This document summarizes the results of soil health tests conducted on five fields with different tillage and cover cropping histories. Biological, chemical, and physical soil health indicators such as microbial biomass, soil organic matter, active carbon, and bulk density showed improved soil health in fields that were no-tilled or had cover crops for longer durations compared to conventionally tilled fields or fields with shorter cover cropping histories. Long-term no-till and cover cropping practices increased soil organic matter, microbial activity, and nutrient availability and decreased bulk density compared to conventional tillage systems.

1. Soil Biological Response to BMP’s
For more information, contact:
Alan Sundermeier, Wood County Extension, OSU
(Sundermeier.1@osu.edu)
Vinayak Shedekar, Food, Ag. Biol. Engineering Dept., OSU
(shedekar.1@osu.edu)
Funding support
North Central Region SARE Partnership Grant Program
Healthy Soil Healthy Environment Extension Signature Program

3. • 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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. 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.
Active C fraction
Passive C fraction
Soil organic matter
Most of what’s left
is the passive SOM
fraction which is
resistant to microbial
decomposition.

8. 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.

9. 1420 1523
1141 1274
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
Active Carbon
Carbonlbs/acre

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

14. Bacteria up to 50 billion
Actinomycetes up to 2 billion
Protozoa up to 50 million
Fungus up to 100 million
Nematodes 10,000
Arthropodes 1000
Earthworm 0 to 2
Relative amount of microbes in handful of soil

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

16. 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

17. Solvita CO2 Basal Respiration
• Measure the CO2 at
field moisture
conditions
• Uses paddle to trap
CO2
• Uses color system to
measure

19. Solvita Field test
NW Branch 6-May 18-May 3-Jun
Multi 5.66 4.11 5.24
Tillage 4.32 4.74 4.74
Winter Pea 5.52 5.66 5.24
Sod 5.94 5.52 5.52
No cover 3.64 4.32 4.42
Red Clover 5.1 5.94 5.24
CO2-C Burst test
Multi 111.3 23.2 73
Tillage 28.9 43.9 43.9
Winter Pea 96.6 111.3 73
Sod 148 96.6 96.6
No cover 14.5 28.9 31.8
Red Clover 62.8 148 73

20. Solvita Nitrogen Mineralization,
no cover crop
Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6.5 3.64 color
Your average soil temperature
65° f
Number of days in your crop's growing season 120 days
Adjusted CO2-C based on the entered soil temp above 13 LBS/Acre
Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 44 LBS/Acre
Dollars Saved Per Acre for 200 Bushel
Per Hectare for 12.5 metric tons
Corn*
$21.32
65120

21. Solvita Nitrogen Mineralization,
Multi-species cover crop
Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6.5 5.66 color
Your average soil temperature
65° f
Number of days in your crop's growing season 120 days
Adjusted CO2-C based on the entered soil temp above 101 LBS/Acre
Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 158 LBS/Acre
Dollars Saved Per Acre for 200 Bushel
Per Hectare for 12.5 metric tons
Corn*
$76.00
65120

22. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Multi Till Winter
Pea
Sod No cover Red
Clover
lbs/acreofCO2
6-May 18-May 3-Jun
Treatment
Sample dates
Soil Respiration Field Test - Solvita

23. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Multi-species Tillage Winter Pea sod No cover Red Clover
SoilNitrateppm
5/8/2015 5/20/2015 6/8/2015
Soil Nitrate Availability

24. 54
18 18
41
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
24 hour Soil Respiration
CO2ppmCarbon

25. 62
49
30
46
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
Available NitrogenPounds/acre

26. 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

28. 1395
2497
976
1569
165
584
125
285
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
PLFA Bacteria PLFA Fungi

29. 3640
2821
1804
3053
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
Microbial Biomass
PLFATotalng/g

30. 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

31. 4.6
3.4
3.1
3.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam +
cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
Organic Matter LOI %

32. 143
73
109
119
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
WEOC water extract organic carbon, ppm

33. Source: The International
Plant Institute
Water
extractable
Inorganic N
Water
extractable
Organic N
Water extractable total N

34. 14.9
8.9
10.4
11.3
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
WEON water extract organic nitrogen , ppm

35. 9.76
4.16
4.98
7.6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
clay + cover loam + cover loam loam + cover+
manure
site 1 site 1 site 2 site 2
Soil Health Score

36. By Jerry Grigar,
USDA-NRCS, East Lansing,
MI; Jerry L. Hatfield,
National Laboratory for
Agriculture and the
Environment, Ames, IA; and
Randall Reeder, The Ohio
State University
15 November 2018
SoilHealth.osu.edu
Transitional no‐till: What is it and how does it differ from
‘true’ no‐till?

