GLOBE ONE is a field campaign that began in Spring 2004, and is taking place in Black Hawk County, Iowa. It is a collaborative project in which local students and scientists collect a variety of environmental data to investigate how land cover affects the local soil, atmosphere, water, and plant growth/development. Black Hawk County is largely agricultural, so differences in tillage practices affect much of the land cover, but urban and prairie areas are also part of the county's study areas. The specific research question is: “For corn and soybeans, what are the environmental impacts associated with different frequencies and intensities of soil tillage farming, and with different amounts of crop residue left after planting as compared to prairie and urban sites?” By addressing a locally-relevant research topic, GLOBE ONE has engaged students in the praxis of environmental science. Students have learned about the environment in which they live, and have experienced soil and agricultural science in both the classroom and field.

A variety of data are being logged with micrometeorological weather stations mounted on poles that can be adjusted in height to account for the growth of the surrounding vegetation. The weather stations are located at 10 "intensive" study sites: four sites are no-till agriculture fields; four are conservation tillage agricultural fields; and two are prairie. The automated data include soil and air temperature, soil moisture, rainfall, humidity, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction. Approximately one complete year of automated data have been collected. We are currently seeking collaborators for the GLOBE One project, and are also interested in publicizing GLOBE One data to potential users. This poster will showcase some of the volunteer- and student-collected soil moisture and landcover data collected during the GLOBE One Campaign.