Location: Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Develop strategies using cover cropping and biosolids management to mitigate green-house gas (GHG) emissions and improve soil health.
1.A) Evaluate soil carbon (C) sequestration with cover crops to mitigate GHG emissions.
1.B) Evaluate the ability of biosolids management strategies to sequester C and thereby reduce GHG emissions.
Objective 2: Develop strategies for managing fertilizer-N in cropping systems and manure NH3-N in high-residue tillage systems, to improve N-use efficiency and air quality.
2.A) Conduct field crop research with a corn-wheat-soybean rotation to evaluate 15N uptake efficiencies of genetically modified corn, conservation of N by cover crops, and soybean N2 fixation.
2.B) Evaluate and develop best management practices for reducing ammonia volatilization and to estimate ammonia losses from manures.
Objective 3: Improve descriptions of biological mechanisms controlling bioactive P release to soils, and develop improved fate models and conservation practices to enhance P use efficiency.
3.A) Evaluate nutrient conservation practices based on enhanced understanding of rhizosphere microbiology and enzymology that regulate the release of bioactive manure-P and soil-P to crops and soil.
3.B) Evaluate relevance of current algorithms in use to include rhizosphere microbiology and enzymology processes when modeling P behavior and transport in APEX and similar models.
Objective 4: Develop beneficial uses of agricultural, industrial, and municipal byproducts to enhance crop production and reduce risks to the environment from potential contaminants.
4.A) Conduct phytostabilization research using mixtures of organic resources with byproducts and alkaline amendments to achieve functional remediation and revegetation of barren and biologically dead metal contaminated soils.
4.B) Conduct phytoextraction/phytomining research to identify effective plant species and optimize the agronomic productivity of phytoextraction technologies. 4.C) Conduct research and risk evaluation to assess the risks and benefits from use of industrial, municipal and agricultural byproducts to improve crop production and reduce risk to the environment from byproduct constituents.
4.D) Investigate the use of mixtures of organic amendments, limestone byproducts, flue gas desulfurization gypsum and leachable alkalinity to correct subsoil acidity and improve soil fertility.
Approach
Obj. 1A. A replicated six-year field experiment will be completed to evaluate the rate and quantity of carbon sequestrated by winter cover-crops of rye, hairy vetch, and a rye plus hairy vetch mixture, as compared to a traditional no-cover condition. These data will assess and develop agricultural practices for mitigating global warming.
Obj. 1B. Agricultural use of biosolids could improve soil carbon sequestration and thereby reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Replicated field research will be conducted on plots previously treated with different rates and types of biosolids, to determine if biosolids can increase soil carbon sequestration. Obj. 2A. Labeled nitrogen fertilizer will be used in a corn-wheat-soybean rotation to evaluate nitrogen use efficiencies of genetically modified and non-modified corn, to measure conservation of corn residual fertilizer by winter-wheat, and to estimate nitrogen fixation of double-crop soybeans. Improving nitrogen use efficiency will reduce nitrogen losses to the environment while maintaining profitability.
Obj. 2B. Ammonia volatilization is a major loss of plant-available nitrogen from surface applied manures. A series of wind tunnel field studies will be conducted to evaluate the ability of new high-residue tillage implements to conserve ammonia, but still maintain surface residues to control erosion.
Obj. 3A. Laboratory incubation-fractionation studies will be conducted to mathematically describe phosphorus transformations and availability in manured soils. These results will assess the advantages and disadvantages of adding organicphosphorus turnover to existing models.
Obj. 3B. A critical evaluation of phosphorus transformation and transport modules within existing phosphorus models will be conducted by validation against long-term field and simulated rainfall studies. The evaluation will focus on the use of rhizosphere microbiology and enzymology for modeling phosphorus.
Obj. 4A. Two field locations will be studied using various mixtures of industrial, municipal, and agricultural byproducts to remediate and revegetate barren and heavymetal contaminated soils. The studies will monitor plant yield and composition to assess byproduct performance and possible risks to wildlife. Obj. 4B. Growth chamber and greenhouse research on phyto-mining will use various fertilizer nutrients and topsoil/subsoil combinations to identify plant species and management practices that optimize agronomic productivity and that extract nickel from nickel-rich soils.
