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Is Your Soil Alive?

A vibrant, healthy soil consists of a matrix of biology that directly links with the supply of nutrients, soil structural integrity, and plant disease defense. Learn about the essential components of a healthy soil and how to measure its health.

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Is Your Soil Alive?

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  1. Is Your Soil Alive? Alan Sundermeier sundermeier.5@osu.edu 419-354-9050

  2. A vibrant healthy soil consists of a matrix of biology that directly links with the supply of nutrients, soil structural integrity and plant disease defense

  3. What does a healthy soil consist of? • Sufficient nutrients • Good tilth • Sufficient rooting depth • Good drainage • Few pathogens • Beneficial soil biota • Low weed pressure • No harmful chemical/toxins to crop • Resilience to degradation

  4. Measuring soil health – properties • Inherent properties cannot be improved/altered • Soil texture • Slope • Climate • Parent material • Depth to bedrock • Drainage class • Dynamic properties can be improved • Organic matter • pH • Compaction layer • Disease pressure • Soil Health Testing Focuses on Dynamic

  5. Ideal Soil Composition 45% Inorganic (mineral materials) 25% Water { } Pore space 50% Solids 50% 25% Air 5% Organic Matter Brady & Weil, 2008

  6. Most important to soil quality is the active SOM fraction (10 to 35%) which is composed of partially decomposed plant and animal residues, microbial biomass and metabolites. Most of what’s left is the passive SOM fraction which is resistant to microbial decomposition.

  7. ACTIVE CARBON The residence time of active carbon is estimated to be 2 to 5 years, in contrast to recalcitrant C (e.g., humus) that has a turnover time of several hundred to thousands of years. Because of its relatively short turnover time, active carbon is more sensitive to management changes affecting soil carbon in agro-ecosystems than total organic carbon (TOC). Active carbon may be used as an indicator of change produced by cropping and soil management practices that manipulate SOM content.

  8. Carbon lb/acre

  9. PLFA Total ng/g

  10. Soil Biology • Active organic matter is available to soil organisms • Soil organisms decompose organic compounds, manure • Store nitrogen • Enhance soil aggregation • Prey on crop pests • Food source for higher trophic predators

  11. Available from Soil & Water Conservation Society www.swcs.org

  12. Soil Food Web First trophic level – get energy from sun: plants Second trophic level – organisms that eat first level: bacteria, fungi, nematodes Third level – eat organisms in second level: Protozoa, arthropods, nematodes So on: higher level predators, arthropods, birds, animals

  13. Millipedes

  14. Ground beetles

  15. Wolf spider

  16. Bacteria up to 50 billion Actinomycetes up to 2 billion Fungus up to 100 million Protozoa up to 50 million Nematodes10,000 Arthropodes 1000 Earthworm0 to 2 Relative amount of microbes in handful of soil

  17. SolvitaCO2 Burst Test The Solvita CO2 Burst Test is a new tool which easily and accurately measures soil biological CO2 respiration. Cost = $25.00

  18. Indicator of soil health – The rates of CO2 release is generally regarded as an indicator of Soil Health and is favorably improved with practices such as cover cropping

  19. Solvita CO2-Burst Method Soil Test

  20. Soil Respiration Field Test - Solvita Sample date

  21. Soil Nitrate Availability treatment Sample date

  22. CO2 ppm Carbon

  23. Pounds/acre

  24. PLFA test Soil biological testing at Ward Laboratories is conducted by analyzing phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). It allows us to identify various functional groups of interest through known PLFA biomarkers with respect to microbial community. Cost = $ 59.50

  25. Haney soil test The Haney Test is a dual extraction procedure that allows the producer to assess overall soil health. The test is used to track changes in soil health based on management decisions. This test examines total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen to determine a C:N ratio used to make general cover crop recommendations. This test also includes the Solvita CO2 Burst Test to look at microbial activity and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. The weak acid (H3A) extraction represents some available plant nutrients. Cost = $49.50

  26. “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” section of the NRCS web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov.

  27. @OhioSoilHealth soilhealth.osu.edu

  28. Is Your Soil Alive? Alan Sundermeier sundermeier.5@osu.edu 419-354-9050

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