Comparison of steady-state, water-infiltration rates among farming systems, final report
Published Feb 1, 2012
Abstract
During Iowa’s spring 2008 floods, PFI members who had grass-based livestock systems and long crop rotations reported that their soils held the rainwater. This experiment tested those claims. The main objective of the study was to quantify the ecological resiliency of different farming systems by measuring the rate of water infiltration and soil quality indicators (reported separately) on neighboring farms with different farming systems. After three years of data collection, there was not a conclusive answer as to whether a specific farming system caused improved water infiltration rates across multiple locations, as the results varied by location.