial wall. Farmers who have followed this path have generally demonstrated an impressive application of science, technology, and management to consistently produce an average of over 25,000 lb of milk per cow per year in herds with hundreds or thousands of cows. Unfortunately, there are a host of vexing issues associated with the increasing trend toward large modern confinement-feeding dairy farms. These farms are very capital-intensive and the resulting level of assets (and debt) per cow necessitates maximum milk production per cow (Winsten et al. 2000, 2010). Very high grain-to-forage feeding ratios can increase the incidence of metabolic disorders, resulting in increased use of antibiotics and increased culling rates. The very high capital requirements preclude most farm workers from becoming farm owners. The use of heavy equipment and manure-handling systems is associated with higher rates of worker injuries and fatalities (Douphrate et al. 2013). From an environmental perspective, large modern dairy farms often import much more nutrients (e.g., grain and fertilizer) onto the farm than the farm’s land base can assimilate (Kellogg 2000). The more extreme the nutrient imbalance, …","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"88 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140046624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Cabello-Leiva, M.T. Berti, D.W. Franzen, L. Cihacek, T. Peters, D. Samarappuli
Conventional tillage after wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) results in poor winter soil coverage, negatively affecting long-term soil health. Cover crops and no-tillage provide soil coverage, reducing soil erosion, and nitrate (NO3-N) leaching potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate maize ( Zea mays L.) grain yield response and grain quality due to cover crops preceding maize. The experiment was organized as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement. The experiments were conducted under transitional no-till at Prosper and Hickson, North Dakota, from 2017 to 2019. Forage pea ( Pisum sativum L.), faba bean ( Vicia faba Roth), and winter camelina ( Camelina sativa [L.] Crantz) were established into spring wheat stubble in August of 2017 and 2018. A check treatment with no cover crop was included. Cover crop fall biomass production and nitrogen (N) accumulation in plant tissue averaged across locations were 1.59 Mg ha−1 and 67.7 kg ha−1, respectively. Winter camelina survived the winters and accumulated biomass in the spring, resulting in significantly higher biomass (3.3 Mg ha−1) than the previous fall biomass. Winter camelina decreased spring water content in Prosper and Hickson in 2018, affecting maize seedling growth because of early competition. Soil NO3-N was not different among treatments. Maize was planted into the residue of fall-planted cover crops. Nitrogen rates of 0, 40, 80, and 160 kg N ha−1 were applied immediately after planting as urea. Maize grain yield increased with higher N rates and was significantly higher when grown in plots that had faba bean (9.7 Mg ha−1), forage pea (10.1 Mg ha−1), and the no-cover crop check (9.8 Mg ha−1), than those that had winter camelina (8.6 Mg ha−1). Leguminous cover crops resulted in a slight increase in maize grain yield compared with plots without cover crops. However, this increase did not reach statistical significance. To understand this response and the potential benefits of cover crops in maize cultivation, further research is needed, with varying seasonal weather conditions.
