Source: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI submitted to NRP
AGROFORESTRY FOR BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
MCINTIRE-STENNIS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1012003
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jan 12, 2017
Project End Date
Jan 1, 2019
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(N/A)
COLUMBIA,MO 65211
Performing Department
School Of Natural Resources
Non Technical Summary
Agroforestry, the deliberate growing of trees or shrubs on agricultural lands with agronomic crops, pasture and/or animals, offers promise as an alternative land-use practice with potential for alleviating some of these environmental and economic problems. The diversification of farm production through agroforestry allows access to several markets at annual and periodic intervals, stabilizing income and increasing global competitiveness. One of the commodities agroforestry is well suited to producing is biomass for bioenergy. The proposed research will investigate the ecological sustainability of such integrated biomass agroforestry plantations. Of all the ecosystem services benefits of agroforestry, carbon sequestration has received the least attention in the United States. Along with carbon sequestration, perennial biomass agroforestry plantations can also provide water quality benefits, particularly in floodplains. This project will also evaluate these ecosystem services provided by biomass agroforestry plantations.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1010110107025%
1010210107025%
1010670107025%
2052410107025%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems; 101 - Appraisal of Soil Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0670 - Short rotation woody crops, including holiday trees; 0110 - Soil; 0210 - Water resources; 2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
The proposal is designed with three specific objectives: (1) Examine belowground competition for nitrogen between trees and crops in biomass agroforestry plantations in order to aid sustainable production systems, (2) Quantify above and belowground carbon sequestration potential of selected temperate agroforestry systems, (3) Quantify water quality benefits of selected bioenergy agroforestry systems, and (4) Disseminate information to the public through field days and farm tours.
Project Methods
Objective 1:An alley cropping configuration with hardwoods (primarily black walnut) and perennial grasses (primarily switchgrass) will be established at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center farm operated by the University of Missouri. Belowground competition for nitrogen between trees and sorghum will be evaluated using 15N enriched (NH4)2SO4. Microplots (1m X 2m) will be established at fixed distances from the tree rows toward the center of the alley at every 3 m. Each microplot will receive a hand application of 15N enriched (NH4)2SO4 with a 10% atom enrichment. Leaf, stem, and roots from the plots receiving the enriched nitrogen will be sampled during the growing season to obtain enough data points to accurately quantify the fate of the labeled nitrogen. Soil sampling will be conducted bi-weekly for a total of 10 times and leaf sampling will be done after germination, at harvest, and 3 times during the growing season. Sampling and analysis of plant materials and soil will be carried out according to Jose et al. (2002) and Allen et al. (2004). Collected plant tissues will be dried at 65 oC for 72 hours and ground using a Wiley Mill to pass through a 1 mm mesh. Proper care would be taken to prevent cross contamination between samples.Soil cores samples will be collected up to a depth of 120 cm using hydraulic equipment. Soil core would be divided into four equal parts, air dried, and ground before analysis for total N and 15N concentrations. Percent N derived from the enriched fertilizer (NDF%) (Jose et al. 2000), percent utilization of fertilizer N (UFN%) (Jose et al. 2000), and percent N recovered from soil (RFNSoil%) (Allen et al., 2004; Daneshgar and Jose, 2009) will be calculated. These measurements will generate valuable information about the uptake and use efficiency of the applied nitrogen by sorghum and Populus.Objective 2: Above and belowground C sequestration will be quantified in alley cropping (black walnut and pecan based alley cropping) and riparian buffer systems in Misosuri and elsewhere in the United States. Where tree measurements are not available but age is known, a simplified model proposed by Marland and Marland (1992) will be used to simulate boveground tree biomass growth, in which the biomass carbon accumulates linearly until half of the maximum yield is reached and the growth slows down subsequently to reach the maximum yield asymptotically. Where appropriate allometric relationships developed based on sub-sample tree harvest, selected to reflect the range of tree size encountered in the area of study, will be used to estimate biomass and carbon.The aboveground portion of each tree will be separated into stem (main shoot up to the starting point of a secondary ramification), branch, twig (diameter <20mm) and leaf. Coarse root mass will be estimated by digging out the stump from a 1.25-m radius hole around the tree to approximately 0.60m depth. Fresh weight of each tree compartment will be recorded and composite samples of approximately 500g taken and oven-dried at 70°C to constant weight. Dry mass of the different fractions will be calculated based on moisture content of the oven-dried samples. Total biomass will be obtained by summation of the individual components of tree biomass estimates and extrapolation to a hectare based on the density of trees. Soil samples will be collected for estimating soil carbon at 3 different depths (0-15, 15-30, 30-45 cm).Crop biomass in alley cropping will be estimated based on harvesting of whole-plant biomass, including roots from sample plots. An elemental analyzer will be used to estimate C% from each biomass component where applicable.Objective 3: We will transform an existing paired watershed project in Novelty, MO to examine the effects of biomass cropping systems on water quality. Switchgrass along with upland buffers of trees and native grasses will be established on one of the watersheds. Conventional corn-soybean rotation will be the practice on the second watershed. The third watershed will be kept as a control. Each treatment is instrumented with a 2-foot H flume, ISCO water sampler (Lincoln, NE, USA), and an ISCO bubbler flow measuring device to record flow rate, water level, sampling time and to collect water samples. These units are removed during the third week of December when the water in the stilling well is frozen. Thus, the sample collection period extends from February/March to late-December each year.Flow measuring devices control the sampler to collect water samples. A 125-ml sample will be collected after each 5 m3 flow, and samples will be composited. Water samples will be transferred from the field to the laboratory and analyzed for sediment and total nitrogen (TN). Unprocessed samples will be refrigerated at 4°C until analysis. After a runoff event, flow rate, water level, and sample intake time data will be downloaded to a laptop computer.A known volume of a well-mixed sample will be filtered through a pre-weighed glass microfiber filter (934-AH) using a vacuum pump (maximum vacuum 7 lbs in−2 above ambient) to estimate sediment weight. These filters will be dried at 105°C to a constant weight. Differences between the tare weights and sample volume will be used to estimate the weight of suspended sediment.A Lachat Quick-Chem 8000 Analyzer (Lachat Instruments, Loveland, CO) will be used to determine TN concentrations. Total nitrogen will be determined using cadmium reduction on unfiltered samples following potassium persulfate digestion (QuikChem Method # 10-107-04-1-C; Pritzlaff 1999). The detection limits for the TN method is 0.002 mg l−1.

