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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416099
Research Project: Transdisciplinary Research that Improves the Productivity and Sustainability of Northern Great Plains Agroecosystems and the Well-Being of the Communities They Serve

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: Data from: Crop sequence and nitrogen fertilization effects on soil properties in the Western corn belt

Author
item Liebig, Mark
item Varvel, Gary
item Doran, John
item Wienhold, Brian
item Schmer, Marty

Submitted to: Ag Data Commons
Publication Type: Database / Dataset
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/2024
Publication Date: 6/12/2024
Citation: Liebig, M.A., Varvel, G.E., Doran, J.W., Wienhold, B.J., Schmer, M.R. 2024. Data from: Crop sequence and nitrogen fertilization effects on soil properties in the Western corn belt. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/25954171.v1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/25954171.v1

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Understanding long-term management effects on soil properties is necessary to determine the sustainability of cropping systems. Documentation of soil property responses to corn-based cropping systems in the Western Corn Belt, however, is limited. A study was conducted near Mead, Nebraska to document the effects of four crop sequences (continuous corn, corn-soybean, corn-oat+clover-grain sorghum-soybean, corn-soybean-grain sorghum-oat+clover) and three nitrogen (N) rates (zero, low, high) on a suite of soil properties. At the time of sampling (spring 1999), treatments had been in place for 16 years. Soil samples were collected from two depths using a 1.8 cm step-down probe: 0-7.6 cm and 0-30.5 cm. Soil pH and electrical conductivity was estimated from a 1:1 soil-water mixture. Soil nitrate-N was measured using 1:10 soil-KCl extracts and the cadmium reduction method. Extractable P was determined by the Bray P-1 method. Particulate organic matter was determined by weight loss-on-ignition. Total carbon and N were determined by dry combustion. Potentially mineralizable N was determined by anerobic incubation, while microbial biomass was estimated by microwave irradiation. Soils data were used to identify associations with 16-year averages of grain and stover yield, grain and stover N uptake, and post-harvest soil nitrate-N. Data may be used to understand soil responses to corn-based cropping systems under rainfed conditions in a humid continental climate. Applicable USDA soil types include Yutan, Tomek, and Fillmore.