Browsing by Subject "Soil health"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    A Comparison of Soil Infiltration Rates across Silvopasture, Open Pasture and Traditional Forest Management in Central Minnesota
    (2016-10) Vaughan, Sophia
    Silvopastoral implementation has been proposed as an environmentally and economically beneficial practice for livestock farmers in Central Minnesota. To assess the adoptability and merits of silvopastoral systems, three paddocks (open pasture, traditional woodlands, and silvopasture) were developed at three farms. Water infiltration was used as a metric for water and soil quality. Soil infiltration, moisture content, saturated hydraulic conductivity and physical soil properties were collected at each location. Subsurface nutrient transport was measured in situ and in a laboratory with a bromide tracer. Soil infiltration rates increased at 47% of test locations. The bromide tracer tests and soil texture results confirmed minimal secondary porosity present, inhibiting vertical nutrient transport. Vegetation and animal management, geology, soils, climate change and prior land use were discussed as possible influences for soil infiltration. Results suggest silvopasture implementation in this region can improve soil infiltration without increasing the risk of water pollution.
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    The Impacts Of Clearcut Harvest And Management Implications On Soil Health Across The Chippewa National Forest
    (2024-05) Laehn, Adam
    Clearcut harvest (CCH) accounts for over 70% of harvesting activities in the state of Minnesota. CCH is known to influence soil nutrient levels, soil physical properties, and long-term ecosystem recovery. We assessed the impacts of CCH on dynamic soil chemical and physical properties across a gradient of parent material, time since harvest, FSDMP class, and soil depth on stands in the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. The effects of CCH on soil health were generally parent material specific and occurred in the upper soil (0-20 cm), with coarse-textured outwash soils being more susceptible to P losses over time post harvest. Conversely, long-term concerns related to Mg recovery were identified in fine-textured till soils. We found elevated soil bulk density levels that may persist past 15-20 years post harvest in both glacial outwash and glacial till and various changes in soil nutrients across disturbance gradients.Based on the effects of CCH being confined to the upper 0-20 cm we then evaluated if k-means clustering could influence forest management decisions on the Chippewa National Forest by grouping upper soil (0-20 cm) properties that are important for effective timber management into six forest soil health groupings. We evaluated if the k-means clusters explained more variation in eight soil health indicators than what forest managers are currently using, which are landtype associations and soil taxonomy. Landtype associations explained more variation than soil taxonomy and k-means clusters. Soil taxonomy and k-means clusters explained equal variation for the soil health indicators. The study area scale is more local than previous research that has been done to classify upper soil properties using k-means clustering. We compared this study to others that were at a larger scale and found that clustering may improve the identification of local patterns, but at a larger scale, k-means clusters are more informative than soil taxonomy reducing regional complexity. We effectively grouped upper soil properties into six, easy to interpret, forest soil health clusters that can be used to enhance silvicultural prescriptions and aid in reducing detrimental impacts on soil health post harvest.
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    Soil Health Case Studies
    (University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, 2020-02) Read, Aidan
    The Sustainable Agriculture Case Studies project is a partnership among several organizations and numerous individuals. The project reflects the partners’ understanding that farmers learn best from each other and that strong connections across the landscape will result in wider adoption of effective soil health practices. In 2016, the Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (SWRSDP) natural resources work group discussed the economic and soil health benefits that cover crops and other sustainability practices were providing to farmers. In an effort to encourage a greater number of farmers to adopt soil health practices and experience the economic and environmental benefits, the working group decided to develop case studies of farmers who had been successful in practicing sustainable agriculture and soil health, including the use of cover crops. The case studies were designed to feature farmers at the forefront of innovation who have been using a variety of soil health practices for three or more years and whose stories are meant to offer tangible examples, support, and encouragement to others. The Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) at the University of Minnesota participates in the SWRSDP natural resources working group. The Center enlisted a University student researcher in the summer of 2016 to begin gathering farmer case studies. In 2018, the case studies were updated and more farmers’ stories were added with the help of the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota (SFA) and Kathy Dooley, Graduate Research Assistant through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). Because of the popularity of the case studies, SWRSDP, CINRAM and SFA are again partnering to offer another set of case studies, featuring more stories. These new case studies, and the first series, are the basis of FarmMaps.com a farmer-to-farmer networking tool, adapted to a variety of outreach platforms allowing interested farmers to learn about, connect with, and receive advice from fellow farmers with experience successfully applying soil health practices. The ability to talk to a peer about benefits, successes, challenges and costs on issues related to soil health is a powerful motivator for adoption and provides a source of continued support.
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    Soil Health Case Studies, Vol. IV
    (University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, 2021) Butler, Megan
    The Soil Health Case Studies feature farmers who have been successful in practicing sustainable agriculture and soil health, including the use of cover crops, in an effort to encourage a greater number of farmers to adopt soil health practices. The Pomme de Terre Case Studies focus on farmers in the Pomme de Terre River watershed of west central Minnesota. This is one of a series of four sets of soil health case studies, developed to create resources for farmers to learn from each other and forge stronger connections across the landscape to promote wider adoption of effective soil health practices.