Obj. 4C. A two-year field study will be conducted in Appalachia comparing the uptake of nutrients and metals by peanut and wheat from additions of poultry litter, flue gas desulfurization gypsum, and mined gypsum. A risk assessment on the use of flue gas desulfurization gypsum and mined gypsum in U.S. soils will also be done.
Obj. 4D. A greenhouse study will be conducted to evaluate mixtures of organic amendments, limestone byproducts, flue gas desulfurization gypsum, and leachable alkalinity to correct subsoil acidity for alfalfa. Subsoil acidity commonly limits rooting depth in soils across the mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the U.S..
Progress Report
This research is part of a bridge year of the project 8042-12000-043-000D “Developing Practices for Nutrient and Byproducts to Mitigate Climate Change, Improve Nutrient Utilization, and Reduce Effects on Environment”. This project is encompassed with National Programs 212, Soil and Air, and 108, Food Safety (animal and plant products). The current bridge project was reshaped by focusing on sustainable soil health and cover crop management in the Long Term Agricultural Research (LTAR) network in 2022. New Objectives to complete the current bridge project have been submitted on an abbreviated timeline (two years) for review by the NPLs and a new Project Plan will be submitted when the new NP212 Action Plan is available. The Objectives for the two-year plan will focus on 1) improving mechanistic models simulating short- and long-term effects of conservation practices on soil health and crop productivity; and 2) quantifying the biological and physical dynamics of the soil biome and its relationship with climate.
In support of Objective 1A, a RYESIM model was developed to simulate growth and development of winter rye cover crop. RYESIM was further updated using object-oriented programming techniques to efficiently simulate the tiller hierarchy and the mapping between individual plant features and field scale values. RYESIM was linked with a two-dimensional soil simulation model and includes modules for simulating rye phenological and physiological development. RYSESIM also accounts for rye surface residue presence and decomposition after termination date, which allows accessing cover crop effects on the following cash crop management. Methods for soil-residue-atmosphere physics and decomposition and nitrogen mineralization were incorporated. Comparisons with field data show reliable model performance. A manuscript was submitted.
Development of a new wheat model, WHEATSIM was initiated. The structure is adapted from RYESIM. Parameters and equations specific to wheat will be added.
Long-term effects of cover crop and crop rotations on soil and crop yields were investigated using Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory (ACSL, USDA-ARS Beltsville, Maryland's) crop and soil models and long-term cropping systems experiment data collected from the LTAR Network sites in Nebraska, Maryland, and Michigan. The simulation experiments would allow disentangling carry-over effects of crop rotation and cover crops on soil and the following cash crops and thus eventually contribute to developing decision support tools for growers.
A collaboration with the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory (SASL, USDA-ARS Beltsville, Maryland) was continued as part of the NIFA-funded Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (DRIVES) project. Based on multiple long-term cropping systems experiment data and Bayesian multilevel modeling, the study proved that more diverse crop rotations performed better under poor growing conditions and particularly corn and soybean output increased. A manuscript was accepted, and another manuscript was submitted.
A collaboration with SASL continued to use ACSL’s corn simulation model, MAIZSIM, to evaluate effectiveness of crop management practices on corn resiliency using long-term data sets with the Farm Systems Project (FSP) database.
A manuscript has been submitted demonstrating the benefits and potential nitrogen credit associated with legume cover crops in a humid sub-tropical corn production system. This research demonstrated that legume cover crops significantly decreased N fertilizer requirements, while increasing soil nitrate-N and phosphorus concentrations, and increasing soil N cycling enzyme activity. A second manuscript is being prepared on the impacts of cover crop biomass degradation on soil health.
In support of Objective 1B, changes (past and future) in potato production vulnerabilities in Maine were assessed by conducting trend analysis for weather indices affecting tuber growth and quality. This study confirmed the occurrence of increasing trends in the historical temperature record, particularly nighttime temperatures and heatwave duration, and growers will need to use up to 19% more irrigational water in mid-21st-century to meet potential potato production. This study was conducted in collaboration with an industry partner, a multinational food company to ensure supply chain stability under a changing climate. A manuscript was submitted.
