{"title":"In situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for evidencing the adsorption mechanism of ammonium on a pinewood-derived biochar","authors":"Priya Saini, Jason P. de Koff, Sudipta Rakshit","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20097","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20097","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biochar is used as a soil amendment for improving soil health. Biochar is known to possess high adsorption capacity for nutrient ions, especially toward NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>. However, there is limited information regarding the direct binding mechanisms of NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> on biochar. Although few infrared spectroscopic studies were conducted by characterizing the biochar solid phase, no research was reported, in which the adsorption mechanism was deciphered in the presence of water. Here we report NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> adsorption mechanism on pinewood biochar using in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> adsorbed strongly on pinewood biochar at pH 8.5 and less at pH 5.5 as revealed by infrared band shifts and symmetry change. Macroscopic adsorption envelope corroborated the spectroscopic finding by resulting in higher adsorption capacity with increasing pH.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20097","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45591301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jarrett M. Lardy, Thomas M. DeSutter, Aaron L. M. Daigh, Miranda A. Meehan, James A. Staricka
{"title":"Effects of soil bulk density and water content on penetration resistance","authors":"Jarrett M. Lardy, Thomas M. DeSutter, Aaron L. M. Daigh, Miranda A. Meehan, James A. Staricka","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20096","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20096","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Infrastructure installation (e.g., pipelines) disturbs soils, often resulting in increased soil compaction (bulk density [Bd] and penetration resistance [PR]). The relationship of PR to Bd, gravimetric water content (Θg), and a suite of other properties were determined on seven topsoils to provide a model and database for reclamation specialists to use when assessing disturbed soils. Penetration resistance had a strong linear association with Bd, but higher Θg reduced the range of PR as Bd increased. Step-wise regression identified Bd, Θg, texture, clay speciation, and organic matter as significant factors to predict PR. The model predicts PR from <1 to 8 MPa and closely match measured values. Soil Bd and Θg contributed to 84% of the model's explained variation in predicting PR. This study provides a tool for reclamation specialists that aids in understanding the risks associated with disturbances and highlights the importance of keeping Θg low during installation of pipelines.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41449779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Daren Harmel, Peter Kleinman, Austin P. Hopkins, Paul Millhouser, Jim A. Ippolito, Debabrata Sahoo
{"title":"Updates to the MANAGE database to facilitate regional analyses of nutrient runoff","authors":"R. Daren Harmel, Peter Kleinman, Austin P. Hopkins, Paul Millhouser, Jim A. Ippolito, Debabrata Sahoo","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20095","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20095","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The first compilation of nutrient export coefficients for specific land uses in the United States was completed in 1980. Building off that effort, the “Measured Annual Nutrient loads from AGricultural Environments” (MANAGE) database was developed in 2006 to summarize annual field-scale nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) runoff data from agricultural land uses. It also presents descriptive data such as land use, tillage, conservation practices, soil type, soil test P, slope, and fertilizer formulation, rate, and application method, along with runoff, precipitation, and soil erosion. Here, we update MANAGE to facilitate regional analyses, adding 27 studies and Level II ecoregion delineations for each of the 94 studies such that data are now available from 11 of the 50 North American Level II ecoregions, representing the major U.S. agricultural regions. This contemporary data repository is freely available from USDA Ag Data Commons to support scientific analyses, model evaluations, and management and policy decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20095","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44446079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guoyou Zhang, Qinan Hu, Rong Cao, Rao Fu, Hamdulla Risalat, Xiaoya Pan, Yaxin Hu, Bo Shang, Rongjun Wu
