Progress 02/01/17 to 01/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The final reporting period included conference presentations, on campus poster sessions at Purdue, scientific peer-reviewed publications, field experiential teaching for undergraduates in field soil research, and programming and one farm demonstration day for international small shareholder producers for soil health management. Soil health testing kits and methodologies were compiled for further distribution in 2020 to low-income indigenous communities in the Andes as part of the Purdue Arequipa Nexus Institute. Training to use the test kits and conduct soils field and laboratory analysis also included Peruvians students who do not have opportunities for hands-on cross-cultural learning. Additionally, the project director mentored a PhD student at Colorado State through the Women In Soil Ecology network, starting a collaborative meta-analysis on soil organic amendments. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training: The project has provided the PD opportunities for training from academic institutions such as Mass Spectrometry Summer School (U of WI - Madison), Mastering Mentoring (Dr. Brad Johnson - US Naval Academy), and threedevelopment workshops on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Allyship across-genders at Purdue University.Furthermore, the PD has continued mentoring with the Women in Soil Ecology group, including initiating a collaborative manuscript on soil organic amendments with the mentee. The PD and two selected students will continue training with Prof Jason Ackerson toward digital soil mapping of laboratory measured biogeochemistry in agricultural fields. This pairs with the trainings and data collected from portable X-Ray fluorescence and Visible Near Infrared Spectroscopy as highlighted in the previous report. Professional development: Participation funded by this grant with the Soil Science Society of America allowed sharing of project data with the scientific community, as well as building and strengthening the PD's network of research scientists in soil biogeochemistry and agriculture. The PD also participated on a panel at Columbia University on Biological Solutions to Climate Change as part of the New Carbon Economy Consortium Forum in Jan 2020. This event again expanded the PD's scientific network and strengthened current connections within the soil carbon and agriculture communities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Aside from scientific communities reading the peer-reviewed publications and attending the two international academic conferences (AGU and SSSA), the research and scientific knowledge on field methods within the initial project has fed into international extension. Knowledge about field tests for infiltration rates, aggregate stability and slaking, and bulk density measurements now are integrated within the Field Soil Health Testing Kit developed for small shareholder farmers in the Andes. These tests incorporated in the initial dryland-wheat study now inform the methods used in the thesis work of a Masters' student from the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin (UNSA). The measurements with Field Soil Health Testing Kits measure of soil physical properties, aggregation, and color were first demonstrated to community members in the highlands of Arequipa in May of 2019. Undergraduates from Purdue and UNSA were both participating in soil data collection in the field, sample preparation, the field demonstration day, andlaboratory analysis. Concepts of soil productivity and soil health have been presented at two massive workshops hosted at Purduewith international collaborators, faculty, and administrators, most whom work far outside of the field of soil science. Additionally, this work on soil management in agricultural lands was shared in popular online articles such as Purdue News Room and the magazine of Quality Assurance and Food Safety. The PD also writes about the projects weekly on social media, reaching a diverse audience (+650 individuals), and the PD also uses this venue to amplify the voices of women and minorities in STEM. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The initial project goals to quantify the impact of organic amendments in the dryland wheat site have been realized, and the PD continues to evaluate the impact of soil organic amendments through a new meta-analysis. A database has been compiled of published, peer-reviewed agricultural experiments, spanning 12 countries around the globe, with the earliest data collected over 100 years ago. The database includes dryland systems, with rainfed agriculture, and will be useful to assess differences in organic amendment impact on soil across ecosystems. Ultimately this meta-analysis will reveal the most effective amendments out of these experiments, and the amount of soil carbon accumulation over time and depth up to 300cm. The initial two-year field experiment was completed in 2018, and the laboratory analysis finished in 2019; all field activities and analyses are complete and will contribute to a final scientific manuscript. Further the submitted major change to this project, switching from the column analysis to expanding the I2C low-cost soil moisture sensors, proved fruitful in the final reporting year. The knowledge acquired by the PD on this project and the field equipment will be reinstalled at a new agricultural experiment station to report soil moisture and temperature between and within crop rows in a hyper-arid environment. Ultimately this will feed into study of soil development over time in arid agricultural zones and potentially evaluate new innovative management strategies.