Sustainable Corn CAP Research Data (USDA-NIFA Award No. 2011-68002-30190)

The Sustainable Corn CAP (Cropping Systems Coordinated Agricultural Project: Climate Change, Mitigation, and Adaptation in Corn-based Cropping Systems) was a multi-state transdisciplinary project supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Award No. 2011-68002-30190). Research experiments were located through the U.S. Corn Belt and examined farm-level adaptation practices for corn-based cropping systems to current and predicted impacts of climate change.

Research data were collected from 2011 to 2015 at research sites in 8 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The research coverage area spanned 95.3°W to 81.9°W and 38.5°N to 44.7°N. Research sites encompassed a varying set of management practices including crop rotation, cover crop, tillage, drainage, and nitrogen management, with several sites having landscape position incorporated as an additional treatment. These treatments were typically arranged in a randomized complete block design as a complete factorial or main-split plot with 3 to 4 replications per site. It should be noted that none of the sites were identical in terms of treatment structure or data collected as sites were a combination of previously and newly established experiments that aligned with project research goals.

The dataset contains agronomic, soil, water, greenhouse gas, crop disease, and pest data collected from 30 sites. Standardized protocols were developed and followed by the project team for estimating C, N, and water footprints of corn production in the region and performing baseline monitoring. Variables measured during the five-year period include: grain and biomass yield, C and N content in crop grain and vegetation, soil water moisture and temperature, C and N concentration in soil, greenhouse gas fluxes, drainage water quality and quantity, groundwater table and others. Hourly or sub-hourly weather data are also provided for each location.

In addition, the dataset includes site description (e.g. site location, plot area, soil type), field management information (e.g. planting, harvesting, tillage and fertilizer application dates, seeding rate, fertilizer and pesticide type and application rate), and experimental design (e.g. plot identifiers, experimental treatments, variables measured).

Users can query and download data from the Sustainable Corn CAP research web-accessible application. At this website, users can also access site-specific weather data and select the time period of interest for water data (here they are uploaded at a daily interval). In addition to the research data, the web tool also provides a list of over 100 referred journal articles as well as theses and dissertations related to the dataset. Other project-related materials such as fact sheets, videos, and extension publications are available for free download through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach website and project reports through the Iowa State University Digital Repository.

A complete list of refereed journals, theses, dissertations, and reports published by the Sustainable Corn CAP project team members can be accessed at https://datateam.agron.iastate.edu/cscap/

This a parent item for the following datasets:

Sustainable Corn CAP Research Data (USDA-NIFA Award No. 2011-68002-30190): ARDN Products

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Sustainable Corn Research Data 2011-2015 Data Dictionarycsv Dataset data dictionary
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Sustainable Corn CAP Research Data xlsx
Data file contains: Plot Identifiers, Agronomic, Soil, GHG, IPM, Water_Tile...
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Field	Value
Tags	cover crops yield biomass soil organic carbon crop management land management Corn Belt region corn soybean fertilizer greenhouse gas fluxes water quality Pest management agricultural sustainability climate resilient agriculture EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > SOILS > CARBON EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > SOILS > NITROGEN EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > SOILS > ORGANIC MATTER EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > SOILS > SOIL MOISTURE/WATER CONTENT EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > AGRICULTURAL PLANT SCIENCE > CROP/PLANT YIELDS EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > AGRICULTURAL PLANT SCIENCE > CROPPING SYSTEMS EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > SOILS
Modified	2022-06-03
Release Date	2016-08-30
Identifier	4540616c-318a-4397-a5ac-c5b92e9290d2
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Area	POINT (-92.1967 38.8914) POINT (-85.16 40.266) POINT (-94.4952 42.7477) POINT (-95.5383 44.3469) POINT (-95.5504 44.3727) POINT (-89.353 43.298) POINT (-92.2019 38.8892) POINT (-92.2089 38.9042) POINT (-92.205 38.8792) POINT (-92.1053 38.5794) POINT (-95.5593 44.3387) POINT (-83.7667 41.2167) POINT (-93.7806 42.0094) POINT (-93.75929 42.02133) POINT (-85.3684 42.4145) POINT (-90.7887 42.8297) POINT (-90.0982 44.761) POINT (-84.4352 42.6293) POINT (-81.7942 40.3703) POINT (-81.782 40.3675) POINT (-81.7796 40.3671) POINT (-81.787 40.3649) POINT (-90.7273 40.9308) POINT (-90.8212 39.8011) POINT (-85.54 39.0258) POINT (-91.4829 41.1938) POINT (-84.0843 40.5559) POINT (-83.0424 40.0181) POINT (-81.8433 40.7813) POINT (-81.9064 40.7635)
Publisher	National Agricultural Library - ARS - USDA
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Location	Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin
Temporal Coverage	January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015
License	Creative Commons CCZero
Data Dictionary	https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/sustainable-corn-cap-research-data-usd...
Contact Name	Abendroth, Lori J.
Contact Email	isudatateam@iastate.edu
Public Access Level	Public

