According to Lee Burras and Bradley Miller, agronomists at Iowa State University, advances in geospatial technology coupled with more traditional farming knowledge have allowed researchers and landowners to understand the land more intimately than ever before. Miller, who began his career working in water quality, has seen firsthand how soil can be impacted by the flow of water across a field. As he explains, water flow across a field is largely determined by the broader landscape of the field. “Working in water quality, I began to really realize that in order to understand water quality issues, we need to understand the landscape where the water flows through, including the land use for that soil,” he said. However, he quickly realized that the resources available to researchers such as himself and the landowners impacted by these issues were somewhat behind the times. “The soil maps we had weren’t quite good enough to meet our needs,” he explained, “so from there, I became a geographer.” “Everyone who is attempting to grow something in Iowa is attempting to grow something in a certain place,” Burras explained, “so the first thing you want to do is know the soil in its place. Is the landscape a hill? A valley? How deep is the A-horizon, or the black, organic soil zone?”
By analyzing these soil properties, agronomists and landowners can better understand how to increase yields and mitigate environmental impacts.
