Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
2022 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Develop strategies to increase production and selected non-provisioning ecosystem services while increasing socio-economic performance of grazing, crop, and integrated crop/livestock systems.
Objective 2: Develop options for integrated agricultural systems that reduce
production risks, and enhance economic viability and ecosystem services under extreme weather conditions.
Objective 3: Assess the effects of management strategies aimed at enhancing ecosystem services on the nutrient content of crop and livestock products. This objective will be enhanced by including research on the plant physiological changes that may affect nutrient density of crops, according to the following subobjective:
Subobjective 3C: Evaluate the impact of management strategies including use of phytochemical-rich cover crops and pulse crops on soil and plant function and linkages to crop and meat nutrient density and functional quality.
New Subobjective 3D: Identify and quantify plant responses to soil management and abiotic and biotic stresses that affect crop and forage productivity, nutrient density, and functional quality.
Objective 4: Operate and maintain the Northern Great Plains LTAR network site using technologies and practices agreed upon by the LTAR leadership. Contribute to the LTAR working groups and common experiments as resources allow. Submit relevant data with appropriate metadata to the LTAR Information Ecosystem.
Objective 5: Improve the social and economic sustainability of food production systems for current and future climates in the northern states.
Approach
Agriculture not only faces the challenge of meeting growing needs for food, feed, fuel, and fiber, but also providing non-provisioning ecosystem services while adapting to variable weather conditions. This project builds upon previous research at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL), by continuing and expanding research on how management scenarios can impact ecosystem services, but also evaluating the effect of management on nutrient concentrations and providing ways to scale the research to landscape and national levels. The project will continue to develop sustainable management strategies for crops and livestock while using this knowledge to develop more efficient crop-livestock systems (Objective 1). Through collaboration with other ARS locations, NGPRL will determine how different management strategies affect nutrient concentration in crops and carcass quality in livestock (Objective 3). Modelling will be used to scale findings at the plot or field scale to landscape or regional levels and to explore potential management options for producers under variable weather conditions (Objective 2). Finally, NGPRL is involved in multiple national networks, including the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network, which allow network collaborations to leverage local expertise and scale and share research findings at a national level. The NGPRL is uniquely suited to conduct this multitier research because it has a diversity of landscapes and disciplines in which conduct these multiple approaches to sustainably intensify agriculture. We anticipate that completing this project plan will produce contributions to network databases and also guidelines for developing sustainable integrated agricultural systems. Outcomes from the project will benefit producers, the scientific community and policy makers by producing guidelines and management options.
Progress Report
The location received budget increases again linked to Objectives 3 and 5 of the current research project. These increases will be used to increase the analytical and technical capacity at the location by hiring an analytical chemist and an additional technician to assist with field operations.
Objective 1. Adverse weather conditions (summer drought followed by a wet fall) delayed the application of burn treatments until spring under Subobjective 1A. Mandan is collaborating with ARS researchers in Sidney, Montana, to assess grasshoppers, dung beetles, and pollinators in this study. The location is using a focus group comprised of area cattle producers to provide producer input on the mob grazing management practices. Information from this subobjective is the location’s contribution to the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Grazingland Common Experiment. Research on Subobjective 1B continued and included the modified treatments that were implemented in Fiscal Year (FY) 21 on experiment 1.B.1. The spring wheat - pea and spring wheat - pea/cover crop rotation plots were merged into a four-year rotation of spring wheat – pea – corn – canola. The spring wheat – pea – corn rotation was changed to a spring wheat – pea/canola – corn rotation. This will be the last year for Experiment 1.B.2 which was evaluating the impact of long-term crop rotations and tillage systems on the establishment, yield and forage quality of a perennial alfalfa – intermediate wheatgrass forage mixture. Experiment 1.B.3 which is an organic experiment was planted to a variety of Kernza (Clearwater) and alfalfa in the spring of 2022. Research on experiment 1.C.1 (the Integrated Crop Livestock Experiment) continued with the treatments implemented in FY21 including micro-plots were established to investigate effects of previous management on wheat production and nutrient content, in support of Objective 3. Forage samples, previously collected from experiment 1.C.1, are being analyzed for forage quality.
Objective 2. Subobjective 2.A. Research on experiment 2.A.1 continued after calibrating the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model on historical crop production data and completing simulations under climate projection scenarios. SWAT+ model simulations are being developed based on the EPIC model inputs to expand simulations to a small watershed scale. Growth curve data have been collected for two years, including a drought year. Quality data were entered into the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) model to evaluate if Kentucky bluegrass provided sufficient nutrient quality for cow/calf pairs and presented in a popular press article. The grazinglands Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model is currently being supported again so data are being parameterized using this model. Data from the rain intercept shelters being used to simulate drouth in Subobjective 2B is still being collected and prescribed burns are being implemented.
