Michigan State researchers to study soil health amid changes in rainfall patterns
"Ultimately, we want to equip farmers with the knowledge and ability to implement cost-effective strategies for their operations long into the future," said Alexandra Kravchenko, an MSU professor.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A new $750,000 grant will help a team of researchers at Michigan State University study changes in soil health from intensive rainfall and/or droughts.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture is intended to help researchers examine the effects of summer weather patterns of extreme droughts and intense rainfalls on soils in Midwest corn, soybean and wheat production systems.
"There is a lot of research on climate change and agriculture, but there are few reliable quantitative assessments of the implications of drought or excess moisture on soil health," said Alexandra Kravchenko, a professor at MSU's Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences who is leading the project.
"This is due in part to the significant expense of field-scale precipitation simulations, as well as the variety of management practices used by farmers," Kravchenko said. "To generate a more comprehensive understanding of the issue, we’re looking at the problem under different management techniques and rainfall scenarios."
Researchers intend to focus on two primary determinants of soil health:
Soil structure: the arrangement of soil particles and how easily water and air can move within the soil.
Organic matter: the living and dead material within the soil that is decomposed by microbes.
The experiment, which is intended to last for four years, will be initiated at the W.K. Kellog Biological Station in Hickory Corners, Michigan. This site is home to a Long-Term Ecological Research Program, which is part of a network established by the National Science Foundation to research the ecology of cropping systems in the U.S.
The research team intends to use rainout shelters from an LTER project that began in 2021 to create controlled precipitation conditions.
"Researchers are investigating conventional tillage and no-till management — the two tillage practices most common in the Midwest — and comparing them with 'old field' land, areas that were previously farmed but have been left to grow herbaceous annual vegetation," reads a statement from MSU AgBioResearch. "The team will document changes in soil using a number of soil health indicators."
Soil samples will then be collected to study characteristics such as total carbon and nitrogen, bulk density, microbial biomass, enzyme activity and aggregate stability.
Statistical analysis and modeling will then help create a predictive model on the potential effects of excessive rainfall and drought on soil health.
"Healthy soils are essential to agriculture, not only in the Midwest but worldwide," Kravchenko said.
"Ultimately, we want to equip farmers with the knowledge and ability to implement cost-effective strategies for their operations long into the future," Kravchenko said. "That relies in part on being prepared for changes in rainfall patterns, so we believe this work is critical to long-term agricultural sustainability."