Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Officers:

Chair:  Matt Ruark, University of Wisconsin

Acting Secretary:  Larry Cihacek, North Dakota State University

Matt Ruark (WI) opened the meeting at 8:45 AM at the Union South. The first order of business was introduction of the attendees.   This was followed by election of the 2018 Chair and Secretary.  Julie Grossman (MN) was elected Chair for 2018 and Sindhu Jagadamma (TN) was elected Secretary for 2018. 

Ron Turco (IN) presented the advisors report.  The mid-term review for this committee will be in 2019 so we need to keep that in mind.  The USDA budget has not yet been approved but significant cuts were presented in the President’s version of the proposed budget.  With little information to go on at this time, it is likely that there will be some changes in the final budget.  Be cautiously optimistic!

The annual report is due in 60 days.  Turco will send out the format for the state reports.  The format has changes slightly so that each states written report should follow the new format.

He also reported on a recent national AFRI survey on granting efforts.

New Business:

A discussion was held about how we can relate to the Soil Health Institute (SHI).  Much of the committee members’ work relates to the SHI’s objectives and goals.  Some of the suggestions discussed were:

1. Write a white paper or journal paper on who we (NCERA 59) are, and what we do.
2. How do we, or how can we relate to the SHI?
3. Suggestion that Michelle outlines white paper and tries to link it to the Soil Health Institute Meeting in July.

In a related discussion that can help link us to the SHI, can we update the “old” soil quality indicators (or, soil health indicators)? And, how do we update them?  Michelle Wander (IL) presented the “old” matrix and discussed possible ways to redo it.  From that, an interface with soil health cam be made.  Michelle will send out a spread sheet to the committee members to allow them to make changes and/or additions, compile the comments and then forward the compilation back to the members for their review.

The group broke for lunch at 12:00.

At 1:00 PM, the group left to tour the Arlington Field Station and visited the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial, and Biofuels Research Plots hosted by Gregg Stanford.

Following the research tour, the group traveled to Cedar Grove Cheese to see the “Living Machine” wastewater treatment system and cheese tasting. The group returned back to Madiso by 5:00 PM.

Wednesday June 21, 2017:

The meeting resumed at 8:30.  Tuesday’s discussion war reviewed and state reports were presented. Reports were presented by Wisconsin, California, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee and USDA-ARS.

A teleconference is planned sometime later this summer or fall to continue work on the paper and updating soil health indicators.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon by Matt Ruark.

CA:     Potential soil tests for the commercial testing industry were evaluated to assess soil nitrogen availability to crops. A number of standard tests were compared, including total soil carbon and nitrogen, water-extractable organic carbon and nitrogen, salt–extractable carbon and nitrogen, mineralizable carbon on rewetting, and permanganate-oxidizable carbon to a new proposed test of  soil respiration to estimate nitrogen mineralization across a variety of soils from cover-cropped and non-cover-cropped fields.  We found the soil respiration test was variable and not better than existing tests used by commercial labs.

IL:       Work on our multifunctional polyculture project has expanded to include studies of the effects of alley cropping and tree spacing on water and nutrient capture and carbon sequestration. Using information gained from on- farm studies of soil management systems we are learning how to design conservation measurement tools by delineation of farming types.  We have successfully added N₂O emission factors to Argonne National Lab’s CLUB tool that is used by their GREET LCA by adapting and validating DayCent’s N and hydrology submodels.

KY:     Preliminary studies indicate labile C and microbial enzyme activity strongly stratify beneath cover crop systems. In conventional maize production this appears to benefit yield and N use efficiency. Carbon stratification also occurs in mixed cover crops after a single season of growth.

