Simulating Soil Organic Carbon Responses to Cropping Intensity, Tillage, and Climate Change in Pacific Northwest Dryland.

Managing dryland cropping systems to increase soil organic C (SOC) under changing climate is challenging after decades of winter wheat ( L.)-fallow and moldboard plow tillage (W-F/MP). The objective was to use CQESTR, a process-based C model, and SOC data collected in 2004, 2008, and 2012 to predict the best management to increase SOC under changing climate in four cropping systems, which included continuous wheat under no tillage (W-W/NT), wheat and sorghum × sudangrass [ (L.

Implications of Observed and Simulated Soil Carbon Sequestration for Management Options in Corn-based Rotations.

Managing cropping systems to sequester soil organic C (SOC) improves soil health and resilience to changing climate. Perennial crops, no-till planting, manure, and cover crops can add SOC; however, their impacts have not been well documented in the northeastern United States. Our objectives were (i) to monitor SOC from a bioenergy cropping study in Pennsylvania that included a corn ( L.

Simulated Soil Organic Carbon Changes in Maryland Are Affected by Tillage, Climate Change, and Crop Yield.

The impact of climate change on soil organic C (SOC) stocks in no-till (NT) and conventionally tilled (CT) agricultural systems is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to simulate the impact of projected climate change on SOC to 50-cm soil depth for grain cropping systems in the southern Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. We used SOC and other data from the long-term Farming Systems Project in Beltsville, MD, and CQESTR, a process-based soil C model, to predict the impact of cropping systems and climate (air temperature and precipitation) on SOC for a 40-yr period (2012-2052).

Introducing the GRACEnet/REAP Data Contribution, Discovery, and Retrieval System.

Difficulties in accessing high-quality data on trace gas fluxes and performance of bioenergy/bioproduct feedstocks limit the ability of researchers and others to address environmental impacts of agriculture and the potential to produce feedstocks. To address those needs, the GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) and REAP (Renewable Energy Assessment Project) research programs were initiated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). A major product of these programs is the creation of a database with greenhouse gas fluxes, soil carbon stocks, biomass yield, nutrient, and energy characteristics, and input data for modeling cropped and grazed systems.