Restoration of Degraded/Eroded Soil Under Different Management Practices in the Central Great Plains Region.

Farmlands in the Central Great Plains Region (CGPR) have lost topsoil through wind and water erosion induced by tillage and poor soil management. These soils are now degraded with low soil quality and productivity.  Productivity and quality of degraded/eroded soils can be restored using manure and improved soil management.  Our objectives are to: (i) identify the best management (Nitrogen rates and tillage practice) that improves soil productivity in typical dryland crops in the CGPR; (ii) determine the rate of improvement of soil quality associated with manure amendment versus managing those same soils with chemical fertilizer.  The study is being conducted in two sites, the first site started in 2005 at Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center near Hays, KS and the second site started at 2006 on a farmer’s field near Akron, Colorado.  The experiments are randomized complete block design with crops/soils managed using manure amendment compared with soils/crops managed with commercial fertilizer.  Treatments include a tillage variable (deep plow, shallow sweep, and no-tillage), manure (dry beef), and commercial fertilizer (urea) at three rates (none, low, and high). The preliminary data suggests that manure addition increases soil organic carbon and productivity of eroded soils in the Central Great Plains Region.  In general, the addition of organic material, such as manure could improve many aspects of soil quality, in these eroded sites, which is reflected in increased crop yield.  In addition, the slow release of nutrients with the manure treatment could also have improved soil nutrient status compared with commercial fertilizer.