NE:     Research confirms arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are abundant and functional in P and N uptake during the reproductive stages of growth of high yielding maize. Nitrogen fertilization at agronomic rates had minimal impact on overall AM fungal diversity and colonization of maize roots; however, the frequency and distribution of AM fungal phylotypes varied with N fertilization level and may have important implications for agroecosystem management. Although N fertilization level did not impact AM colonization and P metabolism in the roots of maize, the development and biomass of the external mycelium (i.e. ERM) was highly reduced by the application of N fertilizer. Current focus is on expression of plant P and N transporters important for nutrient use efficiency in crops as well as crop rotational impacts on AM function and diversity. These findings may impact how we manage these systems, particularly tillage, fertilizer and crop rotation decisions, given the importance of the ERM to nutrient capture and tolerance to water stress.

ND:     Completed a NIFA-AFRI project entitled “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Soil Quality in Long-term Integrated and Transitional Reduced Tillage Organic Systems”. 

NV:     Conversion of native rangelands to irrigated agriculture in semi-arid environments will result in potentially large C losses from soils. The remaining C present in the agricultural soils tends to be more recalcitrant and resistant against decomposition.  Fluxes of CO₂ from the soil were much higher in the agricultural field than in the native rangelands despite the organic matter in the agricultural field being more resistant against decomposition. Higher soil CO₂ efflux rates were most likely due to a combination of more favorable moisture conditions in the soil for decomposition and potentially higher production of CO₂ by roots present in the soil.

OR:     SOM in winter wheat-summer fallow systems (WW-SF) continues to decline, particularly where there was a residue burning treatment, compared to grassland. SOM continues to decline because growing one crop in two years under WW-SF is not producing enough residues to build up SOM. Furthermore, tillage operations that are still practiced by many farmers accelerate SOM depletion. Our studies indicated that biochar increased SOC and soil pH. The optimum rate for wheat production under WW-SF on Walla Walla silt loam soil (coarse-silty, mixed, mesic Typic Haploxeroll) was 22 Mg ha^-1. This rate also raised soil pH by 0.2 to 0.4 units. This is particularly important given that soil pH in the top 10 to 15 cm has dropped <5.0 which below 5.2, the critical pH for wheat due to continuous use of ammoniacal N fertilizers. Different cover crops to improve soil health are also being evaluated.

TN:     1) The role cover crops play in maintaining the health of TN soils is currently being determined. We use an existing field trial that was started in 2013 in a corn-soybean system at the University of Tennessee’s Research and Education Center (REC) in Milan, TN. This experiment includes several single and multi-species cover crop treatments, such as wheat, cereal rye, cereal rye plus hairy vetch, cereal rye plus crimson clover, and the USDA-NRCS recommended soil health mixture (combination of cereal rye, whole oats, purple top turnips, daikon radish, and crimson clover) as well as a no CC control. NRCS’s soil health mixture outperformed other treatments on soybean yield after 3 years of study. Several soil properties, including soil moisture content and soil inorganic N, are being influenced by cover crop treatments. No significant differences in total as well as easily decomposable fractions of organic carbon were observed across the cover crop treatments. 2) Another study was conducted to understand the implications of growing transgenic switchgrass on soil quality. Transgenic switchgrass plants with lower levels of lignin in cell wall aid better conversion of biomass to biofuel. However, lignin is an important component of soil organic matter (SOM). Residue of plants with lower lignin might alter SOM and nutrient cycling and overall soil quality. We hypothesized that soils planted with transgenic switchgrass would affect SOM cycling differently than soils planted with non-transgenic switchgrass. Soil samples were collected from two transgenic switchgrass plots at the East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Knoxville. Active organic carbon, total organic carbon, and microbial respiration results provided little evidence that switchgrass plants with downgraded lignin have a negative effect on soil properties important for ecosystem sustainability.

WI:     Our lab is starting its second year, and have been making progress on infrastructure for SOM experiments, including building a 64-jar multiplexed CH₄ and CO₂ stable C isotope gas analyzer allowing us to conduct fundamental research into SOM interactions in soil and soil microbial community functioning. We are also building a ¹³CO₂ plant growth labelling chamber to allow us to produce biomass that we can track through soil as it decomposes. In addition, we are installing a “charcoalator”, which will allow us to produce highly-replicable pyrogenic organic matter under controlled conditions, improving our ability to study its cycling in soils as well as its effect on non-pyrogenic soil organic matter. We are also working on a number of projects studying the effects of fire on SOM and soil microbial communities, including a collaboration with the Canadian Forest Service, where we are investigating the effects of fire severity on soil microbial communities in boreal forests across a wide range of sites.

