Agreement Number
12-207
Awardee Name
Board of Regents, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln
Grant Type
Classic
Awardee State/Territory
Nebraska
Involved States/territories
Nebraska
Award Year
2012
Start Date
End Date
Award Amount
$490,340.00
Production/Use
Farmland Agricultural
Resource Concern (Broad)
Soil
Resource Concern (Specific)
Cover cropping
Soil Health
Soil Structure
Conservation Practice(s)
Cover Crop
Project Background
The main goal of our project is to provide data, information, and collaborations for the integration of water balance, Energy balance, and microclimate parameters in cover crop recommendations and management practices. Under this purpose, the objective of this project is to develop the relationship of cover crop effects on soil quality and water availability for field crop production to atmospheric and environmental parameters. Following this objective, our specific goals are to:
• Measure surface water balance components, including precipitation, crop evapotranspiration, and deep percolation, at our primary field site and estimations for the additional field sites.
• Measure surface Energy balance components and other standard weather variables at our primary field site: latent heat, sensible heat, soil heat flux, soil temperature, soil water content, incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation, surface albedo, net radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed and direction.
• Measure soil water holding capacity and water availability parameters, including field capacity, permanent wilting point, particle size distribution, bulk density, and infiltration capacity.
• Measure soil health and fertility parameters for various soil layers at our primary and additional field sites: soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and sulfur concentrations, organic matter content, pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and sodium concentration.
• Measure plant physiological parameters, including leaf area index, biomass production, and plant height, at our primary and additional field sites.
• Model cover crop plant parameters, such as crop coefficients, and soil properties, such as water holding capacity, as functions of measured Energy balance, water balance, and microclimate parameters to increase predictive capabilities.
• Determine, through qualitative or quantitative means, the effects of Cover Crops from previous years on field crop productivity given the current weather and management conditions.
• Transfer data and information for incorporation of soil, surface Energy, water, and microclimate parameters into cover crop recommendations, tools, and Extension Services and NRCS guidelines.
• Measure surface water balance components, including precipitation, crop evapotranspiration, and deep percolation, at our primary field site and estimations for the additional field sites.
• Measure surface Energy balance components and other standard weather variables at our primary field site: latent heat, sensible heat, soil heat flux, soil temperature, soil water content, incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation, surface albedo, net radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed and direction.
• Measure soil water holding capacity and water availability parameters, including field capacity, permanent wilting point, particle size distribution, bulk density, and infiltration capacity.
• Measure soil health and fertility parameters for various soil layers at our primary and additional field sites: soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and sulfur concentrations, organic matter content, pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and sodium concentration.
• Measure plant physiological parameters, including leaf area index, biomass production, and plant height, at our primary and additional field sites.
• Model cover crop plant parameters, such as crop coefficients, and soil properties, such as water holding capacity, as functions of measured Energy balance, water balance, and microclimate parameters to increase predictive capabilities.
• Determine, through qualitative or quantitative means, the effects of Cover Crops from previous years on field crop productivity given the current weather and management conditions.
• Transfer data and information for incorporation of soil, surface Energy, water, and microclimate parameters into cover crop recommendations, tools, and Extension Services and NRCS guidelines.
Project Scale
Multi-farm
Project targeted to Historically Underserved producers?
No
Final Report URL
Awardee Technical Contact Name
Saut Irmak