{"title":"Can nitrogen in fall-planted legume cover crops be credited to maize?","authors":"S. Cabello-Leiva, M.T. Berti, D.W. Franzen, L. Cihacek, T. Peters, D. Samarappuli","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00048","url":null,"abstract":"Conventional tillage after wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) results in poor winter soil coverage, negatively affecting long-term soil health. Cover crops and no-tillage provide soil coverage, reducing soil erosion, and nitrate (NO3-N) leaching potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate maize ( Zea mays L.) grain yield response and grain quality due to cover crops preceding maize. The experiment was organized as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement. The experiments were conducted under transitional no-till at Prosper and Hickson, North Dakota, from 2017 to 2019. Forage pea ( Pisum sativum L.), faba bean ( Vicia faba Roth), and winter camelina ( Camelina sativa [L.] Crantz) were established into spring wheat stubble in August of 2017 and 2018. A check treatment with no cover crop was included. Cover crop fall biomass production and nitrogen (N) accumulation in plant tissue averaged across locations were 1.59 Mg ha−1 and 67.7 kg ha−1, respectively. Winter camelina survived the winters and accumulated biomass in the spring, resulting in significantly higher biomass (3.3 Mg ha−1) than the previous fall biomass. Winter camelina decreased spring water content in Prosper and Hickson in 2018, affecting maize seedling growth because of early competition. Soil NO3-N was not different among treatments. Maize was planted into the residue of fall-planted cover crops. Nitrogen rates of 0, 40, 80, and 160 kg N ha−1 were applied immediately after planting as urea. Maize grain yield increased with higher N rates and was significantly higher when grown in plots that had faba bean (9.7 Mg ha−1), forage pea (10.1 Mg ha−1), and the no-cover crop check (9.8 Mg ha−1), than those that had winter camelina (8.6 Mg ha−1). Leguminous cover crops resulted in a slight increase in maize grain yield compared with plots without cover crops. However, this increase did not reach statistical significance. To understand this response and the potential benefits of cover crops in maize cultivation, further research is needed, with varying seasonal weather conditions.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140033121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D.R. Hilfiker, R.O. Maguire, R.D. Stewart, G. Ferreira, W.E. Thomason
Manure injection is an alternative manure application method that can alter the spatial distribution of manure relative to surface application. Eight study sites were established to assess how manure injection versus surface broadcasting affects corn ( Zea mays L.) silage growth, soil nutrient dynamics, and spatial distribution. Specifically, corn silage yield, nitrogen (N) uptake, soil nitrate (NO3-N), carbon mineralization (C-min), and permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC) were measured. Soil samples were taken to represent whole plot soil means for both treatments, while in-band (IB) and between-band (BB) soil samples were taken in injected plots to assess nutrient spatial distribution after injection. Corn silage yield and N uptake did not differ between injection and broadcast treatments at 7 of 8 sites but was greater under injection in the one site that did not receive a sidedress N application. No consistent differences in soil NO3-N were seen between treatments; however, a clear alteration in soil NO3-N spatial distribution was observed with IB > BB = surface. Manure injection did not result in any consistent differences ( p > 0.05) in POXC or C-min compared to broadcast plots, nor did it result in an alteration in their spatial distribution. This study shows manure injection alters the spatial distribution of soil NO3-N, specifically elevating it in the injection band, but this was difficult to pick up when using the equi-spaced method to represent the whole injection application area. The inability of POXC and C-min to detect changes related to spatial variation under injection casts doubt on their utility as short-term indicators for changes in C in manured systems.
{"title":"Manure injection effects on soil nitrate, carbon mineralization, and POXC dynamics and spatial distribution under corn silage","authors":"D.R. Hilfiker, R.O. Maguire, R.D. Stewart, G. Ferreira, W.E. Thomason","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00004","url":null,"abstract":"Manure injection is an alternative manure application method that can alter the spatial distribution of manure relative to surface application. Eight study sites were established to assess how manure injection versus surface broadcasting affects corn ( Zea mays L.) silage growth, soil nutrient dynamics, and spatial distribution. Specifically, corn silage yield, nitrogen (N) uptake, soil nitrate (NO3-N), carbon mineralization (C-min), and permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC) were measured. Soil samples were taken to represent whole plot soil means for both treatments, while in-band (IB) and between-band (BB) soil samples were taken in injected plots to assess nutrient spatial distribution after injection. Corn silage yield and N uptake did not differ between injection and broadcast treatments at 7 of 8 sites but was greater under injection in the one site that did not receive a sidedress N application. No consistent differences in soil NO3-N were seen between treatments; however, a clear alteration in soil NO3-N spatial distribution was observed with IB > BB = surface. Manure injection did not result in any consistent differences ( p > 0.05) in POXC or C-min compared to broadcast plots, nor did it result in an alteration in their spatial distribution. This study shows manure injection alters the spatial distribution of soil NO3-N, specifically elevating it in the injection band, but this was difficult to pick up when using the equi-spaced method to represent the whole injection application area. The inability of POXC and C-min to detect changes related to spatial variation under injection casts doubt on their utility as short-term indicators for changes in C in manured systems.