Using soil data to inform soil health
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This document discusses using soil survey data to inform soil health assessments. It provides an overview of soil properties that are relevant to soil health assessments, such as organic carbon, fertility, and soil biology. It also describes soil survey products like SSURGO and gSSURGO that provide soil data and properties. Tools for accessing and mapping soil data are presented. Steps for conducting on-farm soil health assessments are outlined. Methods for developing indices to evaluate soil properties and resilience are described, including examples of a soil suitability index and a fragile soil index. Applications of proximal sensing tools for measuring soil properties are briefly discussed.
Using soil data to inform soil health
- 1. Using soil survey data to inform soil health inventory and assessment Maxine J. Levin, Michael Robotham, Diane E. Stott United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service 2017 SWCS Annual Meeting-Madison WI
- 3. Soil Interpretations US National Cooperative Survey • Soil Properties—stable beyond 5-20 yr cycle of use & management
- 4. Land Capability Class/Conservation Planning
- 5. Soil Health and Dynamic soil properties •Aggregate stability •Soil Compaction/Soil Density •Percent Organic carbon •Fertility •Soil Biology 5
- 6. 6 Soil Survey Products SSURGO • New data downloads through Web Soil Survey Data & Software gSSURGO • New downloads through Geospatial Data Gateway – new User Guide included plus VALU Table Database
- 7. Soil Health Interpretations Team-NRCS 1) Identifying the dynamic soil properties that are most likely to be of interest or import; 2) Providing expected natural ranges of the magnitude of dynamic soil properties; and 3) Providing a framework though which results from site- specific assessments of the effects of management practices or suites of management practices can be extrapolated beyond specific locations. 7
- 8. Soil Property Interpretations available as reports on Web Soil Survey •Soil organic matter •Bulk Density •Aggregate Stability 8
- 9. Cornell Soil Health Assessment (Moebilus-Clune et al.,2015) Chemical Physical Biological Soil Chemical Composition- a standard soil test analysis package measuring levels of pH and plant nutrients. Levels are interpreted for sufficiency and excess. Add On Indicators: Salinity and Sodicity-Sodium absorption ratio (SAR) Heavy Metals-Metals of concern measured by digestion with concentrated acid at high temperatures Available Water Holding Capacity Surface Hardness Subsurface Hardness Aggregate Stability INDICATORS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT-SOIL HEALTH PHYSICALCHEMICAL Organic Matter-measure of all carbonaeous material from living organisms. Percent OM determined by of oven dried soil lost on combustion in a 500o C Soil Protein-Extraction of OM with organically bound N with citrate buffer under high temperature and pressure Soil Respiration Active Carbon-measured with potasium permanganate oxidation with spectrophotometer Add On Indicators: Root Pathogen Pressure Rating -washed roots with visible symptoms Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen- 7 day anerobic incubation BIOLOGICAL
- 10. Combining Soil Data Access with Custom Applications Soil Data Access is a public site that provides direct access to our detailed soils database using custom applications. In the example above, the user has selected farm field polygons in their GIS application. The selected polygons are then used to form a spatial query. The query is then sent as a request to the Soil Data Access Tabular web service. http://sdmdataaccess.nrcs.usda.gov/ Soil Data Access The Soil Data Access web service returns soils data to the user’s application where it is converted to a GIS format and displayed.
- 11. Tools for Working with Soils Data The ‘Map Soil Properties and Interpretations’ ArcTool allows users to create statewide, regional or even national soil maps using gSSURGO databases. The method of operation is very similar to that of Soil Data Viewer and the tool works with ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 or greater. Any soil property or soil interpretation that can be mapped by Soil Data Viewer or Web Soil Survey can easily be mapped using this ArcTool. Shown to the right is a map of the weighted average value for percent sand for all components in the 0 to 25cm depth range. For more information on other related tools, search for the terms ‘NRCS gSSURGO’ using your web browser.
- 12. Steps for Assessment for Soil Health Focus on the Farm • Identify a resource concern for which soil health agriculture techniques can have a positive impact. • Identify background data that is needed to address the resource concern. • How would a farmer keep track of their geospatial soil data? • Develop a plan for how assessment of soil health properties will be used to address the resource concern. • Determine the type and availability of specialized equipment required to implement the plan. • Evaluate and revise the plan after each cropping season
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- 16. Soil Suitability Index • Soil indices can be created by combining properties. • Indices can be made for a specific purpose such as: productivity index, landslide potential, erosion potential, etc. • After identifying specific resource concerns we can start applying soils data to build these indices and apply them geospatially to the farming landscape
- 17. 0 52.5 Kilometers Corn-Soil Suitability Index - Example Property Weight (%) Slope 30 Soil Depth 20 SOM 15 Slope position 10 pH 5 CEC 5 Silt 5 Sand 5 Clay 5 Total 100 Phillip R Owens Purdue Extension, Soil Scientist ARS Little Rock AR
- 18. Fragile Soil Index- Interpretation for Resilience and Resistance
- 19. Soil Fragility Index • Fragile soils are those that are easily degraded (most vulnerable to degradation) • Characteristics of fragile soils – Low organic matter & stable aggregates – On sloping ground – In arid and semiarid regions – Have sparse plant cover – Have a shallow depth • Metric for resistance and resilience – Fragile soils are less able resist the processes of degradation and they are less able to recover after degradation has occurred. • Classes of fragility – not fragile, slightly fragile, moderately fragile, fragile, very fragile, extremely fragile
- 20. Soil pH and Liming: A case for variable rate technology
- 21. Factoring Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) into the equation Chemical aspects of Soil Health
- 22. Precision Ag - Variable Rate of Biomass • RUSLE2 soil erosion and soil quality model can also estimate the residue available at harvest at sustainable soil loss levels; uses SSURGO soils and site specific climate and cropping systems planning information
- 23. National Commodity Crop Potential Index (NCCPI) User Guide - National Commodity Crop Productivity Index (NCCPI)” available at the NRCS Soil Technical References Website at: http://soils.usda.gov/technical/ The model criteria relate directly to the ability of soils, landscapes, and climate to foster crop productivity. All criteria used in the index affect crop culture and production and are referred to as factors affecting inherent productivity.
- 24. National Commodity Crop Productivity Index (NCCPI)
- 26. Camden, NJ Community Garden – in ground Camden site Pb content 400 to 939 ppm 6-12” depth High Pb associated with artifactual fill
- 27. Contact vs NonContact Measurements Contact EC sensor Selected coulters act as transmitting electrodes and others as receiving electrodes. (Veris Technologies, Salina, Kansas) NonContact EC Sensor Less conductive sandy surface soil reduces the field strength as compared to the unit on the right with more clay in the soil profiler
- 28. Effects on Crop Yields • Available Water holding Capacity (AWC) • Salinity • Cation exchange capacity (CEC) • Porosity • Depth to claypan or rock outcropping • Temperature
- 30. Benefits Digital Soil Health Assessments • More precise nutrient applications, including grid soil sampling, yield monitoring, detailed soils information, remote sensing, environmentally sensitive areas • More precise pesticide applications, including scouting, remote sensing, yield monitoring, detailed soils information, environmentally sensitive areas • Variable rate irrigation – useful with center pivot irrigation systems • Minimize soil compaction and improve soil quality by controlling wheel traffic • Conservation practice installation - Auto steer tractors can be used to follow a contour line or other alignment, such as a fence or windbreak