Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:undergraduate and graduate students, technical service providers, farmers and producers, industry Changes/Problems:The research scientist conducting the modeling on our project left for a new position in the fall of 2019. We experienced significant delays in recruiting a new researcher to take her place, and then have been grappling with the disruption of the COVID pandemic. Both of these issues have slowed our progress toward publication. We should have our final two papers submitted in the first quarter of 2021 What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Over the life of the project, we have afforded training opportunities to over ~12 undergraduate students who assisted with field sampling and lab analysis. Many of these undergraduate students conducted independent research associated with the project, which they presented at the annual UNH Undergraduate Research Conference. Three of these former undergraduate students are currently enrolled in graduate programs in environmental science and another currently works with the Nature Conservancy. Professional Development Early in the project, we met at the UNH Organic Dairy Research Farm with a group of high school Earth science teachers describing the project and discussing ways in which teachers can use project goals and activities as context for developing novel and hands-on Earth science curricula in their classrooms How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We disseminated results to communities of interest through both formal and informal activities, reaching a broad array of stakeholders. Informal activities: June 2016: research demonstration at one of our study sites, Wolfe's Neck Farm, for NRCS soil conservationists, directors of the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, American Farmland Trust, and farm staff showing our soil and trace gas monitoring protocols and brainstorming synergies between our research and other initiatives. July 2016: A pasture walk sponsored by NOFA Vermont and Organic Valley at another farm within our study, Franklin Farm, that featured informal discussions of pasture improvement, herd health, and agroecosystem management for building soil organic matter while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. September 2016: A formal presentation plus informal discussion at the Harvard Forest Grazing and Conservation seminar describing project goals and objectives to a group of regional dairy farmers, land trust representatives, farm advocacy groups, and scientists. May 2017: Participation in a short film for international distribution as part of the G8 Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition(GODAN) initiative. Our role in the film was to show how our ongoing measurements of soil biogeochemical processes and real-time monitoring of soil microclimate can contribute to an emerging movement among citizens, farmers, and scientists topromote sustainable agriculture through open source and transparent data collection, modeling, and decision support tools:http://www.godan.info/news/open-farms-godan-documentary-web-series-episode-3. Formal Research Presentations American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (fall 2017, 2018, 2019) Natural Capital Project Symposium (spring 2018) Slow Living Summit (summer 2018) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (spring 2018, 2019) University of Massachusetts (spring 2019) Tufts University (fall 2019) Antioch University New England (fall 2020) University of New Hampshire (fall 2020) Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (fall 2020) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To meet Objective 1, we conducted a spatially intensive soil sampling effort at all of our study sites and analyzed our soil samples for total SOC stocks as well as physiochemical fractions to determine mechanisms of C stabilization (Objective 2). We also conducted a spatially and temporally intensive measurement campaign of greenhouse gas emissions at our study sites (Objective 3), which span a range of management, edaphic, and climatic conditions. The data we collected as part of Objectives 1 through 3 are featured in a manuscript currently in review in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. All of the underlying data and code that generated the results in the paper are on a publicly available github repository: https://github.com/Contosta/Organic-Dairy. To address Objective 4, we developed new parameters for simulating management intensive grazing in the DeNitrification-DeComposition model, which we used to simulate grazing practices at both the farm and regional scales. All of the code, input files, and underlying data needed to run the model are hosted on a web repository for sharing and dissemination with the research community: https://github.com/eecampbell/DNDC_Dairy. We are currently preparing a manuscript for submission that highlights different approaches to simulating management intensive grazing and explores mechanisms by which this management practice might increase soil C storage and minimize GHG emissions. Both staffing changes and the COVID situation slowed our progress on this effort, but our target submission date is February of 2021. The results from the regional model runs formed the database underlying the Northeast Dairy Emissions Estimator (NDEE), which we refined based on our updates to the DNDC model (Objective 5). We are drafting a third manuscript that describes our methodology and results. As above, personnel changes and the pandemic have slowed our progress. We aim to have this paper submitted in spring of 2021. We have broadly shared our results with farmers, technical service providers, industry partners, students, researchers, and the general public (Objectives 6 and 7), and have incorporated feedback from the community in defining future research questions (Objective 8), most recently in proposals to the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center (funded) and the NASA Early Career Investigator program (pending).
