Spatial and Temporal Variability in Soil Health Across Cropping Systems Typical of the Upper Midwest

Our goal is to improve understanding of soil health over time and space in cropping systems typical of the upper Midwest to facilitate a more multifunctional agriculture. We use the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) and the Soil Organic Carbon network (SOCnet) to estimate soil health parameters in a range of cropping systems over time and in a range of environmental contexts (i.e., climate, soil texture, slope, aspect, management).

The Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST)

The Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) is a large-scale (24 ha), long-term (est. 1989) cropping systems experiment in southcentral Wisconsin. This trial is unique globally among long-term agroecological experiments in both its scale and breadth, with systems spanning conventional and organic agriculture, commodity-grain and dairy-forage rotations, annual and perennial cropping systems, rotationally grazed livestock, native grasslands, and the production of food, feed, and fuel. WICST serves as a “field lab” for undergraduate and graduate student research and education, a destination for field days and farmer-scientist collaborations, and an invaluable resource and research platform for the broader scientific community.

The Soil Organic Carbon Network (SOCnet)

The Soil Organic Carbon Network (SOCnet) is a farmer-scientist collaboration monitoring long-term effects of farming practices on soil carbon (SOC) and other soil health metrics in the North Central US. SOCnet is a network for accurately monitoring SOC change and helping farmers evaluate carbon-market opportunities. SOCnet links producer-driven on-farm research with long-term cropping systems experiments in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, that serve as “hubs” for the network and play a critical role in our understanding of SOC change. On-farm sites complement long-term experiments providing essential information about how “real world” farming and environmental variation affect SOC dynamics.