Nicholas Ramsey (NRCS, District Conservationist)

1. Nick Ramsey
Natural Resources Conservation
Service
District Conservationist
610-372-4655 X110

2. (Doran and Parkin, 1994)
Soil health is…
“the capacity of the soil to function.”
for its
intended
use

3. Soil should…
…manage the flow of
energy from the sun.
…store and release water.
…cycle crop nutrients.

4. Soil should manage the
flow of energy from the sun

5. Bare fields do not convert
light energy into chemical
energy
Heat
Producers (plants and other
photosynthetic organisms)
Chemical
energy
Heat
Consumer
Consumer
Ray

6. Plants: transformers of energy for the soil
system
Root exudates are bacterial food.

7. Soil should store and
release water

8. Soil Cover %
100% 0%30%
Rainfall Simulator

10. In flight from Greensboro, NC to
Atlanta, GA. (April 22, 2007)

11. Not effective
Plant root
Runoff
Infiltration
Runoff
Effective
Glomalin (soil glue)- holds
soil particles together:
• Increases infiltration
• Prevents sealing of the
soil surface

12. Loss of SOM as CO2
CO2
CO2CO2
PHYSICAL DISTURBANCE: Tillage induces native bacteria to
consume soil carbon; byproduct is C02.
Tillage disrupts pore
space and affects
the water cycle

13. Soil should cycle crop nutrients

14. Nutrients from Fertilizer Nutrients from Soil C
NPK
Physical disturbance disrupts the
Nutrient Cycle
Allow plants to feed microbes and microbes feed
plants

15.  Bacteria
 Soil Fungi
 Soil Protozoa
 Nematodes
 Arthropods
 Earthworms

16. Bacterial Services
 Decomposition of OM
 Nutrient cycling
 Nitrogen fixation
 Nitrification
 Denitrification
 Disease Suppression
 Breakdown of hard to
decompose compounds

17. Fungi- Service they provide
•Decompose Organic
Matter
•Glomalin secretion
develops soil
structure
•Extract nutrients
•Hold nutrients

18.  Nutrient
mineralization
 Regulation of
bacterial
populations
 Food source
themselves

19. A fungal-feeding
nematode
• Control disease
• Cycle nutrients
•Disperse bacteria &
fungi
A bacteria-feeding
nematode

22.  Poor soils contain 250,000 earthworms
per acre while good soils contain
1,750,000 per acre
 1 or less per shovel indicates poor soil
health
 10 or more per shovel indicates good soil
health
 Burrowing through lubricated tunnels
forces air in and out of soil
 Earthworm casts contain
 11% of the humus
 7X the nitrogen
 11X the phosphorus
 9X the potash
than surrounding soil

23. •Redistributes plant litter
“Carbon” throughout the soil
the profile
• Soils are enriched with N,P,
and humified organic matter
•Increase water infiltration
•Provide a bio pore for plant
roots
•Homogenize soil surface
•Increase bio-diversity in soils
M.H. Beare, D.C. Coleman, D.A. Crossley Jr., P.F. Hendrix and E.P. Odum (1995)

25. Ag Land Prairie Forest
Organisms per gram (teaspoon) of soil
Bacteria 100 mil. - 1 bil. 100 mil. - 1 bil. 100 mil. - 1 bil.
Fungi Several yards 10s – 100’s of
yds
1-40 miles
(in conifers)
Protozoa 1000’s 1000’s 100,000’s
Nematodes 10-20 10’s – 100’s 100’s
Organisms per square foot
Arthropods < 100 500-2000 10,000-25,000
Earthworms 5-30 10-50 10-50
(0 in conifers)

26. Principles to Improve Soil Health
Less
Disturbance
More Diversity
Living Roots
Keep Soil
Covered

27.  Agricultural Disturbance Destroys
Dynamic Soil Properties
 Destroy “Habitat” for Soil Organisms
 Creates a “Hostile” Environment
 Three Types of Disturbance
 Physical (tillage)
 Chemical (Fertilizer)
 Biological (overgrazing)

28.  Tillage is physical soil disturbance
 Destroys aggregates
 Exposes organic matter to decomposition
 Causes compaction
 Damages soil fungi
 Reduces habitat for all members of SFW
 Disrupts soil pore continuity
 Increases salinity at the soil surface

29.  Soil pores remain continuous
 Soil aggregates form and are not destroyed
 Soil Food Web increases and diversifies
 Weed seeds are not planted
 Water is captured and stored
 Bulk density increases slightly; then stabilizes
 Soil fungi and earthworms increase
 Microarthropods increase (>20% of nutrient
cycle)

30. •We enjoy power!
•Feel in control!
•We can see what we accomplished!

