Quantity and quality of water percolating below the root zone of three biofuel feedstock crop systems

Stenjem, Ryan S.; Thompson, Anita M.; Karthikeyan, K. G.; Lepore, Brian J; Kendall, A. D.; Hyndman, D. W.

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2019.04.008

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Unfertilized and ungrazed, this prairie represented an ecosystem where plant growth was limited by the availability of N; very little N was entering the ecosystem and very little was exiting. Stenjem et al 66 . compared N‐amended continuous corn and N‐amended switchgrass grown for bioenergy production on the same silt loams and found very high nitrate leaching loads in wet (~75 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ) and dry growing years (~225 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ) beneath corn, whereas switchgrass lost little N as nitrate (Table 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil nitrate leaching under grazed cool‐season grass pastures of the North Central US

Jackson

2020

J Sci Food Agric

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Nitrate leaching from agricultural cropping systems contributes to widespread and devastating eutrophication of water bodies globally. In the North Central USA, this problem is acute, with millions of dollars spent annually in efforts to clean up recreational and drinking water. The frequent soil disturbance and exogenous nitrogen (N) amendments applied in annual cropping systems make them major sources of ground-and surface-water nitrate pollution. Perennial grasslands under managed livestock grazing have been touted for their ability to retain soils and nutrients while simultaneously providing milk and meat to society. The present study provides an evaluation of the peer-reviewed literature addressing nitrate leaching loads beneath corn, pasture and prairie in temperate humid and sub-humid regions of the US, with a focus on cool-season grass pastures. Inputs of exogenous N to these agroecosystems comes from wet and dry deposition, livestock manure from imported feed, biological fixation and inorganic N fertilizer. Nitrate loads were highest beneath corn and lowest beneath restored prairie and switchgrass managed for bioenergy. Cool-season grass pastures had relatively low levels of nitrate leaching loads where little or no N was applied. However, where grazed perennial grasslands had inorganic N applied, nitrate leaching loads rivaled those of corn in some cases. When producing milk and meat from livestock, grazed perennial cool-season grass pastures should reduce nitrate leaching loads compared to growing corn that is used to feed livestock in confinement. However, cool-season grass pastures can lose significant nitrate to leaching with moderate-to high-levels of exogenous N inputs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil nitrate leaching under grazed cool‐season grass pastures of the North Central US

Jackson

2020

J Sci Food Agric

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“…Given that farmers typically apply N fertilizer early in the growing season and that the highest NO 3 − leaching flux occurs prior to the establishment of annual crops (Stenjem et al, 2019), seasonal variation in plant-induced nitrification suppression could affect its impact on ecosystem N losses. Root exudate amount and chemical profile vary with plant age and nutrient demand (Chaparro et al, 2013;Oburger & Jones, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra‐ and inter‐annual variability of nitrification in the rhizosphere of field‐grown bioenergy sorghum

et al. 2022

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“…Leading candidates of perennial grasses include miscanthus ( Miscanthus × giganteus J.M. Greef & Deuter ex Hodkinson & Renvoiz) and switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.), which have high water use efficiency and lower N demand relative to maize (Stenjem et al., 2019). Socioeconomic models have projected that >3 million ha of cropland in the United States will need to be converted to energy crop production to meet state and federal standards by 2030 (Oliver & Khanna, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root water uptake of biofuel crops revealed by coupled electrical resistivity and soil water content measurements

Kuhl

Kendall

Dam

et al. 2021

Vadose Zone Journal

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Biofuel crops, including annuals such as maize (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and canola (Brassica napus L.), as well as high-biomass perennial grasses such as miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus J.M. Greef & Deuter ex Hodkinson & Renvoiz), are candidates for sustainable alternative energy sources. However, large-scale conversion of croplands to perennial biofuel crops could have substantial impacts on regional water, nutrient, and C cycles due to the longer growing seasons and differences in rooting systems compared with most annual crops. However, due to the limited tools available to nondestructively study the spatiotemporal patterns of root water uptake in situ at field scales, these differences in crop water use are not well known. Geophysical imaging tools such as electrical resistivity (ER) reveal changes in water content in the soil profile. In this study, we demonstrate the use of a novel coupled hydrogeophysical approach with both time domain reflectometry soil water content and ER measurements to compare root water uptake and soil properties of an annual crop rotation with the perennial grass miscanthus, across three growing seasons (2009-2011) in southwest Michigan, USA. We estimated maximum root depths to be between 1.2 and 2.2 m, with the vertical distribution of roots being notably deeper in 2009 relative to 2010 and 2011, likely due to the drought conditions during that first year. Modeled cumulative ET of both crops was underestimated (2-34%) relative to estimates obtained from soil water drawdown in prior studies but was found to be greater in the perennial grass than the annual crops, despite shallower modeled rooting depths in 2010 and 2011.

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Quantity and quality of water percolating below the root zone of three biofuel feedstock crop systems

Cited by 7 publications

References 42 publications

Soil nitrate leaching under grazed cool‐season grass pastures of the North Central US

Soil nitrate leaching under grazed cool‐season grass pastures of the North Central US

Intra‐ and inter‐annual variability of nitrification in the rhizosphere of field‐grown bioenergy sorghum

Root water uptake of biofuel crops revealed by coupled electrical resistivity and soil water content measurements

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