As CDFA continues its work with federal and local partners and poultry owners to respond to a recent detection of virulent Newcastle disease in Los Angeles County, it offers these reminders to bird owners in California and elsewhere.

A newly planted vineyard and lush green cover crop near Santa Ynez, California. George Rose/Getty Images

Just 5 percent of California farmers use cover cropping, but that’s likely to increase as researchers work to quantify the amount of water that can be saved by the practice and its benefit for river ecosystems.

By Jane Braxton Little, Water Deeply

THIS SPRING IN California several orchards around Solano and nearby counties sported a new look: lush carpets of mixed grasses growing as tall as 3ft beneath the trees’ bare branches. By summer the scene will change as farmers grow and harvest their nut crops, but the work of the grasses will continue unseen.

Cover cropping, an agricultural technique as old as dirt, is taking root in California. Used to enhance soil nutrition and improve the growth of plants, it fell out of favor after World War II when the practice was replaced by the use of chemical fertilizers.

Today just 5 percent of California growers are using cover crops – and 3 percent nationwide – but that’s likely to change.

Farmers have used off-season plantings for millennia to build soil and keep it from blowing or washing away. Like their predecessors, walnut and almond growers are using these seasonal noncash crops to hold in moisture and provide habitat.

Farmers are also returning to the practice to curb the effects of a changing climate. As hotter and drier conditions hit most of the state, Central Valley growers are planting grasses and legumes under their trees to increase the carbon and nitrogen in their soils. And as implementation of the state’s new drought-driven groundwater regulation approaches, they are testing the ability of cover crops to increase the amount of water stored in the ground that grows their nuts and vegetables.

“Folks are really thinking hard about where their water comes from, and they’re thinking about carbon, too – things that are new in terms of farming systems in relationship to the world,” said Wendy Rash, a district conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

She is part of a loose coalition of growers, scientists and conservationists working to expand the use of cover crops and identify the places where they can provide the greatest ecological benefit at the lowest cost to the farmer. Some are weighing the economic advantages and risks, some the potential for effecting agricultural policies.

Among these efforts is an ambitious project aimed at a seemingly incongruous goal: river restoration. The Freshwater Trust, a Portland-based conservation group, is designing a tool that will help monitor and track efforts to increase the health of water and soil at a landscape scale. It is based on the premise that cover crops help boost the water that goes into the ground, recharging the aquifer. Maximizing these groundwater reserves lessens the demand for surface water, which leaves more water for rivers. And more water in streams benefits fish and riparian species, said Erik Ringelberg, the Freshwater Trust’s California director.

“From a conservation perspective, that’s a win for us,” he said.

Funded by a $779,000 grant through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Freshwater Trust is developing a data-driven system to demonstrate the on-the-ground benefits of cover cropping – and those below the ground, too. It’s a high-tech tool for a humble, time-tested practice.

The use of cover crops is definitely on the rise in the northern Sacramento Valley, said Sara Tiffany. As a specialist with the Community Alliance of Family Farmers Climate-Smart Farming program, she works with growers not represented by larger agricultural organizations. On a farm in Colusa County, the grower was losing topsoil to erosion, which carried it down the slopes of his mature walnut orchard. Tiffany suggested a mix of clover and small grasses to create a perennial cover crop designed to hold the soil in place and reseed itself. It worked, she said.

Just how much water is actually percolating into the water table is largely a matter of anecdotal observation. That, however, could change as the Freshwater Trust gathers data related to water usage. It should also help growers and the conservation community identify steps they can take collectively to maximize effective groundwater management at a watershed scale.

The Freshwater Trust project focuses on the state’s 2014 policy regulating groundwater management, and on the recent application of a 2003 policy regulating agricultural discharge. Both involve farmers, and both are often viewed as onerous, said Ringelberg. The Freshwater Trust has taken the approach that these regulations, administered by separate agencies, can be used to benefit growers as well as the larger watershed.

Ringelberg is working through special districts to monitor the effects of cover cropping on groundwater. As the roots of clover and beans reach down through the soil, they loosen it, making it more receptive to water soaking in from the surface. This also helps farmers deal with agricultural runoff, monitored through the regulation initially designed to limit pesticides entering waterways but now applied to all discharges. By helping absorb water where it falls, cover crops contribute to compliance with the state Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program.

Ringelberg, who helped the Freshwater Trust launch its program early this year, is optimistic that it will demonstrate benefits to both growers and the aquifer. “There’s a lot of additional water that can be brought into the systems immediately helping the conservation of fish and wildlife, and in many cases it can significantly enhance farmers’ productivity,” he said.

To determine how much or how little productivity is affected, Alyssa DeVincentis is building an economic model showing the costs and benefits of cover cropping over time. These are basically unknown despite the longevity of this practice, said DeVincentis, a PhD candidate in hydrologic sciences at University of California, Davis.

