Latest Science and Adoption Trends in the Soil

Health MovementShannon CappellazziSoil Health Institute

July 10, 2019

TODAYS TALK

• Soil Health Intro• US Ag Census• Current SHI Projects• NRCS Tech Notes • Academic Advances

SOIL HEALTH IS:The continued capacity of the

soil to function as a vital living ecosystem

within ecosystem and land use boundaries, to sustain

biological productivity, maintain the quality of air

and environments, and promote plant, animal, and

human health.

SOIL HEALTH IS:The continued

capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem

that sustains plants, animals,

and humans

SOIL HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS

Figure: NRCS USDA Applying Soil Health Management Systems to Reduce Climate and Weather Risks in the Northwest

USDA CENSUS: “NO-TILL”

• Respondents determine their tillage category

• Acres increased from 96 mill to 104 mill

- 8.3% increase• 37% of arable acres

reported no-till• Tennessee has 78.6%

CENSUS: PERCENT AVAILABLE CROPLAND WITH “NO-TILL”2017

USDA CENSUS: COVER CROPS

• Acres increased from 10.3 mill to 15.4 mill

- 50% increase• Number of farms

- 15% increase• People who already cover

cropped, added acres• 11 states has > ¼ of crop

land planted to cover crops

CENSUS: PERCENT AVAILABLE CROPLAND WITH COVER CROPS 2017

SARE SURVEY: YIELD INCREASE

SOIL HEALTH INSTITUTEACTION TEAMS

Communications and EducationPublic Policy

Economics

Research Measurements and Standards

• NAPESHM• Cotton Training• Decision Support AWHC• Research Landscape Tool• Ecosystem Services Market Consortium• Soil Health, Human Health Connections• National Association of Conservation Districts

SHI INITIATIVES

NORTH AMERICAN PROJECT TO EVALUATE SOIL HEALTH

MEASUREMENTS• 120 Long-Term Sites • 2000 Experimental Units • Management History • Yield and Economics • 31 Measurements • 16S, ITS, and Shotgun Metagenomics Sequenced• SMAF, CASH, and Haney Systems Compared

VISUALS MATCH LAB RESULTS

BOTTOM LINE BUSINESS CASE

• Economic tools needed for adoption

• Decision support tools• Enterprise Budgets

• Compare BAU to Soil Health Practices

• Economic risk to evaluate resilience

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• Soil Health Training program for Cotton

• Farmer-mentors • NC, GA, AR then

MS, TX, and CA• Living Soil Film

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntJouJhLM48• Highschool and college lesson plans• Soil Health Research Landscape Tool

“SOIL HEALTH” IN ARTICLES FROM GOOGLE SCHOLAR

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Year Published

NRCS RECOMMENDED SOIL HEALTH INDICATORS AND LAB PROCEDURES

Soil Process Soil Health Indicator Recommended Method

Organic Matter Cycling & C Sequestration Soil Organic Carbon Dry Combustion

Soil Structural Stability Aggregation ARS Wet Macroaggregate Stability

General Microbial Activity Short-term C mineralization

4-day Carbon Dioxide Respiration

Specific Microbial Activity Enzyme Activity Suite of enzymes for C, N, P, S

Carbon Food Source Readily Available C Pool Permanganate oxidizable C

Bioavailable Nitrogen Available Organic N Pool Autoclaved Citrate Extractable Protein Content

Microbial Diversity Community Structure Phospholipid Fatty Acid

A MICROBES VIEW

FUNCTIONS OF BIOFILMS

Flemming 2016. EPS Then and Now

Samuel Roberts Noble FoundationTri-Societies

Conservation Technology Information CenterNational Association of Conservation Districts

Soil and Water Conservation SocietyGlobal Soil Security

The Fertilizer Institute

COORDINATING COALITION

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ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIESwww.soilhealthinstitute.org

THANK YOU

Visit: www.soilhealthinstitute.org Contact: Shannon Cappellazzi

Email: scappellazzi@soilhealthinstitute.org503-593-7434

New Technology

• Saturo by Meter Group• Saturated Hydraulic

Conductivity• SeqWell Multiplexing

• Functional genomics • Slakes with iPhone• visNIR