Microbial inoculants: evaluate their potential for improved hay production and soil health in high elevation meadows

Commodities

• Agronomic: hay

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage, inoculants, pasture renovation, pasture fertility, rangeland/pasture management, winter forage
• Crop Production: biological inoculants, fertilizers
• Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop, youth education
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, soil stabilization
• Production Systems: agroecosystems
• Soil Management: nutrient mineralization, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: public participation, quality of life

Irrigated hay meadows are an integral, but under-performing
component of livestock operations in the Rocky Mountain West.
Flood irrigation, high elevation, and cool temperatures common to
these systems result in the concentration of organic materials
near the soil surface, constraining microbial-mediated nitrogen
cycling, and impeding forage yield. Efforts to improve hay meadow
productivity sustainably while maintaining soil health are
critical in these semi-arid ecosystems. The soil microbial
community is crucial in maintaining various ecosystem functions
and services including nutrient cycling through mineralization,
primary production, and litter decomposition. Soil microbial
community’s abundancy, diversity, and activity is therefore
essential to maintain the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems
such as the high elevation meadow systems. Microbial inoculants
(biofertilizers) are a promising alternative to increase forage
productivity and quality of hay in these meadow systems while
cutting down or eliminating chemical fertilizers but have not
been evaluated in these systems. Biofertilizers are active
strains of microorganisms which stimulate microbial activity and
improve mobility of nutrients in soil, and hence may potentially
enhance mineralization in the organic horizon of these meadow
systems. Our goal is to develop alternative hay meadow management
practices that can improve nutrient bioavailability through
enhanced microbial activity to reduce reliance on chemical
fertilizers, optimize yield, foster carbon sequestration, and
promote soil health. We will assess effects of biofertilizers on
the soil microbial community’s abundance, diversity, and
function, soil nitrogen availability, and quantity and quality of
hay in high elevation hay meadows in both field and controlled
environment and disseminate research findings to stakeholders in
Wyoming and Colorado. We will use complementary microbial
inoculation combinations focused on plant nutrient management
through fixation, solubilization or transformation in the soil.
Treatments will include control, combinations of microbial
inoculants, and mineral fertilizer. Findings are crucial for the
producers to make informed decisions in forage management
practices.

Overall objective:  to evaluate the effects
of microbial inoculants on the soil microbial community, nitrogen
pools and mineralization, and forage quantity and quality in high
elevation hay meadows in the field and in a controlled
environment and disseminate research findings to stakeholders in
Wyoming and Colorado.

Specific objectives

Research objective

1. Evaluate the response of the soil microbial community,
   nitrogen pools and mineralization, and forage quantity and
   quality to biofertilization in a field setting.
2. Evaluate the response of the soil microbial community,
   nitrogen pools and mineralization, and forage quantity and
   quality to biofertilization in a controlled environment.

Education objectives

1. Assess the current knowledge on the use of biofertilizer,
   create a common understanding among stakeholders of the proposed
   project and invite their participation in the project.
2. Establish open communication and continuously engage farmers
   and ranchers in the project progress.
3. Advance/share research findings from this project with
   producers, research scientists, agricultural educators, and 4-H
   youth groups in Albany County Wyoming, and Walden Colorado