Incorporating Soil Ecological Knowledge into Management of CRP Lands

Incorporating Soil Ecological Knowledge into Management of CRP Lands

Summary

I had another successful year on my SARE grant. I conducted extensive monitoring efforts on the mid-contract management treatments applied to the field in spring of 2014, and continued collaborating with University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers to gather state wide survey data. I shared some of my results at the American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Chicago, IL during a talk titled “Are all disturbances created equal?”, and at a fall seminar series at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During this time I have also published 2 first author publications, and 2 co-authored publications -which was made possible in part by my SARE funding.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The objectives identified in the research proposal are as follows:

1. Tracking and establishing a set of measurable soil health attributes as identified by private landowners, and how they are differentially impacted by the four major mid-contract management (MCM) strategies; and

2. Providing applicable, relevant information to private landowners, land managers and USDA-NRCS personnel in an effort to promote smarter adaptive management decisions that balance short- and longterm objectives to meet CRP contract requirements and landowner-desired outcomes alike.

In summer 2015, a successful field campaign yielded data investigating soil health on the four mid-contract management treatments. I measured soil infiltration rates and bulk density, soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, phospholipid fatty acid content (an analog of microbial diversity), and more to achieve a rough measure of soil health. I also gather data for vegetation indices (overall diversity, cover, height, frequency), and insect abundance and diversity. Early results showed interesting soil carbon dynamics, so I’ve added a dissertation chapter to use incubation temperatures to fractionate soil carbon in a laboratory setting to investigate the effect of my treatments on soil carbon sequestration.

In the early spring of 2014, I collaborated with other University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers who were already funded to survey landowners currently or previously enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). By adding my specific question to their survey, my proposed number of surveys expanded from 200 to 10,000+ mailed surveys. Surveys were mailed in fall 2014, and we are currently analysing the data due to the sheer volume of responses. Enrollment in the CRP and its potential benefits for landowners is showing promising preliminary results.

Results from my 2014  and 2015 summer field season show that different management treatments do have strong, significant (P<0.05) effects on bulk density, which is a cornerstone of soil health on sandy soils in north Central Nebraska. Infiltration showed no variation among treatments, with some exception -likely due to the high sand content and history of aggregate destroying agricultural practices. Soil carbon (organic) was very low across all replicate plots, and displayed no variation in response to treatment (~0.40-0.8%). Additionally, as a potential indicator of both soil health and upland gamebird health (the focus of a concurrent project dovetailing with this grant), the plots interseeded with a “pollinator” seed mix had a significantly higher abundance of ground dwelling macroinvertebrates in 2013, an even greater response in 2014, and no difference in 2015 -indicating an ephemeral insect response to disturbances.

Overall, the first objective of my study is nearly complete, and while the second objective has widened in scope, I still have the tools and momentum to see the overarching goal of objective #2 carried through.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Since receiving my SARE grant, I’ve upped my publication record from one peer reviewed manuscript to eight, developed new field methods to streamline my monitoring, served as a guest editor for a special issue “Adaptive Management for Ecosystem Services” for The Journal of Environmental Management, became a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Great Plains Studies Graduate Fellow, and traveled to Uppsala Sweden for a week to study at their Agricultural University as an August T Larsson visiting scholar. More recently, I joined a National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) Adaptive Water Governance working group, where I’ve been able to collaborate and contribute to publications and book chapters (in prep), expanding my understanding of adaptive management/governance themes, and improving my publication record prior to graduation.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

During my field seasons, I make it a point to get my technicians excited. I teach them about the natural history of the North Central Great Plains, so that they go through life carrying and exporting their knowledge to friends, family, colleagues airplane seatmates, etc. I still keep in contact with all of my technicians, and the Minnesotan and Californian tell me that -beyond the lack of shade -they’ll now defend Nebraska as one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

I’ve also participated in a growing movement in my home department to improve the status for underrepresented groups in STEM, academia, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and our very own department. 

Plans to present “Plants, Animals, and Fungus in Your Backyard!” to elementary students in Lynch, NE (where I live each summer, and have excellent relations) has been underway for some time, but navigating the teaching requirements/testing schedule has proved tricky. I hope to get something scheduled up there this spring, after my comprehensive exams. 

Collaborators: