Soil hydraulic properties as influenced by prairie restoration

Prairies are complex living systems which play a vital role both biologically and ecologically in the environment and support a large amount of wildlife. Prairie restoration is an ecologically friendly way to restore prairie land that was lost due to various reasons. This study evaluated a native prairie and a restored prairie to assess the influence of prairie restoration on soil hydraulic properties. Samples were collected from two prairie sites, a continuous no-till site, a long-term timothy grass site, and a row-crop field. All sites were located in Missouri and have Mexico silt loam (fine, Smectitic, mesic, Vertic Epiaqualfs) soil series. Samples were analyzed for bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil water retention, pore size distribution and In-situ saturated hydraulic conductivity was measured in the field. Results imply that the prairie restoration does significantly influence some hydraulic properties in claypan soils; however, it is unlikely to achieve the original prairie soil characteristics due to the erosion of the top soil

Invisible Network of Drains

Have you ever wonder how Illinois is being so dominant in agriculture? Yes! You are right. You are standing on top of a wide drainage network that remove excess water from Illinois farm lands which made them suitable for farming. Currently there are 9.7 million acres of tile-drained land in Illinois that used for agriculture and pasture production. This image was taken when we dug up an exciting tile drain network to install a device called water in-line control structure. For our surprise we saw the original clay-tile that was installed may be 50 – 60 years ago still in one piece. Currently most tile drains are plastic and installed using powerful tractors. The color change in soil above and below this clay-tile drain shows the fluctuation of the water table. The blackish soil above the tile is where we need to drain and where it support optimum crop growth reducing excess water stress for plants.Ope

Saturated Buffers: What Is Their Potential Impact across the US Midwest?

Because saturated buffers are a new conservation practice, there has been no large-scale assessment of their potential to aid in meeting water quality goals. Publicly available data were used in a stepwise fashion within a geographic information system to estimate the total stream length suitable for saturated buffer implementation across the US Midwest region and the resulting potential nitrate loading reduction from widespread saturated buffer implementation. Approximately 37,760 km of streams (or 75,520 km of stream bank) was deemed suitable to host a saturated buffer, and 3.85 million ha of drained land has the potential to drain to a saturated buffer. These results suggest that implementing saturated buffers widely could result in a 5 to 10% reduction of the estimated N load from midwestern tile-drained land. Saturated buffers can be an important component of plans to achieve water quality goals

Accelerating the development of a sustainable bioenergy portfolio through stable isotopes

Abstract Bioenergy could help limit global warming to 2°C above pre‐industrial levels while supplying almost a fourth of the world's renewable energy needs by 2050. However, the deployment of bioenergy raises concerns that adoption at meaningful scales may lead to unintended negative environmental consequences. Meanwhile, the full consolidation of a bioenergy industry is currently challenged by a sufficient, resilient, and resource‐efficient biomass supply and an effective conversion process. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of how stable isotope approaches have accelerated the development of a robust bioeconomy by advancing knowledge about environmental sustainability, feedstock development, and biological conversion. We show that advances in stable isotope research have generated crucial information to (1) gain mechanistic insight into the potential of bioenergy crops to mitigate climate change as well as their impact on water and nutrient cycling; (2) develop high‐yielding, resilient feedstocks that produce high‐value bioproducts in planta; and (3) engineer microbes to enhance feedstock conversion to bioenergy products. Further, we highlight knowledge gaps that could benefit from future research facilitated by stable isotope approaches. We conclude that advances in mechanistic knowledge and innovations within the field of stable isotopes in cross‐disciplinary research actions will greatly contribute to breaking down the barriers to establishing a robust bioeconomy