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Assessment of the Condition of Agricultural Lands in Six Mid-Atlantic States¹

EMAP-Agricultural Lands Resource Group, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.
EMAP-Agricultural Lands Resource Group, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.
U.S. Dep. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Raleigh, NC.
U.S. Dep. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, DC.

^* Corresponding author (anne.hellkamp{at}duke.edu).

ABSTRACT

Indicators of the condition and sustainability of agricultural lands covering 5.5 million ha in six mid-Atlantic states were measured in 1994 and 1995. The primary objective was to collect baseline information against which future data from the region can be compared. Soil samples and questionnaire data were collected from a random sample of 293 sites. Indicators addressed productivity, management at the agroecosystem scale, and management for the landscape scale on annual crop land. Crop yields were almost 30% higher than those of the 1980s, with a mean observed to expected yield index of 1.27. The mean soil quality index showed moderate quality for supporting plant growth. Non-tilled sites, which were mostly hay, had greater microbial biomass than tilled sites. Just over half of the annual crop land was covered by rotation plans; hay fields accounted for most of the land where one crop was grown continuously. Hay showed a lower use of applied nitrogen than seed crops. Integrated pest management was practiced on less than 20% of annual crop land. Twenty-seven different annual crops were grown in the region, with hay (all types) the dominant crop. Less than 20% of the land where pesticides were applied had high to moderately high potential for pesticides leaching into ground water. This information provides a baseline for long-term monitoring of agricultural lands in the region.

It is impossible to convey the esteem in which we hold the scientific accomplishments, the leadership, and the person of C. Lee Campbell, project leader of EMAP-Agricultural Lands from 1992 to 1995. His unexpected death on 13 July 1999 left us all the poorer. We dedicate this paper to his memory.

Present address: Duke Clinical Research Institute, P.O. Box 17969, Durham, NC 27715.

Received for publication September 7, 1998.

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