As droughts become longer and more intense, impacts on terrestrial primary productivity are expected to increase progressively. Yet, some ecosystems appear to acclimate to multiyear drought, with constant or diminishing reductions in productivity as drought duration increases. We quantified the combined effects of drought duration and intensity on aboveground productivity in 74 grasslands and shrublands distributed globally. Ecosystem acclimation with multiyear drought was observed overall, except when droughts were extreme (i.e., ≤1-in-100-year likelihood of occurrence). Productivity losses after four consecutive years of extreme drought increased by ~2.5-fold compared with those of the first year. These results portend a foundational shift in ecosystem behavior if drought duration and intensity increase, from maintenance of reduced functioning over time to progressive and profound losses of productivity when droughts are extreme.

A comprehensive review of research data on the effects of swine manure on soil health properties that is applicable to agricultural producers is lacking. The objectives of this review were (a) to synthesize literature describing effects of swine manure on soil properties that affect “soil health” and (b) to identify knowledge gaps and research needs to further our understanding of this topic. We reviewed papers from two databases and extracted soil property and swine manure data based on a set of criteria. For a paper to be included, (a) the studies were replicated field experiments, (b) manure was the only differing factor between or among treatments, and (c) data means of swine manure amended treatments and controls were included. In total, 40 papers met the criteria and were included. Based on this review, swine manure has the potential to significantly increase soil organic carbon. Soil organic carbon, soil organic matter, and microbial biomass carbon increased when swine manure was applied to crop fields, whereas bulk density tended to decrease. To conclude, previous literature reviews failed to account for differences in methodologies between individual research studies and whether research is applicable to producers utilizing swine manure as amendments to improve soil health. Future research studies should measure and report a standard set of metrics for both soil and manure properties and should investigate the effects of application frequency on short‐ and long‐term soil health properties.

This research study underscores the importance of effectively managing soil nutrients in a site-specific manner to enhance crop productivity while considering the spatial variability of the soil. The objective is to identify subfields with similar soil characteristics, referred to as management zones (MZs), to promote sustainable land utilization. This study was conducted in two central pivot fields located in Southern Idaho, USA, where barley and sugar beets were grown. Soil samples were collected from each field in a grid pattern and analyzed for various chemical properties. These properties included soil pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, excess lime, electrical conductivity, total inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, and boron. Descriptive statistics and normality assessments were performed, and the coefficient of variation was calculated to assess the heterogeneity of soil properties, revealing significant variability. To determine the spatial variability of soil properties, ordinary kriging was used revealing diverse spatial patterns for each location and soil variable examined with moderate to strong spatial dependence. To develop the MZs, a combination of principal component analysis and fuzzy k-means clustering was utilized, and specific parameters that represented the overall variability of soil properties in each field were identified. Based on the identified parameters, two clusters were created in each field. The first management zone (MZ1) exhibited lower values of soil pH, excess lime content, and electrical conductivity compared to the MZ2. Consequently, higher crop productivity was observed in MZ1 in both fields. The biomass yields of barley and sugar beets in MZ1 surpassed those in MZ2. This study highlights the effectiveness of the methodology employed to delineate MZs, which can be instrumental in precise soil nutrient management and maximizing crop productivity.