Publications:

CA:

Wade, J., W. R. Horwath, M. B. Burger. 2016.  Integrating Soil Biological and Chemical Indices to Predict Net Nitrogen Mineralization across California Agricultural Systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 80: 1675-1687.

Hurisso, T. T., S. W. Culman, W. R. Horwath, J. Wade, D. Cass, J. W. Beniston, T. M. Bowles, A. S. Grandy, A. J. Franzluebbers, M. E. Schipanski, S. T. Lucas and C. M. Ugarte. 2016. Comparison of Permanganate-Oxidizable Carbon and Mineralizable Carbon for Assessment of Organic Matter Stabilization and Mineralization. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 80: 1352-1364.

KY:

Mubiru, D.N., J. Namakula, J. Lwasa, G. A. Otim, J. Kashagama, M. Nakafeero, W. Nanyeenya, and M. S. Coyne. 2017. Conservation farming tillage methods are more beneficial than conventional methods on degraded Ugandan soils. Sustainability. (In press.)

Kreba*, S., O. Wendroth, M.S. Coyne, and J. Walton. 2016. Soil gas diffusivity, air-filled porosity, and pore continuity: Land use and spatial patterns. Soil Science Society of America (Manuscript S-2016-10-0344-OR).(In Press).

IL:

Wolz, K., DeLucia, E., Branham, B. Eddy, W., Revord, R., Wander, M., Yang, W., and S. Lovell, S. In review. Production agroforestry: a transformative solution for temperate agriculture. Frontiers in Ecology.

Ugarte, C., Kwon, H., and M. Wander, In press. Conservation Management and Ecosystem Services in Midwest Agricultural Systems. Journal Soil and Water Conservation.

Qin , Z., Canter CE., Dunn, J.B., Mueller, S. Kwon, H-Y, Han, J., Wander, M.M. and M. Wang. In review. Land management change greatly impacts biofuels’ greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment.

Kwon, H-Y., Ugarte, C.M., Ogle, S.M., Williams, S.A., and M.M. Wander.  2017. Use of inverse modeling to evaluate CENTURY-predictions for soil carbon sequestration in US row crop systems. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(2):e0172861

Soman, C., Li, D., Wander, M.M. and A.D. Kent. 2016. Long-term fertilizer and crop-rotation treatments differentially affect soil bacterial community structure. Plant and Soil. doi:10.1007/s11104-016-3083-y

Lazicki, P.A., Liebman, M., M.M Wander. 2016.   Root parameters show how management alters resource distribution and soil quality in conventional and low-input cropping systems in central Iowa.  PlosOne. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164209

Qin, Z., Dunn, J.B., Kwon, H-Y, Mueller, S. and M.M. Wander. 2016. Influence of spatially-dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol. Global Change Biol. DOI: 10.1111/gcbb.1233.

NE:

Joseph, M., T. Awada, N. Bryan, W. Schacht, R. Drijber, Y. Li, X. Zhou, J. Okalebo, D. Wedin, J. Brandle, J. Hiller. 2016. Ecophysiological responses of native invasive woody Juniperus virginiana L. to resource availability and stand characteristics in the semi-arid grasslands of the Nebraska Sandhills. (Accepted by Photosynthetica).

Rakkar, M.K. et al. Impacts of cattle grazing of corn residues on soil properties after 16 years. Accepted by SSSAJ.

Snell, L.K., J.A. Guretzky, V.L. Jin, R.A. Drijber, M. Mamo. Ruminant urine increases uptake but decreases relative recovery of nitrogen by smooth bromegrass. (Accepted by Crop, Forage and Turfgrass Management).

