NCERA_OLD59: Soil Organic Matter: Formation, Function and Management

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[12/06/2002] [08/19/2003] [11/05/2004] [08/09/2005]

Date of Annual Report: 12/06/2002

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 09/16/2002 - 09/17/2002
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2001 - 09/01/2002

Participants

Administrative Advisor: Dr. Gerald Miller, Iowa State University;
Chair: Dr. Ron Turco, Purdue University; Secretary: Dr. Peter Motavalli, University of Missouri;

Members in Attendance:
Deborah Allan - Minnesota, Rhae Drijber - Nebraska, Peter Motavalli Missouri, Charles Rice Kansas, Ron Turco Indiana, Gerald Miller - Administrative Advisor;

Additional members and federal representatives participating through conference call: David Bezdicek Washington, Jonathan Halvorson, USDA-ARS, William Horwath - California, Sigelinde Snapp Michigan, Michelle Wander - Illinois;

Members Absent:
Richard Dick Oregon, Serita Frey New Hampshire, Larry Halverson Iowa, Robin Harris Wisconsin, Laurie Osher - Maine, Robert Todd - North Dakota, Ray Weil Maryland;

Guests:
Gary Tibke - NRCS
Micky Ransom - Kansas State University
Ray Knighton - USDA-CSREES

Brief Summary of Minutes

The annual meeting of NCR-59 was held in Throckmorton Hall on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS on September 16-17, 2002.

Ron Turco, Chair of NCR-59, coordinated the meeting.

Dr. Turco called the meeting to order at 8:30 AM and each participant at the meeting introduced themselves.

The Chair then led a discussion on future joint projects of NCR-59:

7 Projects would need to be beneficial to mutual research programs and not unsupported add-ons;

7 Group should also consider writing joint research proposals to obtain research funds from funding sources, such as NRI, NSF and NIH;

7 Ideas for joint research:

- Biotechnology risk assessment and fate of crop residues from transgenic crops

- Transport of antibiotics from animal wastes

Environmental effects of dissolved organic C

Effects of climate and management on soil C sequestration

Focus on human health issues (e.g. dissolved organic C on chlorination, antibiotic

issues)

An update on collaboration between NCR-59 and the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS) was discussed with Dr. Rice;

NCR-59 is co-sponsoring several symposium at the 2002 American Society of Agronomy Meetings:

7 Economics of Managing for Soil Quality chaired by Dr. Horwath - California;

7 Environmental Impact of Transgenic Crops on Soil Biological Processes and Functions chaired by Dr. Motavalli Missouri and Dr. Robert Kremer, USDA-ARS.

Dr. Turco announced the establishment of a list server for NCR-59 (send a message to NCR59-L@purdue.edu to send a message to the entire NCR-59 membership).

Members discussed requiring two-paragraph summary research reports for future NCR-59 meetings.

7 The first paragraph would be required and would be a research report of the individual NCR-59 member.

7 The second paragraph would be optional and would describe relevant research in the members state.

7 A list of publications and/or workshops that were NCR-59 related would also be prepared by each member for the report.

7 The reports will be included in the annual minutes.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the requirement for the summary research report. The motion was then approved unanimously by the members.

The host of each NCR-59 meeting will arrange for 2 3 presentations and a field trip on the first day of the meeting and then reserve the second day morning for business meeting. Meeting in June and July is preferred to facilitate participation of federal researchers.

Dr. Rice discussed the possible role of NCR-59 in the establishment of the International Carbon Network that is being targeted for scientists with limited resources. The executive committee for the project includes scientists from Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Australia. The project would have paired sites with and without management in which several soil characteristics would be determined (e.g. soil organic C, bulk density, trace gas measurements, soil C fractions) with the objective of accumulating sufficient data for soil C and climate for modelling. Possible roles of NCR-59 are:

7 Develop reference sites in North America.

7 Have a limited role in guidance and training.

In a conference call with NCR-59 members, Ray Knighton (USDA-CSREES) reported on the state of federal programs, including proposed changes in NRI funding, the dissolution of the IFAFS program, and new integrated water quality research programs.

The conference call participants then discussed project ideas for joint research including methodologies to measure C sequestration, soil C at depth, decomposition of transgenic crop residues, environmental effects of dissolved organic C, mitigation of N2O. Dr. Wander stressed the importance of NCR-59 as a forum for technical discussions.

Group concluded that proposal development will be the future focus of NCR-59 and the list-serve and conference calls will be used to develop project ideas.

Group broke for lunch.

After lunch a presentation was given by Ed Brennan (Kansas State University) entitled Spatial Relationships of Selected Above- and Below-Ground Carbon in a Peten, Guatemala Tropical Forest.

After the presentation, the group visited Konza Prairie and was shown the extensive ongoing research studies at the site.

Day-2 September 17, 2002

The meeting got underway at 8:30 AM.

New Member at Large: Dr. Sieglinde Snapp was approved unanimously as Member-at-Large.

Dr. Micky Ransom (Kansas State University) gave a presentation on KSUs undergraduate agronomy curriculum

Dr. Gerald Miller gave a report on several issues:

7 NCR-59 on a 5-year schedule (Oct. 1, 2001 Sept. 31, 2006). Midterm review will be at the end of next year;

7 NC Region of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors web site (http://www.wisc.edu/ncra/) was modified to provide an interactive support site for regional committees and administrative advisors. The major change was the addition of the National Information Management and Support System (NIMMS) which can be accessed at: http://www.lgu.umd.edu/menu.cfm;

7 Dr. Serita Frey has changed to New Hampshire from Ohio; Ray Weil is new official representative from Maryland; and Dan Olk is a new federal participant from the USDA-ARS Soil Tilth Laboratory.

The minutes of the 2001 NCR-59 meeting were reviewed. A motion was made and seconded to approve the amended minutes. The motion was then approved unanimously by the members.

Dr. Rice then made a presentation updating members on CASMGS and a proposal to establish an International Consortium on Monitoring Greenhouse Gases. He also reported on the Kansas Coalition for Carbon Management (website: www.oznet.ksu.edu/kccm).

Next Year‘s Meeting Date and Site:

Columbia, Missouri. The date of the meeting was suggested to be during the middle week of July.

The executive committee for 2003 is: Peter Motavalli, chair; Serita Frey, secretary; Sieglinde Snapp, member-at-large; and Ron Turco, past-chair.

The members of NCR-59 thanked Ron Turco for his service as chair of this committee for 2002 and Chuck Rice for hosting the meeting at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Objective 3: 7 Planned two symposia for 2002 ASA annual meeting in Indianapolis Objective 3: A soil quality website was designed by Michelle Wander and Susan Andrews and is located at http://129.186.1.36:8080/SoilQualityWebsite/home.htm (site location is in flux so may not be active). They requested that committee members send powerpoint presentations on soil quality and that members link to the site from their personal homepage. The site will also be linked to the official NCR website. Objective 4: Interaction and discussion was conducted between NCR-59 members and the PI of the consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS). An update on the collaboration between NCR-59 and the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS) was presented by Chuck Rice.

