Source: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI submitted to NRP
SOIL MINERALOGY AND N SYNCHRONY: QUANTIFYING CONTEXTUAL LINKAGES BETWEEN SOIL HEALTH AND CROP N
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026934
Grant No.
2021-67019-35068
Cumulative Award Amt.
$499,613.00
Proposal No.
2021-07381
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 1, 2021
Project End Date
May 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[A1401]- Foundational Program: Soil Health
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(N/A)
COLUMBIA,MO 65211
Performing Department
School of Natural Resources
Non Technical Summary
Synchronizing crop N demand with soil N supply continues to challenge agroecosystem sustainability. Complex interactions between biochemical and physical components of soil organic matter cycling have resulted in substantial uncertainty in predicting soil N supply. Increasingly, soil mineral composition is recognized to influence both these components of N cycling, yet mechanisms are understudied and disconnected from agroecosystem outcomes. Moreover, the ability of current soil health metrics to accurately describe these dynamics across differing soil mineralogical contexts is not well understood. These gaps in understanding prevent the prescription and implementation of efficient N management. This project seeks to close those gaps by determining the extent to which soil mineralogy influences soil N availability and related soil health measurements. By leveraging long-term no-till sites (>15 years) across the breadth of mineralogical contexts in the United States, we will quantify the relative importance and directionality of mineralogically mediated controls on N input fate and availability to crops. Additionally, we will integrate USDA-recommended soil health metrics into an N management framework by accounting for site-specific soil mineralogical context. This work will support the program area goals by improving the sustainability of agroecosystem management and will support the priority area goals by advancing understanding of basic biogeochemical processes while contextualizing grower decision support tools (i.e. soil health indicators). Project findings are anticipated to help explain why and predict how soil N supply differs across contexts while distinguishing which soil health indicators can be used by researchers and producers to best capture these processes and outcomes.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
10201101070100%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
0110 - Soil;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
The overall objective of this project is to determine the extent to which soil mineralogy influences soil N availability and soil health measurement outcomes. Specifically, we are looking to: 1) Quantify the distribution of C and N pools across differing dominant soil mineral compositions, 2) quantify changes in N mineralization due to hypothesize physical and biochemical pathways in contrasting tillage systems,3) determine the influence of dominant soil mienral compositino on the partitioning of N inputs and crop N uptake, and 4) improve the interpretation of current USDA-NRCS recommended soil health metrics to manage N across differing soil mineral compositions.
Project Methods
This project will use a target sampling of sites of known mineralogical composition to provide a broad range of edaphic contexts for our research objectives. It will combine for lab and greenhouse studies to disentangle mineralogical effects on N availability. These efforts will results in peer-reviewed publications, extension-facing publications, and presentations to varied audiences. Success of these efforts will be evaluated by either the completion (such as in the case of publications) and in the overall attendances (as in the case of presentations).

Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Producers in Illinois (IL), Iowa (IA), Ohio (OH), Kentucky (KY), Maryland (MD) and North Dakota (ND) Changes/Problems:The projects PI at the University of Missouri left for another job, so the new PI will take over the project so there has been a slight delay in activity. The PI change process has been started within Missouri and USDA has been notified as well. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work on the tasks in progress will continue and work will begin on those that were not started.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Table 1. Current status of project objectives and tasks. Objective and associated tasks Status Objective 1: Quantify distribution of C and N pools across differing dominant soil mineralogies Task 1.1 Completed Task 1.2 In progress Task 1.3 In progress Objective 2: Quantify changes in N mineralization due to hypothesized physical and biochemical pathways in contrasting tillage systems. Task 2.1 In progress Task 2.2 Not started Task 2.3 Not started Objective 3: Determine mineralogical influences on the partitioning of N inputs and crop N uptake. Task 3.1 In progress Task 3.2 Not started Task 3.3 Not started Objective 4: Improve the interpretation of current USDA-NRCS recommended soil health metrics to manage N across mineralogies Task 4.1 In progress Task 4.2 Not started Task 4.3 Not started

Publications


    Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:We plan to reduce the number of intact cores used in the greenhouse experiment out of concerns from some of our collaborators about the implications for their long-term no-till plots. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?After we begin sampling, we will immediately begin sample analysis for Goal 1 and begin preparation for Goal 2.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? This project was delayed one year by COVID, so sample collection has yet to begin. We anticipate our sampling expedition to begin in the next month (mid-May 2022).

    Publications