Soil Health Initiative - Doug Peterson, Natural Resources Conservation Service, from the 2015 Missouri Pork Expo, February 10 - 11, 2015, Columbia, MO, USA. More presentations at http://www.swinecast.com/2015-missouri-pork-expo

1. Basic Soil Health
Doug Peterson
MO NRCS State Soil Health Conservationist

2. How do we define a health soil?
 A healthy soil:
• has a stable soil surface,
• is increasing in SOC or is at the maximum level for the
location,
• has a microbial population that efficiently decomposes
organic residues,
• does not contain P, N, or herbicides and pesticides in
sufficient quantities to cause water quality problems in
the event of an unexpected erosional episode
• is regenerative under its intended land use or
management system.

3. Is our soil unhealthy?
What is the “Canary in the Mine” of the Soil ?
What do most of our soil tests show today?
What really determines the potential Soil
Organic Matter in a given area?

4. 4




0 20 40 60
0
25
50
75
100
Carboncontent%
Reduction in the Carbon content of
the soil with time of soil use
Years under tillage cultivation
(Bauer & Black, 1983)
%
North Dakota Farm Research

5. What is the most limiting natural resource
in your forage/crop production system?
Sunshine?
Minerals?
Water?

6. What is the most important item in the
water cycle???

7. The Water Cycle
-Is it broken?

8. Monday, June 12, 2006 8:30am
Rainfall: 1.8 inches
Disk No Cover Disk Cover
No Tillage CoverNo Tillage No Cover
JSWC C.W Raczkowski 2009
CT= 119 tons/6 years
89% lost in 3 rain
events (June 97, June
2000 and Sept 2000
NT= 7.1 tons/6 years
3.8%-6.2% slopes
6 year study

9. Forest
SOM = 4.3 %
CT 17 yr- Soybean monoculture SOM =
1.6 %
20cm
layerThis is the same soil- What happened?
Both soils started with the same Inherent soil Properties soil:
•climate (precipitation and temperature)
•topography (shape of the land)
•biota (native vegetation, animals, and microbes)
•parent material (geologic and organic precursors to the soil)
•time (time that parent material is subject to soil formation processes)
62.8% loss of
SOM after 17
yr intensive
tillage
Dynamic properties depend both on land management and
inherent properties of the soil:
• organic matter,
• soil structure,
• infiltration rate,
• bulk density,
• and water and nutrient holding capacity.
62.8% loss of
SOM after 17
yr intensive
tillage

10. Disrupted Soil Ecosystem
This soil is naked, hungry, thirsty and running a fever!
Ray Archuleta 2007

11. When soil temp reaches. . .
140°
F
130°
F
100°
F
70° F
Soil bacteria die
100% moisture lost through
evaporation & transpiration
15% moisture is used for growth
85% moisture lost through evaporation
& transpiration
100% moisture is used for growth
J.J. Mc Entre, USDA SCS, Kerrville,
TX, 1956

12. Physical Disturbance in the form of tillage destroys the
biological and ecological integrity of the soil ecosystem.
1. Disturbance stimulates the first responders-
-increased weed population
2. Destroys soil pores by shearing and smashing
-impacts infiltration
3. Diminishes the soils ability to respire
4. Disrupts the habitat of most microorganisms
arthropods
5. Simplifies the soil fauna over time
-fungi don’t like disturbance
-Mycorrhizal fungi – uptake of P, Zn, Cu, Fe

13. 13
Mineralisation
of Organic Matter
>
Erosion
Consequences of tillage
The USDA estimates that about half the fertilizer
used each year in the US simply replaces soil
nutrients lost by topsoil erosion.
(David Montgomery, 2007)

14. What is the primary reason given for
tillage?

15. Nature’s residue managers
See Video Clip

16. No-till Systems are the
Beginning of Cropland Soil Health

19. 25 yrs of
convention
al corn
20 yrs of
bluegrass, then 5
yrs conventional
corn
Water stable
aggregates
After adding water

20. Soil Health
Type of Organism number/acre pounds/acre
Bacteria 800,000,000,000,000,000,000 2,600
Actinobacteria 20,000,000,000,000,000 1,300
Fungi 200,000,000,000,000 2,600
Algae 4,000,000,000 90
Protozoa 2,000,000,000,000 90
Nematodes 80,000,000 45
Earthworms 40,000 445
Insects /arthropods 8,160,000 830
Soil Food Web

21. Exudates
Soil
Root
Rhizosphere

22. Rhizosphere
Number one food source of
most soil organisms is a living
root.
Living roots release many types
of organic materials into the
rhizosphere around the surface
of the root

23. Rhizosphere
The number of
organisms in the
rhizosphere is up to
2000 times higher than
in the rest of the soil.

25. Plants Interacting with Mycorrhizal
Fungi
 Assists with P uptake from
the soil
 Moves P from the non-
legume plant to the legume
plant
 Moves N from the legume
plant to the non-legume
plant
The Nature and Property of Soils, Brady and Weil

27. Restoration Through Soil Health

28. Ranching/Farming in the 21st Century
-a practical approach to soil health
Manage more by disturbing less
Diversity is Critical
Living Roots feed your soil livestock
Keep the soil covered
Integrate livestock

29. The quality of our lives depends on
the food we eat
the water we drink
and the air we breath.

30. The quality of our lives depends on
the food we eat
the water we drink
and the air we breath.
All of those things depend on
the quality of the SOIL.
Charles Kome

31. Expand your knowledge - Read a Book
 The Nature and Properties of Soils by Brady and Weil
 Holistic Management by Allan Savory
 Agroecology by Gliessman
 The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
 Teaming with Microbes by Lowenfels and Lewis
 Soil Biology Primer by Elaine Ingham
 The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan
 Collapse by Jared Diamond
 Dirt-The Erosion of Civilization by David Montgomery