Prairie pothole soils: Hotspots of nitrogen losses from Iowa agricultural landscapes? [E2017-02]

Project Description: 

This research project will expand ongoing work to examine how nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions vary from well-drained upland soils to poorly-drained pothole depressions under three different land cover types: conventional corn-soybean cultivation, Miscanthus (a perennial grass), and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) mixed perennial vegetation. The researchers will text to see whether 1) potholes represent hotspots of nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching and 2) potholes with perennial Miscanthus or CRP vegetation will lower nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions. 

Project ID: 
E2017-02
Years of Grant Project: 
2
Total Grant Amount: 
$95,702
Project Start: 
2017
Lead Investigator: 
Steven J. Hall
Lead Investigator Bio: 

Steven J. Hall is an assistant professor in the Iowa State University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology. He has been teaching at ISU since 2014. Hall earned a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science from the University of California, Berkeley. His research explores bio-geochemical controls on nutrient cycling, decomposition, and greenhouse gas production from soils in managed and natural ecosystems.

Email: stevenjh@iastate.edu

Co Investigators: 

Amy Kaleita, ISU Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Emily Heaton, ISU Department of Agronomy