2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/26/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | EFFECT OF WINTER VEGETATIVE COVER ON DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON (DOC) INPUT TO STREAMS DRAINING INTENSIVELY FARMED WATERSHEDS | Virtual Platform

EFFECT OF WINTER VEGETATIVE COVER ON DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON (DOC) INPUT TO STREAMS DRAINING INTENSIVELY FARMED WATERSHEDS

Agriculture in the central US has a fallow period of 5-7 months during which croplands are largely devoid of vegetation, leaving soils vulnerable to significant nutrient and carbon loss. We measured the effect of using winter cover crops on DOC losses from fields (through tile drains) and in-stream DOC loads for four years across two watersheds in northern Indiana. Water from tile drains had 1-5 mg/L DOC and cover crops reduced concentrations in one watershed and were neutral in the other. Movement of DOC to streams through tile drains was reduced by cover crops, but the strength of the effect varied seasonally and between watersheds. Molar DOC:nitrate ratios of the inputs were usually <1 due to nitrogen fertilization of cropland, and cover crops generally did not alter DOC:nitrate ratios because cover crops also reduced nitrate inputs. Winter vegetative cover has great potential for sequestering carbon in soils and our results support adoption of cover crops as a natural climate solution. The short-term impact on streams appears to be reduced DOC inputs from adjacent cropland, which has important implications for ecological and biogeochemical processes in these nitrate-rich streams.

Carbon cycle
Land use
Stoichiometry

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Presenters/Authors

Todd V. Royer (), Indiana University Bloomington, troyer@indiana.edu;