Non Technical Summary
This project is a collaboration among three higher education institutions with agricultural sciences programs, serving diverse communities: the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (UW-P) in southwestern Wisconsin, Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) in Harlem, MT (Fort Belknap IndianReservation), and Massey University (MU) in northern New Zealand. This multi-institutional, multicultural project is designed to address agroecology research needs focusing on soil health and water quality, while growing an agricultural sciences workforce informed by culturally diverse agricultural understandings and practices. The project will provide students research experience, mentoring experience, and exposure to multicultural team science. UW-P serves a predominately White student population, ANC is approximately 87% American Indian or Alaska Native, and M?ori and Pacific Island students comprise almost 20% of Massey University's enrollment.Working in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the project includes development and implementation of a common data management platform, collection and management of soil, water, weather, and other relevant data. While specific research projects at each site reflect local priorities, the projects will provide opportunities for longer-term cross-institutional comparative studies and investigation of common agricultural management issues. Engagement of local stakeholders, in particular Maori and Native farmers, ranchers, and resource managers, will ensure that research is relevant to local agricultural practices, and consistent with local priorities and protocols.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0199	1060	50%
111	0210	2050	50%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 2050 - Hydrology;

Goals / Objectives
The overarching challenge facing agricultural systems globally is one of demand for increased production framed within long-term resilience and sustainability of water and soil resources. Understanding the effects of environmental policy and subsequent best management practices, on yield, and economic returns, at the farm scale and across regions is fundamental in ensuring our long-term sustainable future. We feel that the establishment and operation of a collaborative research and educational network between NLGCA, TCUs, and partner organizations will allow for the investigation of economic and environmental consequences of sustainable intensification across agro-ecoregions internationally. To that end, we propose the following objectives for the proposed project:1. develop a multinational, multicultural network of scientists and educators to leverage existing resources, share perspectives, and build capacity to support sustainable productivity of agricultural resources, in particular, soil health and water quality;2. establish coordinated research programs across three different agro-ecoregions to monitor and assess the effects of management practices on soil health and water quality;3. provide hands-on research experiences and training for culturally diverse undergraduate students at multiple geographic scales using on-farm data; and4. in collaboration with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, establish a coordinated data management system to standardize, archive, and distribute data among NLGCA, TCUs, and partner research institutions (e.g. MU).

Project Methods
For the proposed project, we will conduct research at three facilities (UW-Platteville, Aaniiih Nakoda College, Massey University) which are located in vastly different ecosystems with varied management practices and environmental properties. While each location will be conducting their own unique projects, prioritizing local research needs, we intend to conduct a coordinated data collection to support cross-site comparisons of ecosystem functions.At UW-Platteville Pioneer Farms (Platteville,WI) research will be conducted on four paddocks with a long-term history of Managed Intensive Grazing (MiG). These pastures swords have a forage-legume-forbs mix mostly dominated by bromegrass, fescue, bluegrass, white clover, red clover, orchard grass, dandelion, perennial ryegrass, etc., and during the season are grazed by Holstein heifers on a 3-to-4-day rotation.Our proposed research project will leverage our current Dairy Soil and Water Regeneration (DSWR) research being conducted within the adjacent catchments (31-33, 35-37, 42.1, and 42.2). The DSWR project is evaluating two alternative crop management strategies: advanced Soil Health Management Systems (SHMS) (Field 31, 35, 33, and 37) and Business as Usual (BAU). The BAU is defined by conventional tillage, with liquid dairy manure as well as commercial nutrients applied, as required. SHMS treatment is a holistic approach that is a combination of reducing disturbance by practicing no-till, using manure-based fertilizer products such as Sedron, using cover crops, adopting best practices for manure application, and so on. These combined activities are aimed at increasing soil biodiversity, maintaining living roots on soil, sequestering carbon, and improving water infiltration. Except for fields 41 and 43, all other fields have Edge-of Field and In-Field water quality assessment capabilities. For the proposed research, we will compare the data generated from the MiG fields with the BAU and SHMS fields.The Fort Belknap Indian community, located on the hi-line of Montana roughly half-way between Havre and Malta, is home to Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC). As a 1994 USDA land grant college, ANC prides itself in being a leader of environmental protection and stewardship of tribal