31. Hard to believe that the same
results can be achieved using
simpler biological methods!!!

32. Before
Primary
Tillage
After
Primary
Tillage
After
Secondary
Tillage
Dr. D.C. Reicosky, ARS, Morris, MN.
Less Disturbance
Also: Irrigation, Pesticides,
Compaction, Fertilizer…

33. Overgrazing: disturbs soil and reduces root systems
30%
50%
80%
60%

34.  Plants interact with particular microbes
 Trade sugar from roots for nutrients
 Microbes convert plant material to OM
 Requires a diversity of plant carbohydrates to
support the variety of microbes
 Lack of plant diversity will drive system to
favor some microbes more than others

35.  Lack severely limits
any cropping system
 A diverse and fully
functioning system
provides nutrients,
energy and water
 Diversity above
ground equals
diversity below
ground

36.  Lengthen the rotation by adding more crops
 Increases soil organic matter
 Breaks pest cycles
 Improves nutrient utilization and availability
 Utilize available water deeper in the soil profile
 Provide windows for management
 spread manure
 Plant & harvest crops
 Add more plants in the current crop rotation
 Utilize cover crops during non-cropping part of the
year

37. 1. Allow you to look at cropping periods
rather than years
2. Can be used to accelerate rejuvenating soil
health
3. Getting 6 to 8 weeks of growth is adequate
to get some of the “rotation” effect
benefits!
4. Will increase soil biological diversity
“Diversity above = diversity below”

38. Grasses
 Corn
 Millet
 Sudan
 Sudex
 Sorghum
Broadleaf
 Alfalfa
 Soybean
 Buckwhea
t
 Chick pea
 Cow pea
 Sunflower

39. Grasses
 Barley
 Rye
 Triticale
 Wheat
Broadleaf
 Canola
 Clovers
 Mustard
s
 Pea
 Radish
 Turnips

40. Mixture of cereal
rye, hairy vetch, and
field peas as a
winter cover crop
Mixture of
cereal rye,
hairy vetch
and crimson
clover

41. Keep Living Roots in the soil as much as possible

42. Benefits:
 Increases microbial activity influences the N
mineralization and immobilization
 Increases plant nutrient/vitamin uptake/
concentrations with mychorrhizal and bacteria
associations
 Increases biodiversity and biomass of soil organisms
 Improves physical, chemical and biological properties
of soils
 Sequesters and redeposit nutrients
 Increases OM

43. 0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Lbs./ac.
Rye & Hairy
Vetch Cover
Crop
Corn Grain
Soybean 7"
rows

44. A. H. Heggenstaller, University of Alberta

45. A. H. Heggenstaller, University of Alberta

46.  Lengthen Rotation
 Add Wheat
 Select Shorter Season Varieties
 Choose 100 -104 day
 Only need 6 - 8 weeks to provide benefit
 Interseed into Growing Crops
 Planting cover crop before harvesting of cash crop

48. Benefits:
 Control Erosion
 Protect Soil Aggregates
 Suppresses Weeds
 Conserves Moisture
 Cools the Soil
 Provides Habitat for Soil Organisms

49. • Conserve moisture and reduce temperature.
• Crop yields are limited more often by hot and
dry, not cool and wet.

50. 140 F Soil bacteria die
130 F 100% moisture is lost through
evaporation and transpiration
113 F
Some bacteria species start dying
100 F 15% moisture is used for growth
85% moisture lost through
95 F evaporation and transpiration
70 F 100% moisture is used for growth
J.J. McEntire, WUC, USDA SCS, Kernville TX, 3-58 4-R-12198. 1956

51.  1.0% OM = 20,000 #
 10,000 # Carbon (5 ton) @ $4/ton = $20
 1,000 # Nitrogen @ $.50/# = $500
 100 # Phosphorous @ $.70/# = $70
 100# Potassium @ $.40/# -=$40
 100 lbs of Sulfur @ $.50/# = $ 50
 Total $680
 Mineralization Rate = 2-3% from Organic
N to Inorganic N.
 Resulting in 20 to 30 lbs of useable N per
acre.