Objective 3. Subobjective 3.A. The location is continuing an experiment in collaboration with ARS researchers in Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Beltsville, Maryland, to evaluate mineral and phenolic compounds in wheat samples grow with and without fertilizer in plots that had either been grazed or ungrazed (See Experiment 1.C.1 above). In addition, the location is collaborating with North Dakota State University and ARS researchers in Fargo, North Dakota, to evaluate the mineral concentrations in spring wheat samples collected throughout North Dakota under a range of management conditions. Alfalfa samples, grow with spring wheat, are being analyzed for forage quality. Under Subobjective 3C, the location has been focusing on evaluating saponin concentrations in two prominent switchgrass varieties used for biofuels (Liberty and Independent). The location has been collaborating with ARS researchers in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Logan, Utah. The Mandan location is also evaluating tannin concentrations in silphium (a potential perennial sunflower) grown under two different soil types. Also, under Subobjective 3C, forage cover crops containing phytochemicals were evaluated in an in vitro dual-flow continuous culture system for their potential use as a supplement to pasture forage on rumen microbial cultures and evaluated for improvement in rumen nitrogen flow. Five phytochemical-containing forages were used at a rate of 20%, with grass pasture as the base forage (80%) or as the control (100%). Nutrient and phytochemical content, digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters were collected and analyzed.
Objective 4. Research on the plot-scale and field-scale cropland common experiment continued as planned. Subobjective 4A. Assessments were conducted at both plot and field scales for the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network Croplands Common Experiment. Relevant plant, soil, air, and imagery samples were collected along with applicable metadata. The LTAR grazingland common experiment (see Subobjective 1A above) has been fully implemented and metatadata have been submitted. Assessments continue to be done yearly. Under Subobjective 4B, the fields in the location’s LTAR Croplands Common Experiment Fields are part of the National Wind Erosion Research Network (NWERN) and site data were collected and shared with NWERN. A location scientist is collaborating with local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) personnel to analyze data from NRCS established sites.
Objective 5. A research social scientist was hired and on-boarded in FY22 to conduct research focused on improving the social and economic sustainability of food production systems for current and future climates in the northern states.
Accomplishments
1. No yield penalty from interseeding cover crops in corn. Cover crops can provide many benefits, but the short growing season and variable weather in the northern Great Plains makes it difficult to include them in rainfed cropping systems. Planting cover crops into standing grain crops may be a way to successfully grow cover crops in this region. To investigate this possibility, ARS scientists at Mandan, North Dakota, conducted a 3-year study to find out the best time to interseed cover crops into corn. Planting cover crops during the early growth stages of corn did not negatively impact grain yield. In years with adequate rainfall, interseeding cover crops in corn can provide producers with valuable forage and ground cover for enhancing production and environmental goals.
2. Review highlights soil archive use for research. Despite the recognized importance of soil archives for understanding the sustainability of land management practices, their use for research purposes is poorly understood. ARS scientists at Mandan, North Dakota, led a team that compiled publications around the world where soil archives were used for research purposes. The team found an accelerating use of soil archives for research since 1980, but that there was significant land-use and geographical gaps in understanding long-term soil change worldwide. Specifically, major gaps in knowledge happened to be in regions where soil resource use is projected to intensify in the coming decades. Increased coordination among researchers, coupled with enduring investments in the curation and retention of soil archives, are recommended.
3. Cropland conservation practices can create tradeoffs in soil function. Cropland expansion and reduced crop rotation diversity in the northern Great Plains has negatively impacted soil health, creating a need to identify conservation practices. ARS scientists at Mandan, North Dakota, conducted a 3-yr study to understand soil health responses from long-term conservation practices under controlled experimental conditions and on working farms and ranches all under the same soil type. Diverse, continuous cropping led to improvements in soil structure, nutrient supply potential, and biological habitat, but increased soil acidification and soil nitrate accumulation. Cover crops had a negligible effect on the soil, while livestock integration on cropland improved nutrient supply potential and biological habitat, but impaired infiltration. Relative to dryland cropping, soil health was consistently improved under perennial systems. Retention of perennial agroecosystems and adoption of diverse, nutrient-efficient dryland cropping practices should be prioritized to enhance soil health in the northern Great Plains.
