Data from: Crop Sequence and Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Soil Properties in the Western Corn Belt

Understanding long-term management effects on soil properties is necessary to determine the sustainability of cropping systems. Documentation of soil property responses to corn-based cropping systems in the Western Corn Belt, however, is limited. A study was conducted near Mead, Nebraska to document the effects of four crop sequences (continuous corn, corn-soybean, corn-oat+clover-grain sorghum-soybean, corn-soybean-grain sorghum-oat+clover) and three nitrogen (N) rates (zero, low, high) on a suite of soil properties. At the time of sampling (spring 1999), treatments had been in place for 16 years. Soil samples were collected from two depths using a 1.8 cm step-down probe: 0-7.6 cm and 0-30.5 cm. Soil pH and electrical conductivity was estimated from a 1:1 soil-water mixture. Soil nitrate-N was measured using 1:10 soil-KCl extracts and the cadmium reduction method. Extractable P was determined by the Bray P-1 method. Particulate organic matter was determined by weight loss-on-ignition. Total carbon and N were determined by dry combustion. Potentially mineralizable N was determined by anerobic incubation, while microbial biomass was estimated by microwave irradiation. Soils data were used to identify associations with 16-year averages of grain and stover yield, grain and stover N uptake, and post-harvest soil nitrate-N. Data may be used to understand soil responses to corn-based cropping systems under rainfed conditions in a humid continental climate. Applicable USDA soil types include Yutan, Tomek, and Fillmore.