Segal, L.M., D.N. Miller, R.P. McGhee, T.D. Loecke, K.L. Cook, C.A. Shapiro, R.A. Drijber. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) abundance more responsive to management than ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in a long term continuous maize site. (Accepted by Soils and Tillage Research).

Liang, Z., R.A. Drijber*, D.J. Lee,  D.A. Wedin, G.Y. Yuen, I.M.Dweikat. 2016. Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots of Juniperus virginiana invasive to grasslands. (Accepted by SSSAJ).

ND:

Olson, K. R., M. Al-Kaisi, R. Lal, and L. Cihacek.  2016. Soil organic carbon dynamics in eroding and depositional landscapes.  Open J. Soil Sci. 6:121-134. 

Bhowmik, A, A.M. Fortuna, L. J. Cihacek, A. I. Bary, and C. G. Cogger. 2016.  Use of biological indicators of soil health to estimate reactive nitrogen dynamics in long-term organic vegetable and pasture systems. Soil Biol. & Biochem. 103:308-319.

Aher, G., L. J. Cihacek and K. Cooper.  2017. An evaluation of C and N of fresh and aged crop residue from mixed long-term no-till cropping systems.  J. Plant Nutr. 40:177-186.

Bhowmik, A., A. M.  Fortuna, L. Cihacek, A. I. Bary, P. Carr, and C. G. Cogger.  2017. Potential carbon sequestration and nitrogen cycling in long-term organic management systems.  Renew. Agric. Food Sys. doi:10.1017/S1742170516000429.

Bhowmik, A., A.-M. Fortuna, L.J. Cihacek, and P.M. Carr. 2017.  Use of laboratory incubation techniques to estimate GHG footprints from clean and no-tillage organic agroecosystems. Soil Biol. Biochem. 112:2014-215.

OR:

Awale, R., S. Machado, R. Ghimire, P. Bista. Soil Health. In Georgine Yorgey and Chad Kruger (eds) Advances in Dryland Farming in the Inland Pacific Northwest. Washington State University, pp 47-98.

Bista, P., S. Machado, R. Ghimire, G. Yorgey, D. Wysocki. 2017. Conservation Tillage Systems. In Georgine Yorgey and Chad Kruger (eds) Advances in Dryland Farming in the Inland Pacific Northwest. Washington State University, pp 98-124.

Yorgey, G., W. Pan, R. Awale, S. Machado, A. Bary. 2017. In Georgine Yorgey and Chad Kruger (eds) Advances in Dryland Farming in the Inland Pacific Northwest. Washington State University, pp 283-318.

Maaz, T.M., W. F. Schillinger, S. Machado, E. Brooks, J. L. Johnson-Maynard, L. E. Young, F. L. Young, I. Leslie, A. Glover, I. J Madsen, A. Esser, H. P. Collins, W. L. Pan. 2017. Impact of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Winter Wheat and Cropping System Performance across Precipitation Gradients in the Inland Pacific Northwest, USA

Hansen, N.C., B.L. Allen, S. Anapalli, R.E. Blackshaw, D.J. Lyon, and S. Machado (2017) Dryland agriculture in North America. In: Farooq M, Siddique KHM (eds) Innovations in dryland agriculture. Cham, Springer, pp 415–441.

Ghimire, R., S. Machado, and P. Bista. 2017. Soil pH, soil organic matter, and Crop Yield in Wheat-Fallow Systems. Agron J. 109:1–12. doi:10.2134/agronj2016.08.0462.

Bista, P., S. Machado, R. Ghimire, S. J. Del Grosso, and M. Reyes-Fox. 2016. Simulating soil organic carbon in a wheat-fallow system using the Daycent Model. Agron J. 108:2554-2565.

WI:

Cates, A.M. and M.D. Ruark. 2017. Soil aggregate and particulate C and N under corn rotations: responses to management and correlations with yield. Plant and Soil 415:521-533.