4. Kentucky bluegrass invasion of rangelands can reduce plant species diversity and alter soil nitrogen and carbon stocks. Kentucky bluegrass has rapidly invaded the northern Great Plains and is present on most native rangelands in the region. However, little is known about how this in dominance impacts ecosystem services such as production, species diversity and soil stocks. A long-term grazing study started at the Mandan, North Dakota, ARS location in 1916 allowed researchers to evaluate the impact of the Kentucky bluegrass invasion on plant diversity, productivity, and soil carbon and nitrogen. Kentucky bluegrass invasion increased plant production and soil nitrogen and carbon stocks but decreased plant diversity. While the increased production can increase livestock productivity, the decreased plant diversity may reduce livestock gains during drought. Controlling litter production on Kentucky bluegrass dominated rangelands through fire or grazing could reduce its dominance on rangelands in the northern Great Plains.
5. Potential benefits of tanniferous forages in integrated crop-livestock systems. Integrating livestock into cropping systems may enhance ecosystem services while maintaining food production. Including tannin containing forages in crop-livestock systems could further enhance ecosystem services. Interest in phytochemicals, such as tannins, has increased and research continues to demonstrate the benefits of tannins in agricultural systems. However, research evaluating the influence of tanniferous forages in integrated crop-livestock systems is limited. ARS researchers in Mandan, North Dakota, reviewed the available literature on the influence of tannins on soil microbial dynamics and nutrient cycling, the function of tannins in forages, and how tannins may improve the health of grazing livestock. The potential advantages for human health from consumption of animal products from animals that consumed tanniferous forages or supplemental plant materials was also examined. Expanding the knowledge of phytochemicals and their influence in agriculture system dynamics may enhance agroecological sustainability.
6. Rotating perennial forages into annual wheat cropping systems affects soil and grain mineral concentrations.. Different land management techniques may influence both soil and crop quality but, few studies have examined linkages between land management and soil or crop quality. ARS researchers in Mandan, Fargo, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, analyzed soil and wheat grain samples in a 5 year dryland cropping study in the northern Great Plains that included perennial forages. Wheat following five years of alfalfa had greater yield, test weight, and protein, yet lower grain zinc (Zn) concentration. As plant available soil, boron (B), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and sulfer (S) concentrations increased, wheat grain mineral B, Mg, Mn, and S concentration increased. However, when plant available soil Zn and calcium (Ca) concentrations increased, the wheat grain Zn and Ca concentrations decreased. Our study shows that integrating perennial forage phases into wheat cropping systems increases wheat yield and protein. While incorporating perennial forages into the crop rotation can benefit some soil quality parameters, it may also deplete plant available soil minerals. This information is useful to producers in improving wheat yield and nutrient concentrations and in making fertilizer application decisions.
7. Tanniferous forages influence soil processes in forage cropping systems. Nitrogen-fixing legumes such as alfalfa and sainfoin may benefit agricultural systems. In addition to quality forage, both legumes contain plant secondary metabolites that play important roles in agricultural systems. Alfalfa contains triterpenes (saponins), and sainfoin contains phenolic compounds (tannins). These plant secondary metabolites can change the way nutrients are cycled in the soil. An ARS scientist from Mandan, North Dakota, collaborated with Utah State University researcher to conduct a field study in Lewiston, Utah, comparing alfalfa and sainfoin with tall fescue (TF). Plant biomass was greater in sainfoin than in alfalfa, while soil nitrate was greater in alfalfa than in sainfoin plots. Lower soil nitrate in sainfoin plots could be due to the condensed tannins, which can slow down nitrogen mineralization. Planting forages, like sainfoin, that contain tannins may reduce nitrogen loss, and enhance agricultural sustainability.
8. Nature, nurture, and vegetation management: studies with sheep and goats. Invasive plant species are a major environmental and economic problem on grazed ecosystems, but selective grazing by livestock can be used to help manage these plants in a sustainable manner. The effectiveness of grazing as a control method depends on an animal’s preference for the targeted plant species relative to other available plant species and this is often influenced by plant toxin and an animal’s ability to ameliorate these. Researchers from ARS in Mandan, North Dakota, and Texas A&M University compared leafy spurge grazing by lambs raised by goat mothers versus lambs raised by sheep mothers versus goat kids raised by goat mothers and found that kids raised by goat mothers grazed more leafy spurge compared to lambs raised by goat mothers, which grazed more leafy spurge than lambs raised by sheep mothers. The results of the study suggest that goats may have greater genetically determined ability to tolerate toxins in leafy spurge and consequently can take greater advantage of the nutrients in this plant. Therefore, livestock species with innate preference for targeted plant species should be raised in an environment that provides them with experience grazing the plant species at a young age to enhance the effectiveness of their control of targeted plants.
