Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Completed Competitive Grant

Assessing soil quality impacts after conversion of marginal cropland to productive conservation

Project ID: E2006-17

Abstract

Planting trees on poor quality cropland may yield some benefits for increasing soil organic carbon. Test plots in four parts of Iowa were examined to determine the level of benefits possible to achieve.

Key Question: Would converting highly erodible, low productivity cropland to forestry practices increase soil organic matter content in the surface layers and lead to improved soil quality and related ecosystem assets of these lands?

Findings: At four contrasting locations across the state, planting trees did result in a relatively rapid and sustained increase in surface soil organic matter content. This result suggests that conversion of marginal agricultural lands to forestry practices will improve soil quality and has potential to enhance related ecosystem assets associated with water quality and availability, nutrient cycling and carbon storage.

Lead investigator: Thomas Sauer,, USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory, et al

Year of grant completion: 2009

This competitive grant project was part of the Leopold Center's Ecology Initiative.

Topics: Agroforestry, Soils and agronomy