,This study examined average annual changes in soil erosion from rainfall and wind forces, and trends in soil organic carbon (SOC).,The diversity of geo-climatic land bases and potential feedstocks within the United States Central Great Plains (CGP) requires sustainable production that provides optimal resource utilization while maintaining or enhancing localized soil and environmental quality as much as possible. This study examined average annual changes in soil erosion from rainfall and wind forces and trends in soil organic carbon (SOC) as a function of commodity and/or bioenergy-based crop rotations, yield variations, and different field management practices, including residue removal across all land capability class (LCC) I-VIII soils in select areas of the CGP. Soil erosion and SOC (proxied by a soil conditioning index, or SCI) were analyzed on individual soil map unit components using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, Version 2 (RUSLE2) and Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) models.,

,Komatsu, Porensky, Reinhart, Wilcox, and Koerner conducted a randomized complete block design with five drought treatments replicated three times per block within grazing treatment paddocks (40.4×30.5 m), and with three blocks (80.8×61.0 m) at one site in Montana and one site in Wyoming. The three grazing treatments included a light, moderate, and heavy grazing regime. The drought treatments included five levels: 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 99% rainfall reduction to mimic a range of different realistic drought scenarios, achieved with 3×4 m rain-out shelters erected over 2×2 m plots (Figure 1c). Within each grazing paddock, there were two control treatments (0% rainout). Rainfall reduction treatments were applied during the growing season from May to October in 2019 and 2020, except during a short period when cattle grazed in each paddock in July in WY and August in MT. Then from 2021-2023 no drought treatments were applied to any plots (recovery). Prior to the experimental setup, all cattle grazing treatment paddocks were grazed using conventional practices of moderate summer grazing. Three cattle grazing treatments were randomly assigned within each block. Cattle grazing treatments consisted of destock, stable, and heavy cattle grazing, where forage utilization was manipulated each year of the experiment at levels consistent with three common regional livestock drought management strategies. In destock cattle grazing paddocks, forage utilization was 50% during the drought in years 1 and 2 (2019, 2020, respectively) and 30% during recovery years 3 and 4 (2021, 2022, respectively). The stable cattle grazing treatment consisted of forage utilization at 50% during drought and recovery (2019-2022). The heavy cattle grazing treatment consisted of forage utilization at 50% during the first drought year (year 1, 2019), 70% during the second drought year (year 2, 2020) and the first year of recovery (year 3, 2021), and 50% during the second year of recovery (year 4, 2022). To manipulate cattle grazing, beef cattle (Bos taurus) herds were allowed into paddocks in July in WY and August in MT and grazed freely until appropriate forage utilization was met, measured using a visual obstruction pole (Robel et al., 1970).,Data were collected by Bloodworth, Komatsu, Porensky, Reinhart, Vaarre-Lamoureux, Wilcox, and Koerner. We measured foliar plant community composition using the pin-drop method in a designated 1 m2 subplot within each 2×2 m plot (Frost et al. 2023) during peak growing season in each year of the experiment (2019-2023). We also collected plant functional traits on each site’s top 90% of plant species based on the plant species composition (percent cover) data measured, as described above, in years prior to trait measurements (2019-2021). Functional trait data were collected once in 2022 on nine individuals of each species found in ambient rainfall conditions at each site. C3 graminoid and forb trait measurements were collected in May and C4 graminoid and shrub trait measurements were collected in late June. Traits included plant height, leaf thickness, leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf area, and specific leaf area (SLA). Plant height was measured to the tallest stretched vegetative point. Leaf thickness of the second fully expanded leaf from the top was measured using a micrometer caliper (0.25-0.01 mm United Scientific PMSET04 Precision Measuring Micrometer Caliper). Using the same leaf, LDMC was measured as the dry weight of the leaf (dried at 60°C for at least 1 week) divided by the wet weight of the leaf. Again, using the same leaf, we measured leaf area using ImageJ (Rasband 2021). SLA was calculated by dividing the leaf area by the dry weight of the leaf.,Using the same collection techniques we collected plant functional traits (plant height, leaf thickness, LDMC, leaf area, and SLA) on three common grasses and two common forbs at each site from areas within the experimental blocks that received ambient

,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.,

,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.,

,These data provide field measurements at two geographical sites of plant and soil as affected by (a) tillage and water erosion and (b) replacement of translocated topsoil through soil-landscape rehabilitation. Data include pre-restoration soil properties, a digital elevation model, and tillage and water erosion estimates. Data reported after restoration include annual assessments of crop emergence, biomass and grain yield; soil physical, chemical, and biological properties; weed communities; and weather information. The Stevens County, Minnesota site was a heavily eroded site while the Roberts County, South Dakota site was moderately eroded. The data can be used to develop agronomic best management practices to improve crop production and to protect environmental and soil health. The data also could contribute to meta-analyses describing effects of erosion and soil-landscape rehabilitation (translocating soil from areas of net deposition to areas of net soil loss by erosion) on crop performance and changes in soil properties.,

