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What We Talk about When We Talk about Soil Health

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dc.contributor.authorStewart, Ryan D.en
dc.contributor.authorJian, Jinshien
dc.contributor.authorGyawali, Ayush Joshien
dc.contributor.authorThomason, Wade E.en
dc.contributor.authorBadgley, Brian D.en
dc.contributor.authorReiter, Mark S.en
dc.contributor.authorStrickland, Michael S.en
dc.contributor.departmentSchool of Plant and Environmental Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2019-01-18T19:04:14Zen
dc.date.available2019-01-18T19:04:14Zen
dc.date.issued2018-11-01en
dc.description.abstractDespite a nationwide emphasis on improving soil health in the United States, current measurement protocols have little consistency. To survey assessment practices, we conducted a meta-analysis of cover crop (n = 86) and no-tillage (n = 106) studies and compiled reported indicators, cropping systems, and soil sampling protocols from each. We then analyzed which indicators significantly responded to cover crop usage after 1 yr and 2 to 3 yr. Our results showed that out of 42 indicators, only 8 were reported in >20% of studies. Thirteen indicators showed >10% relative response after 1 to 3 yr; the remainder lacked either sufficient observations or consistent results. Looking forward, we propose that emphasis should be placed on (i) pursuing dynamic indicators (e.g., aggregate stability), (ii) standardizing sampling protocols, and (iii) developing a common framework for information sharing. These efforts will generate new insight into soil health across systems, ultimately ensuring that soil health science is useful to producers and regulators.en
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the US Department of Agriculture NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant #69-3A75-14-260. Funding was also provided by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and the Hatch Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture (VA-160041). Funding was provided by the Virginia Tech Open Access Subvention Fund (VT OASF).en
dc.format.extent5 pagesen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.2134/ael2018.06.0033en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/86770en
dc.identifier.volume3en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAmerican Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of Americaen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.titleWhat We Talk about When We Talk about Soil Healthen
dc.title.serialAgricultural & Environmental Lettersen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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