%0 Journal Article %A R. A. Bowman %A R.L. Anderson %T Conservation Reserve Program: Effects on soil organic carbon and preservation when converting back to cropland in northeastern Colorado %D 2002 %J Journal of Soil and Water Conservation %P 121-126 %V 57 %N 2 %X Information on the potential for carbon sequestration from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and knowledge concerning the fate of accrued carbon on sod takeout and recropping to a wheat-based rotation are essential. We conducted two separate field studies in northeastern Colorado to quantify the soil organic carbon (SOC) changes after various amounts of time in the CRP program, and to assess problems associated with converting CRP grass to cropland and the potential for loss of accrued SOC with different tillage systems. For our first objective, we assessed six CRP sites, with three sites showing increased SOC content over the adjacent winter wheat/summer fallow sites, and three sites showing no differences. In the conversion study, systems with little or no tillage yielded more winter wheat (Triticurn aestivum L) grain than systems with tillage because of more available soil water at planting time. Furthermore, SOC loss was less with no-till and reduced-till (herbicides plus one tillage) systems than by conventional tillage with numerous sweep plow operations. Thus, NT and reduced-till systems designed to control perennial CRP grasses will enable producers to maintain some of the gains in SOC when CRP land is converted to cropland. %U https://www.jswconline.org/content/jswc/57/2/121.full.pdf