Her study is calculating the direct cost-benefits such as planting and purchasing seeds. She is also analyzing the indirect costs and benefits – more important but harder to quantify, she said. They include healthier soil, reduced water usage and “the feeling that things just run more smoothly with cover cropping,” DeVincentis said. She hopes to be able to say the benefits will outweigh the risks within a determined range of years, and to quantify how much water cover cropping actually uses. Although it is beneficial in numerous ways, “at the end of the day cover crops use water,” she said.

But do they ultimately increase groundwater on a piece of property? John Curry, director of the Dixon Resource Conservation District, thinks that likelihood is responsible for the increase in growers interested in cover cropping. California’s new groundwater regulations hold regional groundwater basins responsible for developing and implementing plans to achieve sustainable groundwater management. He is interested in determining if cover crops can increase groundwater retention significantly enough to craft policies for local groundwater management agencies. “There’s a lot of potential in the concept,” he said.

The data the Freshwater Trust, DeVincentis and others are generating could contribute to policies that include cover cropping among the methods for managing groundwater sustainably. Combined with the on-the-ground work of Rash, Tiffany and others, California’s Central Valley farmers may be pioneering techniques that can be applied around the world as the planet becomes hotter and drier.

For Ringelberg, the ultimate goal is to change the pace and scale of conservation – “to actually help the health of an entire watershed.” Improving groundwater recharge by encouraging cover cropping near rivers is one way to do that. He believes the Freshwater Trust model will provide the data to make site-specific decisions with far-reaching effects.

Rash is as anxious as anyone to have data that proves her hunches about the multiple benefits of cover cropping. But she does not need it to validate the inner satisfaction she gets when she sees orchard floors blanketed by winter carpets of green. “They are just good for my soul,” she said.

See the original post on News Deeply/Water Deeply here.

An example of fertigation.

This research project is directed at understanding influences and grower decisions about the adoption of improved nitrogen management practices.

Issue

Nitrogen best management practices (BMPs), such as applying fertilizers at the right time, right rate, right place and in the right form (the 4 R’s), and soil and leaf sampling, are key to managing crop productivity. Practices such as these and many other promising BMPs have been coming out of CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education’s (FREP) research-based projects for more than two decades. Many of these practices have economic and environmental benefits, so what is preventing their implementation?

With a grant from FREP, a team of researchers from University of California, Davis has been collaborating with Water Quality Coalitions in the Central Valley to explore the key barriers to implement practices that increase nutrient use efficiency. This project also aims to establish a baseline of current practices that can be used to measure progress with practice adoption.

Methods 

The first phase of the project is aimed at gathering information on current management practice adoptions levels, perceived risks, knowledge gaps and decision-making processes. Researchers assessed the use of improved nitrogen management practices by surveying growers in two Central Valley Water Quality Coalitions. The survey questions focused on the use of the following practices and their barriers to adoption.

• Fertilizer practices: Use a nitrogen budget to determine fertilizer rates; split fertilizer applications; verify plant nutrient status with in-season leaf sampling
• Soil practices: Take soil samples to measure residual nitrate; apply organic matter (compost or manure); plant cover crops
• Irrigation practices: Schedule irrigation by measuring plant-water status or using evapotranspiration (ET) measurements; use soil moisture sensors; test irrigation systems for distribution uniformity

Preliminary Results

Data were collected from 565 growers over the course of seven grower education meetings. The two Central Valley Water Quality Coalitions represent approximately 8,000 growers and 1.6 million acres of irrigated farmland in the Central Valley.

Discussion

Preliminary results indicate that growers operating on large parcels, and in perennial crop systems reported higher adoption rates for nearly all practices and named fewer challenges to adoption. Uncertainty was the most common barrier identified for seven out of ten practices. This illustrates the importance and demand for outreach and education around nitrogen management practices. Messaging to farmers should address the risks and benefits associated with BMPs and technical workshops are essential in aiding on-farm implementation. The potential for improving yield and crop quality are the largest recognized benefits and should be emphasized in outreach materials.

This information and more was also gleaned through a series of interviews with twenty growers who participated in the initial survey. Growers emphasized the importance of outreach and extension and cited issues with lack of clarity around nitrogen regulations and policy.

Next Steps

The second phase of the project will be an expanded survey designed to assess social, political, and economic factors influencing decision-making and adoption of improved nitrogen management practices. Surveys were mailed out to the Colusa-Glenn Sub watershed of the Sacramento Valley Water Quality Coalition, in February 2018 and will be distributed to growers in the San Joaquin County and Delta Water Quality Coalition and East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition regions in June 2018.