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Contosta, A.R., Arndt, K.A., Campbell, E.A., Grandy, A.S., Perry, A., and Varner, R.K., in review, Management intensive grazing on New England dairy farms enhances soil nitrogen stocks and nitrous oxide emissions while having little effect on soil carbon, Agriculture, Ecosystems &Environment.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Ardnt, K.A., E.E. Campbell, A.R., Contosta, C. D. Dorich, P. Ingraham, A.S. Grandy, T. Griffin, A. Perry, and R. K. Varner. Managing intensive rotational grazing systems for soil health and sustainability. in prep.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Ardnt, K.A., EE Campbell, A Contosta, P. Ingraham, J. Deng, W. Salas, C. Dorich, S. Grandy, and R. Varner. Impacts of management intensive grazing on the greenhouse gas budget of New England dairy farms. in prep.
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Graduate students and scientific colleagues Changes/Problems:A research scientist on our project team had a family emergency that slowed work on the modeling aspects of the project that involved regional simulations. These simulations are now underway but will take several months to compute. This prompted us to ask for a second no-cost extension to complete model runs, upgrade our decision support tool using the results of the regional simulations, conduct public outreach, and prepare manuscripts for publication. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We presented our research in professional meetings: the American Geophysical Union (fall 2018) and in seminars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (spring 2019) and the University of Massachusetts (spring 2019). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Complete regional simulations of greenhouse gas emissions within dairy farms across New England, upate NDEE with the results of these simulations, and disseminate our findings with NDEE as the cornerstone of our education and outreach efforts. We will also complete and submit publications based on field measurements and modeling to scientific journals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We continued to prepare site and regional model grazing model runs for DNDC and to prepare the NDEE for updated changes based on the results of these runs.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:general public, non-profit and industry partners, graduate students, and scientific peers Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have continued to employ undergraduate students to assist in lab analysis of soil and greenhouse gas samples, which provides them with real-world analytical skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations- We have presented our research in professional meetings such as the American Geophysical Union (fall 2017), and the Natural Capital Project Symposium (spring 2018), and in seminars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (spring 2018). Outreach- We have also engaged with other audiences, such as in public talks such as the Slow Living Summit (summer 2018). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Finalizing the development of a grazing specific version of Manure-DNDC (Objective 4) and using model results to finish refining the Northeast Dairy Emissions Estimator as an outreach and educational tool (Objective 5). We will also continue to engage stakeholders in a variety of informal and formal settings (Objective 6), and will disseminate our project findings by holding a webinar on our eOrganic website (Objective 7). Finally, we will prepare and submit publications based on our research to both eXtension and peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have completed all field sample collection and lab analysis and are currently in the process of preparing two publications for submission based on these results. Modeling activities have included parameterizing the DeNitrification-DeComposition model in site mode to simulate intensive rotational grazing and then adapting these parameters to simulate rotational grazing when DNDC is run in regional mode for the entire Northeast. Updates and a new design for the NE Dairy GHG Estimator webtool, in collaboration with Applied Geosolutions (AGS) has been planned, and wireframe version created to evaluate webtool appearance and intended function.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Organic dairy farmers,tehnical service providers, and industry partners Changes/Problems:We have encountered significant obstacles in simulating vegetation growth in intensively grazed systems. This has represented a substantial barrier in parameterizing the DNDC model at the site level, for modeling individual farms, and also for calibrating the model to run in regional mode, which underpins the updating of the Northeast Dairy Emissions Estimator. We have identified two possible solutions for simulating intensive rotational grazing in the model, one that captures the spatial dynamics, and the other that simulates the temporal dimensions, and are optimistic that these "fixes" will enable the modeling in this project to move forward. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training has consisted of undergraduate students engaged in collecting and analyzing field data, and thus gaining skills in lab and field techniques. Two of these students conducted individual research projects which they presented at the UNH undergraduate research symposium. Professional development at the UNH Organic Dairy Research Farm with a group of high school Earth science teachers describing the project and discussing ways in which teachers can use project goals and activities as context for developing novel and hands-on Earth science curricula in their classrooms. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?To date, we have disseminated results to communities of interest through both formal and informal activities, reaching a broad array of stakeholders. These include: A research demonstration at one of our study sites, Wolfe's Neck Farm, for NRCS soil conservationists, directors of the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, American Farmland Trust, and farm staff showing our soil and trace gas monitoring protocols and brainstorming synergies between our research and other initiatives. These include: 1) baseline soil sample collection for the National Soil Health Assessment effort of which Wolfe's Neck is a member; 2) a USDA Climate Hub virtual farm tour featuring our ongoing research and education initiatives; and 3) open source platforms for collecting and disseminating our agroecological data and management information for decision support. A pasture walk sponsored by NOFA Vermont and Organic Valley at another farm within our study, Franklin Farm, that featured informal discussions of pasture improvement, herd health, and agroecosystem management for building soil organic matter while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A formal presentation plus informal discussion at the Harvard Forest Grazing and Conservation seminar describing project goals and objectives to a group of regional dairy farmers, land trust representatives, farm advocacy groups, and scientists. Participation in a short film for international distribution as part of the G8 Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative. Our role in the film was to show how our ongoing measurements of soil biogeochemical processes and real-time monitoring of soil microclimate can contribute to an emerging movement among citizens, farmers, and scientists to promote sustainable agriculture through open source and transparent data collection, modeling, and decision support tools: http://www.godan.info/news/open-farms-godan-documentary-web-series-episode-3. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Measurements: We will process soil samples collected during the second year of the project for physiochemical variables, and will complete analysis of greenhouse gas emissions collected during our temporall intensive measurement campaign. Modeling: We will finish parameterizing DNDC to represent pasture growth in intensively grazed systems in order to intialize site- and regional-level model runs for depicting tradeoffs in MIG for enhancing soil C storage while reducing GHG losses.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Measurements: During the first two years of the project, we conducted two soil sampling campaigns to assess how grazing management affects soil carbon stabilization. In year one, we sampled soils from grazed and hayed pastures at all of our study sites to examine differences between management practices. In year two, we conducted a spatially intensive resampling of one of our sites for which we have baseline data to determine changes in soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics over time. We have analyzed soil samples collected during the first year of the project for total soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, potential nitrogen and carbon turnover, and physicochemical organic matter fractions. We are in the process of conducting similar analyses on our year two sample set. During both years, we also conducted a spatially and temporally intensive measurement campaign of greenhouse gas emissions at all of our study sites, which span a range of management, edaphic, and climatic conditions. Modeling: Modeling for this project addresses three areas: 1) collecting and organizing data to set up and run DNDC model simulations, 2) updating DNDC model structure to address problems with simulating pasture regrowth under intensive grazing, and 3) using DNDC model simulations to evaluate potential mechanisms driving patterns in SOC and GHG emissions observed at the three sites included in this study. During the first two years of the project efforts have been concentrated on the first two areas. For data collection and organization, we are using the USDA ARS GRACEnet data collection template, due to its comprehensive structure for aggregating the diverse datasets needed for model development and testing, as well as the future potential to contribute these data to the GRACEnet database (https://www.ars.usda.gov/anrds/gracenet/). We are also working with farm managers at each study site to collect spatially resolved data for intensive grazing management practices- specifically including stocking density and the spatial and temporal extent of intensive grazing within pasture areas- in order to evaluate varying modeling approaches and scales for simulating this practice. Model simulations are set up for one site, using files from a past project with updates to extend into the 2015-current experimental period. We are using these files to test and develop DNDC structure to better simulate pasture regrowth after intensive grazing.