Corn Stover Removal Affects On Soil Carbon In An Irrigated System.

Corn stover has been proposed as a possible feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production and this experiment was initiated to investigate the effects of removing corn stover on the soil resource. Corn stover has been harvested every year after grain harvest at three levels (approximately 0, 50, and 100% of the aboveground stover produced) in an irrigated continuous corn experiment in eastern Nebraska. The experiment was initiated in 2001 and soil samples were collected from all plots to a depth of 150-cm prior to the first year of the study and analyzed for soil organic C. Soil samples were taken again in the fall of 2010 after harvest to the same depth and again analyzed for soil organic C. Comparison of the soil C results from the two sampling dates will be presented and the effects of residue removal on soil C changes will be discussed.