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 08/19/2003

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/15/2003 - 07/16/2003
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2002 - 09/01/2003

Participants

Participants Attachment:

Attachment

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

7 Organized two symposia at the 2002 ASA annual meeting in Indianapolis: (Objective 3)1. Economics of Managing for Soil Quality; attendance: 70; NCR-59 members organized and four NCR members participated, 2. Environmental Impact of Transgenic Crops on Soil Biological Processes and Functions; attendance: 70; chaired by Peter Motavalli and Robert Kremer; resulted in five refereed journal articles have been submitted for publication in the Journal of Environmental Quality and a synthesis paper to be published in the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 7 Several committee members wrote chapters for a book published by CRC press entitled Soil Organic Matter Management, Advances in Agroecology. Magdoff, F. and Weil, R. (eds). (Objective 1) 7 Several research proposals were submitted (Objective 1 and 2):1. Linking Soil Aggregation, Organic Chemistry, and Microbial Community Composition, Diversity and Activity to Understand the Turnover and Sequestration of Soil Organic Matter in Agroecosystems. Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases, Task I--Basic Processes and Mechanisms- Research to develop an understanding of processes and mechanisms of soil C sequestration and soil greenhouse gas emission mitigation. 2002-2004. (Turco, Rice, Frey) 2. Persistence of toxicity of Bt endotoxin from transgenic corn resistant to corn rootworm. Illinois Missouri Biotech Alliance. 2003-2005. (Motavalli and Wander) 3. Cropping intensity and organic amendments in transitional farming systems: Effects on soil fertility, weeds, diseases and insects. USDA: Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program Integrated Pest Management/Organic Transition. 2003-2007. (Wander and Cooperband are among several other PIs)4. Plant Introduction Performance Screen (PIPS) for cover crop assessment. SARE preproposal (Snapp and Allen) 7 Leslie Cooperband organized and she and Michelle Wander participated in a Soil Ecology Workshop held at the annual NACAA meeting in Green Bay WI, July 15 (Objective 3) 7 Rhae Drijber and Dan Olk participated in the Natural Organic Matter (NOM) workshop held in Ames, Iowa and planned a joint meeting of NOM and NCR-59 (Objective 4) 7 Several NCR-59 members attended the Soil Quality Working Group at the ASA meeting in Indianapolis and gave a report of NCR-59 activities (Objective 4) 7 Several research collaborations were initiated at the NCR-59 annual meeting: 1. Rhae Drijber and Serita Frey will collaborate on a project examining how the composition and diversity of wetland plant communities influences microbial community structure using microbial fatty acids. 2. Rhae Drijber and William Horwath are collaborating on a project to quantify extraradical hyphae of VAM fungi using complex lipid biomarkers. The grant is entitled Biocomplexity of the common mycorrizal network: Active or passive channels? The grant is supported by the National Science Foundation and funded at $3.2 million. Horwath is a PI. 3. Rhae Drijber and Dan Olk will characterize labile humus fractions formed under cedar vegetation and its relationship to Ca cycling. 7 Turco and Horwath planned to write a Nature/Science paper on C sequestration with a focus on the importance of active soil management for long-term C storage (Objective 2) 7 Wander and Driber are collaborating with Denis Angers and Martin Chantigny (both with Agriculture Canada, international interest in NCR-59) on a paper on the Morrow Plots. Specific ideas for the coming year were discussed: 1. Write Nature/Science paper on C sequestration targeted toward policy makers and practitioners. The paper will not duplicate information already in the literature, but will emphasize the importance of active soil management for long-term C storage (Horwath/Turco will take the lead). 2. Organize ASA symposium on the pros and cons of physical, chemical and biological approaches to soil organic matter measurement (Motavalli/Olk) 3. Co-sponsor CASMGS workshop noted above (to be held at Purdue) 4. Organize ASA symposium focusing on how biotechnology can be applied to increase C storage (Motavalli). The question was raised as to whether enough research has been done to support a symposium on this topic at this time. 5. Organize ASA symposium on quality of organic inputs and synchrony of nutrient release to plant needs (Allen/Snapp) 6. Write regional extension bulletin as follow up to above symposium (Snapp)

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 11/05/2004

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/23/2004 - 08/24/2004
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2003 - 09/01/2004

Participants

Serita Frey, New Hampshire; Chuck Rice, Kansas; Doug Archibold, Pennsylvania; William Horwath, California; Ray Weil, Maryland; Richard Dick, Oregon; Deborah Allan, Minnesota; Michelle Wander, Illinois; Larry Cihacek, North Dakota;

Members Absent:;

Rhae Drijber, Nebraska; Sieglinde Snapp, Michigan; Ronald Turco, Purdue; Peter Motavalli, Missouri, Laurie Osher, Maine;

Advisors:;

Gerald Miller, Administrative Advisor, present; Melvalin Morant, CSREES Representative, absent;

Other Agency Representatives and Guests:;

Mel Knorr, University of New Hampshire

Brief Summary of Minutes

The meeting was held at the Harvard Forest Research Center in Petersham, Massachusetts. Serita Frey, NCR-59 Chair, organized the meeting.

Day 1 - August 23, 2004

Serita Frey called the meeting to order, made introductions, and distributed 2004 state reports and 2003 meeting minutes. Gerald Miller indicated that the 2003 state reports were not included in the handouts, but available on the NCR-59 website

Mervalin Morant, CSREES/USDA, sent a CSREES update which was passed out and discussed. Several items were highlighted:
New funding opportunity-Enhancing the Prosperity of Small Farms and Rural Agricultural Communities;
CSREES will host a Stakeholder listening session for Soil Science in conjunction with the upcoming ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings in Seattle, WA. The session is scheduled for October 31 from 1-4 pm.;
FY 2005 research priority areas;

The minutes from last year were approved.;

The group was reminded that Sieglinde Snapp will become chair on 10/01/04.
Leslie Cooperband, current secretary and 2005 chair-elect, has resigned from the committee. Elections were held to fill the chair-elect and secretary positions.;
Ray Weil was elected chair-elect.;
Doug Archibold was elected secretary.;

Gerald Miller reminded the group that the committee's renewal review will occur in 2006. Suggested linkages with other multi-state committees.

Larry Cihacek proposed to act as a liaison between NC-1017 (focused on C sequestration in landscapes) and NCR-59. Suggested future joint meeting.;
Meet jointly every third year, begin meeting jointly next year (2005), Larry will work with Sieglinde Snapp to organize joint meeting.

Other suggested linkages: NC-1022; Humic Substances Society; Soil Ecological Society; International Soil Science Society meeting in Philadelphia July 10-14, 2005.

A subcommittee was formed to organize joint meetings;
Sieglinde Snapp, Larry Cihacek, Will Horwath.

The group discussed status of state members.
Request to drop Laurie Osher from Maine since she has not participated in committee activities, request to add Teri Balser from Wisconsin to replace Leslie Cooperband, request to add A. Stone from Oregon. Missing members for South Dakota and Iowa.

Gerald Miller noted that NCR nomenclature will change:
NCCC will focus on either research, education or extension. NCERA is integrated.

The group voted to change from NCR to NCERA.

Michelle Wander discussed the status of the Soil Quality website:
hosted by Soil and Water Conservation Society, suggested that NCR-59 administer the website.

A website subcommittee was formed to determine how NCR-59 members can contribute effectively to website management: Michelle Wander, Will Horwath, Deborah Allan.

Will Horwath led a discussion on the Nature/Science paper to focus on C sequestration.
Main theme: Intensive and extended management required, Link to N use efficiency, Comment to Schlesinger's broad statements on soil C storage, Link to ecosystem dependency, Moisture and nutrient limitations, Specify systems, Include inorganic C sequestration, Influences of a climatic gradient, Emphasize regional differences.

Will Horwath and Chuck Rice will draft an outline by 10/01/04: Feedback by 11/01/04, Writing assignments handed out by 11/01/04, Drafts due by 12/31/04.

The group toured the Harvard Forest Museum and several long-term research experiments in the afternoon: Soil Warming Study, Chronic Nitrogen Addition Study, Eddy Flux Tower Site.

Day 2 - August 24, 2004 Business Meeting

Gerald Miller gave the committee update: Mid-term review letter of approval handed out, Discussed overview and peer reviews, Main point need linkages by renewal review in 2006, Explained NIMSS handout which provides information on how to navigate the new website.

Accomplishments from past year: A symposium on Meaningful Pools in Determining Soil C and N Dynamics will be held on November 3, 2004 at the Soil Science Society annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. This symposium was organized by Dan Olk, Ed Gregorich and Cindy Cambardella. Michelle Wander and Rhae Drijber are speakers. Chuck Rice will present a poster at the associated poster session. The symposium is co-sponsored by NCR-59, S-3 (Soil Biology and Biochemistry) of the SSSA, the Canadian Society of Soil Science, and the Canadian and U.S. chapters of the International Humic Substances Society. The proceedings will be published.