Progress 01/12/17 to 01/01/19

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Two graduate students continued their work quantifying ecological interactions in agroforestry Two postdoctoral researchers were trained Another visiting scholar completed a synthesis on ecological considerations in agroforestry system design and helped publish a manuscript Several professionals, students and visiting scholars visited the trials to learn about agroforestry, tree-crop interactions, and ecosystem services How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Refereed journal articles, Conference presentations, and field tours What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A postdoctoral visiting scholar completed her work on quantifying the belowground ecological interactions between trees and crops and demonstrated the benefits of roots of agroforestry species in improving water quality. A graduate student examined the effects of cover crop competition on water uptake of associated corn plants and also on soil microbial properties, soil enzymes and soil carbon. A postdoctoral scholar completed research examining the effects of shade on a number of forage species' productivity and forage quality A review was conducted on agroforestry's benefits with respect to sequestering carbon and other ecosystem services A survey was conducted regarding landowners' willingness to grow biomass crops in Missouri A major synthesis article on temperate agroforestry was completed

Publications

  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jose, S. 2019. Environmental impacts and benefits of agroforestry. In Oxford Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Environment, Oxford University Press USA. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.195
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Zamora, D., Allen S., Apostol, K., Jose, S., Wyatt, G. 2019. Temperate alley cropping systems. In Mosquera-Losada, R. and Prabhu R. (eds.), Agroforestry for Sustainable Agriculture. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, UK.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rankoth L.M., Udawatta, R.P., Veum, K., Algele S., and Jose, S. 2019. Cover crop effects on corn plant sap flow rates and soil water dynamics. Crop Science 59:2227-2236
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Dollinger, J., Lin, C-H., Udawatta. R., Pot V., Benoit P., and Jose, S. 2019. Influence of agroforestry plant species on the infiltration of S-Metolachlor in buffer soils. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 225, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2019.103498
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McGowan, K.G., Byers, P., Jose, S., Gold, M., Thomas, A. 2019. Flower production and effect of flower harvest on berry yields within six American elderberry genotypes. Acta Horticulturae 1265:99-105
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rankoth L.M., Udawatta, R.P., Veum, K., Algele S., and Jose, S. 2019. Cover Crop Influence on Soil Enzymes and Selected Chemical Parameters for a Claypan Corn-Soybean Rotation. Agriculture 9(6), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9060125
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Ayoub N., Costello, C., Jose, S. 2019. Systematic Application of a Quantitative Definition of Marginal Lands in Estimating Biomass Energy Potential in the Missouri/Mississippi River Corridor. Biofuels doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2018.1554945
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jose S., and Dollinger J. 2019. Silvopasture: A sustainable livestock production system. Agroforestry Systems 93: 1-9. doi.org/10.1007/s10457-019-00366-8
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Burli, P., Lal, P., Wolde, B., Jose, S., and Bardhan S. 2019. Factors affecting willingness to cultivate switchgrass: Evidence from a farmer survey in Missouri. Energy Economics 80: 20-29.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Pang, K., Van Sambeek, J.W., Navarrete-Tindall, N.E., Lin, C-H., Jose, S., and Garrett, H.E., 2019. Responses of legumes and grasses to non-, moderate, and dense shade in Missouri, USA. II. Forage quality and its species-level plasticity. Agroforestry Systems 93:25-38. doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0068-7
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Pang, K., Van Sambeek, J.W., Navarrete-Tindall, N.E., Lin, C-H., Jose, S., and Garrett, H.E., 2019. Responses of legumes and grasses to non-, moderate, and dense shade in Missouri, USA. I. Forage yield and its species-level plasticity. Agroforestry Systems 93:11-24. doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0067-8
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rankoth, L., Udawatta, R., and Jose, S. 2019. Agroforestry and biodiversity. Sustainability 11(10), 2879; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102879
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rankoth L.M., Udawatta, R.P., Gantzer, C., Jose, S., Veum, K., and Dewanto H. 2019. Cover Crops on Temporal and Spatial Variations in Soil Microbial Communities by Phospholipid Fatty Acid Profiling. Agronomy Journal 111:1-11, doi:10.2134/agronj2018.12.0789
