2006 Annual Report 1.What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is the problem? Why does it matter? Past and present management practices affect soil properties and sustainability of agricultural production in the future. While there has been extensive research describing individual plot or field scale conservation practices, results are limited when evaluating long-term cumulative effects of management practices. This research will focus on developing tools to quantify and assess the effects of conservation practices on soil and water quality. The research results will also contribute to multi-location research required by the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). Agricultural practices have greatly modified soil properties compared to native, never-tilled soils. Early soil management practices were conducted to prepare a seed bed, to control weeds, and to release nutrients that were sequestered in soil organic matter in the soil. The result was usually a degraded soil resource with a lower organic matter content, poorer fertility, and a reduced potential for productivity. Grassland and forest soils generally lose about 20 to 50% of the original soil organic carbon content in the zone of cultivation within the first 40 to 50 years of cultivation. Losses of soil nitrogen were usually proportional (about 10%) to the carbon losses. More recent practices, i.e., improved fertilization, reduced or no-tillage management, and increased plant populations, have slowed soil degradation, and sometimes may have actually improved soil quality although not to the original potential. The long-term nature of soil degradation processes is another problem. Erosion, for example, occurs over very long periods of time. Agricultural practices may accelerate or slow erosion. Researchers have often turned to computer simulator models to evaluate management effects on soil properties. While early models such as the Universal Soil Loss Equation dealt only with erosion, more recent models simulate many more soil parameters and include the effects of complex management scenarios and climatic variability. But these models must be calibrated to soil and climatic conditions. This research program addresses several goals of the Soil Resource Management Action Plan – NP202. Of particular relevance is Component II: "Nutrient management." The proposed research directly addresses subsection 3 - Basic Research in Soil-Plant Interactions, Nutrient Fate, and Transformations, subsection 4 - Soil Management Effects Controlling On-Site Retention of Nutrients at Farm, Watershed, and Basin Scales, and subsection 5 - Management Effects on Carbon-Related Processes and Soil Response. Contributions are also made to Component V: "Productive and Sustainable Soil Management Systems," subsection 2 - Developing sustainable soil management systems, and subsection 4 – Assessing and Interpreting the Effects of Soil Management on Soil Quality. A portion of the proposed research also addresses component III: "Soil water" subsection 3 - Soil water availability. 2.List by year the currently approved milestones (indicators of research progress) Objective 1. Assess the sustainability of soil and crop management practices by developing methods and techniques to use soil biological and ecological communities and processes as indicators of soil quality. FY 2007 Milestone: Collect soils for soil microbial activity measured by CO2 evolution after wetting and drying. FY 2008 Milestone: Complete analysis of soils for soil microbial activity measured by CO2 evolution after wetting and drying. FY 2009 Milestone: Evaluate methods used to determine soil microbial activity measured by CO2 evolution after wetting and drying. FY 2010 Milestone: Complete analysis after modification of methods used to determine soil microbial activity measured by CO2 evolution after wetting and drying. FY 2011 Milestone: Complete evaluation of methods used to determine soil microbial activity measured by CO2 evolution after wetting and drying. Objective 2. Determine effects of soil and management practices and systems on sequestration of carbon in soil. Evaluate/validate an agricultural simulation model (e.g., EPIC) to predict carbon sequestration under different soils and cropping systems. FY 2007 Milestone: Complete soil sample analysis for organic carbon content. FY 2009 Milestone: Complete computer simulations using recorded weather and historical management practices. FY 2010 Milestone: Finish evaluation of the EPIC computer simulation model. Objective 3a. Determine the effect of manure use in cropping systems on soil physical properties(soil structure, aggregate stability, and soil water storage and availability to plants): Soil physical properties. FY 2007 Milestone: Identify research areas with known manure application histories and soil sample. FY 2009 Milestone: Complete sample analysis for soil aggregate size distribution, aggregate stability, water storage and change in plant available water. FY 2011 Milestone: Complete the analysis of results of manure application on soil physical properties and prepare manuscripts to document the results. Objective 3b. Determine the effect of manure use in cropping systems on soil physical properties (soil structure, aggregate stability, and soil water storage and availability to plants): Soil nutrient dynamics FY 2007 Milestone: Transition land areas from conventional farming to organic farming methods. FY 2008 Milestone: Determine optimum tillage implements for weed control in organic farming systems FY 2009 Milestone: Experimentation with crop rotation using wheat, corn and soybean. FY 2010 Milestone: Implement best system based on prior three years results. FY 2011 Milestone: Complete analysis of experimental results and report results. 4a.List the single most significant research accomplishment during FY 2006. None 4b.List other significant research accomplishment(s), if any. None 4c.List significant activities that support special target populations. None 5.Describe the major accomplishments to date and their predicted or actual impact. None 6.What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end-user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? None 7.List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). None