Prairie Strips - One Possible Solution
The integration of prairie strips into row crops is one possible solution to address the challenges facing Midwest farmers.
According to Zhou et al. (2014), prairie strips significantly reduced total nitrogen and total phosphorus loss, as well as reduced overall soil sediment transport from agricultural fields. In research trials conducted by the STRIPS team at Iowa State University, the strategic incorporation of prairie into row crops has reduced soil and nutrient loss, improved water quality and plant, and animal biodiversity (Schulte et al. 2017).
The results of the research conducted by the STRIPS project provides supporting evidence for the continued strategic incorporation of prairie and will serve as the foundation for this module.
Figure 2. Impact of prairie on soil sediment export and surface nutrient loss (STRIPS, 2017e)