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cai, Z., Udawatta, R.P., Gantzer C., Jose, S., Godsey, L., and Cartwright l. 2019. Economic impacts of cover crops for a Missouri wheat-corn soybean rotation. Agriculture 9(4):83.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McCaskill, G.L., Jose, S., and Ogram, A.V. 2019. Low-dose herbicide effects on tree establishment and soil nitrogen biogeochemistry within pine savannas. Soil Science Society of America Journal doi:10.2136/sssaj2018.09.0347
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jose, S., Kumar, B.M., and Walter, D. 2019. Ecological considerations in sustainable silvopasture design and management. Agroforestry Systems 93:317-331. doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-0065-2


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. Several graduate students, Agroforestry Academy participants, visiting scholars and other professionals visited the trials to learn about alley cropping and riparian buffers and their water quality benefits 2. 10 graduate student scholars from Indonesia learned about agroforestry's role in carbon sequestration and water quality benefits and received their Masters degrees from the University of Missouri. 3. A doctoral student continued his training in quantifying competition for water in agroforestry. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Refereed journal articles, Conference presentations, and field tours What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Continue existing trials 2. Conduct data analysis 3. Publish refereed journal articles 4. Provide tours to professionals and landowners

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. New alley cropping systems with switchgrass and hardwoods established in 2016 to quantify interactions were maintained. 2. A new synthesis of information regarding the hydraulic lift function provided by trees was initiated. 3. Continued to quantify water quality benefits from existing trials.

Publications

  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Mori G., Johnson, B. Jose, S. 2018. Agroforestry for non-timber forest products: Midwestern United States. In Chamberlain et al. (Eds.), NTFP National Assessment, USDA Forest Service https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs232.pdf
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Jose, S., Gold, M.A., and Garrett, H.E. 2018. Temperate agroforestry in the United States: Current trends and future directions. In Gordon A. (ed.) Temperate Agroforestry. CABI, Wallingford, UK.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Mori G., Gold, M. Jose, S. 2017. Specialty crops in temperate agroforestry systems: Sustainable management, marketing and promotion for the Midwest region of the USA. Motagnini F. (ed). Pp. 331-366. Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty. Springer, The Netherlands.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Jose, Shibu; Gold, Michael; Zamora, Diomy. 2017. Appendix A: Regional summaries: Midwest. In: Schoeneberger, Michele M.; Bentrup, Gary; Patel-Weynand, Toral, eds. 2017. Agroforestry: Enhancing resiliency in U.S. agricultural landscapes under changing conditions. Gen. Tech. Report WO-96. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 177-183.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Schoenberger et al. (Eds.), A National Assessment of Agroforestry, USDA Forest Service https://www.fs.fed.us/research/publications/gtr/gtr_wo96/GTR-WO-96-AppendixA-Midwest.pdf
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Udawatta R.P., Gantzer, C., and Jose, S. 2017. Agroforestry Practices and Soil Ecosystem Services. Pp. 305-327. Madhi Al-Kaisi and Birl Lowery (Eds.), Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems. Academic Publishers.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Dollinger J. and Jose, S. 2018. Agroforestry for soil health. Agroforestry Systems 92:213-219.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: McCaskill, G., Jose, S., Ogram A., and Chauhan A. 2018. Soil nitrogen dynamics as an indicator for longleaf pine restoration. Restoration Ecology 26: 264-274.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Lovell S.T., Dupraz, C., Gold, M., Jose, S., Revord, R., Stanek, E., and Wolz K. 2018. Temperate agroforestry research: considering multifunctional woody polycultures and the design of long-term field trials. Agroforestry Systems 92: 13971415.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rhodes T.K., Aguilar, F.X., Jose, S. and Gold, M.A. 2018. Factors influencing the adoption of riparian forest buffers in the Tuttle Creek Reservoir Watershed of Kansas, U.S.A. Agroforestry Systems 92:739757
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Weerasekara, C.S., Kitchen N.R., Jose, S., Motavalli, P., Bardhan, S., and Mitchell, R.B. 2018. Biomass yield of warm-season grasses affected by nitrogen and harvest management. Agronomy Journal 110: 890-899.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Miah, G.M., Islam, M.M, Rahman, M.A., Ahamed T., Islam M.R., Jose, S. 2018. Transformation of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) orchard into multistoried agroforestry increases system productivity. Agroforestry Systems 92:1687-1697.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Kumar, B.M. and Jose, S. 2018. Phenotypic plasticity of roots in mixed tree species agroforestry systems: review with examples from peninsular India. Agroforestry Systems 92: 59-69


