Participants
Reid D. Christianson (PI)
Crop Sciences
Website
Paul C. Davidson (Co-PI)
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Website
Nathan E. Schroeder (Co-PI)
Crop Sciences
Website
Summary
The overall goal of this project is to investigate important soil health measures relating to water quality. The “hands-on” nature of this project allows the integration of research and outreach, while focusing on challenges and decisions Illinois producers are currently facing. With the comparison of land management activities including rowcrop agriculture with and without cover crops as well as perennial grass based pasture systems, we can start to address how the management decisions being made impact system resiliency, long-term soil health, and water quality. Specifically, we’ll be investigating infiltration and water holding capacity of the soils under different conditions as well as distribution of plan-parasitic nematode populations and general microbiologic diversity.