H53B-1659
The Platte River – High Plains Aquifer (PR-HPA) Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network – Data and Technological Resources to Address Current and Emerging Issues in Agroecosystems.
Friday, 18 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Jane Asiyo Okalebo1,2, Brian Wienhold3, Andrew Suyker1,4, Galen Erickson5, Michael J Hayes1,6 and Tala Awada7, (1)University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States, (2)The Platte River - High Plains Aquifer (PR-HPA) Long Term Agroecosystem Research, Lincoln, NE, United States, (3)USDA-ARS-PA-Agroecosystem Management Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States, (4)University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Lincoln, NE, United States, (5)University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, United States, Animal Science, Lincoln, NE, United States, (6)University of Nebraska-Lincoln, National Drought Mitigation Center, Lincoln, NE, United States, (7)University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Agricultural Research Division, Lincoln, NE, United States
Abstract:
The Platte River – High Plains Aquifer (PR-HPA) is one of 18 established Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) networks across the US. PR-HPA is a partnership between the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), the USDA-ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit (AMRU) in Lincoln, and the USDA-ARS Environmental Management Research Unit (EMRU) in Clay Center, NE. The PR-HPA network encompasses 27,750 ha of research sites with data going back to the early 1900s. A partial list of on-going research projects include those encompassing long-term manuring and continuous corn (Est. 1912), dryland tillage plots (Est. 1970), soil nutrients and tillage (Est. 1983), biofuel feedstock studies (Est. 2001), and carbon sequestration study (Est. 2000). Affiliated partners include the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) that develops measures to improve preparedness and adaptation to climate variability and drought; the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) that coordinates data acquisition from over 170 automated weather stations and around 50 automated soil moisture network across NE and beyond; the AMERIFLUX and NEBFLUX networks that coordinate the water vapor and carbon dioxide flux measurements across NE with emphasis on rainfed and irrigated crop lands; the ARS Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network (GRACEnet) and the Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices (REAP) project; and the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT) that assists with the use of geospatial technologies for agriculture and natural resource applications. Current emphases are on addressing present-day and emerging issues related to profitability and sustainability of agroecosystems. The poster will highlight some of the ongoing and planned efforts in research pertaining to climate variability and change, water sustainability, and ecological and agronomic challenges associated with corn, soybeans, managed grasslands, bioenergy and beef production needed by society, while securing a high quality of life in rural and urban communities, as well as maintaining or improving ecosystem services including productivity, biodiversity, air, water, and soils.