,Alfalfa (Medicago spp.) interseeded into rangeland has been shown to improve the quantity and quality of forage available for grazing. Information regarding soil responses to interseeded alfalfa in rangeland, however, is lacking. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of alfalfa transplanted into native rangeland on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen. The study was located approximately 5 km south of Mandan, ND USA on a Temvik silt loam soil (USDA: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive frigid Typic Haplustoll). Treatments included three alfalfa cultivars transplanted into rangeland and a native vegetation control. Treatments were applied using a randomized block design with five replications. Soil properties measured during the study included soil bulk density, soil organic carbon, and total soil nitrogen. Measurements were made in 2001 (baseline) and again 2005 following four years of alfalfa growth. Samples were collected using a step-down probe in depth increments of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, and 30-40 cm. Duplicate cores from each treatment were composited by depth. Soil carbon and nitrogen were quantified by the dry combustion method. Data may be used to understand soil property responses to interseeded alfalfa in rangeland. Data are generally applicable to rangelands under a semiarid Continental climate for the following soil types: Grassna, Linton, Mandan, Temvik, Williams, and Wilton.,

,Correlations between plant available soil and grain mineral concentrations are often assumed, yet few studies examine these associations. Here, soil and wheat grain samples were analyzed from a semi-arid dryland cropping study in the northern Great Plains conducted between 2006 and 2011. Continuous spring wheat (fertilized) (Triticum aestivum L; CSW) was compared with wheat following 5 yr of perennial forages of either alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), intermediate wheatgrass (fertilized) (Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey sbsp. Intermedium; IWG), or an alfalfa/intermediate wheatgrass mixture (fertilized; MIX). Wheat performance (yield, 1,000 kernel weight [TKW], and crude protein [CP] concentration), and associations between 11 plant available soil mineral concentrations and 11 wheat grain mineral concentrations were assessed. Wheat following alfalfa had greater yield than all treatments, greater TKW than CSW, greater CP than IWG and CSW, but lower grain Zn concentration than IWG (p ≤ .05). Wheat grain following IWG had greater Fe and Mn concentration than MIX, greater Mg concentration than CSW, and lower S concentration than all treatments (p < .05). Multivariate correlation analysis showed positive correlations between plant available soil and grain B, Mg, Mn, and S concentrations (p ≤ .02), while plant available soil and grain Zn and Ca concentrations showed negative associations (p ≤ .05). Rotating perennial forage phases into wheat cropping systems increased wheat yield and CP but reduced certain plant available soil minerals. Although rotating perennials into annual cropping systems can benefit some soil quality parameters it may also diminish plant available soil minerals, influencing fertility recommendations.,

,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.,

,USDA-ARS coordinated regional wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding trials examine agronomic performance and adaptation over a wider geographic range than single breeding programs can achieve. The trials provide an evaluation of experimental breeding lines in alternate test sites that are environmentally similar or dissimilar to the program of origin. Data from USDA-ARS Hard Winter Wheat Regional Nurseries grown in 1987 to 2014 were used to identify similarities among Great Plains test sites. Mean correlations of entry grain yields across locations and years were used in principal factor analyses to cluster them into production zones. The procedures used were identical to those of a previously published analysis using test data from 1959 to 1989. Five factors explained 67% of the variance in the correlation matrix among Southern Regional Performance Nursery (SRPN) locations. The analysis divided the SRPN into four major Great Plains production zones, designated Southeast, Northwest, Southwest and Northeast. The remaining minor production zone consisted of only two central South Dakota locations, both outside the typical target area and selection site of SRPN entries. In the Northern Regional Performance Nursery (NRPN), five production zones were established, with location separation predominantly resulting from east–west differences in performance. The SRPN and NRPN wheat production zones closely follow previously described ecological zones of adaptation of native Great Plains plant species. Wheat breeding programs and growers may continue to use the production zones established via the USDA-ARS coordinated winter wheat regional nurseries to target and select germplasm for crossing and for production.,,

These plant and soil data were collected by Timothy M. Wertin and Sasha C. Reed in the spring, summer, and fall of 2011 at a climate manipulation experiment site near Moab, UT (38.521411, -109.470567). These data were collected to assess how warming affects leaf photosynthesis, soil CO 2 efflux, and soil chemistry in plots of ambient and warming treatments.