Serita Frey and Rhae Drijber collaborated on a project to examine how long-term soil warming has influenced microbial community composition and soil organic matter dynamics.

Continuation of Soil Quality website development.

Ray Weil edited the book: Magdoff, F., and R.R. Weil, (eds.) 2004. Soil organic matter in sustainable agriculture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 398 p.

Larry Cihacek developed a protocol for C sequestration monitoring. A experiment station bulletin will be published in the next six months.

Ron Turco and Chuck Rice organized a CASGMS workshop on measurement, monitoring and verification of soil C. The workshop was geared toward policy-makers and scientists; 120 people attended.

Chuck Rice reported on several upcoming events: The third CASGMS workshop on C sequestration in the cornbelt will be held December 15-16, 2004. Call for NCR-59 to co-sponsor

A USDA symposium on greenhouse gas mitigation in agricultural and forest soils will be held in March 2005 in Baltimore. Call for NCR-59 to co-sponsor.

There will be a symposium at the next AAAS meeting titled Can we Feed the World without Poisoning the Earth?

A suggestion was made to prepare a poster of the history and goals of NCR-59 for display at conferences and society meetings: Link to website, A poster subcommittee was formed: Chuck Rice, Deborah Allan, and Richard Dick.

The meeting was adjourned at 11 am.

Signed: Serita Frey
Serita Frey
Committee Chair

Signed: Gerald Miller
Gerald Miller
NCR-59 Administrative Advisor

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

State Reports of the NCR-59 Committee Dr. Douglas Archibold Department of Crop & Soil Sciences Penn State University Phone: 814-865-8449 1. Contributions to studies of the role of laccase and minerals in a model humification process 2. Set up a method to collect and process infrared spectra of the adsorbed species in the carbonyl spectral region 3. Development of infrared spectroscopic approaches for characterization of soil organic carbon for application in soil management studies: 4. Contributions to a study of maturity of vermicompost derived from either manure or food waste 5. Implementation of a method for determination of the quantity of humic acids in soil by extraction: Dr. Deborah Allan Soil, Water & Climate University of Minnesota Phone: 612-625-3158 Soil quality in different cropping systems; a three year assessment of differences in yield, nitrogen supply and soil quality resulting from applications of digested versus raw manure or inorganic fertilizer at the Haubenschild Dairy Farms in Princeton, MN. Dr. Larry J. Cihacek Soil Science North Dakota State University Phone: 701-231-8572 No report. Dr. Richard Dick Crop & Soil Science Oregon State University Phone: 701-231-8572 Non-thermal Biomass/Min Tillage Management in Grass Seed Systems, Cover Crop and Tillage Management and Soil Ecology, Organic Matter Inputs and Disease Suppression, C Sequestration in Forests. Dr. Rhae Drijber Agronomy and Horticulture University of Nebraska Phone: 402-472-0770 No report. Dr. Serita Frey Natural Resources University of New Hampshire Phone: 603-862-3880 Microbial contributions to soil organic matter formation and stabilization; Linking soil aggregation, organic chemistry, and microbial community composition, diversity and activity to understand the turnover and sequestration of soil organic matter in agroecosystems; Linking external nitrogen availability, litter chemistry, and decomposer organisms to explain the inconsistent effect of nitrogen additions on litter decomposition. Dr. L. Halverson Agronomy Iowa State University Phone: 515-294-0495 No report. Dr. Jonathan Halvorson USDA-ARS Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center Phone: (304) 256-2807 Silvopastoral management practices may increase potential rates of soil respiration; Quantity and patterns of distribution of Bradford Reactive Protein in Appalachian soils Dr. William Horwath Land, Air and Water Resources University of California--Davis Phone: 530-754-6029 My research and teaching activities focus on understanding the fundamental processes controlling the formation and maintenance of humic substances. I am conducting applied research on Reducing Non-point dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and N Exports from agricultural landscapes. These applied and basic research projects address specifically address Objectives 2 and 3 of the current mission of understanding the genesis, composition and reaction of soil organic matter in relationship to soil function and management. Dr. Peter Motavalli Natural Resources University of Missouri Phone: 573-884-3212 The effects of management practices on soil microbially-mediated C and N processes. Dr. Laurie Osher Plant, Soil & Environmental Sciences University of Maine Phone: 207-581-2957 No report. Dr. Charles Rice Agronomy Kansas State University Phone: 785-532-7217 Role of mycorrhizae in aggregation and C sequestration; Plant influences on soil microbial C cycling; Tillage and Manure Effects on Soil and Aggregate-Associated Carbon and Nitrogen. Dr. Sieglinde Snapp Horticulture/Crop and Soil Science Michigan State University Phone: 517-355-5187 No report. Dr. Ron Turco Agronomy Purdue University Phone: 765-494-8077 No report. Dr. Michelle Wander Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences University of Illinois Phone: 217-333-9471 Multi-site study of tillage impacts on soil C dynamics and sequestration and a three year study of the affects of elevated CO2 and O3 on soybean root biomass. We have several active projects ongoing: Two projects address organic management, Carmen Ugarte has just begun a Ph.D. investigating changes in soil quality that result from three organic transition strategies that differ in their level of management intensity, Other studies of interest to NCR-59 address Bt-toxin persistence and C sequestration under biomass crops. Dr. Ray Weil Natural Resource Science and Landscape Architecture University of Maryland Phone: 301-405-1314 Organic matter management through tillage, rotations, organic amendments and cover crops. We are currently working on four projects: Nutrient cycling in intensively grazed dairy farm watersheds; use of our active carbon method (by dilute alkaline KMnO4) in terms of interpretation and calibration; relationship between SOM - related soil properties and the botanical composition of native prairie in Kansas (at the Land Institute); joined the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Project coordinated by Battelle Memorial Institute, Applied Energy Systems.

