Research Project: Evaluating Management Strategies to Increase Agroecosystem Productivity, Resilience, and Viability

Location: Agroecosystem Management Research

2021 Annual Report

Objectives
Objective 1: Evaluate impacts of conservation tillage practices and crop diversity on soil carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil microbial communities. Subobjective 1A: Determine how crop rotation diversification affects soil organic carbon. Subobjective 1B: Quantify soil greenhouse gas emissions from different management and cropping systems. Subobjective 1C: Quantify soil microbial communities from different management and cropping systems. Objective 2: Quantify the impacts of modified management practices of integrated crop-livestock systems to improve agricultural productivity in a temperate environment.. Subobjective 2A: Determine soil physical, chemical, and biological quality changes under integrated crop-livestock (ICL) systems. Subobjective 2B: Determine soil greenhouse gas fluxes from ICL systems. Objective 3. Quantify water management and nutrient management effects on the productivity of crop and feedstock production systems. Subobjective 3A: Determine water use in annual and perennial systems used for bioenergy. Subobjective 3B: Evaluate nitrogen use efficiency on long-term cropping systems. Objective 4: Operate and maintain the Platte River – High Plains Aquifer Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network site using technologies and practices agreed upon by the LTAR leadership. Contribute to the LTAR working groups and common experiments as resources allow. Submit relevant data with appropriate metadata to the LTAR Information Ecosystem. Subobjective 4A: Establish and instrument LTAR research sites. Subobjective 4B: Contribute data to the LTAR database as requested.

Approach
An integrated, systems approach is needed to improve agricultural systems toward greater sustainability to meet societal demands for food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Soil and crop management strategies that optimize the capacity of cropland and grassland soils to store carbon while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizer and other management practices are required. Past research has increased crop nutrient and water use efficiencies through best management practices coupled with the development of better germplasm. More improvements are required to adapt to climate variability and change, increased competition for limited water resources, and increased demand by a growing population and improved standard of living. Further, a better understanding of how genetics, management, and environmental conditions affects soil organic carbon dynamics, including impacts on soil microbial structure and function, is needed to improve or maintain critical soil functions and associated ecosystem services. Research activities will investigate the role of agronomic practices on soil properties and greenhouse gas fluxes (Objective 1), quantify productivity and soil quality in integrated crop-livestock systems (Objective 2), determine nutrient and water management effects on crop and feedstock production systems (Objective 3), and operate and maintain the Platte River—High Plains long-term agroecosystem research site in collaboration with University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) (Objective 4). Although each objective has a specific research focus, we recognize that a systems-based approach is required and will integrate these research objectives, as needed, to improve our current understanding of integrated agricultural systems. Results will be shared with producers, consultants, extension educators, state and federal regulatory agency personnel, and other scientists. Products resulting from this project plan will contribute to improved soil, crop, and integrated crop-livestock management relevant approaches and tools applicable to temperate regions within sub-humid and semi-arid environments.

Progress Report
Progress has been made in all four objectives and subobjectives. Under Objective 1A, substantial progress has been made that determined crop rotation diversity increases soil organic carbon more than nitrogen fertilizer rates. For Objective 1B, soil greenhouse gas data have been collected using static chamber methodology and data have been summarized and presented. Under Objective 1C, metagenomic/metatranscriptome assembly data have been presented. For Objective 2A, substantial progress has been made with soil samples completed and archived. Soil samples have been summarized for soil biological property analysis to better understand regional impacts from current integrated-crop livestock management practices. For Objective 2B, substantial progress has been made with publication of integrated crop-livestock management effects on greenhouse gas emissions. For Objective 3A, soil matric potential water sensor values have been summarized in perennial grass and corn treatments. Under Objective 3B, substantial progress has been made with publication of nitrogen use efficiency data and grain yield in an irrigated continuous corn system. For Objective 4A, baseline Long-term Agroecosystem Research cropland soil data have been analyzed and checked for quality control. Under Objective 4B, existing business-as-usual and aspirational experimental sites are fully instrumented to measure carbon dioxide flux, weather data, and collect phenocam data.

Accomplishments
1. Tillage and crop rotations on soil properties. Long-term agronomic studies provide valuable information on how soils respond to conservation management practices such as tillage and crop rotation. ARS scientists in Lincoln, Nebraska, found that after 30 years, soils responded independently to tillage or to cropping system type. As tillage practice increased in aggressiveness, wind and water erosion risks increased. Nonetheless, the management system that conferred the greatest benefit for erosion protection was no-till. Long-term nitrogen (N) fertilization levels did not impact soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks for cumulative soil depths. Over the full soil profile, SOC stocks were similar between N levels and greater for more diversified crop rotations.

Review Publications
Li, L., Konkel, J., Jin, V.L., Schaeffer, S.M. 2021. Conservation management improves agroecosystem function and resilience of soil nitrogen cycling in response to seasonal changes in climate. Science of the Total Environment. 779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146457.
Wu, W., Li, L., Li, C. 2021. Seasonal variation in the effects of urban environmental factors on land surface temperature in a winter city. Journal of Cleaner Production. 299. Article 126897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126897.
Meier, M., Yang, J., Lopez-Guerrero, M., Guo, M., Schmer, M.R., Herr, J.R., Schnable, J., Alfano, J.R. 2021. Rhizosphere microbiomes in a historical maize/soybean rotation system respond to host species and nitrogen fertilization at genus and sub-genus Levels. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 87(12). https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03132-20.
Christenson, E., Jin, V.L., Schmer, M.R., Mitchell, R., Redfearn, D.D. 2021. Soil greenhouse gas responses to biomass removal in the annual and perennial cropping phases of an integrated crop livestock system. Agronomy. 11(7). Article 1416. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071416.
Cheng, H., Shu, K., Qi, Z., Ma, L., Jin, V.L., Li, Y., Schmer, M.R., Wienhold, B.J., Feng, S. 2021. Effects of residue removal and tillage on greenhouse gas emissions in continuous corn systems as simulated with RZWQM2. Journal of Environmental Management. 285. Article e112097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112097.
Sanderman, J., Savage, K., Dangal, S.R., Duran, G., Rivard, C., Cavigelli, M.A., Gollany, H.T., Jin, V.L., Liebig, M.A., Omondi, E.C., Rui, Y., Stewart, C. 2021. Can agricultural management induced changes in soil organic carbon be detected using mid-infrared spectroscopy? Remote Sensing. 13(12). Article 2265. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13122265.
Mengeste, M., Gala, T., Birru, G.A. 2021. Environmentally conscious least cost multi-criteria decision making for modeling railway network for Eritrea. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 16(3):427-436. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.160303.
Locker, R.C., Laurenzi, I.J., Torkamani, S., Jin, V.L., Schmer, M.R., Karlen, D.L. 2019. Field-to-farm gate greenhouse gas emissions from corn stover production in the midwestern US. Journal of Cleaner Production. 226:1116-1127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.154.
Hu, J., Konkel, J., Jin, V.L., Scheider, L., Schaeffer, S., Debruyn, J. 2021. Soil health management enhances microbial nitrogen cycling capacity and activity. mSphere. 6(1). Article e01237-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.01237-20.
Fay, P.A., Hui, D., Jackson, R.B., Collins, H.P., Reichmann, L.G., Aspinwall, M.J., Jin, V.L., Khasanova, A.R., Heckman, R.W., Polley, H.W. 2021. Multiple constraints cause positive and negative feedbacks limiting grassland soil CO2 efflux under CO2 enrichment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS). 118(2). Article e2008284117. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2008284117.