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Soil Nitrogen Cycle CSCAP Speed Science Fact Sheet

John E. Sawyer, Iowa State University
Initial Publication Date: April 29, 2016

Summary

The Soil Nitrogen Cycle - CSCAP (Acrobat (PDF) 1.9MB Oct8 15)and additional Speed Science Fact Sheets and presentation videos are available on the SERC site and are approved for use in educational, research and extension settings. The fact sheets were developed and presented as "Speed Science" by the Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems CAP (CSCAP).

The CSCAP is a transdisciplinary partnership among 11 institutions creating new science and educational opportunities. It seeks to increase resilience and adaptability of Midwest agriculture to more volatile weather patterns by identifying farmer practices and policies that increase sustainability while meeting crop demand.

Printable flyer >> About CSCAP Project (Acrobat (PDF) 2.9MB Oct8 15)


Learning Goals

To promote the long-term sustainability and productivity of U.S. corn-based cropping systems against recent climate trends and future uncertainty. Sustainable Corn Project scientists are seeking to make agriculture more resilient by studying farm management practices that minimize losses in carbon, through soil erosion, and nutrients, such as nitrogen, during heavy rains. Their mission is to understand the causes and effects of the hypoxic zone and to coordinate activities to address it.

. . . the underlying premise of the Sustainable Corn Project is that farmers are problem solvers and with sound science they are better able to identify and develop strategies necessary to adapt.

Context for Use

Project Objectives:

  • Develop standardized methodologies and perform baseline monitoring of carbon, nitrogen and water footprints at agricultural test sites across the Midwest.
  • Evaluate how crop management practices impact carbon, nitrogen and water footprints at test sites.
  • Apply models to research data and climate scenarios to identify impacts and outcomes that could affect the sustainability and economic vitality of corn-based cropping systems.
  • Gain knowledge of farmer beliefs and concerns about climate change, attitudes toward adaptative and mitigative strategies and practices, and decision support needs to inform the development of tools and practices that support long-term sustainability of crop production.
  • Promote extension, outreach and stakeholder learning and participation across all aspects of the program.
  • Train the next generation of scientists, develop science education curricula and promote learning opportunities for high school teachers and students.

Description and Teaching Materials

Pages / Length: 1

Publication Date: 08/2012

Printable handout >> Soil Nitrogen Cycle - CSCAP (Acrobat (PDF) 1.9MB Oct8 15)

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for animals and plants. For cereal crops, it is often the most limiting nutrient and therefore important in regard to fertilization and management. Nitrogen is abundant in nature; air is 78% N; rocks of the earth's crust have 50 times more N than the atmosphere; and the surface layer of most cultivated soils contains 1,200 to 6,000 lb N/acre, with more than 90% in organic forms. However, the majority of this N is not in a form that plants can take up, and must be converted to plant available ammonium (NH4) or nitrate(NO3), or supplied from atmospheric N2 fixation by plant/microbe symbiosis or industrial fertilizer manufacture. Nitrogen is very reactive in that it can change among many forms: organic, such as amino acids, proteins,and chlorophyll; gasses, such as ammonia (NH3), dinitrogen (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O); and ions, such asNH4+, nitrite (NO2-) and NO3-. Conversion from one form to another occurs by many chemical and biological processes, which are highly influenced by environmental conditions, especially temperature and moisture.The overall interaction between soil, air, microbes, plants, animals, and humans is called the N cycle (see figure). In soils, plants and microbes interact with all components of the cycle, with many processes occurring simultaneously and all having potential influence on the fate of N.

A major factor complicating N management for crop production, and the importance of climate, is that the soil is an open system – meaning that N can move out of the soil ("be lost") to the atmosphere or to ground and surface waters. If such movement did not occur, then N management would be much less complicated. Research continues to better understand the intricacies of the soil N cycle and the influence from climate, with the goal to provide management options in order to enhance N use by crops and therefore improve agronomic efficiency, economic profitability, and environmental quality.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Great teaching resource as well as a handout for use with the video: CSCAP 0109 2012 VIDEO

The full collection of Resilient Agriculture publications can be found here: Resilient Agriculture CSCAP (Acrobat (PDF) 4.2MB Oct31 15)

For formal and informal education. This publication for farmers, farm advisors and agricultural teachers contains articles about some of the findings of a USDA-NIFA-funded project researching ways to make corn-soybean systems more resilient to the impacts of climate change.The CSCAP project's multi-pronged approach utilizes place-based education at multiple levels (9-12, undergraduate, graduate, extension and stakeholders) to increase learning and foster a new generation of scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs and citizens.

The Soil Nitrogen Cycle Fact Sheet is a quick reference with graphs and charts showing increasing greenhouse gas concentration.


Assessment

Assessment is at the discretion of the educator and how the Speed Science Fact Sheets are applied.

References and Resources

Project Partners

Ten land grant universities and one USDA Agricultural Research Service laboratory are participating in this project. These 11 institutions represent nine states in the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin).

· Iowa State University

· Lincoln University

· Michigan State University

· The Ohio State University

· Purdue University

· South Dakota State University

· University of Illinois

· University of Minnesota

· University of Missouri

· University of Wisconsin

· USDA Agricultural Research Service–Columbus, Ohio

· USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)

Citation

Sawyer, J. (2014). Speed Science Fact Sheet: Soil Nitrogen Cycle - CSCAP. R