Effects of cultivation history and current grassland management on soil quality in northeastern Kansas

Management regimes of varying types and intensities can have profound impacts on grassland soil quality. Plus, there has recently been increased interest in finding soil quality indicators that are reflective of historical and current land management. We surveyed soil quality of privately owned grasslands in northeastern Kansas differing in their cultivation histories and current land-use (cool-season hay and grazed, warm-season native hay and grazed, and Conservation Reserve Program). We found significant differences in individual soil characteristics among management regimes when using both chemical and physical soil quality indicators. Principal components analysis showed that cultivation history and current land-use of these fields could be reflected by overall soil quality. Also, within cultivated fields, overall soil quality significantly increased with time since last cultivation. Our results suggest that using soil quality indicators such as nitrogen, carbon and organic matter are reflective of historical land use, but are not as useful when trying to determine current land use.