{"title":"Yield loss in rice by acute ozone pollution could be recovered","authors":"Guoyou Zhang, Qinan Hu, Rong Cao, Rao Fu, Hamdulla Risalat, Xiaoya Pan, Yaxin Hu, Bo Shang, Rongjun Wu","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20093","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20093","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rising concentration of surface O<sub>3</sub> threatens crop production and food security. To improve the evaluation and develop efficient adaptations, it is essential to study the effects of acute O<sub>3</sub> pollution. We adopted this study by open-top chamber (OTC) method and found that the fumigation of elevated O<sub>3</sub> (NF40) for short (tillering and jointing, heading and ripening) and long periods during rice growth reduced the grain yield by 17, 19 and 25%, respectively, showing that both of the acute and chronic O<sub>3</sub> pollution reduce rice production. Moreover, in comparison with the plants under chronic O<sub>3</sub> pollution, grain yield was increased when O<sub>3</sub> was removed at different stages: 32% increment at tillering and jointing and 34% increment at heading and ripening. These results suggest a possibility to recover the yield loss in rice under O<sub>3</sub> pollution.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20093","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47681679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Glenn Arthur Garcia, Jason G. Warren, Sergio Abit, Chime Garcia, Grace Flusche Ogden
{"title":"Sample processing impacts on single wet sieve aggregate stability analysis","authors":"Glenn Arthur Garcia, Jason G. Warren, Sergio Abit, Chime Garcia, Grace Flusche Ogden","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20094","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20094","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Soil aggregate stability is widely considered an indicator of soil health. However, there is a lack of test procedure standardization for this soil property. Presently, air-drying and manual grinding are commonly used in preparing samples for testing, which are time-consuming and labor intensive. This study evaluated oven-drying (65 °C) aggregates and processing by either disk or flail mechanical grinders as a way to improve efficiency of conducting aggregate stability analysis as compared with air drying and manual grinding. Surface soil samples were collected from forest, grassland, no-till, and cultivated areas across 22 fields in Oklahoma with textures ranging from sandy loam to clay loam. The stable fractions of oven-dried samples were highly correlated to the results of the analysis that used air-drying. The stable fractions of mechanically ground samples were also highly correlated with manually ground samples. Oven-drying in combination with either of the grinding methods is a suitable way of improving the efficiency of soil aggregate stability analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20094","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47843793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mississippi state and county level yield gap in corn production","authors":"Jagman Dhillon, Xiaofei Li, Raju Bheemanahalli, Vaughn Reed","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20092","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20092","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Continuous corn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) yield increases are required to promote economic development and support a larger population. Reducing the existing yield gaps is a potential strategy to accomplish this goal. The objective of this study was to evaluate yield trends, and gaps at different production levels in Mississippi using data from 2012 to 2021. Production levels considered were Mississippi yield contest (Yc), Mississippi State University hybrid testing trials under irrigation (Yp) and dryland (Yw), and actual yield (Ya) from USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Since 2012, Yc, Yp, and Ya are stagnant, and Yw has a nonsignificant positive trend. Averaged over 10 yr, a yield gap of 5.6 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup> between Yc and Ya, 4.1 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup> between Yp and Ya, and 2.0 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup> between Yw and Ya were noted at state level. Existing yield gap underlines current production limitations and necessitates adoption of improved agronomic practices.</p><p><b>Core Ideas</b>\u0000 \u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20092","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49086896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alan J. Franzluebbers, Robert Shoemaker, Jeff Cline, Bruce Lipscomb, Carl Stafford, Bhupinder S. Farmaha, Robert Waring, Nathan Lowder, Wade E. Thomason, Matt H. Poore
{"title":"Adjusting the N fertilizer factor based on soil health as indicated by soil-test biological activity","authors":"Alan J. Franzluebbers, Robert Shoemaker, Jeff Cline, Bruce Lipscomb, Carl Stafford, Bhupinder S. Farmaha, Robert Waring, Nathan Lowder, Wade E. Thomason, Matt H. Poore","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20091","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20091","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Agriculture faces a dilemma with nitrogen (N)—it is often the most necessary external input to optimize production, several generations of farmers became accustomed to its relatively inexpensive cost, and it contributes to widespread pollution due to numerous loss pathways to the environment. However, standard N fertilizer recommendations have not accounted well enough for a key source via mineralizable soil N. Soil-test biological activity (STBA) is strongly associated with mineralizable soil N, both of which become surface-enriched with conservation agricultural management using soil health principles. A series of field experiments assessed the contribution of mineralizable soil N to the N supply needed to optimize corn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) grain and fall-stockpiled tall fescue [<i>Schedonorus arundinaceus</i> (Schreb.) Dumort.] production. This essay synthesizes how STBA along with cost-to-value threshold can be used to modify the N fertilizer factor to optimize economic return and avoid environmental degradation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20091","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42346061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeffrey Svedin, Newell R. Kitchen, Curtis J. Ransom, Kristen S. Veum, Robert L. Myers