Publications

Averett, J.M., R.A. Klips, S.D. Frey, and P.S. Curtis. 2004. The effects of soil carbon amendment on nitrogen availability and plant growth in an experimental tallgrass prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology (in press). Douglas D. Archibald, Amy L. Shober and Rupinder K. Randhawa, Evaluation of two types of infrared methods to characterize soil organic carbon (poster to be presented at the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies meeting in Portland, Oregon, October 2004). Doyle, G.L., C.W. Rice, and D.E. Peterson. 2004. Biologically defined soil organic matter pools as affected by rotation and tillage. J. Enviorn. Manag. 33:528-538. Fang, M., R.J. Kremer, P.P. Motavalli, and G. Davis. In review. Comparison of microbial communities in rhizospheres of non-transgenic and transgenic corn using Biolog metabolic fingerprinting and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Frey, S.D., J. Six and E.T. Elliott. 2003. Reciprocal transfer of carbon and nitrogen by decomposer fungi at the soil-litter interface. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 35, 1001-1004. Frey, S.D., M. Knorr, J. Parrent, and R.T. Simpson. 2004. Chronic nitrogen enrichment affects the structure and function of the soil microbial community in a forest ecosystem. Forest Ecology and Management 196, 159-171. Kremer, R.J. and P.P. Motavalli. 2004. Introduction to papers from symposium on the environmental impact of transgenic crops on soil biological processes and functions. J. Environ. Qual. 33:805. Magdoff, F., and R.R. Weil, (eds.) 2004. Soil organic matter in sustainable agriculture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 398 p. Magdoff, F., and R.R. Weil. 2004. Strategies for managing organic matter, pp 44-65 In F. Magdoff and R. R. Weil, eds. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Mikha, M.M, C.W. Rice, and G.A. Milliken. 200x. Carbon and nitrogen mineralization as affected by wetting and drying cycles. Soil Boil. Biochem. (Accepted) AES 04-211-J Mikha, M.M., C.W. Rice. 2004. Effect of tillage and manure on soil and aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:809-816. Mi-Youn Ahn, Carmen E. Martínez, Douglas D. Archibald, Jean-Marc Bollag, and Jerzy Dec, Transformation of catechol in the presence of a laccase and metal oxides (submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal, June 2004). Mi-Youn Ahn, Douglas D. Archibald, Carmen E. Martínez, Jean-Marc Bollag, and Jerzy Dec, Characteristics of Trametes villosa laccase adsorbed on aluminum hydroxide (to be submitted to: Soil Biology and Biochemistry). Mi-Youn Ahn, who received a Ph.D. in Ecology (Penn State University, 2004) for a dissertation entitled "Incorporation of Chlorophenols and Humic Monomer into Soils by Metal Oxides and Fungal Laccase." Motavalli, P.P., C.S.M. Washburn, J.A. Lory, and N.R. Kitchen. In review. Apparent soil electrical conductivity used to determine soil phosphorus variability in poultry litter-amended pastures. J. Environ. Qual. Motavalli, P.P., R.J. Kremer, M. Fang and N.E. Means. 2004. Impact of genetically-modified crops and their management on soil microbially-mediated plant nutrient transformations. J. Environ. Qual. 33:816-824. Motavalli, P.P., S.H. Anderson, and P. Pengthamkeerati. 2003. Surface compaction and poultry litter effects on corn growth, nitrogen availability, and physical properties of a claypan soil. Field Crops Research 84:303-318. Motavalli, P.P., S.H. Anderson, P. Pengthamkeerati, and C.J. Gantzer. 2003. Use of soil cone penetrometers to detect the effects of compaction and organic amendments in claypan soils. Soil Tillage Res. 74:103-114 Mungai, N.W. and P.P. Motavalli. In review. Litter quality effects on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in temperate alley cropping systems. Applied Soil Ecology Mungai, N.W., P.P. Motavalli and R.J. Kremer. In review. Soil organic C and N fractions in long-term alley cropping systems. Agroforestry Systems Mungai, N.W., P.P. Motavalli, R.J. Kremer, and K.A. Nelson. In review. Spatial variation of soil enzyme activities and microbial functional diversity in temperate alley cropping systems. Applied Soil Ecology Paul, E.A., H.P. Collins, KI. Paustian, E.T. Elliott, S.D. Frey, N. Juma, H. Janzen, C.A. Campbell, R.P. Zentner, G.P. Lafond, and A.P. Moulin. 2004. Management effects on the dynamics and storage capacity of soil organic matter in the Canadian prairies. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 84, 49-61. Paustian, K., B. Babcock, J. Hatfield, R. Lal, B. McCarl, S. McLaughlin, W.M. Post, A Mosier, C. Rice, G.P. Robertson, N. Rosenberg, C. Rosenzweig, W.H. Schlesinger, D. Ziberman. 2004. Agricultures response to the climate change challenge. CAST Report, Ames, IA. Rice, C.W., and J.S. Angle. 2004. A role for genetically modified organisms in soil carbon sequestration. p. 61-78. In N.J. Rosenberg, F.B. Metting, and R.C. Izaurralde (eds.) Applications of biotechnology to mitigation of greenhouse warming. Proc. St. Michael Workshop, St. Michaels, MD, 13-15 April 2003. Battelle Press, Columbus, OH. 213 pp. Simpson, R.T., S.D. Frey, J. Six, and R.K. Thiet. 2004. Preferential stabilization of microbial-derived carbon in microaggregates contained within macroaggregates of no-tillage soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68, 1249-1255. Weil, R.R., and F. Magdoff. 2004. Significance of Soil Organic Matter to Soil Quality and Health., pp. 1-44 In F. Magdoff and R. R. Weil, eds. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Weil, R.R., and R.E. Gilker. 2004. Nutrient losses from management intensive grazing dairy farms., In K. Cassida, ed. Proceedings American Forage and Grassland Conference, Vol. 13, June 12-16 2004, Roanoke, VA. Williams, M.A., C.W. Rice, A. Omay, and C.E. Owensby. 2004. Soil carbon pools in a tallgrass prairie soil under elevated CO2. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:148-153. Williams, S.M., and R.R. Weil. 2004. Crop cover root channels may alleviate soil compaction effects on soybean crop. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:1403-1409.

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 08/09/2005

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 05/26/2005 - 05/27/2005
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2004 - 09/01/2005

Participants

Administrative Advisor: Miller, Gerald - Iowa State University;
Chair: Snapp Sieglinde - Michigan State University;
Vice-Chair: Allen, Deborah - University of Minnesota;;

Members in Attendance:; Allen, Deborah - Minnesota; Archibald, Douglas - Pennsylvania; Cihacek, Larry - North Dakota; Dick, Richard - Ohio; Drijber, Rhae - Nebraska; Horwath, William - California; Motavalli, Peter - Missouri; Snapp, Sieglinde - Michigan; Stone, Alexandra - Oregon; Wander, Michelle - Illinois;;

Members Absent:; Balser, Teri - Wisconsin; Cambardella, Cindy - USDA-ARS; Frey, Serita - New Hampshire; Gregorich, Ed - Canada; Moorman, Thomas - USDA-ARS; Olk, Daniel - USDA-ARS' Osher, Laurie - Maine; Rice, Charles - Kansas; Turco, Ronald - Indiana; Weil, Raymond - Maryland;Osher, Laurie - Maine;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Day 1 - Thursday May 26th, 2005 Sieglinde Snapp presiding

State report summaries are due in one week.

Two business issues that will be addressed in day two were mentioned:
the need to organize a committee to rewrite the NCERA-59 project statement for the upcoming renewal and the need to elect a new chair.

Two important recent collaborative accomplishments of NCERA-59 were noted: organization of a session at the 2004 SSSA annual meeting in Seattle, and organization of a symposium at the 2005 SES meeting in Chicago.

The items identified for action by the national project and the assigned sub-committee chairs and members were:
1. Organization of a collaborative synthesis paper on the topic of the influence of agricultural cropping practices on carbon sequestration - William Horwath;
2. Development of a symposium or workshop on indicators for the complex functional properties of cover crops (e.g., C-sequestration ability, N-mineralization rates, disease suppression, root health) - Sieglinde Snapp, Deborah Allen, Alexandra Stone, Douglas Archibald;
3. Establishment of a soil quality web site or e-journal geared toward issues of sustainability - Michelle Wander;
4. Coordination of the next NCERA-59 meeting with both the next annual meeting of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) in New York, and NC-1017 (North Central project on "Organic Carbon and Eroded Landscapes", formerly NC-174) - Larry Cihacek, Peter Motavalli, Michelle Wander;
5. Development of a strategy for the committee to contribute symposia or sessions to upcoming scientific meetings (Asilomar SOM meeting in October 2005, 2006 International Soil Science Society Meeting in Philadelphia) - William Horwath (Asilomar meeting), Deborah Allen and Raymond Weil (ISS meeting poster)

Peter Motavalli noted that pharmaceutical crop production acreage is expanding, and widespread cultivation of such crops presents some potential environmental and commercial impacts that have yet to be evaluated scientifically.

The afternoon tours of University of Illinois research sites were arranged by Michelle Wander and included: WORT - Windsor Road Organic Transition Study; Soy FACE - soybean crop Free Air Carbon-dioxide Enhancement study; Graduate project on evaluation of miscanthus as a biomass crop for IL; The Morrow Plots - the nation s oldest long-term cropping systems trial.

Day 2 - Friday May 27th, 2005

The committee sought advice from Gerald Miller about what to do about dropping NCERA-59 members who have not attended recently. Deborah Allen will follow-up with the Maine representative who has not attended in five years.

Another issue is recruiting for NCERA-59. South Dakota and Iowa representatives are needed. Suggestions on people to contact may be sent to Deborah Allen.

