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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407038
Research Project: Sustainable Agricultural Systems for the Northern Great Plains

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: Crop- and weather-dependent yield and wind erosion benefits from a conservation practices system

Author
item Scott, Drew
item Liebig, Mark
item Saliendra, Nicanor
item Toledo, David
item Degreef, Michael
item Kobilansky, Chantel
item Feld, Justin

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/3/2024
Publication Date: 3/13/2024
Citation: Scott, D.A., Liebig, M.A., Saliendra, N.Z., Toledo, D.N., Degreef, M.G., Kobilansky, C.L., Feld, J.D. 2024. Crop- and weather-dependent yield and wind erosion benefits from a conservation practices system. Soil Science Society of America Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20646.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20646

Interpretive Summary: Wind erosion is a challenge to crop production in the northern Great Plains. Management practices that increase residue cover might reduce wind erosion during the cash crop growing season. We investigated two fields throughout one three-crop rotation. One field had winter cover crops and the other had no cover crops. In two of three years (2020/corn and 2022/spring wheat) yield and soil loss was greater in the field with cover crops. However, in 2021/soybean, the cover crop field had greater yields and lower soil loss. A second consecutive year of drought was experienced in 2021. Greater soil loss corresponded with lower crop aboveground biomass. In drought-prone regions like the northern Great Plains, producers need to carefully consider potential trade-offs associated with cover crop use in rainfed cropping systems.

Technical Abstract: Wind erosion challenges crop production in the northern Great Plains. Management that increases residue cover might mitigate wind erosion during the cash crop growing season. We evaluated horizontal sediment flux (modified Wilson and Cooke samplers) and cash crop yield across a single rotation of corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in paired fields with contrasting management. One field included cover crops and retained spring wheat straw (aspirational), while the other excluded both conservation practices over the three-year rotation (business-as-usual). Horizontal sediment flux rapidly decreased with days after planting (increasing crop canopy), regardless of management treatment. In two years (2020/corn and 2022/spring wheat), there were greater horizontal sediment flux, lower cash crop grain yield, and lower cash crop aboveground biomass in the business-as-usual versus aspirational field. In 2021/soybean, there was lower horizontal sediment flux, greater cash crop yield, and greater cash crop aboveground biomass in the aspirational versus business-as-usual field. Higher yield and lower horizontal sediment flux responses corresponded with the management treatment that produced the higher cash crop aboveground biomass. Additionally, our short-term study indicated that in drought years, cover crops worsened the adverse effects of abnormally low precipitation on yield/biomass of corn in 2020 but not soybean in 2021.