Extended Metadata:

Field	Value
Authors	Abendroth, Lori J. (ORCID) Herzmann, Daryl E. (Scopus Author ID) Chighladze, Giorgi (Scopus Author ID) Kladivko, Eileen J. (Scopus Author ID) Helmers, Matthew J. (ORCID) Bowling, Laura (ORCID) Castellano, Michael (ORCID) Cruse, Richard M. (ORCID) Dick, Warren A. (ORCID) Fausey, Norman R. (Scopus Author ID) Frankenberger, Jane (ORCID) Gassmann, Aaron J. (Scopus Author ID) Kravchenko, Alexandra (ORCID) Lal, Rattan (ORCID) Lauer, Joseph G. (ORCID) Mueller, Daren S. (ORCID) Nafziger, Emerson D. (ORCID) Nkongolo, Nsalambi (ORCID) O'Neal, Matthew (Scopus Author ID) Sawyer, John E. (ORCID) Scharf, Peter (Scopus Author ID) Strock, Jeffrey S. (Scopus Author ID) Villamil, Maria B. (ORCID)
Peer Reviewed	No
Intended Use	This project generated data that can provide an integrated understanding of agronomic and environmental (soil, water, GHG) processes in corn-based agroecosystems across the Corn Belt region. Scientists, modelers, producers and policy makers can gain unique insight into the impacts of selected crop management practices on crop yield, greenhouse gas emissions (nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane), soil carbon sequestration, and nitrogen content in drained water. The data will be of great use for calibrating or validating biophysical models at ever-larger scales (field, farm and landscape), which can be coupled with projections from regional climate models to extrapolate the observed results to climate regimes not included within the study period.
Use Limitations	To ensure compatibility and integrity of the data, standardized protocols were developed and utilized by the project team to collect baseline C, N and water data from all 30 research fields. Occasionally, the protocols were not adhered to because of technical or environmental constraints resulting in missing or non-standard measurements (e.g. soil samples collected at different depths due to soil freezing). Monitoring instrument and data logger malfunctioning or failure were main reasons for missing water data (e.g. depth of water table), hence care should be taken when interpolating or aggregating those data (e.g. when estimating monthly tile flow). It should be noted that dielectric probes used to measure volumetric soil water content did not have soil-specific calibration. Therefore, syntheses of soil moisture data from different sites should be done with caution. Users should also be aware that some sites were established at the onset of the project while others were in crop production for decades. Hence the treatment effect and dynamics of certain measurement can differ based on previous history of the site. We encourage everyone to familiarize with each research site's history (available via the web tool) before starting data analysis.
Funding Sources	National Institute of Food and Agriculture 2011-68002-30190
Related Articles	Barker, D., & Sawyer, J. (2017). Variable rate nitrogen management in corn: Response in two crop rotations. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 183-190. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.183 Beehler, J., Fry, J., Negassa, W., & Kravchenko, A. (2017). Impact of cover crop on soil carbon accrual in topographically diverse terrain. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 272-279. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.272 Campbell, B., Chen, L., Dygert, C., & Dick, W. (2014). Tillage and crop rotation impacts on greenhouse gas fluxes from soil at two long-term agronomic experimental sites in Ohio. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 543-552. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.69.6.543 Daigh, A. L., Helmers, M. J., Kladivko, E., Zhou, X., Goeken, R., Cavdini, J., Barker, D., & Sawyer, J. (2014). Soil water during the drought of 2012 as affected by rye cover crops in fields in Iowa and Indiana. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 564-573. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.69.6.564 Dunbar, M. W., Gassmann, A. J., & O’Neal, M. E. (2017). Limited Impact of a Fall-Seeded, Spring-Terminated Rye Cover Crop on Beneficial Arthropods. Environmental Entomology, 46(2), 284-290. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw177 Fry, J., Guber, A. K., Ladoni, M., Munoz, J. D., & Kravchenko, A. N. (2017). The effect of up-scaling soil properties and model parameters on predictive accuracy of DSSAT crop simulation model under variable weather conditions. Geoderma, 287, 105-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.08.012 Haruna, S. I., & Nkongolo, N. V. (2014). Spatial and Fractal Characterization of Soil Chemical Properties and Nutrients across Depths in a Clay-Loam Soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 45(17), 2305-2318. