Adam Schreiner-Mcgraw

Research Hydrologist

Dr. Schreiner-McGraw is a Research Hydrologist for the USDA-ARS in Columbia, Missouri. He is interested in understanding how cropping practices influence water resources in the U.S. Corn Belt, as well as understanding the role of groundwater in controlling crop yield and carbon cycles.

As a research hydrologist with the USDA-ARS, his primary work is related to the Central Mississippi River Basin LTAR site (The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (usda.gov). He will work to evaluate the behavior of crop water use (evaporation) and growth across the business-as-usual, aspirational, and native prairie sites. His long-term projects seek to evaluate the resilience of these agro-ecosystems to drought and extreme wet periods.

 More information can be found at: www.adamschreinermcgraw.com

 

My research
As a research hydrologist, I am primarily concerned with water movement (runoff and evaporation) and storage (soil and groundwater). More specifically, I am an ‘ecohydrologist’, meaning I study how (agro)-ecosystems interact with water resources. With the USDA in Columbia, this means my primary research questions are:

• Quantify within-field spatial variability in evapotranspiration and relate this to soil properties, especially the depth to the claypan restrictive layer.
• Relating groundwater, soil moisture, and plant water use to crop yield in different cropping systems.
• Quantify the resilience of different agro-ecosystems to changes in environmental conditions with a focus on variability in precipitation (i.e., drought).
• Understanding the hydrologic consequences of human actions including land use transitions (for example, changes in cropping systems or acreage under cultivation) and climate change in the Midwest.

Why I’m doing this research
The U.S. Corn Belt is one of the most intensively managed landscapes in the world and is crucial for supplying food for a growing population. Farm management decisions can have wide ranging consequences affecting crop yield, water quality, and flooding. I aim to evaluate management practices to maximize crop yield under changing environmental conditions, while considering the other societal impacts these practices have.

How my research is conducted
I collect data from environmental sensor networks located in long-term research fields. The primary technique that I use is called ‘eddy covariance’ and it measures evaporation as well as carbon uptake or release from fields. I use this data to test research hypotheses. Also, I use this data to improve the way plants are represented in state-of-the-art hydrologic models. Once I build these models, I can use them to test the impact of farming management at large scales.

Notable findings

• Inspection of carbon uptake shows that our aspirational management that includes cover crops, no-till, and variable rate nitrogen application is more resilient to sub-optimal weather conditions than the business-as-usual field. 
• Interannual variability in carbon uptake is dampened by agricultural management practices, relative to a native prairie. 
• Measurement of plant water use as well as the total field evaporation provides data that allows improved simulations by a hydrologic model.

• Publications

  • (Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.)
  • Surface resistance controls differences in evapotranspiration between croplands and prairies in U.S. Corn Belt sites -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Baker, J.M., Wood, J.D., Abraha, M., Chen, J., Griffis, T.J., Robertson, G.P. 2024. Surface resistance controls differences in evapotranspiration between croplands and prairies in U.S. Corn Belt sites. Water Resources Research. 60. Article e2023WR035819. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035819
    
  • Quantifying the impact of climate smart agricultural practices on soil carbon storage relative to conventional management -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ransom, C.J., Veum, K.S., Wood, J.D., Sudduth, K.A., Abendroth, L.J. 2023. Quantifying the impact of climate smart agricultural practices on soil carbon uptake relative to conventional management. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 344. Article 109812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109812
    
  • Forming the future of agrohydrology research -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Smidt, S., Haaker, E., Bai, X., Cherkauer, K., Choat, B., Crompton, O.V., Deines, J., Groh, J., Guzman, S., Hartman, K., Kenall, A., Khan, S., Kustas, W.P., Mcgill, B.M., Nocco, M.A., Pensky, J., Rapp, J., Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Simmons, T., Sprenger, M., Wan, L., Weldegebriel, L., Zipper, S., Zoccatelli, D. 2023. Forming the future of agrohydrology research. Earth's Future. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF003410.
    
  • Perspectives on the future of soil carbon modeling in agroecosystems-(Abstract Only)
    Veum, K.S., Maul, J.E., Ransom, C.J., Schreiner-McGraw, A.P. 2023. Perspectives on the future of soil carbon modeling in agroecosystems [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Paper 148019.
    
  • Quantifying links between topsoil depth, plant water use, and yield in a rainfed maize field in the U. S. Midwest -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Baffaut, C. 2023. Quantifying links between topsoil depth, plant water use, and yield in a rainfed maize field in the U. S. Midwest. Agricultural Water Management. 290. Article 108569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108569
    
  • A holistic assessment of climate smart agricultural practices at a long-term research site in the U.S. Corn Belt-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-McGraw, A.P., Wood, J.D., Ransom, C.J., Sudduth, K.A., Veum, K.S., Abendroth, L.J. 2023. A holistic assessment of climate smart agricultural practices at a long-term research site in the U.S. Corn Belt [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstract. Paper 1391354.
    
  • Informing the sustainability of climate smart agricultural practices with respect to water quantity-(Abstract Only)
    Baffaut, C., Schreiner-McGraw, A.P. 2023. Informing the sustainability of climate smart agricultural practices with respect to water quantity [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstract. Paper 1393939.
    
  • Differences in evapotranspiration from cropland and tallgrass prairie across a gradient of climate in the U.S. Midwest-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-McGraw, A.P., Baker, J.M., Wood, J.D., Abraha, M., Robertson, G.P., Chen, J. 2023. Differences in evapotranspiration from cropland and tallgrass prairie across a gradient of climate in the U.S. Midwest [abstract]. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Paper 23033.
    