lands. ANC currently oversees multiple environmental research projects ranging from black-footed ferret and swift fox reintroductions to groundwater movement studies related to the Zortman-Landusky mine reclamation project in the little Rocky Mountains.The proposed project location is currently not leased and has been left abandoned for an unknown length of time. It was cropped at one point and then left idle, allowing a significant weed population to establish. The dominant plant species are prickly lettuce, kochia, Russian thistle and field bindweed. The weed pressure is abundant (more than 80% cover). Weed Control is a major concern when discussing how to reclaim these abandoned lands. Additionally, there are limited options available for contracting an entity to perform necessary fieldwork related to cropland reclamation. This raises concerns about how and when different field operations will be undertaken. The individuals that have been contracted for previous reseeding projects on Fort Belknap are typically wheat farmers. Thus, they have core beliefs that align with conventional agriculture. Gathering information that helps to identify optimal techniques related to seedbed preparation, seeding methods and stand establishment will allow FBIC to use local data to develop land reclamation projects that are sustainable and successful.The main objective of the research project is to compare the effects of fire on the establishment of native grasses and forbs. Historically, fire was used as a tool by indigenous tribes to manage the land. We hope to better understand how fire can be used in a modern context as a way to manage weed populations prior to reseeding native species. A secondary research question is whether or not a cover crop makes a significant impact on preparing a seedbed for seeding a native mix. In the north central Montana ecosystem it is not realistic to plan on seeding a native mixture directly into a field with significant weed populations, especially when non-native species such as crested wheatgrass are present.The proposed research will compare a conventional chemical fallow approach, a single species cover crop with herbicide resistant genetics and a diverse cover crop mixture with the hope to compare results and determine if the added cost of seeding a cover crop is justified by a significant increase in stand establishment success. The study area is approximately 40.9 acres in size with a perimeter of justunder 1 mile. Using a randomized complete block design and a total of 6 different treatments for 4 total reps would yield 24 individual plots with a total acreage of approximately 1.7 acres. Plant species composition and soil data will be collected initially to establish a baseline for each plot. The same data will be collected each year of the project to quantify the effects of each treatment on the plant community. This data will be analyzed using the ANOVA methodology and the results will be evaluated for statistical significance of P<5%.Whenua Haumanu explores conventional and regenerative farming practices across both standard and diverse pastures at two of Massey University's working farms (Figures 9 and 10). Led by Massey University, Whenua Haumanu is a partnership between Massey University and the Ministry for Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food and Fiber Future fund. It is one of the most comprehensive programs on the effect of conventional and regenerative pastoral practices. Standard pasture species composition includes perennial ryegrass, red clover, and white clover at Dairy 1 and at the Pasture and Crop Research Unit (PCRU), while the diverse pasture include perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, meadow fescue, cocksfoot, timothy, Phalaris, prairie grass, red clover, white clover, chicory, plantain, crimson clover, balansa clover, Persian clover, and arrow leaf clover, vetch, and lucerene at Dairy 1 and perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue, cocksfoot, timothy, red clover, white clover (small-leaved and medium and large-leaved), chicory, plantain, Lotus corniculatus, sanfoin, sheep Burnett, crimson clover, balansa clover, Persian clover, arrowleaf clover, subterranean clover, strawberry clover, and vetch at the PCRU.Research efforts at Dairy 1 and at the PCRU focused on how different pasture mixes and management practices impact: soil biology, diversity, and structure; pasture growth, quality, and persistence; animal production, health, and welfare; quality of milk, meat, and wool products; nutrient leaching; methane and nitrous oxide emissions; and carbon capture. The proposed project will leverage this existing experimental design/treatments and provide complementary data from a subset of paddocks (conventional and regenerative) from within Whenua Haumanu study.All locations will collect meteorological and soil health data on an annual basis. However, annual measurements of soil enzyme, soil nutrient, and water quality will be collected only at the UWP and ANC sites. Soil health parameters will be collected using tools and methods described in the USDA NRCS Soil Quality Test Kit Guide. These kits will be purchased for each location. Sample analysis for soil enzymes and soil nutrients will be conducted at UWP for both the UWP and ANC sites by Dr. Kishan Mahmud following the methods described within the NRCS Soil Health Technical Note.A rainfall simulator will be utilized to determine the impact of practices on water quality at the plot scale. The project will utilize rainfall simulators designed for the National Phosphorus Project. A complete description of the apparatus and methods are included in the publication by Humphry et al. (2002).