Converting conventional agriculture to poplar bioenergy crops: soil chemistry

Woody bioenergy is a viable source of alternative energy; however, questions remain on how purpose-grown bioenergy feedstock production management impact surface soil chemistry. In order to understand the soil processes under poplar (Populus spp.) trees and adjacent agricultural sites, surface (0-15 cm) soil samples were collected from four northwestern United States locations over a four-year period. Initial and final surface soil samples were analyzed for various soil chemical parameters, including organic matter, pH, cation exchange capacity and nutrient concentrations. Fields selected to compare poplar and agricultural management initially differed in some key soil chemical parameters. Many soil chemical parameters changed over time and the magnitude of change often depended on location; however, initial differences between management types within any one location did not change over time for most soil chemical variables. Consistent in-location differences between management types over time show poplar did not alter soil chemical parameters relative to agricultural management during the study period. Together all observations indicate that little of the overall soil chemistry was impacted by introduction of poplar in the traditionally agricultural fields.Post transformation data is in "SoilChem.txt". Data column information is listed in "SoilChem Info.txt". SAS scripts for testing ANOVA assumptions, transformations and analysis of the data as presented in the linked article are in "file SoilChem_archive.sas". Funding provided by: USDA-NIFACrossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: 2011-68005-30407See methods in linked article