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
 Soil and Water Management Research: St. Paul, MN
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area St. Paul, Minnesota Soil and Water Management Research Research





- Venterea, Rodney - Rod
- Baker, John
- Spokas, Kurt
- Dalzell, Brent
- 2023
- 2022
- Publications
- Soil and Air (212)

Research Project: **Location:
                            Soil and Water Management Research** Project Number: 5062-11120-001-000-D
                        
                        Project Type: In-House Appropriated Start Date: Oct 25, 2021
                        
                        End Date: Oct 24, 2026 **Objective:**
                        
                        Objective 1. Evaluate and develop innovative cropping systems and management practices to increase the resiliency and decrease the environmental impacts of agricultural systems.
a. Develop management practices that address the key impediments to adoption of kura clover living mulch systems for corn production.
b. Quantify the agronomic and environmental performance of corn grown with and without the use of novel soil amendments in integrated management systems.
Objective 2. Improve fundamental understanding and predictability of nitrogen and carbon transformation processes to improve crop nutrient use efficiency and reduce nutrient losses, especially through engineered solutions.
a. Reveal chemical mechanisms of N and C transformations occurring with biochar amendments and develop guidance for agronomic use.
b. Quantify fundamental N process rates following urea addition to soil with and without soil amendments and incorporate missing processes into a dynamic model. **Approach:**
                        
                        This project will address key challenges facing corn producers in the upper Midwest U.S., which include the need for strategies that extend vegetative cover for longer periods and reduce reactive nitrogen losses to aquatic systems and greenhouse gas emissions. These challenges will be addressed through a combination of field, lab, and modeling-based studies structured around two main objectives and four integrated sub-objectives. Objective 1 will utilize field and laboratory studies to evaluate and develop innovative cropping systems and management practices to increase the resiliency and decrease the environmental impacts of agricultural systems. Sub-objective 1A will evaluate the feasibility of overseeding kura clover into an existing alfalfa stand to maintain forage productivity during the kura clover establishment period and determine if reduced intensity tillage can produce early corn growth similar to rotary zone tillage if combined with injected anhydrous ammonia as a nitrogen source. Sub-objective 1B will quantify the agronomic and environmental performance of corn grown with and without the use of novel soil amendments in integrated management systems. The overall aim of Objective 2 is to improve fundamental understanding and predictability of nitrogen and carbon transformation processes to improve crop nutrient use efficiency and reduce nutrient losses. Sub-objective 2A will use laboratory studies to reveal the chemical mechanisms of nitrogen and carbon transformations occurring with biochar amendments which will be used to develop guidance for the agronomic use of biochar. Sub-objective 2B will quantify fundamental nitrogen process rates following urea addition to soil with and without soil amendments and incorporate missing processes into a dynamic nitrogen cycling model. This research will increase our understanding of fundamental soil processes to allow improved prediction of agronomic and environmental outcomes and generate recommended practices for corn producers and policy makers that utilize innovative cover crops, row establishment systems and soil amendments to maintain productivity, increase climate resilience and soil carbon storage, and decrease environmental risks.


Return to top


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