Abstract
Extreme precipitation threatens global agriculture production. In the Midwest U.S., drought-prone summers can lead to crop yield losses. Agricultural diversification has been touted as a climate-resilient management practice that can buffer against drought-induced crop yield decline; however, few studies have tested this hypothesis. Our objectives were to: 1) synthesize previously published and new unpublished soil physical data from a long-term experiment (>20-years) that might provide mechanistic evidence for climate-resilience, 2) measure soybean physiological response to an experimentally imposed drought. Across both objectives, we compared a business-as-usual maize-soybean rotation (2-year) to a more diversified maize-soybean-oat/alfalfa-alfalfa rotation with manure inputs (4-year). Across the 20-year experiment (Objective 1), the 4-year decreased bulk density by 3 %, decreased overall penetration resistance by 23 %, and increased water content at field capacity by 16 % compared to the 2-year. After imposing drought in both rotations (Objective 2), the 4-year reduced drought-induced decline in stomatal conductance by half compared to the 2-year. According to response ratios, the extreme drought decreased the 2-year soybean yield by 11 %, while the 4-year had no detectable yield loss. Diversified cropping systems can improve soil physical properties, and this is the most parsimonious factor explaining observed drought resilience in soybeans. Our data support the notion that diversified cropping systems can buffer against negative consequences of extreme drought – a likely scenario for future growing seasons. • > 20 years of agricultural diversification improved soil’s crop water access. • We tested if soybeans in diversified systems were more resilient to imposed drought. • Diversified soybeans had lower decrease in stomatal conductance and crop yield. • Long-rotations+manure improve soil health and increase soybean drought resilience.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
The diversified rotation reduced soil bulk density by 3%.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 4-year decreased bulk density by 3 %”
t0“soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
The diversified rotation reduced penetration resistance by 23%.
- Taxon
- soybean
Glycine maxt0 - Treatment
- 4-yeare0
- Outcome
- penetration resistancee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 23 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 4-year decreased bulk density by 3 %, decreased overall penetration resistance by 23 %”
t0“soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
The diversified rotation increased field capacity water content by 16%.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- 4-yeare0
- Outcome
- water content at field capacitye0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 16 %e0
- Comparator
- 2-yeare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 4-year decreased bulk density by 3 %, decreased overall penetration resistance by 23 %, and increased water content at field capacity by 16 % compared to the 2-year”
t0“soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
After drought, the diversified rotation halved the decline in soybean stomatal conductance.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- 4-yeare0
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- halfe0
- Comparator
- 2-yeare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 4-year reduced drought-induced decline in stomatal conductance by half compared to the 2-year”
t0“soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
Extreme drought reduced soybean yield 11% in the two-year rotation.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- extreme droughte0
- Outcome
- soybean yielde0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 11 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the extreme drought decreased the 2-year soybean yield by 11 %”
Claim · model-written summary
The four-year rotation had no detectable soybean yield loss under extreme drought.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- no detectable yield losse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 4-year had no detectable yield loss”
t0“soybean”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors attribute soybean drought resilience most parsimoniously to improved soil physical properties.
- Taxon
- soybeansGlycine maxe0
- Outcome
- drought resilience in soybeanse0
- Qualifier
- most parsimonious factore0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this is the most parsimonious factor explaining observed drought resilience in soybeans”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude diversified systems can buffer the effects of extreme drought.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Outcome
- diversified cropping systems can buffer against negative consequences of extreme droughte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“diversified cropping systems can buffer against negative consequences of extreme drought”
t0“soybean”
The same questions in other papers
drought · yield · Glycine max (soybean)Positive and negative results
178 papers in the same direction as this paper · 35 in the opposite direction
- positive
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