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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Agricultural Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422989
Research Project: Climate-resilient Sustainable Irrigated and Dryland Cropping Systems in the Semi-arid Northern Great Plains

Location: Agricultural Systems Research

Title: Greenhouse gas emissions in response to tillage and crop phase in a four-year crop rotation

Author
item Sainju, Upendra
item Stevens, William
item Jabro, Jalal
item Iversen, William
item Allen, Brett
item ALASINRIN, SIKIRU - University Of Ilorin

Submitted to: Soil and Tillage Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/20/2026
Publication Date: 1/24/2026
Citation: Sainju, U.M., Stevens, W.B., Jabro, J.D., Iversen, W.M., Allen, B.L., Alasinrin, S.Y. 2026. Greenhouse gas emissions in response to tillage and crop phase in a four-year crop rotation. Soil and Tillage Research. 259. Article 107089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2026.107089.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2026.107089

Interpretive Summary: Management practices, such as tillage, cropping systems, and nitrogen fertilization can affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector which can influence global warming and climate change. Improved techniques are needed to mitigate GHG emissions while sustaining crop yields and quality from the agriculture. Scientists in ARS, Sidney, MT examined the effect of tillage practices and crop phases in a four year rotation of irrigated barley-sugarbeet-corn-soybean on GHG emissions from 2016 to 2020. They found that no-till and conventional till with sugarbeet increased carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions as well as GHG balance compared to conventional till with corn. Producers can reduce GHG emissions by using conventional till with corn in the irrigated barley-sugarbeet-corn-soybean in the sandy soil of the US northern Great Plains. This information may be useful for other customers, such as students, scientists, environmentalists, industrialists, and policymakers, that are engaged in reducing GHG systems from the agricultural sector.

Technical Abstract: Cropping systems can affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to variations in farm operations, root respiration, and soil organic matter mineralization that need further exploration. We examined the effect of tillage (conventional till [CT] and no-till [NT]) and crop phases (sugarbeet [Beta vulgaris L.]) and corn [Zea mays L.]) on CO2, N2O, and CH4 fluxes and GHG balance (GHGB) in an irrigated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)-sugarbeet-corn-soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation from 2016 to 2020 in the US northern Great Plains. A static chamber method was used to measure GHG fluxes at 3-30 d intervals, depending on crop performance and soil environment, throughout the year. While CO2 peak fluxes occurred mostly during the crop growing season, N2O peak fluxes occurred throughout the year. The CH4 flux was minimal, except for some peaks at various times of the year. Cumulative CO2 flux from May to April and GHGB were 26-44% greater for CT with sugarbeet than NT with sugarbeet or corn in 2016-2017 and 24-41% greater for NT with sugarbeet than CT with corn in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Cumulative N2O flux was 70-244% greater for CT with sugarbeet than NT with sugarbeet in 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 and 38-73% greater for NT with sugarbeet than other treatments in 2018-2019. Cumulative CH4 flux did not vary among treatments in any year. The GHG emissions can be reduced by using CT with corn compared with CT or NT with sugarbeet in the barley-sugarbeet-corn-soybean rotation under sandy loam soils of the US northern Great Plains.