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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Research Project #441852

Research Project: Long-term Tillage Influence Soil Quality and Carbon Cycling in Dryland Cropping System

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Project Number: 3012-13660-010-012-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Mar 31, 2022
End Date: Mar 30, 2027

Objective:
Long-term tillage influence on soil Health and Carbon Cycling.

Approach:
Field plot experiment was initiated in 1969 to investigate the effects of tillage intensity on winter wheat-fallow rotation. The three tillage treatments were moldboard plow (plow), sub-tillage (ST), and no-tillage (NT) arranged in randomized complete blocks with four replications. The native sod plots were also included within the experimental design for the comparison with the cropping system and the tillage practices. Soil samples were collected to evaluate changes in soil quality parameter. The USDA-ARS scientist will quantify some aspect of soil quality parameters (such as aggregate) including soil carbon content in this study site.