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Foster, E.J., Bass, P., Wallenstein, M., Cotrufo, M.F., 2020. Precision biochar and inoculum applications shift bacterial community structure and increase specific nutrient availability and maize yield. Applied Soil Ecology.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Pressler, Y., Bartholomew, M., Benton, C., Bucko, S., Covitt, B., Foster, E.J., Hunter-Lazslo, M., Morrison, A., Parker, S., Urban, S., Moore, J.C., Cotrufo, M.F., 2019. Teaching authentic soil and plant science in middle school classrooms with a biochar case study. American Biology Teacher, Inquiry and Investigations.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America Conference Oral " How Can Soil Health Assessments Translate into Best Management Practices for Irrigated Agriculture in the Desert of Southern Peru?", San Antonio, TX, Nov 10-13, 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
American Geophysical Union Poster Carbon accumulation and heavy metal concentrations in the recently irrigated desert of southern Per� , San Francisco, CA, Dec 9-13, 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
New Carbon Economy Consortium Panel Paradigms, nuances, and knowledge gaps: Understanding soil carbon vulnerability New York, NY, Jan 27-28, 2020.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Li, M., Foster E.J., Le, P.V.V. Le, Yan, Q., Kumar, P., Stumpf, A., Hou, T., Papanicolaou, A.N., Wacha, K., Wilson, C.G., Wang, J., Kumar, P., Filley, T. In revision. Correlation of microtopographic variability in predicted soil moisture persistence and measured surface soil geochemistry through application of a new dynamic wetness index.
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Progress 02/01/18 to 01/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Through conference presentations, publications, mentoring,teaching, and experiential learning, the second reporting period reached international scientific community, the Project Directormentored two graduate students, and one new Purdue University undergraduate, and two field technicians in CO. Additionally as part of the PD's expanding agricultural work with organic amendments, researchers of the Arequipa Nexus Institutewill adpot this experimental design for a sandy field site in Southern Peru. Through this Nexus project fivestudents andthree professors in Peru in agronomy received field sampling and laboratory training and the PD conductedoutreachwith Soil Health Testing kits to producers in the region of Majes, Peru. Changes/Problems:The use of the USDA NIFA experimental design and exact laboratory analysis will expand to the PD's current Postdoctoral Work in an international collaboration of Purdue University with the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin in Arequipa Peru, as part of the Arequipa Nexus Institute for Food, Energy, Water, and the Environment. In this way the PD's experience through the NIFA experiment will have wider impacts and contribute to building agricultural research capacity internationally. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training activities during the second reporting period included: 1) Development of a two week module on Soil Organic Amendments and Aggregate Size Classes for the Purdue Soil Biogeochemistry Class (EAPS 518) 2) PD mentorship within the Women in Soil Ecology (WISE) group of a PhD candidate at Colorado State 3) Expansion of the organic amendment project design and methods to agriculture in a desert site in southern Peru as part of the Arequipa Nexus Institute, with training in X-Ray florescence for field analysis of soil geochemistry, and meetings with companies describing techniques to correlation Visible Near Infrared field spectroscopy to assess soil physicochemical properties. 4) Training on field soil infiltration and Madera bulk density measurements occurred for two technicians at Colorado State University. 5) Further mentorship within the NIFA project is occurring with a new undergraduate laboratory technician at Purdue. Within the second reporting period professional development included: 1) PD began developing an AGU session proposal with collaborators from Colorado State and Purdue on managing soil biogeochemistry 2) PD gained the technical laboratory skills to create a budget, order equipment, and set up a soil laboratory at the Universidad Nacional de San Augustin for basic soil properties (texture, EC, pH) and aggregate size classes. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from this research project and parallel projects with organic amendments reached international scientific audiences through publication in the peer-reviewed open access journalAgriculture (Switzerland), and through presentation at the American Geophysical Union Conference in Washington DC, and through project design inthe Purdue-UNSAArequipa Nexus Institute on organicamendment impacts on agriculture and soil health. Further graduate students at Purdue University received laboratory training in a two week course module on Soil Organic Amendments and Aggregate Stability, in the upper division course "Soil Biogeochemistry" (EASP 518). Five students and three professors from Agronomy and Chemistry at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin (UNSA) also participated in a short version of this training, to learn techniques in wet-sieving. Further students at UNSA also learned soil sampling techniques over one week at the Centro de Investigación, Enseñanza y Producción Agrícola. The PD also currently closely mentors a PhD Candidate at Colorado State University through the Women in Soil Ecology program, a Masters student at Purdue University, and with a team of Purdue Faculty designed an Undergraduate Research Internship about organic amendments in agriculture for five Purdue students and 5 UNSA students with a field trip to Peru and workshop and final presentation in Indiana. Also as part of the Arequipa Nexus Institute the Project Director designed informational interview questions and a presentation to explain the Soil Health Testing Kits currently in development for producers, with management recommendations likely to include organic amendments for the sandy soils. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will analyze all of the data from the two year field experiment, and write a scientific article for peer review. We will assess if the crop water use efficiency data (isotopic 13C analysis) must be rerun to augment our current dataset.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
As climate change projections indicate higher temperatures and increased variability in rainfall events, agricultural producers must adapt to lower water availability. Particularly in semi-arid areas in the United States where rain-fed agriculture dominates the landscape, producers need additional strategies to optimize water management. This project explores alternative options for producers to manage water through soil amendments. The overall objective of the project was to test the effect of three amendments (manure, biochar, and super absorbent polymer) on surface soil structure, infiltration rates, and water storage. In the second reporting period, the researchers completed a second crop rotation of corn, final infiltration measurements, bulk density, and water stable aggregate size class analysis. Data was collected by the PD, two field technicians at Colorado State University, and an undergraduate technician at Purdue. Samples also were leveraged for use in a Soil Biogeochemistry upper level course at Purdue University. Overall the results show no differences between amendment types nor between the three soil types that existed between the blocks. At this preliminary phase in the analyses, this study offers no conclusive evidence that surface applied amendments impact surface water or soil aggregation, however repeated measured analysis must still be conducted on water storage throughout the profile and the steady state infiltration measurements. Observations of changes to soil structure via increased aggregation may require experimental study periods beyond two years. Objective 1: Quantify the influence of organic amendments on plant available water and crop yield. Under the first objective, (1) water storage in the profile still needs to be analyzed in further detail and (2) for the second growing season, the maize yield measurements proved difficult to analyze, as only 13 out of 48 plots produced maize ears. Several rows of seeds were consumed by ground squirrels before germination, resulting in patchy plot level data. Therefore the corn biomass was used to represent crop response. Although treatment did not impact maize biomass, the block (ie, the soil type) did influence maize biomass significantly. Statistical analysis first was conducted as the study was designed, with blocks as fixed effects, and no significant differences between treatments were observed; thus an analysis with block as a random effect was conducted, as the blocks contained different soil types. The soil types by block follow: Block 102 was a weld silt loam (<15% fine/course sand), plot 209 was a Platner Silt Loam, grades into a Norka-Colby Complex (Grading to Fine-silty mixed, superactive, mesic aridic argiustolls), Block 307 was a Rago silt loam (Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Argiustolls) and Block 408 was a Platner Silt Loam, grades into a Norka Colby Complex (Grading to Fine-silty mixed, superactive, mesic aridic argiustolls) (M. Vigil, 2017, personal communication). For maize biomass plot 102 and 209 had significantly higher means (1.12 and 1.06 Mg/ha) than plot 307 and 408 (0.06 and 0.08 Mg/ha) (for all pairwise comparisons P < 0.0001). Surface soil moisture measurements also did not significantly differ between treatment, only over time (P < 0.001) and between blocks (P < 0.001). The highest mean surface soil moisture over two years occurred in plot 408 (15.9%) and the lowest in 102 (12.2%), which did not follow the patterns in maize biomass. The infiltration and steady state fluxes still require in depth analysis. Objective 2: Analyze the impacts of organic amendments on soil structure and total water storage in the soil profile. Under objective two for the second reporting period, data on soil moisture storage has been cleaned and prepared for analysis. Priority was given to collecting data on the soil stable aggregate size classes in the laboratory. After two years in the field, the amendments did not impact the water stable aggregation, but the different blocks showed differences in large macroaggregates >2mm (P = 0.02), with 1.3% higher macroaggregation in Block 307. The laboratory analysis of soil aggregation will conclude with a quantification of the percent of sand particles within the microaggregate fraction to check for differences between treatments. Furthermore, the amendment and soil type did not have an effect on soil surface bulk density. Objective 3: Develop inexpensive soil moisture sensors and data loggers over