Link to FREP blog

From Cal-EPA

From record temperatures to proliferating wildfires and rising seas, California is already feeling the significant and growing effects of climate change, according to a new report  that tracks 36 indicators of climate change and its impacts on the state.

The report documents the growing number of extreme weather-related events in recent years, such as the devastating 2017 wildfires and the record-setting 2012-16 drought. Some of the long-term warming trends underlying these events, including the rise in average temperatures and the number of extremely hot days and nights, have accelerated in recent decades, the report shows.

The report also tracks a variety of other climate change indicators: the declining snowpack and dramatic retreat of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, unprecedented tree mortality in California forests, a rise in ocean temperatures off the California coast, and the shifting ranges of many species of California plants and animals. These impacts are similar to those that are occurring globally.

“As California works to both fight climate change and adapt to it, it is critical that we understand the dramatic impacts climate change is already having in our state,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Matthew Rodriquez. “California’s climate leadership is unquestioned, and this report builds on the essential scientific foundation that informs our efforts to respond to climate change.”

CalEPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) compiled the 36 indicators of climate change, drawing upon monitoring data from throughout the state and a wide variety of research studies carried out by state and federal agencies, universities and research institutions.

“These indicators illustrate in stark terms how climate change is affecting our state, and the growing threat climate change poses to our future,” said OEHHA Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “This report demonstrates the value of California’s extensive research and monitoring efforts, and is a valuable resource for state and local policymakers addressing critical climate adaptation and mitigation needs.”

One of the more positive outcomes discussed in the report is that despite an increase in the state’s population and economic output, California’s pioneering policies designed to curb emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have led to an overall decline in emissions as well as decreased emissions per capita and per dollar of its gross state product.

Additional key findings of the report include:

• Temperature: Average air temperatures have increased throughout the state since 1895, with temperatures increasing at a faster rate since the mid-1970s. The last four years were the hottest on record, with 2014 being the warmest, followed by 2015, 2017, and 2016. Nighttime temperatures have been rising faster than daytime temperatures.
• Wildfires: The five largest fire years since 1950 occurred in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2015. Preliminary data suggest that 2017, which included the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in state history (Sonoma and Napa counties) and the largest wildfire in state history (Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties), will rank as the second largest fire year in terms of total acreage.
• Drought: California is becoming drier, with unprecedented dry years in 2014 and 2015. The recent drought from 2012 to 2016 was the most extreme since instrumental records began.
• Sierra Nevada Snowmelt: The fraction of snowmelt runoff into the Sacramento River between April and July relative to total year-round runoff has declined, leading to less water available during the summer to meet the state’s needs.
• Species Migration: Pine forests now occupy less area statewide, while in certain parts of the state, oaks cover larger areas. About 75 percent of the small mammal species and over 80 percent of the bird species surveyed in the Sierra Nevada region have shifted ranges.
• Agriculture: In parts of the Central Valley, certain fruits and nuts (prunes and one walnut variety) are maturing more quickly with warming temperatures, leading to earlier harvests. Shorter maturation times generally lead to smaller fruits and nuts, potentially causing a significant loss
  of revenue for growers and suppliers.

In addition, the report highlights a variety of “emerging climate change issues” that appear to be influenced by climate change but the link has not yet been conclusively established. These include a reduction in coastal and Central Valley fog, an increase in harmful algal blooms, and a rise in invasive agricultural pests. Additional data or further analyses will be needed to determine the extent to which climate change plays a role.

The report is one of two major state research efforts looking at climate change impacts in California. While the indicators report documents and measures impacts that have already occurred, another series of reports, California’s Climate Change Assessments, builds on these observations to make projections about future impacts that can inform state adaptation strategies. California is one of the few states to compile its own series of comprehensive reports on the impacts of climate change.

The full indicators report and a 15-pages summary are available at oehha.ca.gov/climate-change/document/indicators-climate-change-california.

CDFA, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, and the Strategic Growth Council are jointly hosting a public workshop to discuss and receive input on the development of the Natural and Working Lands Implementation Plan (Implementation Plan) and associated 2030 intervention-based goal for carbon sequestration.

The workshop will include a presentation and moderated discussion to gather stakeholder input on the proposed outline and approach for development of the Implementation Plan. The event will also explore the process for determining the 2030 intervention-based carbon sequestration goal for natural and working lands.

The event will be held on May 18, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m in the Rosenfield Hearing Room at the California Energy Commission Building, located at 1516 9th Street Sacramento, California 95814. To register or watch the webcast, click here.

Land-based strategies are critical to meet the State’s long-term climate goals. The Implementation Plan will set a pathway for California’s working lands, including forests, farmlands, ranch lands, grasslands, wetlands, and urban land.

To learn more about the implementation plan, please visit www.resources.ca.gov/climate/natural-working-lands.