2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) To discover new information about soil components and processes that will improve pasture and amenity grass establishment and function in Appalachian hill-land grazing and turfgrass ecosystems. Specific objectives: Quantify plant community effects on nutrient pools, fluxes and transformations; Determine manageable regulators of these nutrient pools for incorporation into management models; Develop practices to overcome soil physical and chemical limitations for turf uses such as athletic fields, golf courses and home lawns. This approach will involve natural and constructed soils. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) (1) Establish a baseline of management and vegetation effects on Appalachian hill-land soil nutrient and organic matter dynamics; (2) Determine the extent to which pasture management alters organic matter transformations through changes in soil biological communities; (3) Determine the response of root morphology and function on phosphorus and nitrogen uptake/availability in the rhizosphere and the biological and geochemical mechanisms for increasing phosphorus availability to plants; (4) Determine whether tannins, an important decomposition product of plant matter, interact to regulate organic matter and nutrient availability; (5) Develop and test approaches to modifying the rhizosphere through constructed soils utilizing agricultural and/or industrial by-products as amendments for amenity grasses; Synthesize the findings into conceptual models that provide a framework for decision support tools. 3.Progress Report 1932-12000-004-01S: This report documents research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI). The SCA team identified a developer who was planning construction of a Little League Baseball Park and reached an agreement to locate research plots on the same parcel of land. Soil and water needs surveys were conducted and formal reports suggestions for modifications to reduce cost and disturbance were provided to the developer. The developer elected to not continue with the project. Discussions are currently underway to establish a Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement with the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority regarding another potential project site. This site has the potential for a more sophisticated Baseball Park, and 15 acres are available for constructed soils research plots. Two students have been supported part time. Progress is monitored through bi-weekly planning meetings at Virginia Tech, AFSRC, or the developer’s office and through weekly phone calls and email contacts. 1932-12000-004-02S: This report documents research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and West Virginia State University (WVSU). A postdoctoral research associate was hired by WVSU in March, 2006. A literature review of desired soil characteristics for turfgrass soils and restoration applications has been completed. Findings are currently being summarized into a review article that specifies desirable soil properties and the agricultural and/or industrial by-products that may be used to meet these specifications. Agricultural, municipal, and industrial waste products within the Appalachian region were collected and transported to the AFSRC for physical and chemical characterization. Initial constructed soil mixtures were then developed and tested in greenhouse trials for turf grass establishment, soil physical/chemical properties, water retention, and microbiological properties. Experiments were conducted to mitigate the high levels of potential alkalinity in mixtures constructed using quarry fines and results correlated with soil-plant systems. AFSRC scientists hosted representatives from the National Turfgrass Initiative and the U.S. Golf Association in June, 2006 to discuss progress and upcoming plans for constructed soils research. Progress is monitored through scheduled weekly team meetings, technical advice to cooperator personnel, and on/off site meetings and email correspondence with cooperators. 4.Accomplishments Systems and Risk Analysis: Agricultural system analysis ignores in general an assessment of risks associated with a management system or treatment. A study was conducted to develop a metric to assess risk in a system utilizing triticale, an interspecific hybrid of wheat and rye, as a forage crop as a hedge against the effects of environmental extremes (particularly drought and temperature) on steer productivity. The results of this study provide an alternative but complementary analysis of the data that provide a practical assessment of the probability of success or failure of the planting date for triticale and its utility ini meeting performance goals. The analysis with careful interpretation is capable of comparing complex systems over a wide range of conditions as long as the necessary data is available. Results of the analysis are useful and directly transferable to producers and professional agronomists. The study is documented in a journal article accepted recently by Agronomy