Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils challenge climate sustainability in the US Corn Belt
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The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology seeks to teach the studies of ecology (organisms and their environment), evolutionary theory (the origin and interrelationships of organisms), and organismal biology (the structure, function, and biodiversity of organisms). In doing this, it offers several majors which are codirected with other departments, including biology, genetics, and environmental sciences.
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The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology was founded in 2003 as a merger of the Department of Botany, the Department of Microbiology, and the Department of Zoology and Genetics.
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2003–present
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- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (parent college)
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of Botany (predecessor, 2003)
- Department of Microbiology (predecessor, 2003)
- Department of Zoology and Genetics (predecessor, 2003)
The Department of Agronomy seeks to teach the study of the farm-field, its crops, and its science and management. It originally consisted of three sub-departments to do this: Soils, Farm-Crops, and Agricultural Engineering (which became its own department in 1907). Today, the department teaches crop sciences and breeding, soil sciences, meteorology, agroecology, and biotechnology.
History
The Department of Agronomy was formed in 1902. From 1917 to 1935 it was known as the Department of Farm Crops and Soils.
Dates of Existence
1902–present
Historical Names
- Department of Farm Crops and Soils (1917–1935)
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- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (parent college)
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Abstract
Agricultural landscapes are the largest source of anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, but their specific sources and magnitudes remain contested. In the US Corn Belt, a globally important N2O source, in-field soil emissions were reportedly too small to account for N2O measured in the regional atmosphere, and disproportionately high N2O emissions from intermittent streams have been invoked to explain the discrepancy. We collected three years of high frequency (4-h) measurements across a topographic gradient including a very poorly drained (intermittently flooded) depression and adjacent upland soils. Mean annual N2O emissions from this corn–soybean rotation (7.8 kg N2O-N ha-1 y-1) were similar to a previous regional top-down estimate, regardless of landscape position. Synthesizing other Corn Belt studies, we found mean emissions of 5.6 kg N2O-N ha-1 y-1 from soils with similar drainage to our transect (moderately well-drained to very poorly drained), which collectively comprise 60% of corn–soybean cultivated soils. In contrast, strictly well-drained soils averaged only 2.3 kg N2O-N ha-1 y-1. Our results imply that in-field N2O emissions from soils with moderately to severely impaired drainage are similar to regional mean values, and that N2O emissions from well-drained soils are not representative of the broader Corn Belt. On the basis of carbon-dioxide equivalents, the warming effect of direct N2O emissions from our transect was two-fold greater than optimistic soil carbon gains achievable from agricultural practice changes. Despite the recent focus on soil carbon sequestration, addressing N2O emissions from wet Corn Belt soils may have greater leverage in achieving climate sustainability.
Comments
This is a manuscript of an article published as Lawrence, Nathaniel C., Carlos G. Tenesaca, Andy VanLoocke, and Steven J. Hall. "Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils challenge climate sustainability in the US Corn Belt." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 46 (2021). doi:10.1073/pnas.2112108118. Posted with persmission.