Temporal Dynamics of Soil Water Under Corn, Soybean, and Kura Clover.

Rising global food and energy consumption call for increased agricultural production, while rising concerns for environmental quality call for farming systems with more favorable environmental impacts.  Improved understanding and management of cropping system soil water dynamics are central to meeting these twin challenges. The objective of this research was to compare the soil water dynamics under contrasting cropping systems suited for the Midwestern region of the United States.  Precipitation, infiltration, drainage, evapotranspiration, soil water storage, and freeze/thaw processes were measured hourly for four years in field plots of continuous corn, corn/soybean rotation, and perennial kura clover in southeastern Minnesota.  We will present data highlighting the similarities and differences in soil water dynamics for these cropping systems across temporal scales ranging from hours to years.