This project facilitated the implementation of a multiyear project to understand how climate variability and management practices influence soil microbial and nutrient dynamics within a no-till cotton production system with stubble management. Three fields at the R.N. Hooper farm in Petersburgh, TX were used for this project and continue to be monitored with funds from Cotton Inc. The three fields are center-pivot irrigated to compensate for rainfall variability as needed and depending upon water availability. The three fields were planted into the following crops for 2017 : Field 1 – corn following cotton; Field 2 – cotton following corn, and Field 3 – Wheat/mixed summer cover following wheat. The sizes of the three no-till and fields are: Field 1: 78.48 m in diameter, Field 2: 971.29 m in diameter, and Field 3: 781.1 m in diameter. The conventional field was located a few miles from the no-till fields and was also center-pivot irrigated when needed and managed as a tilled cotton production system with a corn -cotton rotations for the past five years. The no-tilled fields have been rotated among, cotton, corn, winter wheat and summer cover (when possible) for the past five years. Within each system we set soil moisture and temperatures sensors at the surface and at 15 cm depth and monitored microbial and nutrient dynamics across the year. Fields were instrumented in March 2017 and were monitored continuously except for harvesting and planting periods. Soil samples were taken initially in May 2017 and then each month from six plots established across each field. The following parameters were evaluated at each location and within each field: % soil moisture, Microbial Biomass Carbon, extractable levels of NO3-N and NH4-N and % Soil Organic Matter.

,Cover crops can enhance desirable agricultural outcomes such as improved nutrient-use efficiency, soil tilth, reduced pests, and increased yield and yield stability. Documentation of soil property responses to cover crops in semiarid cropping systems, however, is limited. A study was conducted to evaluate soil responses to late-summer seeded cover crops in a no-tillage cropping system under semiarid conditions. The study was conducted over three years on the Area IV Soil Conservation Districts Cooperative Research Farm near Mandan, ND, USA. Cover crops were seeded into dry pea residue in mid- to late August in 19-cm rows. Cover crop metrics included aboveground biomass, while soil metrics included soil water content, soil nitrate-N, near-surface soil properties, and soil coverage by residue. Cover crop biomass was measured immediately before a killing frost. Soil water content was measured before cover crop seeding, immediately after a killing frost, and the following spring using a neutron soil moisture meter. Soil nitrate-N was measured before cover crop seeding and the following spring using 1:10 soil-KCl extracts and the cadmium reduction method. The cover crop growing period ranged from 56 to 70 d. Data may be used to understand soil responses to late-summer seeded cover crops under rainfed conditions in a semiarid continental climate. Applicable USDA soil types include Grassna, Linton, Mandan, Temvik, Williams, and Wilton.,

,Incorporation of grazed cover crops in cropping systems can improve soil. However, information concerning how cover crops and livestock grazing interact during transitions to organic crop production is limited. An experiment was conducted to quantify soil responses to cover crops and grazing during a transition to organic crop production on a Tally sandy loam near Mandan, ND USA. Main-plot factors included grazing vs. no grazing, while split plot factors included six cropping treatments (soil-building cover crop mix, pollinator cover crop mix, weed suppression cover crop mix, multipurpose cover crop mix, annual crop rotation, and perennial forage biculture). Treatments were replicated four times. Soil samples were collected from 0-10 and 10-30 cm depths at the beginning and end of a 3-year organic transition period. Soil samples were evaluated for soil bulk density, soil pH, nitrate-N, available phosphorus, potassium, total soil nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and wet aggregate stability. Soil pH was estimated from a 1:1 soil-water mixture. Soil nitrate-N was determined from 1:10 soil-KCl (2 M) extracts using cadmium reduction followed by a modified Griess-Ilosvay method. Plant-available soil P was estimated by bicarbonate extraction. Exchangeable K was estimated by atomic absorption spectrometry. Total soil carbon and nitrogen were determined by dry combustion. Wet aggregate stability was analyzed for the 0-10 cm soil depth using the 1-2 mm aggregate fraction. Values for soil properties were incorporated into a soil quality index using the Soil Management Assessment Framework. Data may be used to understand soil responses to grazed and ungrazed cover crops under rainfed conditions in a semiarid continental climate. Related USDA soil types include Baggs, Baxton, Belain, Bitterroot, Chincap, Hopley, Mott, Panguitch, Relan, Vebar, and Victor.,

,Nutrient cycling is a key ecosystem service provided by soils, which may be impacted by global change-induced droughts and alterations to grazing pressure. While the belowground abiotic and biotic responses to drought are increasingly studied, linkages among plant, animal, and microbial responses to drought remain poorly understood. Here we used an innovative experimental approach to enable understanding the relative importance of rainfall reduction, bovine grazing, and their interplay on soil nutrient pools and processes during and after treatments. Specifically, we experimentally imposed a two-year drought of varying intensity (five levels) at two northern mixed-grass prairie sites in Montana and Wyoming. Crossed with this drought treatment, we also imposed a gradient of bovine grazing pressure during the two drought years and three years of recovery following the drought. We found that rainfall reductions at both sites resulted in reductions in soil available P and micronutrients during treatment application. Conversely, rainfall reductions caused both immediate and persistent increases in soil NO3-. Soil nutrients were generally unaffected by grazing treatments. In contrast, biotic soil properties including the activities of six extracellular enzymes and bacterial and fungal community compositions were relatively resistant to rainfall reduction treatments. However, grazing treatments appeared to have a greater effect on extracellular enzyme activity potentials and soil microbial community composition. Overall, our results highlight the relative stability of belowground processes in semi-arid rangelands in the face of drought and land management strategies.,The article utilizing this dataset is at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.110071.,