A paper was published that proposed new agronomic monsoon onset definitions for rainfed rice farmers in Bangladesh. Using crop simulation models, the study proved that year-to-year varying dynamic onset dates could reduce chances/risks of getting lower yields compared to traditional practices in Bangladesh. This research tackled usability gaps between climate information producers and users.
Collaborative work with Tufts University, University of Maryland/NASA, and South African countries investigated farmers’ use of information of the El Niño Southern Oscillation or seasonal forecast information in Southern Africa. The study found indications that people were discouraged during El Niño years by the potential for drought, and they might be reducing cropping areas, reducing agricultural investments, or turning to other income-generating activities. A manuscript was submitted.
In support of Objective 3A, a collaboration with the SASL was initiated to evaluate the impacts of drought on the plant-soil microbiome in soybean production systems. This research will examine the potential changes in plant root responses and how that may be influenced by the soil microbiome in response to drought.
Accomplishments
1. A new modeling framework to simulate water and temperature changes in non-uniform and deformable soils. Accurate simulations of changes in surface soil structure and bulk density caused by sedimentation or machinery-caused compaction and consequent effects on soil water and temperature distribution are essential for sustainable crop and soil management. However, there is a lack of an integrated modeling framework that can incorporate spatial and temporal variations of soil properties and soil deformation into the instantaneous soil water and temperature simulations. ARS researchers in Beltsville, Maryland, developed a new modeling framework to quantify the soil deformation and the spatial and temporal variations of physical properties, as well as the subsequent soil water and temperature redistributions. The new modeling approach reported in this study could be used to improve existing crop and soil simulation models, especially for exploring the robustness of existing soil management strategies under heterogenous and deformable soil surfaces over a long period.
Review Publications
Timlin, D.J., Paff, K.E., Han, E. 2024. The role of crop simulation modeling in assessing potential climate change impacts. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. 7(1). Article e20453. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20453.
Han, E., Montes, C., Hussain, S., Krupnik, T.J. 2024. Agronomic monsoon onset definitions to support planting decisions for rainfed rice in Bangladesh. Climatic Change. 177. Article e77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-024-03736-z.
Wang, Z., Timlin, D.J., Liu, G., Fleisher, D.H., Sun, W., Beegum, S., Heitman, J., Ren, T., Chen, Y., Reddy, V. 2024. Coupled heat and water transfer in heterogeneous and deformable soils: Numerical model using mixed finite element method. Journal of Hydrology. 634. Article e131068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131068.
Huddell, A.M., Thapa, R., Needelman, B., Mirsky, S.B., Davis, A.S., Peterson, C., Kladivko, E., Law, E., Darby, H., Mcvane, J.M., Haymake, J., Balkcom, K.S., Reiter, M., Vangessel, M., Ruark, M., Well, S., Gailans, S., Flessner, M.L., Mulvaney, M.J., Bagavathiannan, M., Samuelson, S., Ackroyd, V., Marcillo, G., Abendroth, L.J., Armstrong, S.D., Asmita, G., Basche, A., Beam, S., Bradley, K., Canisares, L.P., Devkota, P., Dick, W.A., Evans, J.A., Everman, W.A., Ferreira De Almeida, T., Fultz, L.M., Hashemi, M., Helmers, M.J., Jordan, N., Kaspar, T.C., Ketterings, Q.M., Kravchenko, A., Lazaro, L., Ramon, L.G., Liebert, J., Lindquist, J., Loria, K., Miller, J.O., Nkongolo, N.V., Norsworthy, J., Parajuli, B., Pelzer, C., Poffenbarger, H., Poudel, P., Ryan, M.R., Sawyer, J.E., Seehaver, S., Shergill, L., Upadhyaya, Y.R., Waggoner, A.L., Wallace, J.M., White, C., Wolters, B., Woodley, A., Ye, R., Youngerman, E. 2024. U.S. cereal rye winter cover crop growth database. Scientific Data. 11. Article. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-02996-9.
