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Mapping Conservation Management Practices and Outcomes in the Corn Belt Using the Operational Tillage Information System (OpTIS) and the Denitrification–Decomposition (DNDC) Model

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen C. Hagen

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Grace Delgado

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Peter Ingraham

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Ian Cooke

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Richard Emery

    (Applied Geosolutions, LLC, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Justin P. Fisk

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Lindsay Melendy

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Thomas Olson

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Shawn Patti

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Nathanael Rubin

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Beth Ziniti

    (Applied Geosolutions, LLC, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Haixin Chen

    (Applied Geosolutions, LLC, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • William Salas

    (Dagan Inc., Applied Geosolutions, Durham, NH 03824, USA
    Applied Geosolutions, LLC, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Pipa Elias

    (The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA)

  • David Gustafson

    (Conservation Technology Information Center, West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA)

Abstract

Identifying and quantifying conservation-practice adoption in U.S. cropland is key to accurately monitoring trends in soil health regionally and nationally and informing climate change mitigation efforts. We present the results of an automated system used across 645 counties in the United States Corn Belt from 2005 to 2018, mapped at field-scale and summarized for distribution at aggregated scales. Large-scale mapping by OpTIS (Operational Tillage Information System), a software tool that analyzes remotely sensed data of agricultural land, provides trends of conservation tillage (defined as >30% residue cover), cover cropping, and crop rotations, while modeling by DNDC (Denitrification–Decomposition), a process-based model of carbon and biogeochemistry in soil, provides estimates of the ecosystem outcomes associated with the changes in management practices mapped by OpTIS. Ground-truthing data acquired via OpTIS mobile, a roadside field-surveying app, were used for verification in 30 counties. OpTIS results for the Corn Belt show adoption of cover crops after planting corn and soy increased from 1% to 3% of the mapped area when comparing 2006 to 2018. Comparison of trends for conservation tillage use from 2006 to 2018 shows a slight decrease in conservation tillage adoption, from 46% to 44%. Results from DNDC show these soils sequestered soil organic carbon (SOC) at an area-weighted mean change in SOC (dSOC) rate of 161 kgC/ha/year. Comparatively, in a scenario modeled without the adoption of soil health management practices, the same soils would have lost SOC at an area-weighted rate of −65 kgC/ha/year. As many factors affect changes to SOC, including climate and initial SOC in soils, modeling counterfactual scenarios at the field scale demonstrates outcomes of current soil health management in comparison to regional management practices and best management practices, with respect to SOC sequestration. Regional trends in adoption rates of conservation agriculture and resulting soil health implications are of great use for a wide range of stakeholders. We demonstrate the capability of OpTIS remote sensing to deliver robust, large-scale, multi-sensor, ground-verified monitoring data of current and historical adoption of conservation practices, and of DNDC process-based modeling to provide assessments of the associated environmental outcomes across regions in U.S. cropland.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen C. Hagen & Grace Delgado & Peter Ingraham & Ian Cooke & Richard Emery & Justin P. Fisk & Lindsay Melendy & Thomas Olson & Shawn Patti & Nathanael Rubin & Beth Ziniti & Haixin Chen & William Sa, 2020. "Mapping Conservation Management Practices and Outcomes in the Corn Belt Using the Operational Tillage Information System (OpTIS) and the Denitrification–Decomposition (DNDC) Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:11:p:408-:d:435269
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ingraham, Peter A. & Salas, William A., 2019. "Assessing nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching mitigation potential in US corn crop systems using the DNDC model," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 79-87.
    2. Gilhespy, Sarah L. & Anthony, Steven & Cardenas, Laura & Chadwick, David & del Prado, Agustin & Li, Changsheng & Misselbrook, Thomas & Rees, Robert M. & Salas, William & Sanz-Cobena, Alberto & Smith, , 2014. "First 20 years of DNDC (DeNitrification DeComposition): Model evolution," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 292(C), pages 51-62.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Le & Rejesus, Roderick M. & Aglasan, Serkan & Park, Byungyul & Hagen, Stephen & Salas, William, 2021. "The Impact of Cover Crops and No-Till Systems on Soil Erosion," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 314005, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Chen, Le & Rejesus, Roderick M. & Aglasan, Serkan & Hagen, Stephen & Salas, William, 2022. "The Impact of No-Till Production on Agricultural Land Values in the US Midwest," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322445, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Le Chen & Roderick M. Rejesus & Serkan Aglasan & Stephen Hagen & William Salas, 2023. "The impact of no‐till on agricultural land values in the United States Midwest," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(3), pages 760-783, May.
    4. Byungyul Park & Roderick M. Rejesus & Serkan Aglasan & Yuyuan Che & Stephen C. Hagen & William Salas, 2023. "Payments from agricultural conservation programs and cover crop adoption," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 984-1007, June.
    5. Lawson Connor & Roderick M. Rejesus & Mahmut Yasar, 2022. "Crop insurance participation and cover crop use: Evidence from Indiana county‐level data," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 2181-2208, December.
    6. Serkan Aglasan & Roderick M. Rejesus & Stephen Hagen & William Salas, 2024. "Cover crops, crop insurance losses, and resilience to extreme weather events," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(4), pages 1410-1434, August.

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