ARS | Publication request: FOUR NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS SOILS: THEIR UNIQUE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES

Submitted to: Minnesota Academy of Science Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: April 25, 2003
Publication Date: April 25, 2003
Citation: OLNESS, A.E., LIESER, M., WEISER, H., KUNZE, B., RINKE, J.L. FOUR NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS SOILS: THEIR UNIQUE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES. CD-ROM. ST. PAUL, MN: MINNESOTA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 2003. 12 P.

Technical Abstract: Most soils in the Northern Great Plains are managed as if little variation occurred within the landscape. The current study was undertaken to determine the chemical nature of four soils in western Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, and central and eastern North Dakota. A resin extraction technique was applied to samples of four adjacent soils (Barnes, Buse, Langhei, and Svea) collected on 23 sites. Extracts were analyzed for 20 elements by inductively coupled plasma. Samples were also subjected to conventional analyses for available P, K, total and inorganic C, total N and pH. Conventional soil analyses showed little differences between soils; they were generally rich in available P and K. The Barnes, Buse and Svea soils were relatively rich in organic C and N. The pH values followed the order Svea = Barnes < Buse < Langhei. Resin extractions provided some unexpected results. As a consequence of complexes with exceptionally large amounts of Ca and Mg in the Langhei soil, more than 90% of the resin extractable anions such as S and B were extracted with cationic resins. Bicarbonate extractable P was often correlated with resin extractable P with the exception of the Langhei soil for which no relationship was observed. The characteristics of these soils that were revealed by resin extraction point to management options for each soil such as fertilizer placement and composition.