Location: Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-66000-002-011-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2026
End Date: Aug 15, 2028
Objective:
1. Assess on-farm poultry bedding production and associated improvements in P, N, and C cycling, comparing Miscanthus x giganteus (sterile Miscanthus) crop production with import of wood-derived bedding products.
2. Conduct field projects and collate databases to create data streams for modeling efforts to support a possible interim conservation practice standard for legacy nutrient drawdown.
3. Participate in communication activities to inform farmers and producer along with NRCS Plant Material Centers, National Discipline Leaders, and specialists about progress and potential issues.
Approach:
1. Monitor on-farm nutrient fate in soil and plant material where M. giganteus is cultivated for use as litter in poultry houses.
2. Examine P redistribution as a function of crop (shallow rooted annual versus deep-rooted, perennial).
3. Provide data streams to be utilized in APLE modelling of P cycle impacts from on-farm bedding production in fields and border plantings.
4. Generate GIS materials for larger scale modeling efforts and extension of life cycle analyses for the entire Delmarva and possibly other regions.
5. Conduct life cycle assessment of farm nutrient and carbon cycling (P, N, C) in M. giganteus use with comparison to current methods (e.g., wood chip poultry house bedding) at multiple scales.
6. Present results at meetings with farmers, NRCS, and other scientists.