cellular network as open source technology available for widespread use. Under the third objective, the mentorship of one undergraduate at Colorado State University lead the pursuit of a Master's degree. This student is continuing to develop these soil moisture sensors in collaboration with Dr. Jay Ham. An additional graduate student at Colorado State University presented the Arduino microprocessor technology in use for soil sensors and weather stations to send data via cellular network at the June 2018 Akron Farmer Field Day. Overall, preliminary results from this project demonstrate no indication of increased yields, surface soil moisture content, nor increased aggregation after two years of soil amendment. Analysis of the second year and combined data set for infiltration and soil profile moisture content is still ongoing. However, this project has had lasting impacts in education promoting one student to pursue a Master's, a hands-on two week laboratory module for an upper division Soil Biogeochemistry Class, and provided the PD with experience to expand methods instruction internationally in a newly developed laboratory.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Pressler, Y., Hunter-Laszlo, M., Bucko, S., Covitt, B.A., Urban, S., Benton, C., Bartholomew, M., Morrison, A.J.*, Foster, E.J., Parker, S.D., Cotrufo, M.F., Moore, J.C. (in press). Teaching authentic soil and plant science in middle school classrooms with a biochar case study. The American Biology Teacher.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Foster, E.J., Fogle, E.J., Cotrufo, M.F. 2018. Sorption to pine biochar impedes �-glucosidase and acid phosphatase enzyme activities. Agriculture (Switzerland).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Foster, E.J., Baas, P., Wallenstein, W.D., Cotrufo, M.F. 2018. Paired analysis of soil bacterial amplicon sequence variants and nutrient dynamics in maize after inoculum and biochar addition. Washington D.C., Dec 10-14, 2018.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Schulze, D.G., Filley, T.R., Brecheisen, Z., Lopa, J.A., Foster, E.J., Zuniga, L.D., Polanco, H.G., Javfert, C.T., Leon-Salas, D., Stott, D.E., Gonzalez, J.M., Ramson, J., Ynyachi Aco, P.R., Porfinio, J., Villalta, M. 2018. Tracing deep biogeochemical impacts in the intensively managed desert region of Arequipa, Peru. Washington D.C., Dec 10-14, 2018.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Foster, E.J, Pressler, Y., Stott, D., Cotrufo, M.F. In prep. Meta-analysis of soil organic amendment changes to carbon stocks and allocation to pools. Interface Focus. (Submission in Aug 2019).
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Progress 02/01/17 to 01/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:In the first reporting period, the conferences attended reached these targeted audiences: an international community ofsoil scientists, graduate students, crop consultants, and producers in eastern Colorado. My additional efforts included mentoring two undergraduate technicians, instructing a soil and crop science Master's student, and creating a high school science presentation and data 'nugget' for classroom use. Further, my participation in two of the Colorado "Farm Forum" events on organic carbon management expanded outreach to disadvantaged small shareholder farmers in the region. Also as a Sustainability Leadership Fellow through the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State, I have received training on science communication and shared my agricultural research with this broad community of students and faculty. Changes/Problems:As a new, developing technology, several iterations of the capacitive soil moisture sensors had to be tested. Developing the sensor design, creating the proper code for data logging, and testing before field implementation proved to be a more intensive process than anticipated. Since the development of these sensors for future use in agriculture is a major contribution to the field, we seized the opportunity and changed our final Objective 3 to include this work. We no longer plan to conduct the laboratory column study to measure amendment rates in different soil textures, especially as the field site has several soil types that will partially achieve this original objective. After we shifted the third objective to design and implementation of low-cost continuous moisture sensors, we completed tests of the microprocessors and installed the sensors successfully in the field. However, after installation in the remote field site, we determined that the microprocessors use a cellular network unavailable at our location. Due to this issue, we need to wait for further development of an LTE microprocessor to begin collecting data (The new processor is expected to be released in the winter of 2018 from the Internet of Things platform "Particle"). We hope to make this technology open source for other researchers and farmers. This new objective will develop inexpensive monitoring of continuous soil moisture, remotely connecting scientists and farmers to their data and fields, leading to more efficient water management. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Activities for the PD included certificate and training on neutron density gauge measurements, on soil sprinkler infiltrometer measurements with USDA researcher Dr. Joel Schneekloth, and collaborating with Dr. Jay Ham on code and design for soil moisture sensors and data logging networks. Two undergraduates received training on grain nutrient analysis via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, C and N elemental analysis, and one-on-one mentoring during installation of soil moisture sensors, and field measurements of yield and infiltration. Professional development for the PD occurred at two international conferences: The International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter (Harpenden, UK) and the American Geophysical Union (New Orleans, US). Locally the PD presented at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab International Colloquium and the Soil Ecology Society Meeting (Fort Collins, CO). This project has allowed the PD to network with international soil scientists, USDA-ARS researchers, and programming specialists for data logging. Development in science communication, through COMPASS programs in the Colorado School of Global Environmental Sustainability provided the PD with experience interviewing with science journalists from national and state public radio, and the opportunity to participate in developing a new college radio station Sustainability Digest on local scientific research efforts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been presented locally at the Eastern Colorado Crop Conference to share the first year data with crop consultants and producers. We also prepared data for use in high school science classrooms to test the impact of organic amendments on yield and soil water content and presented our experience with the scientific process. The PD retains connection with high school students to advise on specific soil related projects. Also a group of 80+ individuals including small shareholder farmers, consumers, and non-profits gather at the 'Farm Forum' meeting, where the PD participates and networks with locals struggling to determine best management practices to build healthy soils. Further, this research has been shared with the School of Global Environmental Sustainability workshops to that broad community of faculty and students. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period to accomplish these objectives, we will: -Assess differences in soil texture to account for differences between blocks in the field; -Continue to monitor soil moisture at the surface and throughout the profile; -Measure yield and infiltration rates after the next crop harvest; -Collect final soil samples to analyze structure via aggregate stability; -Characterize the organic amendments through laboratory analyses; and -Connect continuous soil moisture sensors to the LTE network and new data loggers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
As drought increases across the US, better management of soil water will help farmers maintain crop yield under limited moisture conditions. Drought and unpredictable precipitation will disproportionately affect dryland farmers, who depend on rainfall alone to water crops. We need to develop regional, on-farm solutions to increase soil water infiltration and storage for crop use. Previous work in semi-arid areas, such as the High Plains region of Colorado, indicates that soil water acts as the limiting factor in crop growth and yield. Management strategies that increase soil water storage may include: low or no tillage, cover cropping, rotation or continuous cropping, and adding organic amendments. Widely used organic amendments, including manure and compost can increase soil water storage and crop growth, but typically require reapplication. Two new novel soil amendments may provide long-term changes in soil water holding capacity: a charcoal-like product called "biochar" and super-absorbent polymer. The highly stable biochar amendment contains many micropores that increase the volume of water held in the soil. The super-absorbent polymer actually expands with added water, acting like a sponge. While the super-absorbent polymer could last up to five years in the soil, the biochar may last over one hundred years, providing a longer term solution to soil water management. We hypothesize that both amendments will increase the amount of water in the soil by increasing infiltration of rain and surface soil moisture content. Understanding the impact of these two novel amendments in dryland systems will provide farmers information on long-term soil solutions to maintain yield even in drought years. Objective 1: Quantify the influence of organic amendments on plant available water and crop yield. The main contribution of this project will come from understanding the effect of these novel amendments on dryland yield potentials. The project entails two years of field measurements and analysis at the USDA Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, CO. In the Fall of 2016 the field managers (David Poss and Linda Hardesty) and project director (PD, Erika Foster) tilled in the organic amendments: biochar (3.7 t ac-1), super-absorbent polymer (0.02 t ac-1), manure (4.2 t ac-1), and set up control plots without amendments. We planted winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L., in mid-October 2016, and harvested in July 2017. Due to patchy germination, and differences in soil types, data will require further analysis to remove outliers and to analyze the effect of soil type on yield. Although initially causing more variable data, the block design of the project and high replication may allow an additional analysis of soil type interaction with the amendments. We collected data on crop physiology and winter wheat yield in the first year of the project. Average wheat yields adjusted for moisture content were: control 30.7 bu/ac, manure 21.65 bu/ac, polymer 32.69 bu/ac and biochar 32.93 bu/ac. Initial