Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleResearch

Long-term effects of erosion and climate interactions on corn yield

M.J. Shaffer, T.E. Schumacher and C.L. Ego
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 1994, 49 (3) 272-275;
M.J. Shaffer
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
T.E. Schumacher
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
C.L. Ego
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT:

An accurate assessment of the impacts of soil erosion on corn production is needed for conservation and management programs. Climatic variability produces a range of crop yield responses on eroded and non-eroded soil profiles and often masks the long-term trends and differences. Short-term corn yield data from representative soils across the North Central region were supplemented with calculated yields from the NTRM model to develop long-term yield responses for the historical climate records at each of seven highly-managed rainfed sites across the region. Results showed that long-term average regional corn yields were reduced by 10% for severely eroded versus control plots. Till-derived soils showed yield reductions averaging 12%, while loess soils lost an average of 7%. Sensitivity runs with the NTRM model made after field validation with 119 plot-years of data suggested that changes in soil physical properties, especially plant-available water holding capacities, probably accounted for most of the yield differences. Mean growing season (May-September) precipitation across all sites for the short-term field study was 35.3 cm, compared with 36.3 cm for the long-term historical record. This resulted in a mean short-term corn yield reduction of 9% for severely eroded soils versus a reduction of 10% for the same soils based on long-term climate projections. However, the close agreement between the short- and long-term studies with regard to mean growing season precipitation and corresponding corn yields should not be used to make the general conclusion that 3 to 6 years is an adequate time period for field research on long-term crop response to eroded soil conditions.

Footnotes

  • M.J. Shaffer is a supervisory soil scientist with the USDA-ARS, Great Plains Systems Research Unit, Federal Bldg., P.O. Box E, Fort Collins, CO 80522; T.E. Schumacher is a professor; and C.L. Ego was a research assistant in the Department of Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007.

  • Copyright 1994 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 49 (3)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 49, Issue 3
May/June 1994
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Long-term effects of erosion and climate interactions on corn yield
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
7 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Long-term effects of erosion and climate interactions on corn yield
M.J. Shaffer, T.E. Schumacher, C.L. Ego
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 1994, 49 (3) 272-275;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Long-term effects of erosion and climate interactions on corn yield
M.J. Shaffer, T.E. Schumacher, C.L. Ego
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 1994, 49 (3) 272-275;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Automatic identification of soil and water conservation measures from centimeter-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle imagery
  • Evaluating effects of dairy manure application method on soil health and nitrate
  • Carbon and nitrogen release from cover crop residues and implications for cropping systems management
Show more Research

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2022 Soil and Water Conservation Society