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"95 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140033126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Large-scale holistic water sustainability research is fraught with methodological challenges both in the research enterprise itself and the application of results on the ground (Aeschbach-Hertig and Gleeson 2012; Bierkins and Wada 2019; Hargrove et al. 2013; Megdal et al. 2016). Scientific approaches to realize sustainable water futures in complex systems, such as those described recently by Elias et al. (2023) and Talchabhadel et al. (2021), require integrated science combined with holistic, collaborative management by stakeholders to achieve desirable, meaningful results. While integrated science can identify possible and/or probable outcomes for water futures, it is stakeholder-driven decision-making and implementation that will determine and realize preferred outcomes for sustainability. Researchers’ knowledge alone, no matter how good, is not likely to alter stakeholder actions or probable outcomes. It will be stakeholder preferences and choices based on a myriad of factors—not just science-based information—that will determine the actual outcomes. The seemingly intractable “wicked problems” relating to water sustainability seem to persist in the face of new information and advancing science produced by research. Many of the challenges that arise in wicked problems cut across traditional boundaries (both physical and figurative), including disciplinary, biophysical, sectoral, social, and jurisdictional ones. We propose that actively identifying these boundaries and consciously developing strategies for bridging them is essential for meaningful results from integrated research and desirable real-world progress in water sustainability. During a six-year project focused on the future of water in a region of the US/Mexico border that is characterized by increasing water scarcity as supplies dwindle and demands …
{"title":"“Borders” as a metaphor in implementing large-scale, holistic water sustainability research","authors":"William L. Hargrove, Josiah M. Heyman","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.0116a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.0116a","url":null,"abstract":"Large-scale holistic water sustainability research is fraught with methodological challenges both in the research enterprise itself and the application of results on the ground (Aeschbach-Hertig and Gleeson 2012; Bierkins and Wada 2019; Hargrove et al. 2013; Megdal et al. 2016). Scientific approaches to realize sustainable water futures in complex systems, such as those described recently by Elias et al. (2023) and Talchabhadel et al. (2021), require integrated science combined with holistic, collaborative management by stakeholders to achieve desirable, meaningful results. While integrated science can identify possible and/or probable outcomes for water futures, it is stakeholder-driven decision-making and implementation that will determine and realize preferred outcomes for sustainability. Researchers’ knowledge alone, no matter how good, is not likely to alter stakeholder actions or probable outcomes. It will be stakeholder preferences and choices based on a myriad of factors—not just science-based information—that will determine the actual outcomes. The seemingly intractable “wicked problems” relating to water sustainability seem to persist in the face of new information and advancing science produced by research. Many of the challenges that arise in wicked problems cut across traditional boundaries (both physical and figurative), including disciplinary, biophysical, sectoral, social, and jurisdictional ones. We propose that actively identifying these boundaries and consciously developing strategies for bridging them is essential for meaningful results from integrated research and desirable real-world progress in water sustainability. During a six-year project focused on the future of water in a region of the US/Mexico border that is characterized by increasing water scarcity as supplies dwindle and demands …","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140046716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalia Belén Robledo, Juan P. Frene, Luis G. Wall
Soil health refers to the soil’s ability to function as a living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans, with optimal biological, chemical, and physical characteristics that allow high crop yields and other essential ecosystem functions (Magdoff and Van Es 2021; USDA NRCS 2020). Soil plays a crucial role in providing several ecosystem services, including food and energy production, primarily through agriculture, water quality regulation, and nutrient cycling (Costanza et al. 1997). To increase ecosystem services while maintaining soil health, agricultural conservation practices can help reduce the negative impacts of modern agriculture practices. Conservation agriculture is based on four principles: (1) no-till to minimize mechanical soil disturbance, (2) crop rotation or diversification, (3) keeping the soil covered more than 30% annually, and (4) optimal nutrient management. Implementing all four principles together is crucial for maintaining soil health, as implementing only one or two principles may not positively impact soil health (Augarten et al. 2023; Pittelkow et al. 2015). In recent years, agriculture sustainable intensification (SI) has gained popularity as an agricultural practice that involves growing more crops per unit of time to make more efficient and intensive use of environmental resources. SI offers several benefits for soil health, including improved water usage efficiency, reduced hydric erosion and percolation, and increased soil organic matter (SOM) and …
