**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS ARE FACED WITH MANY CHALLENGES, PARTICULARLY ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES OF IRREGULAR RAINFALL PATTERNS LEADING TO DROUGHTS, HEAVY RAINFALL, AND FLOODING, AND INTENSE HEAT. THESE CHALLENGES DIRECTLY IMPACT THE ABILITY OF THE SOILS TO DELIVER MULTIPLE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES INCLUDING: REGULATING, PROVISIONING, RECREATIONAL, AND CULTURAL. LOSSES OF SOIL PRODUCTIVITY, FUNCTIONALITY, AND ABILITY TO DELIVER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES RESULT FROM SOIL DEGRADATION THROUGH SOIL C LOSS, EROSION, NUTRIENT LOSS (I.E. LEACHING), AND OTHERS. EROSION AND NUTRIENT LOSSES ARE PARTICULARLY PROBLEMATIC WITH HEAVY RAIN IN SPRING AND IN EARLY SUMMER WHEN SOILS HAVE LOW SURFACE PROTECTIVE COVER. SLOPING OR SANDY SOILS ARE PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO EROSION AND LEACHING EVENTS COMPARED TO RELATIVELY LEVEL OR FINE-TEXTURED SOILS. SLOPING AND SANDY SOILS ARE COMMON IN THE WESTERN CORN BELT. ENHANCING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF SUCH SOILS TO IMPROVE THEIR SUSTAINABILITY, PRODUCTIVITY, FUNCTIONALITY, AND RESILIENCE IS CRITICAL AND HAS MAJOR AGRONOMIC, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, ECOLOGICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS. ONE NOVEL APPROACH TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY, PRODUCTIVITY, FUNCTIONALITY, AND RESILIENCE OF SOILS SENSITIVE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES COULD BE ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT OF CCS. USE OF CCS IN ITSELF IS NOT NEW, BUT ALTERING TRADITIONAL PRACTICES WITH NOVEL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO OBTAIN FURTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FROM CCS HAS NOT BEEN WIDELY RESEARCHED. COVER CROP BIOMASS PRODUCTION IS A KEY COMPONENT DICTATING CHANGES TO SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, BUT CURRENT CC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES CAN SIGNIFICANTLY LIMIT CC GROWTH AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVE CC PLANTING AND TERMINATION DATES COULD ENHANCE CC EFFECTIVENESS.THIS PROJECT IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERS FROM OTHER PROJECTS BECAUSE:1. IT WILL BE CONDUCTED ON SOILS SUSCEPTIBLE TO EROSION (SLOPING SOILS) AND NITRATE LEACHING (SANDY SOILS). OUR RECENT PAPERS INDICATE THAT MOST CC STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED ON FLAT (< 3% SLOPE), HIGH ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT (3 TO 5%), AND SILT LOAMS SOILS AND NOT ON ERODIBLE AND LEACHING-PRONE SOILS. THE INCREASING TREND FOR INTENSE AND LOCALIZED RAINSTORMS, FREQUENT DROUGHTS, AND OTHER EXTREME EVENTS IS EXPECTED TO HAVE THE MOST SEVERE ADVERSE IMPACT ON VULNERABLE SOILS. THIS PROJECT WILL SPECIFICALLY TARGET THESE HIGH-RISK AGRICULTURAL AREAS. 2. IT WILL HOLISTICALLY ASSESS POTENTIAL SOIL AND CROP BENEFITS UNDER DIFFERENT CC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. IT WILL NOT ONLY COLLECT FIELD DATA (WATER EROSION, NITRATE LEACHING, CC BIOMASS (ABOVE- AND BELOW-GROUND), SUBSEQUENT CROP YIELDS, AND SOIL PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES) BUT WILL ALSO LINK THESE WITH MODELING AND ECONOMICS. 3. MOST PREVIOUS STUDIES ON CCS WERE CONDUCTED FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS. BENEFITS TO SOILS ARE OFTEN MEASURABLE IN THE MEDIUM (4 OR 5 YR) AND LONG-TERM (>5YR). THUS, THIS 4-YR PROJECT WILL ALLOW A BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CHANGES OF SOIL PROPERTIES COMPARED,TO PREVIOUS SHORT-TERM STUDIES. VARIABLE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS WITHIN AND AMONG REGIONS REQUIRE LONG-TERM STUDIES TO CONCLUSIVELY ASCERTAIN THE PERFORMANCE OF CCS.THIS PROJECT WILL ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:1. IS THE INNOVATIVE USE OF CCS AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY TO REDUCE NITRATE LEACHING, WATER EROSION, AND IMPROVE SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES WHICH AFFECT PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY, PROFITABILITY, AND STEWARDSHIP OF VULNERABLE CROPLANDS (SANDY AND SLOPING SOILS)? 2. IS IT ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE TO PLANT OR TERMINATE CCS EARLY OR LATE WHILE ACCOUNTING ALL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY CCS? 3. CAN MODELS BE USED TO SUCCESSFULLY EXTRAPOLATE DATA TO SIMILAR SITES?IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PRESENTATIONS AND ARTICLES, THIS PROJECT WILL BE USED TO CREATE A DATABASE FOR TESTING THE EROSION AND LEACHING MODELS. THIS PROJECT WILL FILL OUR KNOWLEDGE GAPS IN CC MANAGEMENT BY EVALUATING BOTH CC PLANTING AND TERMINATION DATES AND THE EFFECTS OF CC USE IN SOILS SENSITIVE TO WATER EROSION AND NITRATE LEACHING. THROUGH THE COLLECTION OF THESE DATA, WE WILL GENERATE NEW APPROACHES OF CC MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE WATER EROSION, NITRATE LEACHING, AND IMPROVE OTHER SOIL SERVICES AND THEREBY BUILDING SUSTAINABLE, EFFICIENT, AND RESILIENT SOILS FOR AGRICULTURE. EXTENSION IS CRITICAL TO INFORM, EDUCATE, AND GUIDE ADOPTION OF NEW PRACTICES. THUS, DISSEMINATION WILL BE A CRITICAL IN THIS PROJECT TO FACILITATE CHANGES IN KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION REGARDING CC MANAGEMENT AND PERCEIVED COST-BENEFITS OF CCS IN SENSITIVE SOILS. THE NETWORK OF EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS IN NEBRASKA WILL BE RELIED ON TO HELP FACILITATE FIELD DAYS AT OUR RESEARCH SITES AS WELL AS PRESENTATIONS AT ESTABLISHED EXTENSION PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE NEBRASKA CROP MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE.

Board Of Regents Of The University Of Nebraska

Investigators