Review: The economics of soil health

Stevens, Andrew W.

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.08.005

Cited by 45 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…However, our results do not suggest what those processes might be. Nevertheless, our results imply that investments to improve soil biological health represents a considerable potential for improved environmental outcomes while maintaining farmer profitability 44 . The greater yields associated with improved soil biological health have been linked to lower residual N with concomitant decreases in absolute, as well as yield-scaled nitrate losses to surface water 45 and N 2 O emissions 4,46 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Improved soil biological health increases corn grain yield in N fertilized systems across the Corn Belt

Wade

Culman

Logan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Nitrogenous fertilizers have nearly doubled global grain yields, but have also increased losses of reactive N to the environment. Current public investments to improve soil health seek to balance productivity and environmental considerations. However, data integrating soil biological health and crop N response to date is insufficient to reliably drive conservation policy and inform management. Here we used multilevel structural equation modeling and N fertilizer rate trials to show that biologically healthier soils produce greater corn yields per unit of fertilizer. We found the effect of soil biological health on corn yield was 18% the magnitude of N fertilization, Moreover, we found this effect was consistent for edaphic and climatic conditions representative of 52% of the rainfed acreage in the Corn Belt (as determined using technological extrapolation domains). While N fertilization also plays a role in building or maintaining soil biological health, soil biological health metrics offer limited a priori information on a site's responsiveness to N fertilizer applications. Thus, increases in soil biological health can increase corn yields for a given unit of N fertilizer, but cannot completely replace mineral N fertilization in these systems. Our results illustrate the potential for gains in productivity through investment in soil biological health, independent of increases in mineral N fertilizer use. Since the Green Revolution, nitrogenous mineral fertilizers have helped to nearly double global grain crop yields 1. While this represents monumental gains in crop productivity, an estimated 41 to 50% of the N fertilizer applied to corn (Zea mays L.) globally since of the Green Revolution has been lost to the environment 2 , resulting in multifarious negative environmental effects 3-5. Many strategies to address N losses from cropping systems are centered on the management of N fertilizer (e.g., "4Rs" of fertilizer management 6), but neglect the role of soil 4,5 biology in supplying plant N which often supplies over 50% plant N uptake in a growing season 7-9. The framework of soil health seeks to highlight the critically important 10 , albeit inherently complex and uncertain 11,12 , role of soil biology in agroecosystems. Ultimately, soil health seeks to integrate soil biology with the historically emphasized chemical and physical soil components 13,14. Soil health has been widely embraced by farmers, researchers, and private industry alike 15-18. Additionally, soil health has also accrued broad legislative support in the form of nearly a dozen states incentivizing improved soil health as well as a Soil Health division within USDA 19. Buy-in from these stakeholders represents a nexus of several key sources of information growers use in making nutrient management decisions 20-22 , as well as a demonstrated financial commitment. While soil health has broad conceptual support, there is a dearth of empirical evidence connecting soil biological health measurements to vital soil functions or desired outcomes 23. Althou...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Improved soil biological health increases corn grain yield in N fertilized systems across the Corn Belt

Wade

Culman

Logan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Finally, our findings demonstrate a close link between tillage practices and farmers weed control needs. Researchers frequently suggest policymakers consider models and policies related to tillage practices and soil carbon sequestration that account for the costs farmers incur when changing practices (Murray 2015;Stevens 2018). The increasing prevalence of herbicide resistant weeds will increase costs for programs seeking to encourage voluntary adoption of conservation tillage and notill practices, as decreasing effectiveness of herbicides represents an increase in the relative weed control value of tillage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are glyphosate‐resistant weeds a threat to conservation agriculture? Evidence from tillage practices in soybeans

Deynze

Swinton

Hennessy

2021

American J Agri Economics

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Conservation tillage in American soybean production has become increasingly common, improving soil health while reducing soil erosion and fuel consumption. This trend has been reinforced by the widespread adoption of glyphosate-based weed control systems. Many weed species have since evolved to resist glyphosate, reducing its effectiveness. We provide evidence that the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds is responsible for significant reductions in the use of conservation tillage in soybean production. We estimate reduced-form and structural probit models of tillage choice, using a large panel of field-level soybean management decisions from across the United States spanning 1998-2016. We find that the first emergence of glyphosate-resistant weed species has little initial effect on tillage practices, though by the time that eight glyphosate-resistant weed species are identified, conservation tillage and no-till use fall by 3.9 percentage points and 7.6 percentage points, respectively. We further find that when ten glyphosate-resistant species are present, the predicted adoption rate of non-glyphosate herbicides rises 50 percentage points, and that the availability of non-glyphosate herbicides facilitates continued use of conservation tillage as glyphosate-resistant weeds proliferate. Using a simple benefits transfer model, we conservatively estimate that between 2008 and 2016 farmers' tillage responses to the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds have caused water quality and climate damages via fuel emissions valued at nearly $245 million. This value does not account for climate damages due to carbon released during soil disruptions and is likely to grow as glyphosate

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“…Soil quality and soil health are used loosely and interchangeably with another soil concept, soil fertility [5]. Stevens explained soil health as a holistic measure of soil productivity, resilience, and sustainability [6]. Soil care has been promoted, along with soil productivity and fertility, in the service of farmers [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental History of Soil Concepts from a Scientific Perspective

et al. 2021

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Various soil concepts have emerged since the beginning of the twentieth century, with some shared similarities. These concepts have contributed to a rise in the awareness of protecting limited soil resources, but not every idea has equally gained widespread attention from scientists. The purpose of this study was to document the developmental history of 10 soil concepts from 1900 to 2018 and investigate their growth/decline. Articles containing words related to the selected soil concepts in titles, abstracts, or publication contents available in the Web of Science were examined. “Soil production” was the oldest concept, found in a paper published in 1910, followed chronologically in the literature by soil care, fertility, conservation, quality, health, protection, security, sustainability, and resilience. Most of the concepts were initially found in non-soil-science journals that predated publications in soil science journals, which implies slowness of the soil science community’s adoption. The statistical publication trend for each concept over time was analyzed and interpreted based on diffusion of innovation theory. The results suggest that all of the soil concepts experienced a statistically positive/upward shift (p < 0.01) over time. In particular, soil concepts cited in soil science journals tended to maintain their momentum and communal value over time in soil science research, except the soil care concept. Applications of soil concept research based on collaboration between scientists of different nationalities, affiliations, and research expertise would further increase the possibility of citation frequency and foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration.

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Review: The economics of soil health

Cited by 45 publications

References 45 publications

Improved soil biological health increases corn grain yield in N fertilized systems across the Corn Belt

Improved soil biological health increases corn grain yield in N fertilized systems across the Corn Belt

Are glyphosate‐resistant weeds a threat to conservation agriculture? Evidence from tillage practices in soybeans

Developmental History of Soil Concepts from a Scientific Perspective

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