Summary of Progress in 2005 and Current Research Findings:

The Columbia Plateau PM₁₀ Project (CP₃) is a multi-facetted research and extension project focused on reducing soil loss and fugitive dust emissions caused by wind erosion. University and USDA-ARS scientists and engineers are developing of new and improved methods, technologies and strategies for predicting and controlling wind-induced soil erosion and dust emissions from the region’s farmland. Minimum tillage summer fallow farming practices that maintain surface residue, roughness, and clod retention for wind erosion control, and that have no adverse agronomic or economic effects compared to traditional tillage practices, have been thoroughly documented by the CP₃. The new and continuing challenge is to develop and test more intensive (i.e., less fallow) cropping systems that can compete economically with winter wheat - summer fallow in the low precipitation zone. To achieve this goal, the CP₃ has several long-term no-till and minimum-till cropping systems studies in the low-precipitation dryland region of eastern Washington and north-central Oregon. Some of these projects are nearing completion of their second or third phases. These experiments represent some of the longest running cropping systems studies ever conducted in the Pacific Northwest. Research in the irrigated Columbia Basin is focused on cover crop management and assessment strategies following high soil disturbance crops such as potatoes and sugar beets. A long-term irrigated cropping systems study is helping growers find feasible alternatives to burning cereal stubble. Economic analysis, measurement of soil quality changes, on-farm testing, and extension outreach are integral components of our wind erosion control effort. Baseline data on soil characteristics and wind velocity analysis for the Columbia Plateau continue to be defined and mapped. We are gaining new insight into the processes of wind erosion and dust deposition over geologic time spans. Studies to quantify and predict simultaneous wind erosion and PM₁₀ fluxes are ongoing, and a computer model to determine smoke dispersion from field burning is under development. Three new video extension bulletins are being developed to document the recent scientific advances of the Columbia Plateau PM₁₀ Project.

Kok,
Hans

Stockle,
Claudio O.