Abstract
ABSTRACT Continually rising scarcity in water and nutrient resources, especially in semi-arid agricultural systems, combined with increased frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, contribute to a growing need for resilient and regenerative agricultural ecosystems. However, evaluating a myriad of combinations of producer-led sustainable management practices in on-farm research remains challenging. Few studies have elucidated spatial variability in measured soil properties across the study area due to logistical and economic constraints. As such, this study aimed to: 1) establish [...]
Highlights
Increased demand for high-quality agricultural food and fiber products combined with rising input costs, declining irrigation water resources, and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as drought, have created an urgent need to sustainably maintain or increase agricultural productivity and profitability
Significant differences were found in soil chemical and biological properties between pastures (e.g., ~37 % reduction in microbial community size and 36 and 178 % greater electrical conductivity (EC) and Na contents, respectively, in the East pasture) that likely resulted from recent tillage and receiving irrigation compared to similar soil types and management history in the West pasture
Both were recently converted from similar histories of continuous tillage cotton row crop production and are strategies employed in the semi-arid Texas Southern High Plains (SHP) to restore degraded soil and reduce overall agricultural reliance on groundwater resources
Summary
Increased demand for high-quality agricultural food and fiber products combined with rising input costs, declining irrigation water resources, and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as drought, have created an urgent need to sustainably maintain or increase agricultural productivity and profitability. Developing management practices that increase soil health and reduce agricultural reliance on irrigation will be especially critical to maintain or increase productivity in semi-arid regions such as the Texas Southern High Plains (SHP), which must navigate declining groundwater resources, high susceptibility to soil erosion, and soil nutrient depletion in continuous cropping systems (Cano et al, 2018). When establishing forage-based livestock systems for improving soil health and agricultural productivity, producers may adopt conservation management practices such as rotational grazing and providing diverse forage mixtures (Sanderson et al, 2007). Despite the potential benefits of these individual strategies, few studies have investigated the ecosystem outcomes of novel grazing systems that support multiple livestock species on diverse pasture mixes in semi-arid environments, especially at a small farm scale
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