9. Nitrogen bound to manure fiber is increased by application of simple phenolic acids. Polyphenolic compounds like tannins can bind fecal nitrogen (N) compounds when consumed by grazing livestock. ARS researchers in Mandan, North Dakota, along with scientists at Miami University of Ohio hypothesized that contact with common phenolic acids, such as found in crops, could increase the amount of nitrogen bound in excreted manure. They performed two separate experiments to test this hypothesis. The results support their hypothesis that nitrogen in manure can complex with manure acid detergent fiber (ADF) following exposure to benzoic acid and especially cinnamic acid derivatives. This resulted in greater amounts of nitrogen bound to fibers in excreted manure. This study suggests nitrogen availability to plants or soil microorganisms may be impacted by increasing or decreasing the amount of nitrogen bound to manure fibers, crop residues, or other recalcitrant soil organic matter that in turn could influence nutrient cycling.
10. Rapid formation of abiotic carbon dioxide (CO2) results from additions of a simple phenolic, gallic acid, to soil. Abiotic efflux of CO2 from soil is typicallynot expected to occur in soils with a low pH. However, another abiotic source of CO2, less constrained by pH, may arise from reactions that oxidize natural soil organic matter and reduce metal oxides. ARS researchers in Mandan, North Dakota, and Lincoln, Nebraska, and scientists from Miami University in Ohio and Wright State University studied patterns of CO2 efflux during incubations of soils from a historical collection of benchmark samples and from an ongoing crop diversity study. Oven-dried soil showed little response when treated with water (H2O) or with a glucose solution while CO2 quickly formed after treatment with gallic acid regardless of pH and could be associated with the presence of manganese dioxide (Mn IV) oxides. This study suggests abiotic redox-related reactions can produce a rapid burst of CO2 in a wide range of soils following inputs of simple phenolic compounds and be impacted by management and the presence of metal oxides. When considered together with patterns of carbon inputs to soil from crop plants and redox cycling, they might be a larger contributor to carbon emissions than previously accounted for.
11. Heterogeneity of Kentucky bluegrass seed germination after controlled burning. Prescribed burning is sometimes advocated as a means for controlling Kentucky bluegrass in invaded grazing lands. However, little is known about the effects of fire on Kentucky bluegrass seed survival. ARS scientists in Mandan, North Dakota, exposed seeds of Kentucky bluegrass to prescribed burns while monitoring temperature at the soil surface and at 10 cm above the ground and evaluated subsequent seed germinability. Burning inhibited Kentucky bluegrass seed survival or the ability to germinate. However, there was a pattern of high and low seed germination response across the entire gradient of recorded surface temperatures, including large differences in seed survival in samples located close together. These large differences may result from unburned or superficially affected safe sites that originate from heterogeneity of fire impacts. This study suggests prescribed burning can kill Kentucky bluegrass seeds near the soil surface, especially those located in standing litter and dry thatch. However, some seeds under these layers and closer to the mineral soil surface may be less impacted.
12. Patterns of seedling emergence from North Dakota grazing lands invaded by Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass is a dominant invader of the northern Great Plains, but little is known about its impact on seedbanks. ARS researchers in Mandan, North Dakota, quantified patterns of seedling emergence from samples of litter, thatch, and mineral soil collected from invaded grassland site. Kentucky bluegrass accounted for 84% of the emergent seedlings and that 50% of cumulative emergence was reached after 40.5 days. Seedling emergence was strongly dominated by Kentucky bluegrass but there were differences between litter, thatch, and soil layers. Kentucky bluegrass accounted for 94.3%, 71.9%, and 69.9% of emergent seedlings from litter, thatch, and soil layers, respectively. More Kentucky bluegrass seedlings emerged from litter material, than the other layers. Management of Kentucky bluegrass by fire or grazing should consider their possible effects on seed production, distribution, and longevity of buried seeds.
13. Identified economically marginal land suited for growing switchgrass. Producing bioenergy crops could potentially increase farm income and provide environmental benefits, but clear criteria are needed to identify land that can be more profitable than growing existing crops. Researchers at the University of Illinois in collaboration with an ARS scientist in Mandan, North Dakota, used historical yields for an Illinois agricultural field and a Soil Productivity Index (SPI) approach for soils across Illinois to identify land that is economically marginal for annual crop production, and thus suited for growing switchgrass. In the example Illinois agricultural field, the profitability of switchgrass can compete with soybeans only at the high price of $80 per ton, but depending on location, can compete with corn at $60 per ton. Across Illinois, at $80 per ton, all Illinois land with SPI less than 100 and 95% of land under SPI class C (SPI 100-116) is profitable under switchgrass. Switchgrass may not be profitable relative to corn grown in the SPI class A (SPI > 133) and only 7% of Class B (SPI 117-132). These results are useful to crop producers, policy makers, and bioenergy businesses in identifying areas where switchgrass production could be economically viable.
