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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #412070
Research Project: Linkages Between Crop Production Management and Sustainability in the Central Mississippi River Basin

Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research

Title: The many benefits of buffers on cropland soils with high runoff potential

Author
item Baffaut, Claire
item Veum, Kristen

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2024
Publication Date: 7/21/2024
Citation: Baffaut, C., Veum, K.S. 2024. The many benefits of buffers on cropland soils with high runoff potential [abstract]. Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference, July 21-24, 2024, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. p. 19

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Buffers are well known for trapping sediment and associated nutrients from crop or pasture land. However, they have other benefits such as herbicide degradation and soil restoration. This presentation will summarize the soil health and water quantity and quality results from two experiments in the Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed in Missouri on high-clay soils with a restrictive layer close to the surface. The first experiment investigated the fate of sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and veterinary antibiotics from a fallow source area in buffers planted with tall fescue and different warm season grasses. Warm season grasses were effective at reducing sediment, nutrients, and pesticides in runoff. In contrast, only tall fescue was effective at reducing veterinary antibiotics but required a large source to buffer area ratio to achieve meaningful reduction. The second experiment investigated the water quantity, water quality, and soil health effects of a 50-m wide switchgrass buffer established at the steepest part of 200 m long grain crop plots under two tillage systems. These buffers did not affect the runoff amount at the bottom of the plots. We will present the effects of these buffers on sediment, nutrient, and pesticide concentrations. Further, the soil health status was compared across varying production systems, illustrating the biological and physical soil health benefits of conservation practices such as perennialization, enhanced crop rotations, cover crops, and reduced tillage.