37. Site Summary
Five Different Fields with different history of tillage & Cover crops
1. CT noCC: Conventionally tilled – no Cover Crops
2. 2Yr CC: Recently transitioned to Cover Crops
3. 10Yr Hay: Under hay for 10 years
4. LT CC: 20 to 30 years of cover crops
5. LT CC: 30 to 40 years of cover crops

38. Chemical Indicators
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
lbs/acre
Ward Lab
Avail N
Avail P2O5
Avail K2O
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
lbs/acre
A&L Lab
NO3-N+NH4-N
bray P

39. Physical Indicators
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
Bulk Density (g/cm3)
A B C

40. Biological Indicators
0
10
20
30
40
50
2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
BR (lbs/ton/day) A B C
0
1000
2000
3000
2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
SMB (lbs/ton) A B C
Total Soil Microbial
Biomass
Microbial basal
respiration
Specific maintenance
respiration
(C catabolized per unit of microbes)
0
10
20
30
40
50
2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
qCO2 (mg/g/day) A B C
Analysis by OSU Lab

41. Soil Respiration
Respiration - How much CO2 is released per pound of microbes in
the soil.
Notill and long-term cover crop systems are more efficient in terms
of respiration and using the Carbon than the tillage system.

42. PLFA – assessing microbial biomass
A well-functioning, healthy soil would contain higher amounts of
microbes which provide nutrients to crops and naturally control
some soil-borne pests and diseases.
Tillage destroys the soil environment needed to maintain soil
microbes.
Best management practices with no-till can exceed microbial
biomass amounts found in baseline sod

43. Bacteria – Fungi Relationship
Increases in fungal-to-bacterial ratio under the long-term No till and
cover crops.
As the ratio of fungi to bacteria increases, the soil biome becomes
more efficient in utilizing carbon and other nutrients and the soil
therefore releases LESS CO2 to the atmosphere

44. Biological Indicators
84 324 378 489 620
739
1581
2578
1738
2757
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
PLFA(ng/mg)
Fungi Bacteria PLFA
Analysis by Ward Lab

45. Soil Organic Matter
2.3 2.7
3.7 3.0
4.3
0
1
2
3
4
5
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
SOM (%) – from Labs
WardLab A&Llab OSULab
304 1229 1112 1039 1181
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
Active Carbon (ppm) – in Field
Active C analysis conducted using a pre-commercialized version of Soil-1 Field Kit
www.Soil1.com

46. Overall Soil Health Score
5.1
6.1
8.8
5.5
8.1
0
2
4
6
8
10
CT noCC 2Yr CC 10Yr Hay LT CC LT CC
Analysis by Ward Lab

47. Site Summary
Three Different Fields with different history of tillage & Cover crops
1. Sod, grass, 10 year undisturbed
2. Tillage, less than 30% residue, corn/soybean crops
3. No-till, corn/soybean crops, 20 years of multi-species cover crop

48. Biological Indicators
Analysis by Ward Lab
1490
4710
5237
0
2000
4000
6000
Tillage Sod No-till
PLFA, total biomass, ng/g
Phospholipid Fatty Acid
Total Living Microbial
Biomass

49. Biological Indicators
Analysis by Ward Lab
84
378
620
739
2578
2757
0 1000 2000 3000
Tillage
Sod
No-till
ng/g
Bacteria Fungi

50. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are important to healthy
plant growth.
These fungi live on plant roots and grow out into the soil to
capture nutrients which roots cannot access. Fungi depend
on the plant for sugars for survival.
By not disrupting the soil, AMF can multiply rapidly.
The AMF need to build a network of hyphae to reach soil
nutrients. Tillage destroys this network resulting in low AMF
measurements.

52. Soil Respiration – 24 hr CO2-Carbon
19.8
42.9
41.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Tillage Sod No-till
ppm C

53. Organic Matter
2.3
3.7
4.3
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Tillage Sod No-till
% OM
LOI

54. Active Carbon
304
1112 1181
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Tillage Sod No-till
lb/acre
www.Soil1.com
Active C analysis conducted using a pre-commercialized version of Soil-1 Field Kit

55. Organic Matter trends
Most soil health properties show a good correlation with organic
matter.
You can see the clear trend upward in organic matter as you go
from tillage to no-till.
Active carbon tells you how much of your organic matter is “Alive”
or available for microbial activity?

56. Nitrate NO3
5.7
7
9.7
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Tillage Sod No-till
ppm

57. Phosphorus, Bray P1
19.7 19
35
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Tillage Sod No-till
ppm

58. Overall Soil Health Score
Analysis by Ward Lab
5.1
8.8 8.1
0
2
4
6
8
10
Tillage Sod No-till

59. Analyzing Soil Health
This is overall Soil Health Score from Ward Lab. You can see, that
in general this shows the contrast between the Tillage System
versus a No-till, Cover Cropped system.
But, this may or may not tell you the whole story. The only way to
know more about the overall health of your soil is – to dig a little!
More than these lab results – you know your soils better – and with
some experience, you should be able to figure out how a “healthy
soil” looks and feels and smells. 

60. Infiltration
The downward entry of water into the soil. The
velocity at which water enters the soil is infiltration
rate.

62. Water Infiltration, Wood County
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Organic Clover
Wheat
Conv. Soybean
2nd test 1st test
Time in seconds
15 seconds
16 minutes
1 hour

63. Soil Health and Water Quality
Funding support
North Central Region SARE Partnership Grant Program
Healthy Soil Healthy Environment Extension Signature Program
Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference
Alan Sundermeier, Wood Co Extension (sundermeier.1@osu.edu)
Vinayak Shedekar, FABE (shedekar.1@osu.edu)

64. 64
soilhealth.osu.edu
@OhioSoilHealth