Gerald Miller's Administrative Advisor's report. Gerald reviewed the list of current membership He counted 16 land grant committee members including ten from north central, three from ARS and one from Canada. Ten members were present. The impact statement for NIMSS was written in 2004 by Dan Olk and Sieglinde Snapp and is available on the web. This is the fourth year of a five year project, and therefore a rewrite is needed. Upon renewal, everyone will need to file a new "Appendix E." The first deadline of the renewal process is September 15th, 2005. A writing committee needs to be appointed. The new officers need to be established by a vote. Gerald gave an update on the status of agricultural funding in the federal budget. Major components of the budget are still being debated.

Summary of discussion on topic 1. Synthesis paper - William Horwath

The focus of the paper is to be a meta-analysis of carbon sequestration by cropping systems such as no-till. The theme is that intensive and extended management is required to build and maintain soil carbon. The issue was raised about whether or not the paper should have a regional focus because of region-specific factors and the availability of published data. The answer is expected to be known once the literature is reviewed. An SSSA committee is writing a paper on soil organic carbon and carbon sequestration. The focus of the NCERA-59 paper may be adjusted as details become known. The information needs to be summarized for scientists and policy makers and published in the SSSA Journal and then circulated by press release to influential newspapers and journals. The CASGMS group would be an important user of the paper. The interpretation for practitioners and the general public would be made subsequent to the journal article and should be appropriate for an e-journal or web site. William Horwath agreed to take the lead in writing the policy paper with as much committee input as possible, mainly by e-mail.

Summary of discussion on topic 2. Symposium on indicators.

Evaluation of indicators for assessment of northeast cover crops was identified as an important issue. Michelle Wander and Richard Dick noted that the snake-oil-problem is great for "alternative soil testing" that is offered commercially. Thus there is a great need for science-based unbiased assessment of technologies. The option to participate in regional soil-testing and organic-based nutrient workshops was also discussed. Since the conferences where these workshops are offered are many and frequent, it was concluded that it is better to train the trainers. Larry Cihacek suggested that there could be some coordination with NCR- 13, which is focused on extension soil testing. Many of the states in NCERA-59 also have members in NCR-13. Two components of indicator technologies are soil organic fractions and biological indicators/assays. Attendees of the recent SES meeting noted that biological indicators fall in several categories: 1)Macrofauna, 2)Nutrient mineralization and microbiology, 3)Habitat quality (e.g., aggregate stability). Alexandra Stone noted that a consensus paper is needed in the area of biological indicators before recommendations can be made to field extension educators.

Summary of discussion on topic 3. Soil quality web site or e-journal - Michelle Wander

A substantial amount of discussion was made on the mechanics of the proposal. There was consensus about the need for coordinating the information and efforts of various organizations around the topic of "Soil Ecological Management," which serves as a working title. The identified stakeholders included NRCS, ARS, SWCS and the extension service/experiment stations. Additionally, there was the widely held belief that much of the advice that field extension educators and similar groups provide on SOM management has seen no review and is uninformed about the relevant peer-reviewed science. On the other side, policy makers also need readily accessible summaries of the peer-reviewed science. Thus the target audience for the web resource is to be field extension educators and regional policy makers. Furthermore, an e-journal with critical review was seen as adding value to the information and providing a basis for committee members and e-journal contributors to receive professional credit for their contributions to the effort.

The "e-extension" web site (http://intranet.extension.org) was identified as a model and a resource that could overcome some of the implementation issues to the proposal. That model includes "communities of interest," "community of practice" and "locally-branded publications." Michelle Wander offered to prepare a draft proposal and solicit contributions from the committee members.
Possible topics for the proposed e-journal were discussed and include soil quality, cover crops, and soil microbiology with emphasis on three aspects: 1)Management (possibly divided regionally), 2)Indicators, 3) Processes, and with an issues-centered interpretive framework including C-sequestration, Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Environmental impact.

Summary of discussion on topic 4. Coordination of NCERA-59 2006 with other meetings.

Peter Motavalli volunteered to explore how to coordinate with the 2005 Soil and Water Conservation Society meeting in Rochester, New York at the end of July (http://www.swcs.org/en/swcs_international_conference/2005_annual_conference/).
Larry Cihacek is also a member of NC-1017 (North Central project on "Organic Carbon and Eroded Landscapes", formerly NC-174). He agreed to explore ways to coordinate the efforts of NCERA-59 and NC-1017.

Summary of discussion on topic 5. NCERA-59's role at Asilomar and ISS meetings
Deborah Allen agreed to work with Raymond Weil to develop a poster to describe the history of the NCERA-59 committee for presentation at the 2006 ISS meeting in Philadelphia. The 2nd International Conference on Mechanisms of Organic Matter Stabilization and Destabilization in Soils will be held October 9-13, 2005 at the Asilomar conference center near Monterey, California http://wwwdata.forestry.oregonstate.edu/SoilConf . William Horwath plans to contact Dr. Phil Sollins to enquire about organizing a session or symposium.

Election of NCERA-59 officers.
The membership in attendance held elections for officers. Raymond Weil resigned the position of Vice-Chair of NCERA-59 in 2004. Deborah Allen was nominated to become Chair and was elected unanimously under the condition that she receives help in hosting the 2006 annual meeting. Douglas Archibald was nominated to Vice-Chair and approved by a unanimous vote. Alexandra Stone was nominated to Secretary and approved by a unanimous vote.

Project statement revision committee. A committee was formed, led by Deborah Allen with support from Daniel Olk, Sieglinde Snapp and Richard Dick, to organize revision of the five-year project statement. Members are encouraged to respond to e-mail requests in a timely fashion. The one-page project justification statement section is due September 15th, 2005. The section containing action items for the next five-years is due December 15th,
2005. The committee agreed that group goal of understanding SOM function and management are the most important unique components of the project and are still relevant. There was some discussion of how to deal with criticism received by the committee because of its use of the phrase "soil quality" in some earlier project statements. The discussion about revising the project statement started with the NCERA-59 title: Soil Organic Matter, Formation, Function and Management. The members present developed the following preliminary project statements: 1. Determine the effects of soil ecological management practices on organic fractions related to nutrient cycling/cropping system nutrient use efficiency, environmentally important biogeochemical processes such as soil carbon maintenance, and agricultural and environmental stress response/resilience; 2. Identify and evaluate indicators for soil ecological management; 3. Engage field scientists/practitioners to promote soil ecological management practices that repair or sustain functionally important soil organic matter fractions. The statement needs to be inclusive of both undisturbed and managed systems.

Other business.

It was announced that state activity reports for the past year are due to Douglas Archibald in electronic form. The minutes, including state reports, are due to Gerald Miller in sixty days (July 27th, 2005). Gerald will submit the SAES-422 into the NIMSS system. Gerald clarified two points about the NCERA-59 web page : 1) There is a "Photo Album" section for snapshots from the meeting, 2) the site is indexed by Google and is accessible by the general public. Michelle Wander raised the issue of the need for a multi-institutional message about the importance and value of long-term soil management trials, since many of these are threatened by development and declining agricultural funding. The NCERA-59 committee should consider developing an inventory of long-term trials within member institutions and evaluate the potential for research collaborations that utilize multiple sites.

