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University of Wisconsin-Madison

As part of the larger DSWR project, the UW-Madison team is helping to evaluate the effects of novel manure products and soil conservation
practices on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil organic carbon storage and soil health parameters such as water infiltration and aggregate stability.

The UW-Madison team is overseeing three DSWR project experiments: a large plot experiment to assess the effects of novel manure products and soil conservation practices, a field-scale experiment to understand the interactions between soil management practices and soil hydrology and a large plot experiment to quantify the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that can be replaced by novel manure products.

The experiments are located at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in south central Wisconsin. The research sites are characterized by highly fertile soils that are typical of the U.S. tallgrass prairie.

This work will help to determine the overall impacts of manure products and soil conservation practices on GHG emissions and soil health. When combined with the results from other DSWR project experiments, this information will help to calibrate process-based models and inform policy and decision-making.

Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences »

Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences »

Plot treatment chart

Figure: Wisconsin manure Nitrogen replacement value trial at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station.

The UW-Madison Team

Randall Jackson
Randall Jackson, Ph.D.
Professor and Project PI

Focuses on agroecology, grassland ecology, cropping systems ecology, carbon and nutrient cycling and biodiversity.

Mark Ruark
Matt Ruark, Ph.D.
Professor

Expertise in soil fertility and biology, nutrient management and water quality.

Gregg Sandford
Gregg Sanford, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Expertise in cropping system ecology, soil organic carbon dynamics, soil health, crop-livestock integration and long-term experiments.

Adam von Haden
Adam von Haden, Ph.D.
Scientist

Focuses on soil organic carbon dynamics, soil GHG emissions, plant root dynamics, data management and wrangling and field research experiments.

Porter Reim
Researcher

Focuses on the agronomics of cover crops and tree crops, producer-driven agribusiness and the revitalization of regional food systems and environmental restoration. 

Greta Hippensteel
Greta Hippensteel
Research Specialist

Expertise in sustainable agronomic systems and agronomic management, agricultural field research and data collection, project management and research implementation and organic/local food systems.

Publications and Presentations

DSWR
Other relevant publications
  • Bybee-Finley, K. A., Muller, K., White, K. E., Cavigelli, M. A., Han, E., Schomberg, H. H., Snapp, S., Viens, F., Correndo, A. A., Deiss, L., Fonteyne, S., Garcia y Garcia, A., Gaudin, A. C. M., Hooker, D. C., Janovicek, K., Jin, V., Johnson, G., Karsten, H., Liebman, M., … Sanford, G. R., … Bowles, T. M. (2024). Rotational complexity increases cropping system output under poorer growing conditions. One Earth. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.008
  • Dietz, C. L., Jackson, R. D., Ruark, M. D., & Sanford, G. R. (2024). Soil carbon maintained by perennial grasslands but lost in field crop systems over 30 years in a temperate Mollisol according to longitudinal, compaction-corrected, full-soil profile analysis. Nature: Communications Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01500-w
  • Raffeld, A. M., Bradford, M. A., Jackson, R. D., Rath, D., Sanford, G. R., Tautges, N., & Oldfield, E. E. (2024). The importance of accounting method and sampling depth to estimate changes in soil carbon stocks. Carbon Balance and Management, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-024-00249-1
  • von Haden, A. C., Sanford, G. R., Cates, A. M., & Jackson, R. D. (2024). Paired resampling to detect field-level soil organic carbon stock change. Comment on “Testing the feasibility of quantifying change in agricultural soil carbon stocks through empirical sampling” by Bradford et al. Geoderma, 116959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116959
  • Augarten A, Malone L, Richardson G, Jackson RD, Wattiaux M, Conley S, Radatz A, Cooley E, Ruark MD. 2023. Cropping systems with perennial vegetation and livestock integration promote soil health. Agricultural & Environmental Letters 8: 20100. doi:10.1002/ael2.20100
  • Wepking C, Mackin HC, Raff Z, Shrestha D, Orfanou A, Booth EG, Kucharik CJ, Gratton C, Jackson RD. 2022. Perennial grassland agriculture restores critical ecosystem functions in America’s Dairyland. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6: 1010280. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2022.1010280
  • Rui Y, Jackson RD, Cotrufo MF, Sanford GR, Spiesman BJ, Deiss L, Culman SW, Liang C, Ruark MD. 2022. Persistent soil carbon enhanced in Mollisols by well-managed grasslands but not annual grain or dairy forage cropping systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119: e2118931119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2118931119
  • Becker A, Ruark MD, Horowitz LS, Jackson RD. 2022. Surface-soil carbon stocks greater under well-managed grazed pasture than row crops. Soil Science Society of America Journal 86: 758–768. doi:10.1002/saj2.20388
  • Sanford GR, Jackson RD, Rui Y, Kucharik CJ. 2022.Land use-land cover gradient demonstrates the importance of perennial grasslands with intact soils for stabilizing soil carbon in the fertile Mollisols of the North Central US. Geoderma 418: 115854. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115854
  • Wiedeman B, Kriegl T, Jackson RD. 2022. Dairy needs real innovation. Hoard’s Dairyman, 10 Jan 2022

UW-Madison Content and Funding

The content and information on this webpage were produced and provided solely by the University of Wisconsin Madison research team.

DSWR activities at UW-Madison are partially funded by Emmi Roth.