Gregg Sanford, a scientist in Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, received USDA-NIFA funding for his project Ecological intensification for soil health, carbon sequestration, and GHG mitigation in cash-grain agroecosystems of the north central US through the Soil Health program. It was among 12 projects sharing $7.9 million in funding.

Project summary (from CRIS website): Several farming practices (e.g., cover crops) are promoted to improve soil health, sequester carbon (SOC), and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the efficacy of such practices is highly variable and remains the subject of considerable debate. We believe the aspirational goal of building soil health and mitigating climate change through SOC sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement can be met, but only when approached holistically through ecological intensification (EI).We will work at the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial (WICST) where a suite of EI interventions was established in 2019. Our goal, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the soil health, carbon sequestration, and GHG mitigation potential of EI in Midwestern grain systems will be met by 1) Quantifying medium-term changes in soil health and SOC; 2) Tracking the fate and persistence of C inputs from manure and cover crops, and 3) Assessing the net ecosystem carbon and GHG balance of each system.Knowledge generated by this research will enhance our understanding of how EI can improve “overall soil health and the resilience and sustainability of agricultural production systems”, in addition to “directly evaluating the effects of management practices on soil microbial community function and their contribution to healthy soils, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas mitigation” as specified under Program Area Priority A1401-Soil Health.Regular engagement with WICST stakeholders will ensure the relevance of our EI interventions and ensure high impact for our results, which will be shared at field days, through our website, and in several UW-Madison courses.