Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3064-21600-001-019-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Mar 1, 2024
End Date: May 31, 2026
Objective:
This research will focus on how soil moisture and variable precipitation patterns impact the emergence and establishment of CRP plantings in the northern Great Plains. Information from the research will be used to provide guidelines to USDA-FSA and USDA-NRCS on the impact of climate change on CRP establishment success and to provide decision support tools for use in CRP seedings.
Approach:
This project will use rain intercept shelters to manipulate soil moisture and precipitation timing. This will occur on newly seeded plots at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL) in Mandan and potentially existing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sites in Sidney Montana. The rain intercept shelters will intercept some or all of the ambient precipitation and this will then be redirected to create multiple rainfall scenarios. Rainfall scenarios will be determined by evaluating the amount and frequency of rainfall events using historical data and then utilizing potential future rainfall scenarios as determined by evaluating the potential impacts outlined in the 5th Climate Change Assessment (https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/25/). Soil moisture thresholds will be evaluated using greenhouse facilities. Potential soil moisture treatments will be developed using the 5th National Climate Change Assessment.
