In Search of Key Soil Functions to Assess Soil Community Management for Sustainable Sweet Cherry Orchards

Abstract

<jats:p>Organic growers are required to maintain or improve soil chemical, biological, and physical properties and thus need to integrate biological processes into fertility management. However, few guidelines exist for satisfying tree nutrient demands ecologically. Sound nitrogen (N) management is a key component for overall orchard productivity whereas poor N management may result in multiple environmental impacts, including runoff to surface or leaching to groundwater sources. Many growers substitute synthetic inputs with rapid-release, approved N fertilizers that have little effect on long-term soil health and fertility. The authors seek an alternative approach for synchronizing nutrient availability with tree demand that relies on managing soil biological communities to attain their maximum potential functionality and thus meet tree nutrient demand. This paper outlines a new conceptual framework with which to evaluate a variety of soil functions that are quantified using biological, microbial, and biochemical properties in relation to overall orchard performance. By combining information gathered from soil faunal indices (nematode community structure and diversity analyses) with data obtained by biochemical and microbial analyses of the soil samples, a new, in-depth view of soil communities and their response to management practices will be obtained. As a result, a better understanding of the effects of differing management practices on soil fertility and community structure will be gained. This approach is currently being investigated by our group in organic and integrative sweet cherry orchards. Our goal is to determine which soil parameters may be used to help orchardists optimize soil health while maintaining orchard productivity. Furthermore, we wish to validate a number of assumptions that are commonly made regarding each soil parameter tested across multiple management, soil, and climate types.</jats:p>

Conversion of Conservation Reserve Program land back to cropland: Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics during the first five years

“…As identified in a recent survey, soil organic matter (SOM) was one of the most common soil tests conducted and provided the most valuable information to farmers and researchers (Wade et al 2021). Additionally, labile organic matter pools associated with soil microbes (e.g., microbial biomass), their C sources (e.g., particulate organic matter) and activities (e.g., respiration and the release of CO 2 ) provide greater insights into the flow of C through the system and can be early indicators of C sequestration (Lehmann and Kleber 2015;Moore-Kucera et al 2008).…”