52. Percent SOM Sand Silt Loam Silty Clay
Loam
1 1.0 1.9 1.4
2 1.4 2.4 1.8
3 1.7 2.9 2.2
4 2.1 3.5 2.6
5 2.5 4.0 3.0
Berman Hudson
Journal Soil and Water Conservation 49(2) 189 194
189-
March April 1994 –
Summarized by:
Dr. Mark Liebig, ARS, Mandan, ND
Hal Weiser, Soil Scientist, NRCS, Bismarck, ND
Inches of Water/One Foot of Soil
1 acre inch = 27,150 gallons of water

53. Harvesting crop residue – What’s it worth?
Plant residue left on a field after harvest is a valuable resource. Non-market
economics need to be considered when deciding to harvest residue.
Corn Residue in Nebraska:
• Average cost of harvesting crop residue: $60-$70/ac.
• Value of removed nutrients: ~$26/ton (1 ton corn residue
has 17 lbs. N, 4 lbs., P, 50 lbs K2O, and 3 lbs. S)
• Yield reduction of 6% over 5-yr. continuous no-till corn with 50%
residue removed each year.
Nutrients removed can be replaced but the function of SOM can not.
NRCS, NE Fact Sheet Sept. 2008

54. Other Economic Trade-offs of Residue Harvest
• Potential long-term yield loss
• More field passes, fertilizer & fuel use
• Cost of practices to replace residue
• Opportunity Costs:
– C trading
– Conservation Programs
– Other uses

55. Grazing
Management
is the Key to
Soil Health
on
Pastureland

56. Grazing Management Influences…
• Vegetative cover & distribution
• Species composition
• Soil organic matter
• Soil biology
• Deposition of nutrients
• Soil compaction
• Infiltration

57. Contributors to Soil Organic Matter
on Pastureland
• Residues from non-consumed forage
• Plant roots
• Feces from grazing animals
• Soil organisms
• Application of organic materials

58. Plants: transformers of energy for the soil
system
Root exudates are bacterial food.

59. Tall Fescue Tall Fescue Tall Fescue Orchardgrass Orchardgrass Fescue/Bluegrass
Rotational Continuous Continuous Rotational Rotational Rotational
Continuously Grazed Tall Fescue
Pasture, Bath County, Kentucky

60.  Compacted soil limits root growth, seed
germination, and infiltration.
 Bare soil is compacted (crusted) by rainfall.
 Compaction from hoof action is greatest on
overgrazed pastures.
 Compaction may be significant when animals graze or
equipment is operated on wet or saturated soils.

61.  Proper rest periods in a managed grazing
system will facilitate amelioration of
compacted soil by plant roots, animals, and soil
organisms.
 Arrange pasture layout and the location and
design of watering and supplemental feeding
facilities to minimize the area of concentrated
use.

63. Simple Test to
determine soil
health
“Dig a Little, Learn a Lot”

64. Look at:
 Residue
 Soil Surface
 Soil Profile
 Plant Roots
 ???
Utilize all your senses:
•Sight
•Smell
•Touch
•Taste????

65. From: Cornell Soil Health Manual
Penetrometer -
Measures
pressure to
penetrate soil
Used to identify:
•Surface crust
•Tightly packed crumbs
•Subsoil compacted layers
Effects of compaction
•Poor germination
•Reduced infiltration
•Poor root development
•Poor air exchange

66. Brown’s
Ranch
Same Field
July 1, 2009
Rapid residue
decomposition

67. • Good Soil
Tilth
• Sufficient
depth
• Shredded
Residue
• Signs of life

68. Darker color higher OM
Topsoil & Subsoil same
color
• Not building OM
• Mixing of soil profiles
• Poor soil health
Topsoil clearly defined
• No mixing
• Deeper layer
• OM is accumulating

69.  Earthy/Sweet Smell
 Geosmin from Actinomycetes
Bacteria
 Decompose residue
 Cycle nutrients
 Important part of soil foodweb
 Metallic/Kitchen sink cleanser
 Soil dominated by Anaerobic
bacteria
 Indicate anaerobic conditions
 Hydrogen Sulfide H2S rotten egg
smell,
 NH3 Ammonia strong urine smell
 Drives pH low, release AL
 No soil aroma
 Little active life in the soil
 because it is too hot, cold, wet, dry
or degraded to have many active
soil organisms present at that
time.
 Poor Habitat

70. • Crumbles easily
under finger
pressure-GOOD
• Need a hammer to
crush- BAD

71. Healthy Roots
• Uninhibited root growth
• Lots of fine roots
•White (no root pathogens)
Unhealthy Roots
• Restricted root growth
• Few fine roots
•Short thick roots
• Discolored & Lesions
(root pathogens present)

73. Roots run
laterally on
top of a
compacted
layer