Collier, S.M., M.D. Ruark, M.R. Naber, T.W. Andraski, and M.D. Casler. 2017. Apparent stability and subtle change in surface and subsurface soil carbon and nitrogen under a long-term fertilizer gradient. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 81:310-321.

Willis, A., Bunge, J., and Whitman, T. 2016. Improved detection of changes in species richness in high-diversity microbial communities. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 10.1111/rssc.1220.

Woolf, D., J. Lehmann, A. Cowie, M.L. Cayuela, T. Whitman, and S. Sohi. 2017. Biochar for climate change mitigation. In R. La. (editor) Advances in soil science: Soil and climate.

Lajtha, K., V. Bailey, et al. 2017. Chapter 12 – Soils. In State of the Carbon Cycle Report 2. U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program.

USDA-ARS:

Castellano, M., K.E. Mueller, D.C. Olk, J. Sawyer,  and J. Six. 2016. Integrating plant litter quality, soil organic matter stablilization, and the carbon saturation concept. Glob. Change Biol. 21:3200-3209.

Mao, J., X. Cao, D.C. Olk, W. Chu, and K. Schmidt-Rohr, K. 2017. Advanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy of natural organic matter. Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 100: 17-51.

Abdelrahman, H., C. Cocozza, D.C. Olk, D. Ventrella, and T. Miano, T. 2017. Carbohydrates and amino compounds as short-term indicators of soil management.  Clean – Soil Air Water 45 (1): 1600076. 

Poffenbarger, H.J., D.W. Barker, M.J. Helmers, F.E. Miguez, D.C. Olk, J.E. Sawyer, J. Six, and M.J. Castellano, M.J.  2017.  Maximum soil organic carbon storage in Midwest U.S. cropping systems when crops are optimally nitrogen-fertilized.   PLOS One: DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0172293.

Xu, J, B. Zhao, W. Chu, J. Mao, D.C. Olk, X. Xin,  and J. Zhang. 2017.  Altered humin compositions under organic and inorganic fertilization on an intensively cultivated sandy loam soil.  Sci. Total Environ. 601-602: 356-364.

Xu, J.S., B.Z. Zhao, W.Y. Chu, J.D. Mao, D.C. Olk,  J.B. Zhang, and W.X. Wei. 2017. Evidence from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the processes of soil organic carbon accumulation under long-term fertilizer management. Eur. J. Soil Sci. :  DOI:

Theses:

NV:     Trimble, B.R. The effects of land management on organic matter dynamics in a semi-arid Nevada soil. 2017. M.S. Thesis. University of Nevada, Reno.

TN:     Chu, M. 2017.  Effect of different cover crop species on crop production and soil health. MS Thesis. The University of Tennessee.

Activities (Outreach and Presentations):

KY:

Alvarado-Raya, H., J. Taraba, and M.S. Coyne. 2017. Factors regulatorios para las emisiones de metano y dioxide de carbano a partir de compostas. 2017. V Congreso Internacional y XIX Congreso Nacional de Ciencias Agronomicas, Universidad Autonoma Chapingo. p. 459-460.

Coyne, M.S.  2017. “Soil Quality and How to Measure It”Ag Biotech Day, 22 July 2017. Lexington KY.

Coyne, M.S. 2017. “Soil Quality and How to Measure It.” Grain Crops Field Day. 07/27/20017, Princeton KY.

Coyne, M.S. 2017. “CIG Project.” Field Day - Manure & Cover Crops in Small Scale Farming. 06/14/2017, Logan Co. KY.

Gibbs, L., M.S. Coyne, and J. Grove. 2017 “Potential Nitrogen Benefits from Cover Crops.” Kentucky No-Till and Cover Crop Soil Health Forum, 03/23/2017, Princeton KY.

IL:

Wander, M., Ugarte, C. and B. Davison. Co-organized with Extension and Illinois Organic Growers Association: “Local Grains and Local Markets”, to explore challenges & opportunities for high value organic grain crops in Illinois. Champaign, IL. September 2016.

