Life Sciences Commons^™

Collecting Carbon: An Analysis Of Soil Carbon In Conservation Reserve Program Fields And Agricultural Fields, Cody Welcher, Destiny Magee, Kenneth Elgersma

Undergraduate Student Work

Intensive agricultural practices are associated with detrimental effects to the environment including, but not limited to, increasing the rate of soil erosion, introducing pollutants to water supply, reduced habitat for various species, and reduced atmospheric carbon sequestration in soils.

The Conservation Reserve Program allows farmers to enroll sensitive lands into the program and out of circulation for agricultural purposes. It has been shown to increase soil carbon sequestration, reduce erosion, increase water and air quality, and provide habitat restoration for displaced species, along with other benefits.

The Effects Of Varying Nitrogen Amounts On The Growth And Leaf Morphology Of Cattail Species, Anissa Forero, Kenneth J. Elgersma

Undergraduate Student Work

In Iowa, there are three types of cattails (Typha spp.): Typha latifolia (broadleaf), Typha angustifolia (narrow leaf), and Typha x glauca. T. latifolia is native to Iowa, while T. angustifolia and T. x glauca are not native. Cattails are found in wetlands, highly productive ecosystems that provide many services such as water filtration and flood control.

However, Typha are opportunistic and invasive: if left uncontrolled, Typha grows rapidly by clonal reproduction, quickly dominating the ecosystem, lowering overall diversity and hurting the wetland’s conservation value. Being able to easily identify these taxa will improve the pace of future research.

The purpose …

Sown Forb Performance In Cp42 Fields, Nathan Theel, Mark Sherrard

Undergraduate Student Work

 CP42 is a general conservation practice that attempts to establish pollinator-friendly habitat

 In total, >500,000 acres have been converted to CP42 (>40% of which is in Iowa) [1]

 To date, there has been no formal assessment of practice success (i.e., post-seeding forb establishment)

 In this study, we assess forb establishment in randomly selected CP42 fields near Cedar Falls, Iowa

 We identify forbs with high/low establishment and relate this to seed cost in an effort to improve seed mix design

Soil Characteristics Affecting Weed Invasion On Conservation Reserve Program Pollinator Habitats, Jennifer Pauley

Undergraduate Student Work

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a land conservation program administered by the US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and create wildlife habitat.

• The CP-42 program provides cost share and an annual rental payment to farmers in order to establish native prairie species for pollinator habitat.

County NRCS technical staff make recommendations for seed mix to match the dominant soil moisture class in a parcel (e.g. dry, mesic, wet) with the appropriate plant species.

• There has been little to no research prior to the Biology SURP initiative to monitor …

Floral Resource Dynamics For Pollinators In A Central Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Restoration, Lily Conrad, Ben Hoksch, Mark C. Myers

Undergraduate Student Work

Recently, native and managed colonies of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, have experienced a largescale declines. In an effort to restore habitat for pollinators, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) created the CP-42 Pollinator Habitat conservation practice under the Conservation Reserve Program. This program pays private landowners to restore habitat for pollinator species with ecological and economic importance. To qualify for the program, CP-42 seed mixes must include:

• A minimum of 9 pollinator-friendly flowering plants,

• A minimum of three species in bloom during each of three seasonal periods (April-June 15, June 15-July, …

Native Grass Cover Influences Forb Density In Cp-42 Pollinator Plantings, Alyssa Burgert, Laura Jackson

Undergraduate Student Work

In recent years, pollinator populations have greatly declined due to a large decrease in habitat. In order to combat this decline, government programs have provided farmers with incentives to convert cropland to pollinator habitat.¹ Farmers are required to plant at least 9 insect-pollinated species, with 3 species each blooming in early, middle and late summer. Any grasses must be native and comprise no more than 25% of the seed mix.² Because of the high cost of forb seed and relatively low cost of grasses, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of this seed mix strategy. We predicted that …

Floral Resource Availability And Butterfly Community Characteristics In Cp-42 Pollinator Habitat Plantings, Ethan Marburger, Corinne Myers, Mark Myers

Undergraduate Student Work

Prairies once covered approximately 85% of Iowa, but due to extensive habitat loss less than 0.1% of native prairies remain (Smith 1998). Habitat loss in Iowa has been driven by agricultural expansion and intensification, and has resulted in the decline of many native insect pollinators. To curb habitat loss and restore habitat for pollinators, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides private landowners incentives to enroll agricultural land into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Pollinator Habitat (CP-42) practice. The CP-42 conservation practice requires landowners to seed at least 9 species of pollinator friendly wildflowers, legumes, or shrubs on enrolled lands. CP-42 …

Correlation Between Wild Bee Populations And Vegetative Resources In The Conservation Reserve Program’S Pollinator Enhancement Plantings, Olivia Willoughby, Alyssa Burgert, Nathan Theel, Ai Wen

Undergraduate Student Work

 Wild bee populations are in decline; and one of the main factors that caused this is habitat loss, which diminishes floral resources that bees utilize for nectar and pollen (Watanabe 2013)

 The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) aims to combat habitat loss by implementing ecological restorations that provide resources for a variety of different wildlife

 In 2011, the CRP established a Pollinator Habitat Initiative called CP-42, which encompasses forbs and grasses to create adequate habitat for pollinators

 A primary goal of this program is to enhance pollinator abundance and diversity