Meeting Adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 27, 2005

Approved:

Signed Sieglinde Snapp
Sieglinde Snapp
NCERA-59 Chair, 2005

Signed Gerald A. Miller
Gerald A. Miller
NCERA-59 Administrative Advisor 2005

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Some of the NCERA-59 members attended a Wednesday afternoon workshop on "Biotic Indicators, Their Interpretation and Relationship to Resource Condition" that Sieglinde and Michelle arranged for the Soil Ecological Society (SES) 10th Biennial Meeting held at Argonne National Lab near Chicago. California Report - William Horwath I have spent considerable effort determining the effects of conservation tillage (CT) on soil C dynamics in arid irrigated environments over the last few years. CT and cover cropping are sustainable agricultural practices that may provide solutions for California's declining soil, air and water quality. These practices can increase soil organic matter, reduce dust production conserve water and increase soil C. We looked at changes in total soil C and particulate organic matter (POM) within three physical fractions: free POM, microaggregate protected POM, and mineral associated organic matter. With the decrease in soil disturbance under CT and increased C inputs with cover cropping, we expect microaggregate protected POM to increase in both the CT and the cover crop treatments over the long term. Increases in microaggregate protected POM may indicate future C storage. Initial inspection of soil C numbers suggest that cover cropping increases total soil C in both CT and standard tillage on the order of 4500 kg C/ha in the top 30 cm over a 4-year period. In the CT treatments, the increase occurred in the surface 15 cm, while in the standard tillage treatments, it was distributed throughout the top 30 cm. In the treatments without cover crops, there was no change in soil C in the 0-15 cm depth and an overall loss in the 15-30 cm depth, ~1000 kg C/ha in standard tillage and ~2000 kg C/ha in CT. In dry hot irrigated systems, cover cropping was more important for soil C accumulation than tillage practice. Over the next year, we will complete the 13C labeled residue decomposition portion of the study. Through this we hope to differentiate between root and shoot C and discover if the root and shoot C are incorporated into aggregates differently under the different tillage and cover crop treatments. In addition, I continue other work on basic soil C dynamics in forest systems. Specifically I have examined the effects of mixed litters on soil C dynamics. Illinois Report - Michelle Wander We have completed several studies this year. Three manuscripts that address the influence of long-term use of organic management practices on soil organic matter characteristics are in review. The general effects of organic management on promising indices of SOM status (POM and a rapid measure of base hydrolyzable N) were determined by comparing the characteristics of organic and conventionally managed soils obtained from nine long-term trials in North America (Emily Marriott). In addition, a more detailed study was conducted of POM and of hydrolyzable N fractions (including amino-acids, amino sugars) at a site where use of organic practices failed to increase SOM (Yun Wang). In the multi-site comparison, legume- and manure-based organic systems performed equally well in their ability to increase the quantity of SOM as well as enrich the proportion of particulate organic matter, where POM was assessed using a variety of methods. The quantity of C and N in the coarse fraction, loose light fraction, and aggregate occluded fraction were similar in soils from legume and manure-based systems. The amount of POM-N recovered using a variety of methods was equal to the amount of N recovered by base hydrolysis and was more that twice that required to support a full crop of maize. Base hydrolyzable N was no more sensitive to management than was total N. We were able to differentiate between the manure- and legume based organic systems by assessing the quality of the aggregate occluded POM fraction (< 2.0 g cm-1); this fraction was most humified and contained a greater amount of plant available N in the manured soils. In a related study of an aberrant organic site, where SOM levels remained low and maize yields lagged in the legume based system, the only SOM attribute that differed among the three systems was amino acid N contents. Contents were least in the conventional and greatest in the manure based organic system. Whole soil and POM C/N ratios were quite low and were accompanied by extremely high amino sugar levels. Fraction characteristics suggest an imbalance in soil C and N reserves and that disease, rather than N insufficiency, may be limiting yield. This, and possibly C priming by surplus N, may constrain organic matter accumulation. Through using multiple measure of labile SOM, and considering C and N together, we begin to use SOM diagnostically. We conclude disproportional responses in labile fractions can identify resource limitations or surpluses within a system. A series of manuscripts based on the dissertation work completed by Gayoung Yoo are in press or review. In this series of papers we develop an understanding of physical controls over C mineralization that will help us explain, and possibly anticipate, the variable influence no-tillage tillage practices have on C sequestration. A laboratory study showed efforts to understand SOC dynamics should consider soil aggregation and pore size distribution which control spatial variability in soil water influencing microbial activity. Field based work showed use of NT practices increased SOC sequestration at Monmouth IL (silt loam soil), where tillage practices altered physical properties enough to affect trends in C mineralization, but did not alter SOC storage in DeKalb IL (silty clay loam), where higher clay contents provided a protective capacity not altered by tillage. The least limiting water range (LLWR), an index of structural quality, predicted observed soil CO2 efflux patterns. Follow up work found specific SOC mineralization rates (RESPsp) were also reduced by use of NT management at Perry (silt loam soil), a third site where use of NT practices had thus far failed to increase SOC contents. Based on RESPsp, use of NT practices only enhance physical protection of SOC where soil bulk density is relatively high (|1 .4 g cm-3). Reductions in the volume of small macropores (15-150 µm), which are important for microbial activity, occurred in NT soils at Monmouth and Perry. The LLWR also successfully predicted RESPsp patterns at Perry. Indices of soil structural quality (LLWR, RESPsp, macropore volume) can be used to predict where use of NT practices will or will not enhance SOC sequestration by increasing physical protection of SOC. Active research includes studies of particulate organic matter fractionation techniques, Bt toxin persistence in soils, the influence of organic transition strategies on SOM and soil biology, and the influence of miscanthus and switchgrass on soil C sequestration and trace-gas emissions. Indiana Report - Ronald Turco, Purdue University PROJECT TITLE: TILE DRAINAGE AND DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON FLUX PROJECT PARTICIPANT: MATT RUARK (GRADUATE STUDENT) PIS: SYLVIE BROUDER, MARIANNE BISCHOFF AND RONALD TURCO* * MEMBER NCERA 59 Leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from surface to subsurface soil represents a fraction of agricultural system C that has not been consistently accounted for in C budgets. When DOC reaches the carbon-limited subsurface soils, it may be used as an energy source for denitrifying microorganisms. Dissolved OC loss from soils during drainage events has not been adequately measured to determine total C outputs of tile drained agroecosystems, which dominate the Eastern Corn Belt. This information is important when assessing land use impacts on watershed level carbon cycling. The objectives of this study were: (1) to quantify the effect of fertilizer source and timing on DOC loss from discrete drainage events and (2) to assess the interaction effect of fertilizer application and rainfal/drainage events. Large (10x24 m) in-ground lysimeters were fitted with an ISCO sampling device that collected subsamples from tile drain water on a flow volume proportional basis. Subsamples were filtered and analyzed for DOC using a Shimadzu TOC-V Analyzer. The experiment was set up as a randomized complete block design. Three treatments were selected: spring applied manure, fall applied manure, and spring applied UAN. In 2003, seven discrete drainage events occurred. Events differed with respect to duration of flow and total volume of flow, while DOC mass loss appears to be strongly correlated with total volume of flow. When averaged over all eight events, there appears to be no effect of fertilizer application. However, when DOC mass losses from fertilizer treatments are compared within each event, it appears that timing (of application and rainfall) is an important factor in DOC loss. Results indicate that alone there is no effect of treatment, while there is a significant effect of event and there is a significant interaction effect. These results are important when assessing the effect of adding additional organic carbon (as manure) to soil. Cdrainage events have increased DOC mass loss from the spring or fall manure applications. Further investigation is needed to understand the effect of time between drainage events and time between application and event. Understanding the interaction of climate and management is important for understanding when DOC is likely to be leached into the subsurface and its potential to influence the subsurface C and N cycle. Ongoing Work: Samples were also gathered for 2004 and are currently being analyzed. Determination of nitrate and DOC loss are ongoing to predict subsurface denitrification potential. Additionally, within event effects (DOC concentrations and flow rates) are being analyzed and further timing factors of event and drainage interaction are being explored. Kansas - No Report Maine - No Report Maryland - No Report Michigan Report - Sieg Snapp My primary research focus is on managing inorganic and organic inputs to optimize nitrogen and carbon assimilation in potato and related cropping systems while maintaining yield goals. In 2004, this led to co-authorship of three publications. This research is making contributions to our understanding of nitrogen cycling in Alfisol, coarse soil, irrigated agroecosystems. In two recent review articles I have evaluated how ecological principles can relate multiple functions, soil consequences and economic fators to help choose cover crops in relationship to cropping system niches (Agronomy Journal), and on how to apply biogeochemical principles to design environmentally-friendly nutrient management systems (Ecosystems). My research continues in the area of managing root health, living cover and residue quality input for rhizosphere management to enhance N and P availability and efficient nutrient cycling. I have related research in southern Africa, Malawi where informal irrigation systems are the subject of a project funded by USAID-Bean Cowpea CRSP. These are environmentally sensitive and potentially highly productive agroecosystems of expanding importance to livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. I work with an interdisciplinary team of local and international social scientists, soil scientists, a plant breeder and agronomist to develop a sustainable cropping system approach to these highly degradable, vulnerable soil types. Minnesota Report - Deborah Allan We are in the second year of a study at Lamberton, MN, where we are using 13C and 15N labeled inputs to investigate the storage and turnover of C and N in active and resistant organic matter pools under different cropping systems. We were successful in achieving a deltaC13 of 300 in the above ground corn residues we labeled. Aggregate size distribution and microbial biomass measurements are completed for the first year's samples and we are currently analyzing LF in 3 aggregate size fractions. Two collaborators, Jennifer King and Jeff Strock, are measuring C and N losses from the labeled microplots via NO3 leaching and gaseous emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O. We completed a three year assessment of differences in yield, nitrogen supply and soil quality resulting from applications of digested versus raw manure or inorganic fertilizer at the Haubenschild Dairy Farms in Princeton, MN. We were unable to detect differences in yield and few differences for most nutrient or soil parameters with any of the three amendments. These results are available as a 2 page fact sheet at http://www.mnproject.org/pdf/soils-web.pdf. In a third project, we are monitoring effects on soil quality and fertility of alternative organic management systems, relying on compost vs. manure applications and with and without cover crops. Missouri - Peter Motavalli My research has been addressing the effects of management practices on soil microbiallymediated C and N processes. The relevant research projects I currently am working on include: 1) Determining spatial variation in soil C and N fractions and soil CO2 and N2O gas efflux in paired watersheds with contrasting alley cropping practices, including warm-season grass buffer strips and tree plus grass buffer strips. This research has highlighted the importance of variations in climate, varying depth to a restrictive claypan layer, and differences in vegetation on N2O gas efflux. 