Review Publications
Antosh, E., Liebig, M.A., Archer, D.W., Luciano, R. 2022. Cover crop interseeding effects on aboveground biomass and corn grain yield in western North Dakota. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management. 8:e20148. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20148.
Bergh, E.L., Calderon, F.J., Clemensen, A.K., Durso, L.M., Eberly, J.O., Halvorson, J.J., Jin, V.L., Margenot, A.J., Stewart, C.E., Van Pelt, R.S., Liebig, M.A. 2022. Time in a bottle: Use of soil archives for understanding long-term soil change. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 86(3):520-527. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20372.
Liebig, M.A., Acosta Martinez, V., Archer, D.W., Halvorson, J.J., Hendrickson, J.R., Kronberg, S.L., Samson-Liebig, S.E., Vetter, J.M. 2022. Conservation practices induce tradeoffs in soil function: Observations from the northern Great Plains. Soil Science Society of America Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20375.
Sanderman, J., Savage, K., Dangal, S.R., Duran, G., Rivard, C., Cavigelli, M.A., Gollany, H.T., Jin, V.L., Liebig, M.A., Omondi, E.C., Rui, Y., Stewart, C. 2021. Can agricultural management induced changes in soil organic carbon be detected using mid-infrared spectroscopy? Remote Sensing. 13(12). Article 2265. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13122265.
Williams, M.R., Welikhe, P., Bos, J.H., King, K.W., Akland, M., Augustine, D.J., Baffaut, C., Beck, G., Bierer, A.M., Bosch, D.D., Boughton, E., Brandani, C., Brooks, E., Buda, A.R., Cavigelli, M.A., Faulkner, J., Feyereisen, G.W., Fortuna, A., Gamble, J.D., Hanrahan, B.R., Hussain, M., Kohmann, M., Kovar, J.L., Lee, B., Leytem, A.B., Liebig, M.A., Line, D., Macrae, M., Moorman, T.B., Moriasi, D.N., Nelson, N., Ortega-Pieck, A., Osmond, D., Pisani, O., Ragosta, J., Reba, M.L., Saha, A., Sanchez, J., Silveira, M., Smith, D.R., Spiegal, S.A., Swain, H., Unrine, J., Webb, P., White, K.E., Wilson, H., Witthaus, L.M. 2022. P-FLUX: A phosphorus budget dataset spanning diverse agricultural production systems in the United States and Canada. Journal of Environmental Quality. 51:451–461. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20351.
Browning, D.M., Russell, E.S., Ponce-Campos, G.E., Kaplan, N.E., Richardson, A.D., Seyednasrollah, B., Spiegal, S.A., Saliendra, N.Z., Alfieri, J.G., Baker, J.M., Bernacchi, C.J., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Bosch, D.D., Boughton, E.H., Boughton, R.K., Clark, P., Flerchinger, G.N., Gomez-Casanovas, N., Goslee, S.C., Haddad, N., Hoover, D.L., Jaradat, A.A., Mauritz, M., Miller, G.R., McCarty, G.W., Sadler, J., Saha, A., Scott, R.L., Suyker, A., Tweedie, C., Wood, J., Zhang, X., Taylor, S.D. 2021. Monitoring agroecosystem productivity and phenology at a national scale: A metric assessment framework. Ecological Indicators. 131. Article 108147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108147.
Clemensen, A.K., Halvorson, J.J., Christensen, R., Kronberg, S.L. 2022. Potential benefits of tanniferous forages in integrative crop-livestock agroecosystems. Frontiers in Agronomy. 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2022.911014.
Clemensen, A.K., Villalba, J.J., Lee, S.T., Provenza, F.D., Duke, S.E., Reeve, J. 2022. How do tanniferous forages influence soil processes in forage cropping systems? Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management. 8. Article e20166. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20166.
Clemensen, A.K., Grusak, M.A., Duke, S.E., Franco Jr, J.G., Liebig, M.A., Hendrickson, J.R., Archer, D.W. 2022. Rotating perennial forages into annual wheat cropping systems: correlations between plant available soil and grain mineral concentrations. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. 5:e20281. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20281.
Halvorson, J.J., Kronberg, S.L., Christensen, R., Hagerman, A.E., Archer, D.W. 2022. Nitrogen bound to manure fiber is increased by applications of simple phenolic acids. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience (CABI A&B). 3:11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-022-00078-7.