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included leaders in climate, natural resource, and agroecosystem fields, farmers, K-12 teachers, and the general public. Changes/Problems:Since receiving the award from the USDA ORG program, one of the lead PIs, Changsheng Li, unfortunately passed away. Dr. Li possessed considerable modeling expertise which we planned to use in supporting a graduate student on this project. Due to his unforeseen passing, we have had to re-organize project personnel to both meet our modeling needs as well as our other goals. To that end, we hired a research scientist to assume responsibilities for the modeling aspects of the work. We alerted the USDA in the spring of 2016 about Dr. Li's death and our plans for fulfilling his role in the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In Y1, the primary avenue for training and professional development was an informal discussion we held at the UNH Organic Dairy Research Farm with a group of high school Earth science teachers describing the project and discussing ways in which teachers can use project goals and activities as context for developing novel and hands-on Earth science curricula in their classrooms. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the training and professional development activities outlined above, we have disseminated results to communities of interest through both formal and informal activities, reaching a broad array of stakeholders. These include: A research demonstration at one of our study sites, Wolfe's Neck Farm, for NRCS soil conservationists, directors of the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, American Farmland Trust, and farm staff showing our soil and trace gas monitoring protocols and brainstorming synergies between our research and 1) baseline soil sample collection for the National Soil Health Assessment effort of which Wolfe's Neck is a member; 2) a USDA Climate Hub virtual farm tour featuring our ongoing research and education initiatives; and 3) open source platforms for collecting and disseminating our agroecological data and management information for decision support. A pasture walk sponsored by NOFA Vermont and Organic Valley at another farm within our study, Franklin Farm, that featured informal discussions of pasture improvement, herd health, and agroecosystem management for building soil organic matter while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A formal presentation plus informal discussion at the Harvard Forest Grazing and Conservation seminar describing project goals and objectives to a group of regional dairy farmers, land trust representatives, farm advocacy groups, and scientists. Participation in a short film for international distribution as part of the by the G8 Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative. Our role in the film was to show how our ongoing measurements of soil biogeochemical processes and real-time monitoring of soil microclimate can contribute to an emerging movement among citizens, farmers, and scientists to promote sustainable agriculture through open source and transparent data collection, modeling, and decision support tools. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the second year of the project, we will conduct our second year of soil greenhouse gas emissions measurements and will complete physiochemical analysis of soil samples. We will also begin development of a grazing specific version of Manure-DNDC (Objective 4) and use model results to begin refining the NDEE (Objective 5). We will continue to engage stakeholders in a variety of informal and formal settings (Objective 6), and will also increase our visibility to the broader public through the eOrganic and the USDA Climate Hub (Objective 7). Already we are collaborating with eOrganic to build a project website and coordinating with the Climate Hub to be featured in their virtual farm tour of Wolfe's Neck Farm. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the second year of the project, we will conduct an additional year of soil greenhouse gas emissions measurements and will complete physiochemical analysis of soil samples. We will also begin development of a grazing specific version of Manure-DNDC (Objective 4) and use model results to begin refining the NDEE (Objective 5). We will continue to engage stakeholders in a variety of informal and formal settings (Objective 6), and will also increase our visibility to the broader public through the eOrganic and the USDA Climate Hub (Objective 7). Already we are collaborating with eOrganic to build a project website and coordinating with the Climate Hub to be featured in their virtual farm tour of Wolfe's Neck Farm. We will also prepare publications for both extension and peer-reviewed journals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the first year of the project, we primarily focused on Objectives 1 through 3 in accordance with our proposed timeline. To meet Objective 1, we conducted a spatially intensive soil sampling effort at all of our study sites and are currently in the process of analyzing soil samples for total SOC stocks as well as physiochemical fractions to determine mechanisms of C stabilization (Objective 2). We also conducted a spatially and temporally intensive measurement campaign of greenhouse gas emissions at our study sites (Objective 3), which span a range of management, edaphic, and climatic conditions. In preparation of addressing Objective 4, we have begun compiling management data required for modeling and have also developed modeling architecture for simultaneously running different versions of the DNDC model as well as other biogeochemical models such as DayCent. Regarding Objective 7, we have disseminated initial project findings and described overall project goals in both formal and informal venues involving a variety of stakeholders.
Publications
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