Great Plains cropping system studies for soil quality assessment
2006
Varvel, G. | Riedell, W. | Deibert, E. | McConkey, B. | Tanaka, D. | Vigil, M. | Schwartz, R.
Interactions between environmental conditions and management practices can significantly affect soil function. Soil quality assessments may improve our understanding of how soils interact with the hydrosphere and atmosphere. This information can then be used to develop management practices that improve the capacity of the soil to perform its various functions and help identify physical, chemical, and biological soil attributes to quantify the present state of a soil and detect changes resulting from management. In protocols established by the Great Plains cropping system network, sampling and testing procedures were selected to identify physical, chemical, and biological soil attributes responsive to management that may serve as useful indicators in assessing the effects of management on the soil resource. Eight existing long-term studies from throughout the Great Plains in the central USA were used to make these assessments because, (1) many years are required for certain soil properties to change measurably; (2) annual weather causes variation in system performance; and (3) the soil pools of interest are spatially variable. This paper includes detailed descriptions of the treatments and sites, and both long-term and short-term (1999-2002) data on precipitation, temperature, and yields for each location.
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