  • Quantifying the relative impact of climate smart agricultural practices on soil carbon uptake in the Central Mississippi River Basin Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (CMRB-LTAR) site-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ransom, C.J., Veum, K.S., Wood, J.D., Sudduth, K.A., Abendroth, L.J. 2023. Quantifying the relative impact of climate smart agricultural practices on soil carbon uptake in the Central Mississippi River Basin Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (CMRB-LTAR) site [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Paper 14837.
    
  • Agriculture accentuates interannual variability in water fluxes but not carbon fluxes, relative to native prairie, in the U.S. Corn Belt -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Schreiner-McGraw, A.P., Wood, J.D., Metz, M.E., Sadler, E.J., Sudduth, K.A. 2023. Agriculture accentuates interannual variability in water fluxes but not carbon fluxes, relative to native prairie, in the U.S. Corn Belt. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 333. Article 109420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109420.
    
  • Can crop rotations facilitate surface water – groundwater connectivity to maximize yield during drought?-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-McGraw, A.P., Wood, J.D. 2022. Can crop rotations facilitate surface water – groundwater connectivity to maximize yield during drought? [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstract. Paper 1163208.
    
  • Quantifying the impact of no-till and cover crops on soil carbon flux in a corn-soybean rotation-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-McGraw, A.P., Ransom, C.J., Wood, J.D. 2022. Quantifying the impact of no-till and cover crops on soil carbon flux in a corn-soybean rotation [abstract]. American Geophysical Union. Paper 1165448.
    
  • Can perennialization of a crop rotation increase soil water available to the following crop?-(Abstract Only)
    Baffaut, C., Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P. 2022. Can perennialization of a crop rotation increase soil water available to the following crop? [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 12-16, 2022, Chicago, Illinois.
    
  • Unraveling the effects of management and climate on carbon fluxes of U.S. croplands using the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem (LTAR) network -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Menefee, D.S., Scott, R.L., Abraha, M., Alfieri, J.G., Baker, J.M., Browning, D.M., Chen, J., Gonet, J.M., Johnson, J.M., Miller, G.R., Nifong, R.L., Robertson, P., Russel, E.R., Saliendra, N.Z., Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Suyker, A., Wagle, P., Wente, C.D., White Jr, P.M., Smith, D.R. 2022. Unraveling the effects of management and climate on carbon fluxes of U.S. croplands using the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem (LTAR) network. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 326. Article 109154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109154.
    
  • Integrating sap flow and eddy covariance to improve vegetation representation in a process-based hydrologic model-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Wood, J.D., Abendroth, L.J. 2022. Integrating sap flow and eddy covariance to improve vegetation representation in a process-based hydrologic model [abstract]. 2022 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, November 6-9, 2022. Baltimore, Maryland. Paper No. 146353. Available: https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2022am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/146353
    
  • Integrating partitioned evapotranspiration data into hydrologic models: vegetation parameterization and uncertainty quantification of simulated plant water use -(Peer Reviewed Journal)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ajami, H., Anderson, R.G., Wang, D. 2022. Integrating partitioned evapotranspiration data into hydrologic models: vegetation parameterization and uncertainty quantification of simulated plant water use. Hydrological Processes. 36(6). Article e14580. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14580.
    
  • The USDA-ARS Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed enables long-term agroecosystem research at multiple scales-(Abstract Only)
    Baffaut, C., Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Abendroth, L.J., Kitchen, N.R., Sudduth, K.A., Veum, K.S. 2022. The USDA-ARS Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed enables long-term agroecosystem research at multiple scales [abstract]. Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting, June 19-24, 2022, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Available: https://agu.confex.com/agu/hydrology22/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1033061
    
  • Integrating flux partitioning and eddy covariance to improve vegetation parameterization in a coupled land surface-groundwater model-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ajami, H., Anderson, R.G., Wood, J.D., Wang, D. 2022. Integrating flux partitioning and eddy covariance to improve vegetation parameterization in a coupled land surface-groundwater model [abstract]. Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting. Paper 1032799.
    
  • Agricultural management attenuates interannual variability in carbon fluxes but not water fluxes in the U.S. Corn Belt-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Wood, J.D., Metz, M.E., Sadler, E.J., Sudduth, K.A. 2022. Agricultural management attenuates interannual variability in carbon fluxes but not water fluxes in the U.S. Corn Belt [abstract]. Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting. Paper 1032764.
    
  • Integrating eddy covariance and remotely sensed data to improve vegetation parameterization in a coupled land surface-groundwater model-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ajami, H., Anderson, R.G., Wang, D., Kelley, J.R. 2021. Integrating eddy covariance and remotely sensed data to improve vegetation parameterization in a coupled land surface-groundwater model [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstract. Paper 897326.
    
  • Propagation of precipitation and temperature dataset uncertainty from headwaters to groundwater in the Sierra Nevada, California-(Abstract Only)
    Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P., Ajami, H. 2021. Propagation of precipitation and temperature dataset uncertainty from headwaters to groundwater in the Sierra Nevada, California [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstract. Paper 898283.
    

     

• Projects

  Linkages Between Crop Production Management and Sustainability in the Central Mississippi River Basin In-House Appropriated (D)   Accession Number:441477

  Institutional Biological Safety Committee (IBC) Agreement - University of Missouri Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement (N)   Accession Number:441686

  Water and Energy Balance Measurements in the Central Mississippi River Basin LTAR Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)   Accession Number:442188

  Biodiversity Measurements in the Central Mississippi River Basin LTAR Site Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (S)   Accession Number:442189

     

• ARS News Articles

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