2) Evaluating the effects of flooding regimes on decomposition of plant residues in floodplain soils and production of soluble and soluble and insoluble phenolics that can be phytotoxic or reduce plant-available N. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Dan Olk, a member of NCERA-59, who is with USDA-ARS. The collaboration was stimulated by the 2003 NCERA-59 annual meeting in Missouri and a field visit to the Flood Laboratory of the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. 3) Determining the relationship between N fertilizer source (urea and polymer-coated urea), and soil water content on N2O gas efflux in corn production on claypan soils with different artificial drainage and irrigation systems. This project has expanded in 2005 to examine the concept of variable-source N fertilizer management in which the polymer-coated urea would be applied to areas of a field with high risk for N loss and conventional urea to areas of low risk. Several papers have been published or are in preparation from research examining the effects of transgenic Bt corn residues on soil C and N mineralization, soil microbial diversity and activity, and on subsequent growth of soybeans in rotation. A project on the persistence of Bt toxin from corn rootworm Bt corn was also conducted in collaboration with Dr. Michelle Wander, a member of NCERA-59. Nebraska - No Report New Hampshire - No Report North Dakota - Larry J. Cihacek. The major effort in research on soil organic matter in North Dakota has been part of a regional effort of the Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership (PCOR). North Dakota State University has responsibility for the terrestrial component of the effort which includes CO2 inventory and abatement and strategies for terrestrial and geo-storage of CO2. The work during the past year has included an intensive sampling of a series of long-term soil management plots at the NDSU Hettinger Research and Extension Center as well as soil carbon (C) inventories in central Montana and northwestern South Dakota. Approximately 320 cores were collected to a 2 ft (60-cm) depth at the Hettinger site in 2004. Management systems include cropland converted to permanent grass and rangeland converted to cropland. Within the two differing management histories, grass (grazed and ungrazed) as well as wheat, oats and barley are being grown under no-till or conventional crop-fallow management. The objective of this portion of the research is to compare changes in C under the different management treatments with C that was originally in the soil at the beginning of the experiment in 2000 and to evaluate the potential for C sequestration in a semi-arid region. The Montana survey was conducted in June 2004 in Musselshell and Golden Valley Counties in MLRA 58A in central Montana. Three sites were sampled in Musselshell county and two sites were sampled in Golden Valley County. A total of 28 cores were collected in this survey on 5 different soil series. This data is currently being compiled into a technical report for the PCOR program. Eight sites were sampled in Corson, Perkins and Harding counties of northwestern South Dakota in MLRA 54. A total of 48 cores were collected and are currently undergoing processing and analysis. The objective of the surveys is to gather C storage information on soils that have not previously been studied. A secondary objective is to evaluate the amount of C stored in soil carbonates in soils of this region and to attempt to determine if C is being sequestered as inorganic c as well as organic C. This work will continue through the next year and the Ph.D. student that is working on this project will be evaluating the utility of USDA-NRCS s COMET-VR model in interpreting changes that may have occurred especially at the Hettinger site. North Dakota is also participating in the NC-1017 (Carbon Sequestration and Distribution on Eroded Landscapes) Regional Research Committee. Ohio - Richard P. Dick Cover Crop and Tillage Management and Soil Ecology: This research is investigating no-till vegetable and winter cover crops systems in relation to soil ecology and microbial communities, soil fauna including specific studies on earthworms. Also, farm-scale research is being conducted on 6 vegetable farms where two treatments (conventional vs. integrated-winter cover crops/reduced till planting) are being assessed with the Oregon Soil Health Scorecard and a soil quality kit (USDA/NRCS). The most immediate response to the addition of cover crops and reduction of tillage was with the microbial properties and the soil faunal communities. This is due to the greater C inputs with cover cropping which stimulates the microbial community with added energy sources as well as food sources for soil fauna. Reducing tillage reduces disturbance which projects habit and results in less direct physical damage to organisms. Physical properties responded somewhat differently, such as water stable aggregates (WSA) was consistently lower with conventional tillage but otherwise the results from WSA and soil compaction for would indicate that reduced tillage was actually having negative impacts on soil physical properties. There may be several reasons for this. First it may simply be a function of time and that more time is needed to enable the higher levels of biological activity to have measurable effects on soil physical properties with reduced tillage. Secondly, the nature of the dominant soils and its climate in western Oregon; silty soils and a long winter rainy season disperse particles and fill pores. We are encouraged by evidence that there is greater earthworm activity with less disturbance and cover cropping but this apparently is not enough (after 3 years) to off set compaction under the type of strip till system we are using. We have made considerable progress in identifying soil quality indicators. Soil enzyme activity and key soil fauna are sensitive to management effects. We also successfully demonstrated that earthworm midden counts can be a good index of management effects as a simple and statistically robust indicator. C Sequestration in and Microbial Community Dynamics as a Function of Forest Stand age: Stand age and harvest disturbances can have significant impacts on forests ecosystems. The objective was to use phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling alone and in combination with 13C-isotope tracking to determine the influence of clear-cutting and seasonal changes on the soil microbial community (SMC) composition and physiological status. Microbial PLFA profiles and the relative amount of 13C incorporated (13C %) into PLFAs were developed and compared for soils from sites 9 and 25 years after clear-cutting (CC94 and CC77, respectively) and in paired sites from old-growth coniferous forest stands (OG1 and OG2, respectively). PLFA patterns revealed that SMC composition and physiological status were affected by time since clear-cutting but that season had an even bigger effect on microbial communities. The microbial biomass (total PLFA concentration), and bacterial and fungal biomass were significantly reduced in CC94 but not in CC77sites relative to paired OG sites. The combined effect of soil moisture and temperature stress in August samples was reflected in changes to the SMC structure and physiological status. These stressors likely resulted in the modification of microbial membranes as indicated by increases in the ratio of cy17:0 to 16:1ù7 and a decreased degree of unsaturation, which requires a rapid turnover of lipids and would induce metabolic stress and death of microorganisms. The latter effect resulted in the overall reduction in active microbial biomass. Oregon - No Report Pennsylvania - Douglas D. Archibald Investigations over the last year resulted in a USDA NRI proposal on development and application of novel molecular spectroscopic approaches to characterization of soil organic matter. The proposal focuses on understanding the soil transformations occurring in two long-term soil management trials in central Pennsylvania, a rotation by fertility trial and a tillage trial. Preliminary studies resulted in poster presentations at two scientific meetings. I continue to collaborate with Jim Kubicki on use of infrared spectroscopy to characterize the molecular interactions between organic molecules and mineral surfaces. Over the past year several undergraduates and graduates have gained research experience in my laboratory, including P. Drew Mather, who has completed requirements for an M.S. in soil science. To facilitate collaboration with and among my local Penn State University and USDA-ARS colleagues we had an informal monthly discussion group on the topic of soil organic matter research. D. D. Archibald, A. L. Shober, and R. K. Randhawa, Evaluation of two types of infrared methods to characterize soil organic carbon. FACSS 2004, The 31st Annual Conference of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy Societies : Final Program and Book of Abstracts : October 3-7, 2004 : Portland, Oregon (poster). P. D. Mather, R. C. Stehouwer and D. D. Archibald, Organic material transformation during composting and vermicomposting, Soil Science Society of America - 68th Annual Meeting : Oct. 31 - Nov. 4, 2004 :Seattle, Washington poster). Wisconsin - No Report USDA-ARS - Dan Olk A significant accomplishment for NCERA-59 was organization of the symposium described below: Symposium on Meaningful Pools in Determining Soil C and N Dynamics - joint meeting of the Soil Science Society of America and the Canadian Society of Soil Science, Seattle, Washingon, Wednesday, November 3, 2004. Dan Olk, Ed Gregorich and Cindy Cambardella; USDA-ARS, National Soil Tilth Laboratory; 2150 Pammel Drive; Ames, IA 50011; USA 2Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada; Ottawa Research Centre; Central Experimental Farm; Ottawa Canada K1A 0C6 Statement of purpose. The broad purpose of this symposium was to summarize the knowledge gained from the most common procedures for extracting and fractionating soil organic matter. We focused on knowledge that helps us better understand the functions of soil organic matter in meaningful, i.e. real world, issues. Ultimately we intend to help organic matter researchers design their research programs more effectively. This symposium arose from the desire to promote much needed interaction among practitioners of different extraction procedures. A great deal of work has been done during many years with these different procedures, but integrative discussion has been lacking, creating some points of concern. These include: (i) the need to summarize expanding bodies of knowledge; (ii) multiple variants exist for some procedures, but their differences are not clearly documented despite the potential for divergent results; (iii) differences in nomenclature create confusion, especially for specific fractions of organic matter; and (iv) most importantly, no single extraction procedure has proven to be the best choice for all research issues and all soil types. Hence specific goals of this symposium were to: (a) summarize the current state of knowledge on meaningful issues, (b) clearly state a recommended protocol for each of the major extraction procedures and clarify inconsistencies in nomenclature; (c) for the first time state for each procedure its strengths and weaknesses and categorize the situations (research issue, soil type) for which it is the most appropriate choice; and (d) suggest paths for the development of integrated procedures, for example a combined physical and chemical extraction. In order to give the audience a broad perspective of the various procedures, speakers presented an overall review of each topic, rather than focus exclusively on their own research. The methodology was presented in summary form and was not the focus of the presentation. Each presentation objectively discussed the pros and cons of the procedure in question - when does it work and when not with regard to research objectives and soil type. Manuscripts were prepared for seven of the presentations and are currently under review for publication in the Soil Science Society of America Journal. The symposium was co-sponsored by S-3 (Soil Biology and Biochemistry) of the SSSA, the Canadian Society of Soil Science, the Canadian and U.S. chapters of the International Humic Substances Society, and the NCERA-59 multi-state committee, "Soil organic matter: Formation, function and management."