{"title":"Agriculture intensification as a critical step to enhance sustainable productive systems","authors":"Natalia Belén Robledo, Juan P. Frene, Luis G. Wall","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.1230a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.1230a","url":null,"abstract":"Soil health refers to the soil’s ability to function as a living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans, with optimal biological, chemical, and physical characteristics that allow high crop yields and other essential ecosystem functions (Magdoff and Van Es 2021; USDA NRCS 2020). Soil plays a crucial role in providing several ecosystem services, including food and energy production, primarily through agriculture, water quality regulation, and nutrient cycling (Costanza et al. 1997). To increase ecosystem services while maintaining soil health, agricultural conservation practices can help reduce the negative impacts of modern agriculture practices. Conservation agriculture is based on four principles: (1) no-till to minimize mechanical soil disturbance, (2) crop rotation or diversification, (3) keeping the soil covered more than 30% annually, and (4) optimal nutrient management. Implementing all four principles together is crucial for maintaining soil health, as implementing only one or two principles may not positively impact soil health (Augarten et al. 2023; Pittelkow et al. 2015). In recent years, agriculture sustainable intensification (SI) has gained popularity as an agricultural practice that involves growing more crops per unit of time to make more efficient and intensive use of environmental resources. SI offers several benefits for soil health, including improved water usage efficiency, reduced hydric erosion and percolation, and increased soil organic matter (SOM) and …","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"102 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140033257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J.A. Stephenson, M. Liebman, J. Niemi, R. Cruse, J. Tyndall, C. Witte, D. James, M. Helmers
Many crop fields in the United States Corn Belt continue to erode at rates in excess of soil regeneration leading to sediment being transported from farms to adjacent surface water and degrading wildlife habitat. To reduce or eliminate sediment loss, vegetative filter strips can be established perpendicular to the hillslope and at the edge-of-field to intercept and filter surface runoff transporting sediment. The filter strips can be planted with native prairie vegetation to filter sediment out of runoff as well as establishing high quality habitat. A long-term study at Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Farm in central Iowa found that with as little as 10% of a field converted to prairie filter strips, sediment discharge from fields could be reduced up to 95%. To improve our understanding of prairie filter strips and erosion processes over a broader range of landscapes, this study was conducted at six farm sites throughout Iowa. Following a paired treatment approach, each farm site was broken into two different subcatchments; one subcatchment was fully cropped (control) while the other had a portion of the field sown with native prairie vegetation. Each subcatchment had an H-flume installed to sample runoff water and determine the total suspended sediment (TSS) load and a rain gauge to monitor rainfall amount, frequency, and duration. Between 2016 and 2021, subcatchments with prairie strips median TSS load was 89.5% lower (95% CI, 69.2% to 96.4%, p < 0.001) than the control subcatchments. In fields when corn was planted, the subcatchments with prairie strips had significantly lower TSS discharged, with a median TSS load 97.6% less (95% CI, 92.1% to 99.3%, p < 0.001) compared to the control subcatchments. The TSS loads were significantly influenced by the amount of rainfall ( p < 0.001) despite the treatment. To investigate effects of seasonality and rainfall amount, the data set was parsed out based on the growing season of the dominant cropping system. There was no prairie strip effect during the primary growing months (PGS) (May to August); however, outside of the primary growing months (OPGS) (March to April and September to November) the prairie strip subcatchments median TSS load was 96.1% less (95% CI, 82.5% to 99.1%, p < 0.001) than the controls. The significant interaction of crop planted with prairie strip treatment and the differences between PGS and OPGS suggest that prairie strips have the capacity to reduce sediment leaving a field when they are the most vulnerable to effects of splash erosion (i.e., low ground cover and higher rainfall amount). Climate change models predict that areas like Iowa will continue to trend toward higher frequency and intensity rain events, so the compounded benefits of prairie planted in cropped fields could promote biodiverse landscapes that increase resilience to predicted effects from climate change during parts of the year when the land is more susceptible to erosion.
