By Amy Pendegraft
Articles contained within this post:
- Water Issues: Sediment and Organic Carbon Transport
- Soil Organic Carbon in a Long-term Tillage Experiment
- Tillage, Cropping Intensity, and Climate Effects: A Soil Health Perspective
Water Issues: Sediment and Organic Carbon Transport
Curious about the effects of climate change on water and erosion in the Pacific Northwest? Ryan Boylan works on monitoring organic carbon fluxes due to run-off and erosion, and analyzing how it is affected by tillage practices in the dryland annual cropping region of the Pacific Northwest. He also models run-off and erosion in order to study possible changes under future climate models. Preliminary modeling suggests that run-off and erosion may increase in the future under projected changes in winter temperatures and precipitation.
Ryan Boylan has completed his Master’s Degree in Water Resources at the University of Idaho.
Soil Organic Carbon in a Long-term Tillage Experiment
There has been significant soil organic carbon loss in the Pacific Northwest in the last century, which has both reduced soil health and released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rajan Ghimire presents findings from an experimental site near Pendleton, Oregon, on SOC loss and how it is affected by tillage and nitrogen management practices. His research suggests that reduced tillage approaches and nitrogen application can increase soil organic carbon levels at the surface soil, and hence the sustainability of dryland cropping in the Pacific Northwest.
Rajan Ghimire was a post-doctoral researcher at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center at Oregon State University. Dr. Ghimire is now faculty at New Mexico State University.
Tillage, Cropping Intensity, and Climate Effects: A Soil Health Perspective
Soil health is a critical factor in building agricultural resiliency in an era facing an uncertain future climate. Jason Morrow studies soil health in the Inland Pacific Northwest and how it is affected by climate, tillage practices, and cropping intensification.
Jason Morrow has completed his Masters Degree in Soil Sciences at Washington State University.
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011-68002-30191.
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