Soil health assessment: Past accomplishments, current activities, and future opportunities

Karlen, Douglas L.; Veum, Kristen S.; Sudduth, Kenneth A.; Obrycki, John F.; Nunes, Márcio Renato

doi:10.1016/j.still.2019.104365

Cited by 210 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 76 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

118

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A first step toward advancing societal goals for food security and environmental sustainability is identifying the impacts of agricultural practices on soil health, including physical soil health [43]. Intensive tillage promotes soil degradation by increasing subsoil compaction (PR), decreasing topsoil AS and promoting surface crusting, leading to lower crop yield and greater water and wind erosion [44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tillage intensity affects soil structure in many ways but the magnitude and type (+/−) of change depends on site-specific (e.g., soil type) and experimental details (crop rotation, study length, sampling depth, etc.). This meta-analysis examines published effects of chisel plowing (CP), no-tillage (NT) and perennial cropping systems (PER) relative to moldboard plowing (MP) on three soil structure indicators: wet aggregate stability (AS), bulk density (BD) and soil penetration resistance (PR). The data represents four depth increments (from 0 to >40-cm) in 295 studies from throughout the continental U.S. Overall, converting from MP to CP did not affect those soil structure indicators but reducing tillage intensity from MP to NT increased AS in the surface (<15-cm) and slightly decreased BD and PR below 25-cm. The largest positive effect of NT on AS was observed within Inceptisols and Entisols after a minimum of three years. Compared to MP, NT had a minimal effect on soil compaction indicators (BD and PR) but as expected, converting from MP to PER systems improved soil structure at all soil depths (0 to >40-cm). Among those three soil structure indicators, AS was the most sensitive to management practices; thus, it should be used as a physical indicator for overall soil health assessment. In addition, based on this national meta-analysis, we conclude that reducing tillage intensity improves soil structure, thus offering producers assurance those practices are feasible for crop production and that they will also help sustain soil resources.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) has been used internationally since its release by Andrews, Karlen, and Cambardella (2004), but the raw dataset used to develop SMAF scoring functions was limited in scope. Karlen et al (2019) documented how the soil health concept evolved and suggested that soil health assessment tools, such as SMAF, should be improved, developing protocols for national soil health monitoring, identifying and calibrating better indicators of soil biological, chemical, and physical health. Furthermore, few systematic data reviews, compilations, and meta-analysis have been conducted to addresses the effects of management practices, such as tillage intensity, on several soil health indicators.…”

Section: Core Ideasmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does tillage intensity affect chemical soil health indicators? A United States meta‐analysis

Nunes

Karlen

Cambardella

2020

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tillage intensity can affect chemical soil health indicators either positively or negatively depending on inherent soil properties and management practices. Soil chemical data (total N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and pH) from four depth increments within 196 published studies were compiled and subjected to a meta-analysis comparing chisel plow (CP), no-till (NT), and perennial systems (PER) with moldboard plowing (MP). Overall, CP did not affect soil chemical indicators when compared to MP, but converting from MP to NT increased total N, P, and K concentrations within the top 15 cm. Below that depth, Ca and Mg concentrations were lower under NT than MP but total N, P, and K were not significantly different. Topsoil total N response to NT was moderated by soil order and cropping system, with the largest increase in total N found in Ultisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Mollisols under more diversified cropping systems including those with cover crops. The greatest topsoil P increase in response to NT was found under longterm experiments (>5-yr) and on fine-textured soils. Phosphorus changes in studies on coarse-textured soils, with short-term duration, and manure applications were generally neutral. Perennial systems had lower soil P and K but higher total N content in the surface layer as compared to MP. The positive response to PER systems was most notable in Alfisols, Mollisols, and Ultisols and under longterm PER management. Finally, we demonstrate that these chemical indicators respond to tillage and cropping systems over a wide range of conditions, showing utility for soil health assessment.

show abstract

“…Thus, the root is an active component of the plant-soil system, acting through the constant flow of matter and energy (Vezzani and Mielniczuk 2009). As roots grow and exude organic compounds, they affect microbial populations and the soil physical-chemical parameters, improving soil functions in that ecosystem (Vezzani et al 2018) and soil health (Karlen et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil-Root Dynamics in Maize-Beans-Eggplant Intercropping System under Organic Management in a Subtropical Region

Gamboa

Vezzani

Kaschuk

et al. 2020

J Soil Sci Plant Nutr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intercropping is an agricultural system that facilitates mutualistic and commensalist interactions among crops. The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that intercropping with greater plant richness produces more roots that improves microbial activity, which in turn, contributes to soil physical structure that improves soil chemistry parameters, crop yield, and land use. We performed a field experiment in a randomized block design, utilizing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize (Zea mays), and eggplant (Solanum melongena), under monoculture or intercropping systems. Root and soil biological, physical and chemical parameters, crop yield and land equivalent ratios were analyzed. Increased plant richness as a function of the intercropping system did not affect root and soil parameters. However, principal component analysis indicated that intercropping affected root density, mass, and length, which, in turn, contributed to the formation of soil aggregates, increased microbial activity and to the improvement of soil chemical parameters. Furthermore, as consequence of increased plant richness, the maize-beans-eggplant intercropping facilitated the positive interactions among the species and led to a Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) 60% higher than the monoculture systems. The production of roots in the crop systems, regardless of species richness, stimulates soil biological activity and affects the quality of physical structure and fertility indicators of the soil. Crop systems with higher richness of plant species promote positive interactions between plants and soil and results in a better land use ratio.

show abstract

Soil health assessment: Past accomplishments, current activities, and future opportunities

Cited by 210 publications

References 76 publications

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

How does tillage intensity affect chemical soil health indicators? A United States meta‐analysis

Soil-Root Dynamics in Maize-Beans-Eggplant Intercropping System under Organic Management in a Subtropical Region

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About