Wander, M.M. Presented the W.A. Albrecht Lecture: Valuing Soil Health, Ecological Intensification and the Oeconomy, April University of Mo.  2016.

Wander.  M.M.  Presented ‘Assessing and Accessing Progress in Soil Health’.  Campaign, IL. Land Connection Conference’ Beyond Production, Growing the Organic Grain Industry Feb 17, 2017.  Audience about 100.

Wander, M.M.  Presented ‘Increase Soil Organic Matter to Increase Row-Crop Resiliency: The Living Soil’ as part of the Extension Crop Management Conference Winter Series 2017.  Presented in Mt Vernon, Jan 18, Springfield, Jan 25, Champaign, Feb 1. and Malta Feb 15. Audience 100-150.

NE:

Ramirez II, S., J.L. Lindquist, R.A. Drijber, V.L. Jin, E.S. Jeske, H. Blanco. The Impact of Organic Crop Rotations and Ecological Weed Management Strategies on Soil Quality. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, Nov. 6-9, 2016. Phoenix AZ. (Nov 9, poster)

Ramirez II, S., R.A. Drijber, V.L. Jin, E.S. Jeske, H. Blanco. Impact of Corn Stover Removal on Soil Microbial Communities in No-till and Convential till Continuous Corn. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, Nov. 6-9, 2016. Phoenix AZ. (Nov 7, oral)

Ramirez II, S., R.A. Drijber, V.L. Jin, E.S. Jeske, H. Blanco. The Impact of Increasing Diversity of Crop Rotations on Soil Microbial Communities Under Variable Rates of Nitrogen Fertilization. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, Nov. 6-9, 2016. Phoenix AZ. (Nov 8, oral)

Rakkar, M.K., H. Blanco, M. Drewnoski, J. MacDonald, R.A. Drijber, T.J. Klopfenstein. Impacts of Cattle Grazing of Corn Residues on Soil Properties after 16 Years. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings, Nov. 6-9, 2016. Phoenix AZ. (Nov 7, oral)

Ramirez II, S., R.A. Drijber, V.L. Jin, E.S. Jeske, H. Blanco. The Impact of Increasing Diversity of Crop Rotations on Soil Microbial Communities Under Variable Rates of Nitrogen Fertilization. UNL Plant Science Retreat, October 14, 2016, Nebraska City, NE.

Stengel, A., R.A. Drijber, J.R. Herr. Microbes, Management, and Maize, Oh My! A Meta-Analysis of the Maize Microbiome. UNL Plant Science Retreat, October 14, 2016, Nebraska City, NE.

ND:

Cihacek, L. J.  2016.  Building soil organic matter for increased nutrient cycling and crop production. August 25, 2016. Building for the Future: Beef and Forage Field Day, Dickinson Research Extension Center Ranch Headquarters, Manning, ND. (Oral, invited).

Landblom, D. G., S. Senturklu, L. Cihacek and E. Brevik.  2016.  Effect of a 5-year multi-crop rotation on mineral N and hard red spring wheat yield, protein, test weight and economics in western North Dakota, USA.  Abst. No.  EGU2016-17807.  Abst. of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Meetings, April 17-22, 2016, Vienna, Austria.

Landblom, D., S. Senturklu, L. Cihacek, and E. Brevik.  2017.  Integrated systems mitigate land degradation and improve agricultural system stability.  Abst. No. EGU2017-11591.. Abst of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Meetings, April 23-28, 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Cihacek, L. J.  2016.  Building soil organic matter for increased nutrient cycling and crop production. August 25, 2016. Building for the Future: Beef and Forage Field Day, Dickinson Research Extension Center Ranch Headquarters, Manning, ND. (Oral, invited).

NV:

Verburg, P.S.J., Ketchian, E., Trimble, B.R., and S.R. Poulson. 2016. Assessment of two methods for determination of quantity and isotopic composition of soil C in arid soils. Annual Meeting Soil Science Society of America, Academic, Phoenix AZ.

