Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Evolution of the Scientific Soil Health System
3. Soil Health Assessment Methods
3.1. Farmer Perceptions of Soil Health
3.2. Soil Health Card Methods
3.3. Solvita Soil Health Tests
3.4. Haney Soil Health Test
3.5. Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH)
4. Soil Health Management
4.1. Soil Health Principles
4.2. Best Soil Health Management Practices
4.2.1. Proper Land Use
4.2.2. Crop Rotation
4.2.3. Cover Crops
4.2.4. Conservation Tillage
4.2.5. Soil Organic Amendment
4.2.6. Crop-Range-Livestock Integration and Rotational Grazing
5. Summary and Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Soil Health Indicator | Soil Function | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sustain Biological Diversity, Activity, and Productivity | Regulate and Partition Water and Solute Flow | Filter, Buffer, Degrade, Detoxify Organic and Inorganic Materials | Store and Cycle Nutrients and Carbon | Physical Stability and Support for Plants and Engineering Structures | |
SAS | ++++ | ++++ | ++++ | +++++ | |
AWC | ++++++ | +++++ | ++++ | ||
Bulk density | +++++ | ++++++ | ++ | ++++++ | |
Earthworms | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | |
Infiltration | ++++ | ++ | |||
POM | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ |
PMN | ++++++ | ++++++ | |||
Reactive C | ++++ | ++ | ++++++ | ++++ | ++++ |
Slaking | ++ | +++++ | |||
Soil crusts | +++++ | ||||
Soil EC | ++++++ | ||||
Soil enzymes | ++++++ | ++++++ | |||
Soil nitrate | ++ | ++ | |||
Soil pH | ++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | |
Soil respiration | ++++++ | ++ | ++++++ | ++++ | |
Soil structure | +++ | +++ | ++ | ++ | ++++ |
TOC | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ | ++++++ |
Soil Health Indicators | Criteria | Examples |
---|---|---|
Tier 1 |
| Soil texture Soil bulk density Soil aggregate stability Available water-holding capacity Saturated hydraulic conductivity Soil pH Soil electrical conductivity Cation exchange capacity Base saturation Extractable P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn Extractable Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, Si, Sr Soil total nitrogen content Nitrogen mineralization rate Soil organic carbon content Short-term carbon mineralization Crop yield |
Tier 2 |
| Soil sodium adsorption ratio Macro-aggregate stability Soil stability index Soil active carbon Soil protein index Soil β-glucosidase Soil N-acetyl-β-D glucosaminidase Soil phosphomonoesterase Soil arylsulfatase Soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile Soil fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile Soil microbial genomics Soil reflectance |
Tier 3 |
| Soil microbial community structure Soil microbial DNA extraction and sequencing |
Tillage System | Soil Conditions Prior to Planting | Operation | Weed Control Methods |
---|---|---|---|
Ridge till | Undisturbed; ridge scalp at planting | Till land using a sweep cultivator to form 10–15 cm height ridges; seeds are planted in ridges | Combined herbicide application and soil cultivation |
Strip till | Undisturbed; strip till at planting | Narrow and shallow tillage using a rotary tiller or an in-row chisel planter; ~1/3 surface tilled at planting | Combined herbicide application and soil cultivation |
Stubble mulch till | Tilled—residues ≥ 30% | Use a chisel tiller, a blade plow, or a sweep cultivator to till stubble-covered land | Combined herbicide application and soil cultivation |
Reduced till | Tilled—residues ≥ 30% | Reduce till of cropland using a chisel tiller, a disc plow, or a blade plow to prepare seed beds | Combined herbicide application and soil cultivation |
No till | Undisturbed | Use a drill planter (no-till seeder) to sow seeds | Herbicides |
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Guo, M. Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices. Soil Syst. 2021, 5, 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5040061
Guo M. Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices. Soil Systems. 2021; 5(4):61. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5040061
Chicago/Turabian StyleGuo, Mingxin. 2021. "Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices" Soil Systems 5, no. 4: 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5040061
APA StyleGuo, M. (2021). Soil Health Assessment and Management: Recent Development in Science and Practices. Soil Systems, 5(4), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems5040061