Journal. Winter stockering systems to achieve a determined growth rate: Little repeated data has been reported in which forage or forage and non starch-supplemented spring-born winter-stocker cattle achieve a growth rate of at least 1.0 pounds per day of growth from early winter to early spring allowing for slaughter of said cattle at <24 months from an all forage system while meeting industry standards for carcass size. The system based on aftermath Alfalfa/Orchardgrass hayfields and fed second cutting Alfalfa-Red Clover/Orchardgrass baleage when grazable material became limiting, yielded a growth rate over the 135 day stockering period of 1.39 lb/d without any other supplemental feed. These data indicate that all forage wintering systems are possible to support pasture-based beef slaughtered at a youthful age while still producing carcasses of industry acceptable size. Test alternative systems for production and performance risk: Livestock producers are subject to economic risk due to weather phenomena such as droughts that reduce forage production and therefore animal production and farm income. The moderate use of cool-season and warm-season annuals (annual ryegrass and sudangrass, respectively) and perennial warm-season grasses (switchgrass, eastern gamagrass and Bermudagrass) can provide quality feed when the cool-season grasses and legumes are less productive. As technical service providers and producers become more aware of the effect that stocking rate and species mixture selection have on the economic risk in pasture production, they will be able to make improved management decisions on what to grow and how to manage the pasture. NP 101 Food Animal Production. Goal 1: Enhance Economic Opportunities for Agricultural Producers. Performance Measure 1.2.1: Provide producers with scientific information and technology that increase production efficiency, develop improved germplasm, safeguard the environment, improve animal well-being, and reduce production risks and product losses. 5.Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations Accomplishments outlined above specifically target small farm operations in the Appalachian region that are interested in producing pasture/forage-raised beef. One PI was a member of the Planning Committee for the "National Grass-Fed Beef Conference", Holiday Inn Harrisburg-Hershey, Grantville, PA, February 28 to March 2, 2007; attended by over 200 producers, technical service providers, and researchers. An invited paper was presented at this meeting on managing risk in pasture finishing systems, "Drought Management Before, During, and After the Drought". Field Day planned on site for August 1, 2007. Topics relative to project include: 1) SVAREC Cow/Calf Forage Systems Project – Past, Present, and Future 2) Steer Finishing Results from the first five years of the Pasture-Based Beef Systems for Appalachia Project 3) Forage Systems for Grass Finishing Beef Presentation speakers will include scientists from Virginia Tech and Collaborating Institutions. 6.Technology Transfer Number of non-peer reviewed presentations and proceedings 13 Number of newspaper articles and other presentations for non-science audiences 3 Review Publications O Neill, K.P., Ritcher, D., Kasischke, E. 2006. Ecological controls on moss, microbial, and root respiration in burned black spruce soils of interior Alaska. Biogeochemistry 80:1-20. DOI 10.1007/s10533-005-5964-7. Fageria, N.K., Baligar, V.C., Zobel, R.W. 2007. Yeild nutrient uptake and soil chemical properties as influenced by liming and boron application in common bean in notilage system. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 38:1-17. Kinraide, T.B. 2006. Plasma membrane surface potential (psi) as a determinant of ion bioavailability. A critical analysis of new and published toxicological studies and a simplified method for the computation of plant psi. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 25(12): 3188-3198. Halvorson, J.J., Gonzalez, J.M. 2006. Bradford reactive soil protein in Appalachian soils: distribution and response to incubation, extraction reagent and tannins. Plant and Soil Journal, 286:339-356. Riedel, B., Russell, K.R., Ford, W., Godwin, H.W. 2006. "Aneides aeneus" (Green Salamander). Dispersal. Herpetological Review 27:196-197. Zobel, R.W., Baligar, V.C., Kinraide, T.B. 2007. Fine root diameters can change in response to changes in nutrient concentrations. Plant and Soil Journal. 297:243-254. Zobel, R.W., Alloush, G.A., Belesky, D.P. 2006. Differential Root Morphology Response to No versus High Phosphorus, in Three Hydroponically Grown Forage Chicory Cultivars. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 57(1-2):201-208. Staley, T., Brauer, D.K. 2006. Survival of a Genetically Modified Root-Colonizing Pseudomonad and Rhizobium Strain in an Acidic Soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 70(6):1906-1913. Amacher, M., O Neill, K.P., Perry, C.H. 2007. Soil vital signs: A new Soil Quality Index (SQI) for assessing forest soil health. Res. Pap. RMRS-RP-65WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 12p.