Evaluation of commercial soil health tests using a medium-term cover crop experiment in a humid, temperate climate

Alternative Management Practices Improve Soil Health Indices in Intensive Vegetable Cropping Systems: A Review

“…Reduced tillage has been suggested as a viable alternate to conventional tillage in vegetable cropping systems in North Carolina, possibly leading to improved soil conditions (Roper et al, 2017). However, soil health tests such as the Cornell Soil Health Test and the Haney Soil Health Test were unable to distinguish amongst long-term intensive vs. conservation tillage practices (Roper et al, 2017), suggesting the sensitivity of such tests to changes in management may be limited-a finding that echoes the conclusions drawn by Chahal and Van Eerd (2018) for cover cropping systems. Accurate assessment of soil health is critical as a recent study by Tsiafouli et al (2015) demonstrated that cropping and tillage intensification decreased soil food web diversity with consequences on ecosystem functioning, and this effect was similarly manifested across numerous climatic regions.…”

“…Similarly in Brazil, vegetable yields were equivalent to or higher with cover crops vs. without (Altieri et al, 2011); in eastern Canada, growing cover crops in a tomato rotation resulted in greater crop profit margins (Belfry et al, 2017) and 7-22% greater crop yields (Chahal and Van Eerd, 2018) compared to conventional management without cover cropping. The yield benefits were likely due to soil nutrient credits provided from the mineralization of cover crop biomass prior to or during tomato production (Belfry et al, 2017).…”

“…The yield benefits were likely due to soil nutrient credits provided from the mineralization of cover crop biomass prior to or during tomato production (Belfry et al, 2017). Further, the tomato yield benefits with vs. without cover crops in the crop rotation after 6-years were linked to 8.4-9.3% greater surface soil organic carbon concentrations (Chahal and Van Eerd, 2018). Decreased weed abundance might also contribute to yield benefits, as cover crop mulches may provide a physical barrier to weed growth and thereby improve vegetable crop production (Altieri et al, 2011).…”

“…Thus, cover crops may benefit multiple soil health functions such as carbon sequestration, mitigating nutrient losses and supporting crop production. Measuring mulitiple soil ecosystem functions and interpreting the influence of cover cropping is not straightforward, however; commercial "overall soil health" tests (such as the Haney Soil Health Test, the Solvita Test, and the Solvita Labile Amino N Test) may not be the most appropriate method, as suggested by Chahal and Van Eerd (2018).…”

Predicting Cool‐Season Turfgrass Response with Solvita Soil Tests, Part 2: CO2–Burst Carbon Concentrations

“…As an assessment of soil CO 2 respiration, the SSCB test has been evaluated in various crop and grassland systems (Goupil and Nkongolo, 2014; McDonald et al, 2014; Castro Bustamante and Hartz, 2016; Sadeghpour et al, 2016; Sciarappa et al, 2017; Mureva and Ward, 2017; Ward et al, 2017; Bamber et al, 2018; Chahal and van Eerd, 2018; Norris et al, 2018). The SSCB test is positively and significantly ( P < 0.05) correlated with SOM (McDonald et al, 2014; Castro Bustamante and Hartz, 2016; Sadeghpour et al, 2016; Rogers et al, 2018), soil total organic C and N (Haney et al, 2012; McDonald et al, 2014), soil N mineralization (Haney et al, 2008b; McDonald et al, 2014; Castro Bustamante and Hartz, 2016; Rogers et al, 2018), plant‐mineralizable N (Norris et al, 2018), soil water‐extractable organic C and N (Haney et al, 2012; Castro Bustamante and Hartz, 2016), soil P mineralization (Haney et al, 2008b), and chloroform fumigation extraction microbial biomass C (Chatterjee and Acharya, 2018).…”