Rigorous, empirical, and quantitative: a proposed pipeline for soil health assessments

Wade, Jordon; Culman, Steve W.; Gasch, Caley K.; Lazcano, Cristina; Maltais‐Landry, Gabriel; Margenot, Andrew J.; Martin, Tvisha; Potter, Teal S.; Roper, Wayne R.; Ruark, Matthew D.; Sprunger, Christine D.; Wallenstein, Matthew D.

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108710

Cited by 35 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…A total health score was then calculated from the unweighted mean of all twelve ratings. Perspectives on the nature of soil health assessment and health indicators continues to evolve [ 10 ]. The soil properties in the CASH framework have been used extensively to assess the impacts of soil management practices on soil function [ 7 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil health is monitored using biological, physical, and chemical indicators that correspond with these functions [3][4][5]. Ideally, indicators should be directly linked to soil function, interpretable, and exhibit a dynamic response to management practices [6][7][8][9][10]. The soil microbiome has considerable potential to serve in this capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils

Wilhelm

Amsili

Kurtz

et al. 2023

ISME Communications

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Soil microbiomes are sensitive to current and previous soil conditions, and bacterial ‘bioindicators’ of biological, physical, and chemical soil properties have considerable potential for soil health assessment. However, the lack of ecological or physiological information for most soil microorganisms limits our ability to interpret the associations of bioindicators and, thus, their utility for guiding management. We identified bioindicators of tillage intensity and twelve soil properties used to rate soil health using a 16S rRNA gene-based survey of farmland across North America. We then inferred the genomic traits of bioindicators and evaluated their environment-wide associations (EWAS) with respect to agricultural management practice, disturbance, and plant associations with 89 studies from agroecosystems. Most bioindicators were either positively correlated with biological properties (e.g., organic matter) or negatively correlated with physical and chemical properties. Higher soil health ratings corresponded with smaller genome size and higher coding density, while lower ratings corresponded with larger genomes and higher rrn copy number. Community-weighted genome size explained most variation in health ratings. EWAS linked prominent bioindicators with the impacts of environmental disturbances. Our findings provide ecological insights into bioindicators of soil properties relevant to soil health management, illustrating the tight coupling of microbiome and soil function.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils

Wilhelm

Amsili

Kurtz

et al. 2023

ISME Communications

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“…there is a relative scarcity of empirical evidence to link SHI measurements with vital soil functions such as nutrient mineralization or desired agroecosystem outcomes such as yield or nutrient loss reduction (Fine et al, 2017). A single or even several SHI is unlikely to provide a completeassessment of soil health (Wade et al, 2022), though increasing the number of SHI (e.g., a total of 44 SHI in our study) may capture the complexity of the relationships among SHI and management treatments (Bünemann et al, 2018). On the other hand, biological SHI are often laborintensive and/or costly.…”

Section: Associations Of Soil Health Indicators With Maize Yield and ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct soil health indicators are associated with variation in maize yield and tile drain nitrate losses

Li,

Bullock,

Butts‐Wilmsmeyer

et al. 2023

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Associations between nitrogen (N) management and losses with soil health indicators (SHI) are widely presumed but relatively untested. An on‐farm experiment conducted in central Illinois was conducted to test potential relationships of SHI with agroecosystem outcomes of maize (Zea mays L.) yield and N losses under bounding N fertilization rates of 168 and 252 kg/ha. Chemical (n = 19), physical (n = 11), and biological (n = 14) SHI were measured at 24 locations within a 30‐ha field at five timepoints (V3, V10, RT, R6, and post‐harvest). Yields did not necessarily reflect N‐fertilization rates, with lowest yields (14.5 Mg/ha) under 224 kg/ha. Flow‐weighted nitrate‐N concentration was significantly higher under 168 kg N/ha (10.6 mg/L) relative to higher application rates, though cumulative tile nitrate‐N loads were similar. SHI varied more by sampling location and time than by N application rate. Depending on the time of sampling, distinct SHI were related to yield and tile N losses. Total soil carbon and permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC) best explained yield variation, whereas POXC and sand content best explained variation in nitrate‐N loss. Nematode indices helped explain variability in yield (Simpson, Shannon) and nitrate‐N losses (Maturity), supporting recent propositions to integrate nematode measures into soil health assessments. This study provides a basis for expanding to multiyear assessments of SHI linkages with nutrient losses and crop productivity in the North Central US.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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“…It is closely related to soil quality and productivity, but is more integrative and focused on soil biology (Lal, 2016). Soil biology is a challenging phenomenon to map through indicators (Wade et al, 2022), especially compared to well-established methods for chemical (Gibbons et al, 2014) and physical (Hartge and Horn, 2009) soil quantification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redox potential as a soil health indicator -- how does it compare to existing methods?

Mattila

2023

Preprint

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Soil health is the capability of soil to provide ecosystem services. These can be quantified through multiple separate indicators (N-mineralization, water infiltration, aggregate stability, etc.) or by a single proxy that integrates many soil processes. Two commonly used integrative measurements are the soil 24h-respiration test (CO2burst) and the visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS). Both are fast, but capture only a part of whole phenomenon of soil health. Soil redox potential is a promising soil and plant health indicator. The redox potential is controlled by soil chemical oxidation-reduction reactions and therefore integrates several processes. However, this method has been tested only on a few soils. In this study, we evaluated redox by comparing it with other established soil health indicators on 35 fields in Finland. Based on the results, redox correlated well with soil biological activity, structure, and texture. Soils with good structure had an oxidized redox status. A low redox state was connected to high biological activity. The carbon farming practices resulted in lower oxidation. A combination of redox and pH could be used to classify soils. The analysis supports the use of redox as a soil health indicator, but further research is needed in identifying the processes and properties the redox is an indicator for.

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Rigorous, empirical, and quantitative: a proposed pipeline for soil health assessments

Cited by 35 publications

References 103 publications

Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils

Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils

Distinct soil health indicators are associated with variation in maize yield and tile drain nitrate losses

Redox potential as a soil health indicator -- how does it compare to existing methods?

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