,Cropland expansion and reduced crop rotation diversity throughout the northern Great Plains has negatively impacted soil quality, creating a need to identify conservation practices that can counteract this trend. A study was conducted to quantify soil property responses to crop diversity/intensity, cover crops, and livestock integration under controlled experimental conditions, and land use (dryland cropping, native grassland, untilled pasture) on working farms and ranches, all on a common soil type in southcentral North Dakota, USA. Data from this study included near-surface (0-5 cm) measurements of soil physical, chemical, and biological properties over a 3-yr period for contrasting long-term experimental treatments at the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, Mandan, North Dakota. Soil profile (0-100 cm) assessments of soil physical and chemical properties complemented near-surface measurements. Data were used to generate soil quality index scores using the Soil Management Assessment Framework. Annual spring wheat grain yields for experimental treatments complemented soils data. Similar evaluations were conducted on six on-farm sites in Emmons County, North Dakota, USA, but only for one year and without grain yield data. Data may be used to better understand soil property responses to cropland conservation practices and different land uses. Data are generally applicable to rainfed conditions under a semiarid Continental climate for Temvik-Wilton silt loams (fine silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic and Pachic Haplustolls) and associated soil types (i.e., Grassna, Linton, Mandan, and Williams).,,

This completed dataset, from samples collected in 2001 and 2020, contains soil particle size analysis (PSA) and sand fractionation data from soil cores collected at 117 quadrat locations that are part of the Jornada Experimental Range's long-term Permanent Quadrats study. The goal of this effort was to help characterize plant-scale factors related to vegetation dynamics observed in the Permanent Quadrats. At each quadrat location, 4 cores were collected at 2 depths (0-5cm and 5-20cm) and assessed for percent sand, silt and clay. The sand fraction, if large enough, was then separated into 5 sand size classes (53-106 micrometers, 106-250 micrometers, 250-500 micrometers, 500-1000 micrometers, 1000-2000 micrometers) to measure the percent fraction of each. Long term vegetation data from this study are available in data packages knb-lter-jrn.210351001 and knb-lter-jrn.210351002.

,The Landscape Data Commons is an inter-agency monitoring data repository and portal, led by the USDA-ARS at the Jornada Experimental Range, that connects standardized monitoring data to analysis tools to support land management and research. The Landscape Data Commons aggregates and harmonizes core methods data collected across agencies and monitoring programs (e.g., Bureau of Land Management Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring Program, the Natural Resources Conservation Service National Resources Inventory Grazing land On-Site program, the National Wind Erosion Research Network, smaller research and monitoring efforts). With these aggregated data, the Landscape Data Commons supports natural-resource management, modeling, and research.,

,Intermediate wheatgrass [Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey subsp. intermedium] is a high-yielding cool-season grass with adaptable uses for grazing, haying, and soil restoration. Despite its adaptability, adoption of intermediate wheatgrass has been limited due to inadequate stand longevity under grazing stress. A study was conducted near Mandan, ND USA to investigate if stand longevity of intermediate wheatgrass was affected by changes in soil properties due to grazing. Soil data from this study included measurements of soil bulk density, soil pH, soil organic carbon, and total soil nitrogen on a Wilton silt loam soil (USDA: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive frigid Pachic Haplustoll). Measurements were made in May 1997 (baseline) and again in May 2004 following four years of grazing. Data may be used to understand soil property responses to grazed perennial forages. Data are generally applicable to rainfed conditions under a semiarid Continental climate for the following associated soil types: Temvik, Grassna, Linton, Mandan, and Williams.,Resources in this dataset:,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study Data Dictionary File name: IWGS_Data Dictionary.xlsx Resource description: Data dictionary for associated dataset.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Soil Data for Aggregated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Aggregated Depths.xlsx Resource description: File includes data for 0-30 cm depth.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Soil Data for Separated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Separated Depths.xlsx Resource description: Soil data for 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm depths.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Soil Data_Aggregated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Aggregated Depths.csv Resource description: Data for aggregated depths in csv format.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Metadata_Aggregated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Aggregated Depths_Metadata.csv Resource description: Metadata for aggregated depths.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Soils Data_Separated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Separated Depths.csv Resource description: Soil data for 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm depths.,Resource title: Intermediate Wheatgrass Grazing Study_Metadata_Separated Depths File name: IWGS_Soil Data_Separated Depths_Metadata.csv Resource description: Metadata for soils data separated by depth increment.,

Wind Erosion risk mapping derived from land quality attribution associated with soil-landscape mapping at the subsystem/phase level. See Resource Management Technical Report 298, Section 2.22, Department of Agriculture, 2005.

,Use of perennial forages in cropping systems can improve soil quality. The length of time needed to accrue improvements in soil condition under perennial forages is unclear, particularly in semiarid regions. A study was conducted to quantify soil responses to perennial grasses, legumes, and grass-legume mixtures over a 5-yr period on a Parshall fine sandy loam near Mandan, ND USA. Five forage treatments and an annual crop treatment were evaluated. Forage treatments included field pea (Pisum sativum L.), intermediate wheatgrass [IMWG; Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey subsp. Intermedium], switchgrass (SWG; Panicum virgatum L.), an intermediate wheatgrass-field pea mixture, and a switchgrass-field pea mixture. After the establishment year (2006), alfalfa (Medicago spp.) was seeded in treatments where field pea was present the year before. Continuous spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) represented the annual crop treatment. In April of 2008-2011, soil samples within each fall-converted forage treatment and continuous annual crop treatment were collected prior to seeding spring wheat. Samples were collected from the 0-30 cm depth in increments of 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm using a step-down probe with an inner tip diameter of 3.13 cm. Soil samples were evaluated for soil bulk density, water-stable aggregation, soil pH, total carbon and nitrogen, and particulate organic matter carbon and nitrogen. Assessments of carbon and nitrogen were determined by dry combustion. Water-stable aggregation was measured using the 1-2 mm aggregate fraction. Data may be used to understand soil responses to perennial forages under rainfed conditions in a semiarid continental climate. Applicable USDA soil types include Parshall, Cabba, Farland, Flasher, Lehr, Lihen, Manning, Morton, Straw, Tally, Vebar and Williams.,