U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2013





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 **Read the magazine story to find out more.**ARS scientists are helping farmers in Montana and the Dakotas reduce their climate change footprint, in part by tracking greenhouse gases in tiny chambers growing malt barley. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading
Improving air quality with no-till cropping
USDA scientists study effects of rising carbon dioxide on rangelands
Tools that will help reduce nitrogen pollution Battling Climate Change with Tried and True Methods Dennis O'Brien  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their partners are providing guidance to growers in Montana and the Dakotas on how they can use some tried-and-true agricultural practices to reduce their climate change footprint. Upendra Sainju and his colleagues with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Sidney, Mont., have been studying how no-till systems, crop rotation and other approaches can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sustain crop yields and cut back on the use of nitrogen fertilizer that pollutes the air and water. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change. Agriculture contributes about 25 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by humans and 70 percent of the similarly produced nitrous oxide being released into the atmosphere. Tillage, cropping sequences, crop-fallow management practices, and the use of nitrogen fertilizers all play significant roles in those emissions. The researchers evaluated the effects of irrigation, tillage, cropping systems, and nitrogen fertilization on greenhouse gas emissions from five cropping systems in sandy loam soil in western North Dakota, where growers can irrigate fields. They also studied three cropping systems in loam soil in eastern Montana where irrigation is not usually an option. They raised conventionally tilled malt barley with and without nitrogen fertilizer, no-till malt barley with and without fertilizer, and a no-till malt barley-pea rotation with and without fertilizer. Some systems were irrigated and others were not, and the researchers tracked soil temperatures and soil water content, measured plant biomass, and used static, vented chambers to measure greenhouse gases. Their results, described in papers in the *Journal of Environmental Quality* and the *Soil Science Society of America Journal*, showed that regardless of whether the field was irrigated, the no-till malt barley-pea rotation with reduced nitrogen fertilizer rates was the most effective system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sustaining yields. They also found that the no-till barley-pea rotation reduced the need for fertilizers with no effect on yields. The study is part of a comprehensive effort to examine the effects of irrigation and different management scenarios on greenhouse gas emissions in the northern Great Plains. Growers have known for decades that no-till improves soil quality and that rotating crops reduces weeds, diseases, and pests. But the study and others like it are prompting growers to adopt no-till, rotate crops and use less fertilizer. Read more about this research in the March 2013 issue of *Agricultural Research* magazine.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov