Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3794-5757

Date Available

8-20-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Plant and Soil Sciences

Faculty

Dr. Luke Moe

Faculty

Dr. Rebecca McCulley

Abstract

Industrial hemp (fiber, floral, and grain: Cannabis sativa L.) legalization has prompted research into its incorporation into agronomic rotations and impacts on agroecosystem services such as nutrient dynamics. This study quantified the effects of integrating grain and fiber hemp on soil health, hypothesizing hemp would positively impact soil health due to its taproot, reported C benefits, and nutrient requirements. Conducted in Kentucky at two locations, a completely randomized block design included six crop rotation treatments, with soil cores collected at initiation (2020) and post three growing seasons (2023). Soil parameters analyzed included particulate organic matter, short-term CO2 mineralization, water-extractable organic C and N, and Mehlich-III extractable nutrients. Results revealed limited impact of hemp on soil health indicators, with site differences overshadowing rotational impacts, likely due to varying management and environmental conditions. Notably, increased water-extractable NO3- was greatest in the fiber hemp-soybean-fiber hemp treatment at both sites, perhaps reflecting N release during retting. This treatment also resulted in greater CO2 evolution at one site, while the grain hemp-corn-grain hemp treatment had the greatest increase in K at the other. Results suggest limited effects of hemp inclusion on agroecosystem soil health, although longer-term experiments are necessary to fully substantiate this finding.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.425

Funding Information

•USDA NIFA Grant No. 2020-67013-30863

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