analysis of variance showed that soil amendment slightly impacted yield (p = 0.059). Direct pairwise comparisons revealed no differences between the control versus biochar or polymer treatments. Both the polymer and the biochar had higher yields than the manure treatment (p < 0.10). The grain moisture content in the manure plots was lower than the biochar or polymer (p <0.05). Further investigation revealed high variability in manure plots for one block, which starts to explain the lower yields with manure amendments. Data analysis of crop physiology including plant height may also explain some variability. Next, we will measure the plant water use efficiency using 13C/12C isotopic ratio data on grain samples. At this point the biochar and polymer had the highest yields, although not significantly different from the control after only one year. Final yield data from the second year of planting will bolster our findings and help to predict treatment effects over time. Objective 2: Analyze the impacts of organic amendments on soil structure and total water storage in the soil profile. During the growing season the PD, along with two undergraduate technicians (Leah Carter and Sean Uhle), measured soil surface properties through the first set of infiltration measurements. The monthly water storage and surface volumetric water content measurements were carried out by the PD, using a neutron attenuation probe and time domain reflectometer, respectively. The neutron probe data is still under analysis for changes over time and specific depths to 180cm. Overall, average water content throughout the soil profile was: control 18.0%, manure 18.9%, polymer 19.1% and biochar 17.3%. The volumetric water content differed over time, with lower water content later in the season in December (p < 0.001). Averaged over time, surface soil moisture was as follows: control plots 11.48%, manure 12.13%, polymer 12.04%, and biochar 12.04%. Further analysis of soil type will help to explain variable trends, as one field block tended to maintain a higher surface moisture content. Amendments did not have a significant effect on surface soil moisture averaged over the first year. Our initial results do show slight differences in yield and soil water content depending on specific amendment addition. The soil moisture data highlights the water storage at depth in this dryland system, as our observed average subsurface water content was greater the surface measurements. As we continue monthly measurements of the soil water profile and collect final data on infiltration rates, soil aggregate structure analysis, and crop yield, we will develop recommendations for best management practices in this semi-arid dryland system. Objective 3: Develop inexpensive soil moisture sensors and data loggers over cellular network as open source technology available for widespread use. (Obj. 3 changed due to new opportunities arising in the field of soil moisture measurements. See "project change" for more details). A second component of this project includes the development of inexpensive continuous soil moisture sensors to transmit data over cellular network. The PD is working with expert Dr. Jay Ham and Master's student Sam Gallo to develop this new "Internet of Things" (IoT) technology. These sensors incorporate a capacitive sensor with a microprocessor that can be purchases online, accessible to small farmers as well as large producers globally. The development of this tool will be open source, available to the public and could revolutionize soil science and water management with inexpensive moisture monitoring (<$25/sensor). All 48 sensors are built and installed, and we are waiting for a new microprocessor with LTE connection to come out in the winter of 2018 to begin data collection over the network. The PD will calibrate and then demonstrate this sensor network at the June 2018 Akron Farmer Field Day.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, EJ. Gallo, W. Hamm, J., Cotrufo, M.F. 2017. Presentation. The mystery of moisture: Soil water monitoring. Natural Resource Ecology Lab Colloquium. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, E.J., Fogle, E.J., Cotrufo, M.F. 2017. Sorption to wood biochar impedes soil enzyme activity. Biology and Fertility of Soils. Submitted.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, E.J. Bass, P. Wallenstein, M.D., Cotrufo, M.F. 2017. Presentation. Microbial inoculation with engineered biocarbon: Effects on nutrient availability and crop yield. International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter. Harpenden, UK.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, E.J., Fogle, E.J., Cotrufo, M.F. 2017. Presentation. Wood biochar impedes soil enzyme activity: A Story of Interactions. American Geophysical Union, New Orleans, LA, USA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, E.J. Ramlow, M. 2017. Presentation. From biochar to biocarbon: Transitions to targeted application. Eastern Colorado Crop Conference, Fort Morgan, CO, USA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Foster, EJ. 2017. So you want to become a scientist. High school presentation, Westen County School District, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Pressler, Y., Foster, E.J., Moore, J.C., Cotrufo, M.F., 2017. Coupled biochar amendment and limited irrigation strategies do not affect a degraded soil food web in a maize agroecosystem, compared to the native grassland. GCB Bioenergy 112. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12429
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