TY - Generic T1 - Snow As a Driver of Soil Biogeochemical Cycling in the Semiarid Dryland Cereal Production Systems of the Northern Great Plains (Poster) T2 - 88th Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Caitlin Mitchell A1 - Stephanie Ewing A1 - Robert Payn A1 - Tobias Koffman A1 - Eric Sproles KW - nitrate KW - prairie snow KW - soils KW - water isotope AB -

In the Judith River Watershed (JRW) of the Upper Missouri River Basin in central Montana (Figure 1), extensive non-irrigated cereal crop production occurs on thin, well-drained soils susceptible to water loss and nitrate leaching1,2. This landscape consists of fluvial terraces and alluvial fans with shallow, unconfined aquifers that are vulnerable to accumulating nitrate leached from overlying soils and thus commonly host groundwater concentrations twice the EPA drinking water standard of 10 mg N L-1. In these non-irrigated agricultural systems of the Northern Great Plains, snow provides a vital source of winter and spring water for crop production 3,4, yet the role of snow as a driver of nitrate dynamics in these soils is less understood5. Additionally, the distribution of snow across these relatively flat cultivated areas is highly variable, with wind patterns and the character of crop stubble dictating when and where snow accumulates, melts, and infiltrates – ultimately contributing water to soil storage4.

JF - 88th Annual Western Snow Conference CY - Bozeman, MT UR - /files/PDFs/2021Mitchell.pdf ER -