Challenges confronting soil management for dryland agriculture

Dryland cropping regions are present on every continent except Antarctica a nd represent major small grain producing regions as well as major food grai n producing regions. As the human population continues to grow there will b e greater demand for food, fiber, and biofuel production. Society is emphas izing the quality of production in addition to the quantity produced. Incre ased production will be needed at the same time land is being lost to urban encroachment and degradation resulting from wind and water erosion, physic al and chemical degradation, and other competing uses (e.g., natural areas) . Increased productivity will require efficient capture, storage, and use o f precipitation and efficient utilization of all available nutrient resourc es. Tools for quantifying the spatial variability in soil properties affect ing water dynamics, tools for sensing crop stresses that can be alleviated through management, and methods for quantifying the spatial variability in nutrient availability are needed. As efforts are undertaken to increase pro ductivity under dryland conditions, practices that are sustainable and pres erve biotic and abiotic natural resources will need to be developed and ado pted by producers.