Progress 01/12/17 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Natural resource professionals, non-industrial private forest land owners, farmers and ranchers Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. Several NRCS, FS, and stage agencyprofessionals visited the trials to learn about alley cropping and riparian buffers and their water quality benefits 2. 10 graduate student scholars from Indonesialearned about agroforestry's role in carbon sequestration and water quality benefits. 3. A doctoral student was trained in quantifying competition for water in agroforestry. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Refereed journal articles, Conference presentations, and field tours What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Continue existing trials 2. Conduct data analysis 3. Publish refereeed journal articles 4. Provide tours to professionals and landowners

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. One new alley cropping systems with switchgrass and hardwoods was established to quantify interactions. 2. One new riparian buffer trial was established with biomass crops 3. Above and belowground C estimates were conducted for alley cropping systems 4. Competition for water and N was quantified 5. Water quality benefits were quantified from existing trials.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Bardhan, S., Chattopadhyay A., Jose, S., Chandrasoma, J. 2017. Impact of Boron additions in margninal soils for growth of corn, wheat, soybean, and switchgrass. International Journal of Current Agricultural Sciences 7: 155-159
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Weerasekara C.S.*, Udawatta R.P., Gantzer CJ, Kremer, RJ, Jose, S., and Veum KS, 2017. Effects of cover crops on soil quality: Selected chemical and biological parameters. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 48:2074-2082
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rhodes T.K., Aguilar, F.X., Jose, S. and Gold, M.A. 2018. Factors influencing the adoption of riparian forest buffers in the Tuttle Creek Reservoir Watershed of Kansas, U.S.A. Agroforestry Systems
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Jose, S., Kumar, B.M., and Walter, D. 2017. Ecological considerations in sustainable silvopasture design and management. Agroforestry Systems (in press) doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-0065-2
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Pang, K.*, Van Sambeek, J.W., Navarrete-Tindall, N.E., Lin, C-H., Jose, S., and Garrett, H.E., 2017. Responses of legumes and grasses to non-, moderate, and dense shade in Missouri, USA. I. Forage yield and its species-level plasticity. Agroforestry Systems (in press) doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0067-8
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Pang, K.*, Van Sambeek, J.W., Navarrete-Tindall, N.E., Lin, C-H., Jose, S., and Garrett, H.E., 2017. Responses of legumes and grasses to non-, moderate, and dense shade in Missouri, USA. II. Forage quality and its species-level plasticity. Agroforestry Systems (in press) doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0068-7
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Lovell S.T., Dupraz, C., Gold, M., Jose, S., Revord, R., Stanek, E., Wolz K. 2017. Temperate agroforestry research: considering multifunctional woody polycultures and the design of long-term field trials. Agroforestry Systems (in press)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Kadam S., Abril A., Dhanapal A., Koester R., Vermerris, W., Jose, S., and Fritschi, F.B. 2017. Characterization and regulation of aquaporin genes of Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in response to waterlogging stress. Frontiers in Plant Sciences doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00862
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Mori G., Gold, M. Jose, S. 2017. Specialty crops in temperate agroforestry systems: Sustainable management, marketing and promotion for the Midwest region of the USA. Motagnini F. (ed). Pp. 331-366. Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty. Springer, The Netherlands.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Jose, S., Gold, M., Zamora, D. 2017. A Midwestern summary of agroforestry practices. In Schoenberger et al. (Eds.), A National Assessment of Agroforestry, USDA Forest Service