{"title":"The influence of prairie strips sown in midwestern corn and soybean fields on sediment discharge throughout the year","authors":"J.A. Stephenson, M. Liebman, J. Niemi, R. Cruse, J. Tyndall, C. Witte, D. James, M. Helmers","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00037","url":null,"abstract":"Many crop fields in the United States Corn Belt continue to erode at rates in excess of soil regeneration leading to sediment being transported from farms to adjacent surface water and degrading wildlife habitat. To reduce or eliminate sediment loss, vegetative filter strips can be established perpendicular to the hillslope and at the edge-of-field to intercept and filter surface runoff transporting sediment. The filter strips can be planted with native prairie vegetation to filter sediment out of runoff as well as establishing high quality habitat. A long-term study at Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Farm in central Iowa found that with as little as 10% of a field converted to prairie filter strips, sediment discharge from fields could be reduced up to 95%. To improve our understanding of prairie filter strips and erosion processes over a broader range of landscapes, this study was conducted at six farm sites throughout Iowa. Following a paired treatment approach, each farm site was broken into two different subcatchments; one subcatchment was fully cropped (control) while the other had a portion of the field sown with native prairie vegetation. Each subcatchment had an H-flume installed to sample runoff water and determine the total suspended sediment (TSS) load and a rain gauge to monitor rainfall amount, frequency, and duration. Between 2016 and 2021, subcatchments with prairie strips median TSS load was 89.5% lower (95% CI, 69.2% to 96.4%, p < 0.001) than the control subcatchments. In fields when corn was planted, the subcatchments with prairie strips had significantly lower TSS discharged, with a median TSS load 97.6% less (95% CI, 92.1% to 99.3%, p < 0.001) compared to the control subcatchments. The TSS loads were significantly influenced by the amount of rainfall ( p < 0.001) despite the treatment. To investigate effects of seasonality and rainfall amount, the data set was parsed out based on the growing season of the dominant cropping system. There was no prairie strip effect during the primary growing months (PGS) (May to August); however, outside of the primary growing months (OPGS) (March to April and September to November) the prairie strip subcatchments median TSS load was 96.1% less (95% CI, 82.5% to 99.1%, p < 0.001) than the controls. The significant interaction of crop planted with prairie strip treatment and the differences between PGS and OPGS suggest that prairie strips have the capacity to reduce sediment leaving a field when they are the most vulnerable to effects of splash erosion (i.e., low ground cover and higher rainfall amount). Climate change models predict that areas like Iowa will continue to trend toward higher frequency and intensity rain events, so the compounded benefits of prairie planted in cropped fields could promote biodiverse landscapes that increase resilience to predicted effects from climate change during parts of the year when the land is more susceptible to erosion.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140033134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S.E. Kulesza, M.A. Mathis, V.J. Alarcon, G.F. Sassenrath
Soil erosion from land management activities reduces agricultural productivity and contaminates waterways. Understanding erosion processes within agricultural fields is critical to developing alternative management scenarios to better manage soil resources. Claypan soils comprise approximately 5% of the agronomic area in the US Midwest; however, little is understood about the erosion characteristics within the claypan soil profile. Claypan soils are defined by a dense, impermeable layer that is more resistant to erosion. In this study, we used geotechnical methods to examine claypan soils in agricultural fields in southeast Kansas that showed a rapid transition from high clay to low clay content on the soil surface. Laboratory erosion measurements with an erosion function apparatus (EFA) demonstrated a two-layer soil system at both locations. At Site 1, we found a high plasticity clay layer at 25 cm depth in the soil profile, with a hydraulic conductivity 100-fold less than the surface soil, an unconsolidated undrained triaxial strength more than double that at the surface, and a critical shear stress that was on average five times higher than that measured in the surface layer. This high plasticity clay layer dissipated, with lower elevation locations showing similarities in soil strength and critical shear stress at the surface and 25 cm in the soil profile. At Site 2, laboratory experiments showed a similar two-layer soil structure, though the clay layer did not dissipate but instead remained at a lower position in the soil profile. In situ erosion measurements with a field jet erosion test (JET) apparatus showed a higher critical shear stress and lower erosion rate in the soils above the claypan. Soils not in the claypan area showed greater similarity in critical shear stress and erosion rate with depth in the profile. Calculating erodibility coefficient as a function of critical shear stress using the JET test results identified a cluster of measurements with very high critical shear stress and low erodibility. This cluster of soils were located on the claypan area as they were collected 25 cm down. These results reveal some of the sources of variability found in claypan soils and indicate the need for more careful planning to manage the soil that will result from the compositional changes. Management practices to reduce erosion will also require alternative approaches to accommodate the inherent spatial variability of soils and changes within the soil profile.
