IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i13p5622-d1426438.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the Multifaceted Tradeoffs of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Ecosystem Services in the Midwest U.S

Author

Listed:
  • Amit P. Timilsina

    (Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), The Ohio State University (OSU), Wooster, OH 44691, USA)

  • Garrett Steinbeck

    (Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), The Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Ajay Shah

    (Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), The Ohio State University (OSU), Wooster, OH 44691, USA)

  • Sami Khanal

    (Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), The Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of the potential effects of conservation practices on soil health, crop productivity, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remains elusive, despite extensive research. Thus, the DeNitrification–DeComposition (DNDC) model was employed to evaluate the impact of eleven commonly practiced management scenarios on ecosystem services in the Western Lake Erie Basin, USA, from 1998–2020. Out of eleven scenarios, eight were focused on corn–soybean rotations with varied nitrogen application timing (50% before planting and 50% at either fall or spring during or after planting), or nitrogen source (dairy slurry or synthetic fertilizer (SF)), or tillage practices (conventional, no-till), or cereal rye (CR) in rotation. Remaining scenarios involved rotations with silage corn (SC), winter crops (CR or winter wheat), and alfalfa. The silage corn with winter crop and four years of alfalfa rotation demonstrated enhanced ecosystem services compared to equivalent scenario with three years of alfalfa. Applying half the total nitrogen to corn through SF during or after spring-planted corn increased yield and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration while raising global warming potential (GWP) than fall-applied nitrogen. The no-till practice offered environmental benefits with lower GWP and higher SOC sequestration, while resulting in lower yield than conventional tillage. The incorporation of CR into corn–soybean rotations enhanced carbon sequestration, increased GHG emissions, improved corn yield, and lowered soybean yield. Substituting SF with manure for corn production improved corn yield under conventional tillage and increased SOC while increasing GWP under both tillage conditions. While the role of conservation practices varies by site, this study’s findings aid in prioritizing practices by evaluating tradeoffs among a range of ecosystem services.

