Evaluating the Impacts of Crop Residue Removal and Cover Crops on Soil Organic Carbon and Water Infiltration.

This study was conducted for evaluating effects of two crop residue removal rates and cover crops on soil organic carbon and water infiltration rate from a South Dakota seeded to corn and soybean rotation. Soil samples were collected for the 0-5, 5-15 cm depths for analyzing the soil organic carbon from different crop residue removal and cover crop treatments. Water infiltration rate was measured using the ponded ring infiltration units for 2014 and 2015 years. In addition, soil samples were collected to analyze antecedent soil moisture content from all the treatments. Soil penetration measurements were conducted for 0-5 and 5-15 cm depths. Data show that water infiltration was influenced by the crop residue removal treatments. Results show that the low residue removal rate has higher infiltration rates comrade to that of high residue removal which imply lower runoff compared to high residue removal rate plots.  The present research is still ongoing and would assess the long-term effects of crop residue removal and cover crops on soil health parameters.