Publications

Anders, M.M., D.C. Olk, T.Harper, T. Daniel, and J. Holzhauer. 2004. The effect of rotation, tillage, and fertility on rice grain yields and nutrient flows. CD-ROM. North Carolina Agricultural Research Service Technical Bulletin 321. Raleigh, NC. Doane T.A. and W. R. Horwath. 2004. Annual dynamics of soil organic matter in the context of long-term trends. Global Biogeochemical Cycles: 18: 1-11. Drinkwater, L.E. and S.S. Snapp. Ms. accepted. Nutrients in agroecosystems: Re-thinking the management paradigm Ecosystems Fang, M., R.J. Kremer, P.P. Motavalli, and G. Davis. In press. Bacterial diversity in rhizospheres of non-transgenic and transgenic corn. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Jung, W.K., N. R. Kitchen, K. A. Sudduth, R. J. Kremer, and P. P. Motavalli. 2005. Relationship of apparent soil electrical conductivity to claypan soil properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 69:883-892. Kraus T. E. C., R. J. Zasoski, R.A. Dahlgren, W.R. Horwath and C.M. Preston. 2004. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a forest soil amended with purified tannins from different plant species. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 36 (2): 309-321. Mitra, S., M.S. Aulakh, R. Wassmann, and D.C. Olk. 2005. Triggering of methane production in rice soils by root exudates: Effects of soil properties and crop management. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69:563-570. Mungai, N.W. and P.P. Motavalli. In press. Litter quality effects on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in temperate alley cropping systems. Applied Soil Ecology Mungai, N.W., P.P. Motavalli and R.J. Kremer. In review. Soil organic C and N fractions in long-term alley cropping systems. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. Mungai, N.W., P.P. Motavalli, K.A. Nelson and R.J. Kremer. In review. Differences in yields, residue composition and N mineralization dynamics of Bt and non-Bt maize. Nutr Cycl in Agroecosy. Mungai, N.W., P.P. Motavalli, R.J. Kremer, and K.A. Nelson. In press. Spatial variation of soil enzyme activities and microbial functional diversity in temperate alley cropping systems. Biol. Fertil. Soils Olk, D.C. and D.A. Martens. Organic forms of nitrogen. In: M.R. Carter (ed.) Soil sampling and methods of analysis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL (in press). Olk, D.C. Organic forms of soil nitrogen. In: J.S. Schepers and W.R. Raun (ed.) Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils, 2nd edition. Soil Science Society of America (in press). Olk, D.C., K.G. Cassman, M.M. Anders, K. Schmidt-Rohr, and J.-D. Mao. 2004. Does anaerobic decomposition of crop residues impair soil nitrogen cycling and yield trends in lowland rice? Proceedings, World Rice Research Conference, 04-07 November 2004, Tsukuba, Japan. Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries: (in press). Olk, D.C., M. Becker, B.A. Linquist, S. Pandey, and C. Witt. Integrated nutrient management - Experience/concepts from South East Asia. In M.S. Aulakh and C.A. Grant (ed.) Integrated nutrient management for sustainable agriculture. Haworth Press (in press).

Impact Statements

Over 50 referred, high quality publications produced during the last three years document the collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts of NCERA-59 committee members to improve understanding of organic matter processes, formation, management and function.
As part of a long-term outreach effort, the project supports the initiation and maintenance of a wide range of outreach materials available through a website on soil quality http://csltest.ait.iastate.edu/SoilQualityWebsite/home.htm.
Collaborative projects involve five sponsored symposium at professional societies, including the Soil Science Society of America, Soil Ecological Society, CASMGS (Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases), NACAA and a Natural Organic Matter workshop.
NCERA-59 committee members have advanced graduate and undergraduate training by writing chapters for and producing the recently published book Soil Organic Matter Management, Advances in Agroecology by Magdoff, F and Weil, R.