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2014.932371 Haruna, S. I., & Nkongolo, N. V. (2013). Variability of Soil Physical Properties in a Clay-Loam Soil and Its Implication on Soil Management Practices. ISRN Soil Science, 2013, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/418586 Iqbal, J., Mitchell, D. C., Barker, D. W., Miguez, F., Sawyer, J. E., Pantoja, J., & Castellano, M. J. (2015). Does Nitrogen Fertilizer Application Rate to Corn Affect Nitrous Oxide Emissions from the Rotated Soybean Crop?. Journal of Environmental Quality, 44(3), 711-719. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2014.09.0378 Kumar, S., Kadono, A., Lal, R., & Dick, W. (2012). Long‐Term Tillage and Crop Rotations for 47–49 Years Influences Hydrological Properties of Two Soils in Ohio. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 76(6), 2195-2207. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2012.0098 Kumar, S., Kadono, A., Lal, R., & Dick, W. (2012). Long‐Term No‐Till Impacts on Organic Carbon and Properties of Two Contrasting Soils and Corn Yields in Ohio. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 76(5), 1798-1809. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2012.0055 Kumar, S., Nakajima, T., Mbonimpa, E., Gautam, S., Somireddy, U., Kadono, A., Lal, R., Chintala, R., Rafique, R., & Fausey, N. (2014). Long-term tillage and drainage influences on soil organic carbon dynamics, aggregate stability and corn yield. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 60(1), 108-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.2013.878643 Ladoni, M., Basir, A., Robertson, P. G., & Kravchenko, A. N. (2016). Scaling-up: cover crops differentially influence soil carbon in agricultural fields with diverse topography. Agriculture, Ecosystems &Amp; Environment, 225, 93-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.03.021 Maas, E., Lal, R., Coleman, K., Montenegro, A., & Dick, W. (2017). Modeling soil organic carbon in corn ( <i>Zea mays</i> L.)-based systems in Ohio under climate change. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 191-204. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.191 Mitchell, D. C., Castellano, M. J., Sawyer, J. E., & Pantoja, J. (2013). Cover Crop Effects on Nitrous Oxide Emissions: Role of Mineralizable Carbon. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 77(5), 1765-1773. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2013.02.0074 Nakajima, T., & Lal, R. (2014). Tillage and drainage management effect on soil gas diffusivity. Soil and Tillage Research, 135, 71-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2013.09.003 Nakajima, T., Lal, R., & Jiang, S. (2015). Soil quality index of a crosby silt loam in central Ohio. Soil and Tillage Research, 146, 323-328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2014.10.001 Necpalova, M., Anex, R. P., Kravchenko, A. N., Abendroth, L. J., Del Grosso, S. J., Dick, W. A., Helmers, M. J., Herzmann, D., Lauer, J. G., Nafziger, E. D., Sawyer, J. E., Scharf, P. C., Strock, J. S., & Villamil, M. B. (2014). What does it take to detect a change in soil carbon stock? A regional comparison of minimum detectable difference and experiment duration in the north central United States. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 517-531. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.69.6.517 Negassa, W., Price, R. F., Basir, A., Snapp, S. S., & Kravchenko, A. (2015). Cover crop and tillage systems effect on soil CO2 and N2O fluxes in contrasting topographic positions. Soil and Tillage Research, 154, 64-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2015.06.015 Panday, D., & Nkongolo, N. V. (2016). Comparison of models for predicting pore space indices and their relationships with CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes in a corn–soybean field. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 96(3), 328-335. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2015-0074 Panday, D., & Nkongolo, N. (2015). Soil Water Potential Control of the Relationship between Moisture and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Corn-Soybean Field. Climate, 3(3), 689-696. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3030689 Pantoja, J. L., Woli, K. P., Sawyer, J. E., & Barker, D. W. (2016). Winter Rye Cover Crop Biomass Production, Degradation, and Nitrogen Recycling. Agronomy Journal, 108(2), 841-853. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2015.0336 Pantoja, J. L., Woli, K. P., Sawyer, J. E., & Barker, D. W. (2015). Corn Nitrogen Fertilization Requirement and Corn-Soybean Productivity with a Rye Cover Crop. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 79(5), 1482-1495. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2015.02.0084 Pease, L., Fausey, N., Martin, J., & Brown, L. (2017). Projected climate change effects on subsurface drainage and the performance of controlled drainage in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 240-250. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.240 Rorick, J., & Kladivko, E. (2017). Cereal rye cover crop effects on soil carbon and physical properties in southeastern Indiana. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 260-265. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.260 Schott, L., Lagzdins, A., Daigh, A., Craft, K., Pederson, C., Brenneman, G., & Helmers, M. (2017). Drainage water management effects over five years on water tables, drainage, and yields in southeast Iowa. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(3), 251-259. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.72.3.251 Saadat, S., Bowling, L., Frankenberger, J., & Brooks, K. (2017). Effects of Controlled Drainage on Water Table Recession Rate. Transactions of the ASABE, 60(3), 813-821. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.11922 Zuber, S. M., Behnke, G. D., Nafziger, E. D., & Villamil, M. B. (2015). Crop Rotation and Tillage Effects on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Illinois. Agronomy Journal, 107(3), 971-978. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj14.0465 Abendroth, L. J., Chighladze, G., Frankenberger, J. R., Bowling, L. C., Helmers, M. J., Herzmann, D. E., Jia, X., Kjaersgaard, J., Pease, L. A., Reinhart, B. D., Strock, J., & Youssef, M. (2022). Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture. Scientific Data, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01358-7
Method Citation	Kladivko, E. J., Helmers, M. J., Abendroth, L. J., Herzmann, D., Lal, R., Castellano, M. J., Mueller, D. S., Sawyer, J. E., Anex, R. P., Arritt, R. W., Basso, B., Bonta, J. V., Bowling, L. C., Cruse, R. M., Fausey, N. R., Frankenberger, J. R., Gassman, P. W., Gassmann, A. J., Kling, C. L., … Villamil, M. B. (2014). Standardized research protocols enable transdisciplinary research of climate variation impacts in corn production systems. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 532-542. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.69.6.532 Herzmann, D. E., Abendroth, L. J., & Bunderson, L. D. (2014). Data management approach to multidisciplinary agricultural research and syntheses. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 69(6), 180A-185A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.69.6.180a
Dataset DOI (digital object identifier)	10.15482/USDA.ADC/1411953
Product Type	Dataset
Related Content	The project external web-page - sustainablecorn.org Data from Five Year, Multi-University Sustainable Corn Project Now Available Online ISU Data Team - data and metadata downloads
Preferred Dataset Citation	Abendroth, Lori J.; Herzmann, Daryl E.; Chighladze, Giorgi; Kladivko, Eileen J.; Helmers, Matthew J.; Bowling, Laura; Castellano, Michael; Cruse, Richard M.; Dick, Warren A.; Fausey, Norman R.; Frankenberger, Jane; Gassmann, Aaron J.; Kravchenko, Alexandra ; Lal, Rattan; Lauer, Joseph G.; Mueller, Daren S.; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Nkongolo, Nsalambi ; O'Neal, Matthew; Sawyer, John E.; Scharf, Peter; Strock, Jeffrey S.; Villamil, Maria B. (2017). Sustainable Corn CAP Research Data (USDA-NIFA Award No. 2011-68002-30190). National Agricultural Library - ARS - USDA. http://dx.doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1411953

Field	Value
OSTI Identifier
ISO Topic(s)	environment farming
State or Territory	Illinois Indiana Iowa Michigan Minnesota Missouri Ohio Wisconsin
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus Term	carbon corn greenhouse gases nitrogen rye soybeans Zea mays sowing planting pests drainage pesticides harvesting climate vegetation tillage fertilizers Illinois Wisconsin Missouri Ohio Michigan Indiana Minnesota Iowa water quality climate change water footprint nitrogen content field experimentation application range cover crops landscape position biomass production water table drainage water soil types fertilizer application Corn Belt region crop rotation soil water crop production data collection greenhouse gas emissions National Institute of Food and Agriculture United States methane agroecosystems farms crop management carbon sequestration carbon dioxide nitrous oxide crop yield soil water content soil sampling issues and policy Farms and Farming Systems
Ag Data Commons Keywords	Agroecosystems & Environment Agroecosystems & Environment Management Agroecosystems & Environment Soil Agroecosystems & Environment Weather and Climate Plants & Crops Plants & Crops Crop production Plants & Crops Crop production Cropping system

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