Suggested Citation

  • Amit P. Timilsina & Garrett Steinbeck & Ajay Shah & Sami Khanal, 2024. "Assessing the Multifaceted Tradeoffs of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Ecosystem Services in the Midwest U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-20, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5622-:d:1426438
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5622/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5622/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Beata RUTKOWSKA & Wiesław SZULC & Ewa SZARA & Monika SKOWROŃSKA & Tamara JADCZYSZYN, 2017. "Soil N2O emissions under conventional and reduced tillage methods and maize cultivation," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 63(8), pages 342-347.
    2. Gheisari, Aboalghasem & Asgharipour, Mohammad Reza & Mousavi-Nik, Mohsen & Ghanbari, Ahmad & Javaheri, Mohammad Ali, 2023. "Utilization of the DNDC model to estimate yield and CO2 and CH4 emissions in a cotton-wheat rotation under the influence of various tillage treatments," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 481(C).
    3. Thompson, Nathanael M. & Reeling, Carson J. & Fleckenstein, Michelle R. & Prokopy, Linda S. & Armstrong, Shalamar D., 2021. "Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Linda S. Prokopy & Benjamin M. Gramig & Alisha Bower & Sarah P. Church & Brenna Ellison & Philip W. Gassman & Ken Genskow & Douglas Gucker & Steve G. Hallett & Jason Hill & Natalie Hunt & Kris A. John, 2020. "The urgency of transforming the Midwestern U.S. landscape into more than corn and soybean," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 537-539, September.
    5. Martin A. Bolinder & Felicity Crotty & Annemie Elsen & Magdalena Frac & Tamás Kismányoky & Jerzy Lipiec & Mia Tits & Zoltán Tóth & Thomas Kätterer, 2020. "The effect of crop residues, cover crops, manures and nitrogen fertilization on soil organic carbon changes in agroecosystems: a synthesis of reviews," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 929-952, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew Houser, 2022. "Does adopting a nitrogen best management practice reduce nitrogen fertilizer rates?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 79-94, March.
    2. Hossein Esfandyari & Shahla Choobchian & Yadgar Momenpour & Hossein Azadi, 2023. "Sustainable rural development in Northwest Iran: proposing a wellness-based tourism pattern using a structural equation modeling approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Han, Guang & Niles, Meredith T., 2023. "An adoption spectrum for sustainable agriculture practices: A new framework applied to cover crop adoption," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    4. Tomasz Niedziński & Magdalena Szymańska & Jan Łabętowicz & Tomasz Sosulski, 2024. "Does the Deep Placement of Fertilizers Increase Potato Yields, Fertilization Efficiency and Reduce N 2 O Emissions from the Soil?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Jerzy Lipiec & Bogusław Usowicz, 2021. "Quantifying Cereal Productivity on Sandy Soil in Response to Some Soil-Improving Cropping Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Rudi Hessel & Guido Wyseure & Ioanna S. Panagea & Abdallah Alaoui & Mark S. Reed & Hedwig van Delden & Melanie Muro & Jane Mills & Oene Oenema & Francisco Areal & Erik van den Elsen & Simone Verzandvo, 2022. "Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-27, May.
    7. Modupe Olufemi Doyeni & Skaidre Suproniene & Agne Versuliene & Loreta Meskauskiene & Grazina Kadziene, 2024. "Influence of the Long-Term Application of Management Practices (Tillage, Cover Crop and Glyphosate) on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Soil Physical Properties," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal & Vivek Sharma & Arvind Kumar Shukla & Rajeev Kumar Gupta & Vibha Verma & Manmeet Kaur & Sanjib Kumar Behera & Prabhjot Singh, 2023. "Residual Effect of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Nutrient Uptake in Wheat under a Basmati Rice–Wheat Cropping System in North-Western India," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    9. John Strauser & William P. Stewart, 2023. "Landscape Performance: Farmer Interactions across Spatial Scales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Nathan J. Shipley & William P. Stewart & Carena J. Riper, 2022. "Negotiating agricultural change in the Midwestern US: seeking compatibility between farmer narratives of efficiency and legacy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1465-1476, December.
    11. Palm-Forster, Leah H. & Taylor, Mykel & Banerjee, Simanti & Xie, Lusi, 2023. "Factors influencing enrollment of leased cropland in the Conservation Stewardship Program in Kansas," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    12. Barrios Latorre, Sergio Alejandro & Aronsson, Helena & Björnsson, Lovisa & Viketoft, Maria & Prade, Thomas, 2024. "Exploring the benefits of intermediate crops: Is it possible to offset soil organic carbon losses caused by crop residue removal?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    13. Jantiene E. M. Baartman & Joao Pedro Nunes & Hedwig van Delden & Roel Vanhout & Luuk Fleskens, 2022. "The Effects of Soil Improving Cropping Systems (SICS) on Soil Erosion and Soil Organic Carbon Stocks across Europe: A Simulation Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Moira Zellner & Dean Massey & Anton Rozhkov & John T. Murphy, 2023. "Exploring the Barriers to and Potential for Sustainable Transitions in Urban–Rural Systems through Participatory Causal Loop Diagramming of the Food–Energy–Water Nexus," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-27, February.
    15. George Bilas & Nikolaos Karapetsas & Anne Gobin & Konstantinos Mesdanitis & Gergely Toth & Tamás Hermann & Yaosheng Wang & Liangguo Luo & Thomas M. Koutsos & Dimitrios Moshou & Thomas K. Alexandridis, 2022. "Land Suitability Analysis as a Tool for Evaluating Soil-Improving Cropping Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Julia B. Block & Daniel Hermann & Oliver Mußhoff, 2024. "Agricultural soils in climate change mitigation: comparing action-based and results-based programmes for carbon sequestration," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(8), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Tong, Jingyi & Bartalotti, Otavio C. & Zhang, Wendong, 2024. "Institutional Land Ownership and Conservation Practice Adoption in the US Midwest," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343808, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Sarah King & Amy McFarland & Jody Vogelzang, 2022. "Food sovereignty and sustainability mid-pandemic: how Michigan’s experience of Covid-19 highlights chasms in the food system," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 827-838, June.
    19. Bowman, Maria & Afi, Maroua & Beenken, Aubree & Boline, Amy & Drewnoski, Mary & Krupek, Fernanda Souza & Parsons, Jay & Redfearn, Daren & Wallander, Steven & Whitt, Christine, 2024. "Cover Crops on Livestock Operations: Potential for Expansion in the United States," Administrative Publications 342471, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    20. Gábor Csitári & Zoltán Tóth & Mónika Kökény, 2021. "Effects of Organic Amendments on Soil Aggregate Stability and Microbial Biomass in a Long-Term Fertilization Experiment (IOSDV)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5622-:d:1426438. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.