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