Trimble, B.R., Verburg, P.S.J., and S.R. Poulson. 2016. Effects of Land Use Change on the Organic C Fractions in a Semi-Arid Soil. Annual Meeting Soil Science Society of America, Phoenix, AZ.

TN:

Chu, M., S. Jagadamma, M. Buschermohle, and F. Walker. 2017. Effects of different cover crop species on soil and water quality. 26^th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, April 5-7, Burns, TN (oral presentation).

Jagadamma, S.  2017. Conservation Management Practices for Agroecosystem Sustainability. 26^th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, April 5-7, Burns, TN (oral presentation).

Ottinger, S., and S. Jagadamma. 2017. Effects of genetically modified switchgrass cultivation on soil carbon dynamics. Posters at the Capitol, March 1, Nashville, TN (poster presentation)

Jagadamma, S. 2016. Organic matter sequestration and cycling in managed ecosystems. China-US Joint Symposium of Environmental Health and Ecological Safety with main theme of “International Nexus of Food, Energy, Water and Soil”. Oct 26-28. Yixin, China (oral presentation)

Jagadamma, S. 2016. Moderator for a half-day session on Soil Health organized by the Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition Division of SSSA at the 2016 ASA-SSSA-CSSA Annual Meeting

WI:

Diederich, K., K. Krishnan, E. Silva, and M.D. Ruark. 2017. Increasing labile C and N pools in agricultural soils requires a change in system, rather than practice. Ecology of Soil Health Summit, Fort Collins CO, 5-9 June.

Richardson, G., M. Ruark, M. Chawner, E. Olson, and A. Radatz. 2017. Comparison of labile nitrogen and carbon measurements to assess soil health in Wisconsin. Soil Health Conference, Ames, IA, 16-17 Feb.

Diederich, K., K. Krishnan, E. Silva, and M.D. Ruark. 2017. Wisconsin dairy vs. grain rotations: how big are the differences in soil health? Soil Health Conference, Ames, IA, 16-17 Feb. https://register.extension.iastate.edu/images/events/2017Soilhealth/Diedrich---Wisconsin-Daity-vs-Grain-Rotation.pdf

Krishnan, K., M.D. Ruark, and J.R. West. 2017. Examining the effect of cover crop treatments on potentially mineralizable nitrogen. Soil Health Conference, Ames, IA, 16-17 Feb. https://register.extension.iastate.edu/images/events/2017Soilhealth/Krishnan_-_Examining_the_Effect_of_Cover_Crop_Treatments_of_Potentially_Mineralizable_Nitrogen.pdf

Krishnan, K., M.D. Ruark, and J.R. West. 2016. Examining the effect of cover crop treatments on potentially mineralizable nitrogen. ASA-SSSA-CSA, Phoenix, AZ, 6-9 Nov.

Ivancic, K, and M.D. Ruark. 2016. How quantifiable are in-situ mineralization columns in sandy soils? ASA-SSSA-CSA, Phoenix, AZ, 6-9 Nov.

Whitman, T., M. Traxler, I. Grigoriev, and T.D. Bruns. 2017. Determination of the roles of Pyrophilous microbes in the breakdown and sequestration of pyrolyzed forms of SOM. Dept. of Energy Genomics Mtg., Washington, DC. (poster presentation)

Whitman, T. 2017. Life inside the black box: Soil microbes, climate change, and fire. Chaos and Complex Systems Seminar, UW-Madison, Madison, WI. (oral presentation).

Whitman, T. 2016. C association and bacterial and fungal colonization of fresh soil minerals in the rhizosphere. Plant Pathology, UW-Madison. (oral presentation).

Whitman, T. 2016. Life in the charosphere: pyrogenic organic matter cycling in natural and managed ecosystems. Environmental Chemistry, UW-Madison. (oral presentation).

Public outreach at Science Expeditions Day: Designed and ran “Soil safari and critter quest” booth for public including children and parents. (April 2017).