UNL research looks to rejuvenate the prairie

After years of crop production, some of Nebraska's fertile soil is looking a little worse for wear.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Oftentimes, what happens above ground affects what happens below the ground. Conversely, those underground changes can have impacts back on the surface. That’s why a project led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers is so important. With our position in the Great Plains, our story naturally starts with dirt, grass, and agriculture.

“The good news and the bad news of that is those soils are highly fertile under many of these grasslands”, says Daren Redfearn. He’s a forage and crop residue specialist and professor at UNL, so this is right up his alley. He continues, “The areas that can be tilled have been working their way towards row crop production over many years.”

If the crops revert to prairie during slow years, when commodity prices dip, that helps quite a bit. Lately, however, they haven’t been going back, which creates a few issues.

“They have to be irrigated pretty heavily”, Redfearn says, speaking of what’s classified as “marginal” croplands. “The other one that occurs is they need to have quite a heavy dose of fertilization. The third one is there is a bit of pesticide application on there.”

More water used can strain supply, and fertilizer and pesticide can leach into the groundwater. Naturally, those things affect all of us. Thus, this research. A large part of the study involves growing prairie grasses in those less-fertile areas, sharing space with crops in some cases. If it all works out, there are even more benefits.

“A piece of the project is looking at reducing our greenhouse gas production. Another one is looking at increasing soil carbon. Another one is looking at increasing the number of beneficial pollinators or beneficial insects. Another one’s looking at wildlife biodiversity. So this is a pretty encompassing project”, explains Redfearn.

It certainly is a big effort. UNL is working with the USDA and the Department of Energy to meet these goals. By the time four years have gone by in this $4 million project, they should have a few good ideas of how to achieve those goals.