Twelve Years of Stover Removal Increases Soil Erosion Potential without Impacting Yield

Authors

Virginia L. Jin, USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NEFollow
Marty R. Schmer, USDA-ARSFollow
Brian J. Wienhold, USDA-ARSFollow
Catherine E. Stewart, USDA-ARSFollow
Gary E. Varvel, USDA-ARSFollow
Aaron J. Sindelar, USDA-ARS
Ronald F. Follett, USDA-ARS
Robert B. Mitchell, USDA-ARSFollow
Kenneth P. Vogel, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Jin, Virginia, Marty R. Schmer, Brian J. Wienhold, Catherine E. Stewart, Gary E. Varvel, Aaron J. Sindelar, Ronald F. Follett, Robert B. Mitchel³, and Kenneth P. Vogel. 2015. Twelve years of stover removal increases soil erosion potential without impacting yield. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 79:1169-1178. doi:10.2136/sssaj2015.02.0053.

Comments

U.S. government work

Abstract

Corn (Zea mays L.) stover (non-grain aboveground biomass) in the US Corn Belt is used increasingly for livestock grazing and co-feed and for cellulosic bioenergy production. Continuous stover removal, however, could alter long-term agricultural productivity by affecting soil organic C (SOC) and soil physical properties, indicators of soil fertility and erosion potential. In this study, we showed that 12 consecutive yr of 55% stover removal did not affect mean grain yields at any N fertilizer rate (4.5, 6.3, and 6.0 Mg ha⁻¹ for 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively) in a marginally productive, rainfed continuous corn system under no-till (NT). Although SOC increased in the top 30 cm of all soils since 1998 (0.54–0.79 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), stover removal tended to limit SOC gains compared with no removal. Near-surface soils (0–5-cm depth) were more sensitive to stover removal and showed a 41% decrease in particulate organic matter stocks, smaller mean weight diameter of dry soil aggregates, and lower abundance of water-stable soil aggregates compared with soils with no stover removal. Increasing N fertilizer rate mitigated losses in total water-stable aggregates in near-surface soils related to stover removal. Collectively, however, our results indicated soil structure losses in surface soils due to lower C inputs. Despite no effect on crop yields and overall SOC gains with time using NT management, annually removing stover for 12 yr resulted in a higher risk of wind and water erosion at this NT continuous corn site in the western Corn Belt.