{"title":"Critical shear stress variability in claypan soils with depth","authors":"S.E. Kulesza, M.A. Mathis, V.J. Alarcon, G.F. Sassenrath","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00099","url":null,"abstract":"Soil erosion from land management activities reduces agricultural productivity and contaminates waterways. Understanding erosion processes within agricultural fields is critical to developing alternative management scenarios to better manage soil resources. Claypan soils comprise approximately 5% of the agronomic area in the US Midwest; however, little is understood about the erosion characteristics within the claypan soil profile. Claypan soils are defined by a dense, impermeable layer that is more resistant to erosion. In this study, we used geotechnical methods to examine claypan soils in agricultural fields in southeast Kansas that showed a rapid transition from high clay to low clay content on the soil surface. Laboratory erosion measurements with an erosion function apparatus (EFA) demonstrated a two-layer soil system at both locations. At Site 1, we found a high plasticity clay layer at 25 cm depth in the soil profile, with a hydraulic conductivity 100-fold less than the surface soil, an unconsolidated undrained triaxial strength more than double that at the surface, and a critical shear stress that was on average five times higher than that measured in the surface layer. This high plasticity clay layer dissipated, with lower elevation locations showing similarities in soil strength and critical shear stress at the surface and 25 cm in the soil profile. At Site 2, laboratory experiments showed a similar two-layer soil structure, though the clay layer did not dissipate but instead remained at a lower position in the soil profile. In situ erosion measurements with a field jet erosion test (JET) apparatus showed a higher critical shear stress and lower erosion rate in the soils above the claypan. Soils not in the claypan area showed greater similarity in critical shear stress and erosion rate with depth in the profile. Calculating erodibility coefficient as a function of critical shear stress using the JET test results identified a cluster of measurements with very high critical shear stress and low erodibility. This cluster of soils were located on the claypan area as they were collected 25 cm down. These results reveal some of the sources of variability found in claypan soils and indicate the need for more careful planning to manage the soil that will result from the compositional changes. Management practices to reduce erosion will also require alternative approaches to accommodate the inherent spatial variability of soils and changes within the soil profile.","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"88 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140046703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The integration of native prairie vegetative strips into row crop agriculture is a promising conservation strategy that has gained momentum in adoption rates throughout the US Midwest. Previous studies have shown that prairie strip establishment can lead to several positive soil and water quality outcomes, such as reductions in surface runoff and nutrient and sediment exports. However, the impacts of prairie strips on soil infiltration are not well known. In this study, the Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer system was used to measure differences in field-saturated infiltration rate between prairie strip and row crop treatments at six sites across Iowa after five to seven years since prairie strip establishment. Additionally, approximate sorptivity was calculated to compare trends in early infiltration between the two treatments at each site. Measurements were taken over a two-year span during summer and fall testing periods. Further, at two additional prairie strips sites, a separate approach using the tension infiltrometer generated hydraulic conductivity data for prairie strip and row crop treatments at 3, 4, and 14 years since prairie strip establishment. Differences between prairie strip and row crop were mostly undetected across nearly all sites in field-saturated infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity at 5 to 7 and 14 years after prairie strip establishment, respectively. However, at one site, saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly greater within prairie strip than row crop, and at another, field-saturated infiltration rate was 3.6 times greater in prairie strip than row crop. Therefore, considering trends from both prairie strip age and infiltration testing method groups, differences in saturated infiltration capacity between prairie strip