{"title":"A tale of two fields: Management legacy, soil health, and productivity","authors":"Jeffrey Svedin, Newell R. Kitchen, Curtis J. Ransom, Kristen S. Veum, Robert L. Myers","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20090","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20090","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Adjacent fields with contrasting histories present an opportunity to evaluate the legacy of management on soil health (SH) and grain productivity. In 2011, two fields transitioned to no-till grain production. During the previous 25 yr, one was pasture (pasture-to-grain; PTG), whereas the other was annually tilled for grain cropping (long-term grain; LTG). The study objectives were to contrast these two fields relative to SH and productivity. Yield data was collected from 2011 to 2021 and SH sampled in 2021. The PTG out-yielded LTG each year, with an average 46% yield increase. 2021 SH metrics demonstrated similar trends, with PTG 62% higher than LTG. Contrasting across fields (2020–2021), SH metrics were related to yield (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup> = .46–.78), but these relationships weakened when assessed within each field. These findings affirm SH indicators are sensitive to the legacy of management and are meaningful indicators of productivity across sites but less informative for within-field variability.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20090","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48918376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dam impoundment elevates soil phosphorus and some trace elements in reservoir hydro-fluctuation belts","authors":"Dan Yang, Zongqiang Xie","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20089","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20089","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To examine the role of dam impoundment in elevating the levels of soil-associated phosphorus (P) and trace elements in reservoir hydro-fluctuation belts (RHB), soil samples in RHB and adjacent uplands (non-flooded area, NFA) in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, were collected and analyzed. Concentrations of available P, copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and zinc (Zn) were found to be higher in RHB than in NFA (<i>p</i> < .05), whereas organic carbon was comparable in RHB and NFA (<i>p</i> > .05). The elevated levels of Cu, Cr, and Zn in RHB were probably associated the repeated drying–rewetting cycles created by the dam impoundment. The 95th percentile of the single-factor pollution index and geo-accumulation index in RHB were 1.29 and −0.21 for Zn, 3.21 and 1.15 for Cu and 3.37 and 1.17 for Cr. Elevated pollution potential of soil-associated Zn, Cu, and Cr existed in RHB of the Three Gorges Reservoir.</p><p><b>Core Ideas</b>\u0000 \u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20089","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49287968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fernanda Souza Krupek, Steven Mugisha Mizero, Daren Redfearn, Andrea Basche
{"title":"Assessing how cover crops close the soil health gap in on-farm experiments","authors":"Fernanda Souza Krupek, Steven Mugisha Mizero, Daren Redfearn, Andrea Basche","doi":"10.1002/ael2.20088","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ael2.20088","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Assessing the success of cover crops (CCs) as a way to promote soil health at the farm scale remains a challenge. At four on-farm CC experiments in Nebraska, we quantified soil health relative to a reference soil. We examined physical, chemical, and biological properties in near-surface soil. Cover crops reduced the soil health gap between bare (no-CC) and reference soil in the short (3-yr) timescale, but the magnitude of responses depended on cropland management history and ecological dynamics of reference site plant communities. Increases in soil health relative to reference soils showed some relationship to increases in soybean [<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr.] and corn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) yields. Clear discrimination of reference from bare soils was most influenced by organic matter and infiltration measurements conducted under the highest sampling intensity. Framing soil metrics relative to reference soils and ensuring appropriate sampling intensity are important to quantify the effects of CC on farm landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48502,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural & Environmental Letters","volume":"7 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ael2.20088","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41597496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}