and row crop appear to be related to site-specific characteristics like soil texture, row crop tillage, and soil organic matter, especially at earlier stages of prairie strip establishment. Comparing trends in sorptivity approximations between the two treatments determined that prairie strips had 26% and 38% greater early infiltration than row crops during fall testing periods, but no treatment difference was found in the summer testing period. Since significant results were mostly limited to the fall, a combination of initial soil moisture and surface roughness disparities between treatments likely explain the observed treatment differences in approximate sorptivity. Within prairie strips, greater early infiltration relative to row crops delays and limits surface runoff generation. Therefore, this study suggests that a row crop field containing prairie strips will generate less surface runoff than a comparable 100% row crop field during a given rainfall event at the end and potentially beginning of the annual corn ( Zea mays L.) and soybean ( Glycine max [L.] Merr.) growing season in Iowa. By improving early infiltration and subsequently limiting runoff generation and sediment t
{"title":"Infiltration within native prairie vegetative strips embedded in row crop fields across Iowa","authors":"E.J. Henning, R.K. Kolka, M.J. Helmers","doi":"10.2489/jswc.2024.00146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.00146","url":null,"abstract":"The integration of native prairie vegetative strips into row crop agriculture is a promising conservation strategy that has gained momentum in adoption rates throughout the US Midwest. Previous studies have shown that prairie strip establishment can lead to several positive soil and water quality outcomes, such as reductions in surface runoff and nutrient and sediment exports. However, the impacts of prairie strips on soil infiltration are not well known. In this study, the Cornell Sprinkle Infiltrometer system was used to measure differences in field-saturated infiltration rate between prairie strip and row crop treatments at six sites across Iowa after five to seven years since prairie strip establishment. Additionally, approximate sorptivity was calculated to compare trends in early infiltration between the two treatments at each site. Measurements were taken over a two-year span during summer and fall testing periods. Further, at two additional prairie strips sites, a separate approach using the tension infiltrometer generated hydraulic conductivity data for prairie strip and row crop treatments at 3, 4, and 14 years since prairie strip establishment. Differences between prairie strip and row crop were mostly undetected across nearly all sites in field-saturated infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity at 5 to 7 and 14 years after prairie strip establishment, respectively. However, at one site, saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly greater within prairie strip than row crop, and at another, field-saturated infiltration rate was 3.6 times greater in prairie strip than row crop. Therefore, considering trends from both prairie strip age and infiltration testing method groups, differences in saturated infiltration capacity between prairie strip and row crop appear to be related to site-specific characteristics like soil texture, row crop tillage, and soil organic matter, especially at earlier stages of prairie strip establishment. Comparing trends in sorptivity approximations between the two treatments determined that prairie strips had 26% and 38% greater early infiltration than row crops during fall testing periods, but no treatment difference was found in the summer testing period. Since significant results were mostly limited to the fall, a combination of initial soil moisture and surface roughness disparities between treatments likely explain the observed treatment differences in approximate sorptivity. Within prairie strips, greater early infiltration relative to row crops delays and limits surface runoff generation. Therefore, this study suggests that a row crop field containing prairie strips will generate less surface runoff than a comparable 100% row crop field during a given rainfall event at the end and potentially beginning of the annual corn ( Zea mays L.) and soybean ( Glycine max [L.] Merr.) growing season in Iowa. By improving early infiltration and subsequently limiting runoff generation and sediment t","PeriodicalId":50049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Soil and Water Conservation","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139411225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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