measuring the effect soil conservation sundermeier

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

Measuring the Effect That Soil Conservation Treatments Have

on Soil Health IndicatorsAlan Sundermeier

[email protected]

• 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

Northwest Branch OARDCHoytville, Ohio


Five Soil Treatments

• Fescue Sod (Festuca spp)• Tillage (30% residue, Disk Chisel)• Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) • Winter Pea (Pisum sativium)• Multispecies Mix: Winter Pea (Pisum sativium),

Sunn Hemp (Crotaleria junceau), Cow Pea (Vignia unguiculata)Daikon Radish (Raphanus sativius)Oats (Avena sativa)


Correlations Between

• Commercial Soil Nitrate/Ammonium Test (A & L Laboratory)

• Haney Soil Test (Ward Laboratory)

• Four Replications• Soil Tests taken May 7-8, 2015

May 19-20, 2015June 5-6, 2015


Objectives

• Compare/Correlate Standard Commercial Soil Nitrate Test to Haney Soil Test

• Compare/Correlate Standard Commercial Soil Ammonium Test to Haney Soil Test

• Compare/Contrast Economics of Commercial Soil Nitrogen Tests to Haney Soil Test


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

Solvita CO2 Burst Method‐ Haney

Standard Lab Protocol: . Dried, weighed samples of soil are moistened with a specific amount of water, triggering a flush or “burst” of carbon dioxide. The magnitude of the burst is measured with the Solvita Digital Color Reader. The CO2 Burst is proportional to microbial biomass and directly tied to potential carbon and nitrogen mineralization.

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

Field Test – Testing on the Farm for the Grower or Crop Consultant: Easily measure basal CO2 respiration in the field with the Solvita Field Test. Now in just 24 hours, you can have a barometer of your soil’s biology – a soil basal respiration result that gives you the power to make better decisions on tillage, crop rotation and fertilization. Results are provided in a familiar per-acre basis, much like common nutrient tests. The results give you a general indicator of soil health and carbon dioxide emissions per surface area. You can use them to take advantage of your soil’s natural fertility, and save on fertilizer dollars.

Solvita Field Digital Color Reader

Solvita.com

Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6.5 4 color

Your average soil temperature 65 ° fNumber of days in your crop's growing

season 120 days

Adjusted CO2-C based on the entered soil temp above 19 LBS/Acre

Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 58 LBS/Acre

Dollars Saved due to Biological Nitrogen Per Acre $27.73

Solvita.com

Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6.5 5 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 52 LBS/Acre

Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 112 LBS/Acre

Dollars Saved due to Biological Nitrogen Per Acre $53.74

Pounds per acre of CO2 carbon

Haney soil test

The Haney Test is a dual extraction procedure that allows the producer to assess overall soil health. Thetest is used to track changes in soil health based on management decisions. This test examines total organiccarbon 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 mineralizablenitrogen. The weak acid (H3A) extraction represents some available plant nutrients. Cost = $49.50

Microbial Biomass - Haney

Soil biological testing at Ward Laboratories is conducted by analyzing phospholipid fatty acids, or PLFA. PLFA is a snapshot of soil community structure and abundance at the time of sampling. As environmental conditions such as temperature and moisture change so does the microbial community. This ability of the soil microbial community to change provides producers with a tool to compare agricultural management techniques with respect to overall bettermicrobial community health.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

WinterPea

Clover Multi F2Tillage

F2 Rye F2Check

Total

Biomass

(

ng/g)

Treatment Type

Total Living Microbial Biomass

Poor Rating

Haney

Soil Health Calculation -Haney

This number is calculated as 1-day CO2-C divided by the organic C: N ratio plus WEOC/100 plus WEON/10 to include a weighted contribution of water extractable organic C and organic N. It represents the overall health of your soil system. It combines 5 independent measurements of your soil’s biological properties. The calculation looks at the balance of soil C and N and their relationship to microbial activity. This soil health calculation number can vary from 0 to more than 50. We like to see this number above 7 and increase over time. This number indicates your current soil health and what it needs to reach its highest sustainable state. Keeping track of this Soil Health number will allow you to gauge the effects of your management practices over the years.

Benefits of Haney Soil Test

More parameters to evaluate including:• Bacteria, Fungus, Actinomycetes Total Biomass• Microbial Diversity: Protozoa & Nematodes• Active Carbon, Min Carbon, • Soil Health Recommendations Plus• Standard Soil Test: pH, Phosphorus, Potassium,

Calcium, Magnesium• Economic Data & Probabilities on fertilizer

additions.


Comparison of Soil Test Cost

Commercial Soil Nitrate Test: $11.00/sampleCommercial Soil Ammonium Test : $12.75/sample Total Cost: $23.75/sample

Haney Soil Test: $50.00/sample

Haney test is 2x more expensive but the tester gains 60 additional parameters plus in-depth recommendations.


Acknowledgement The author expresses appreciation to the staff at the Ohio Ag Research & Development Center, Northwest Agricultural Research Station for assistance with this research, Matt Davis manager.


Measuring the Effect That Soil Conservation Treatments Have

on Soil Health IndicatorsAlan Sundermeier

[email protected]

Treatment Cover Crop Type of seeding

Date of seeding

Yield bu/ac

1 None 147.2 BC2 None, strip till 148.2 BC3 Soybean drill 8-13-14 120.6 A4 Oilseed Radish,

Winter PeaPlanted, 15 inch rows

8-13-14 161.8 C

5 3 way, Annual Ryegrass, crimson clover, oilseed radish

drill8-13-14

137.6 AB

6 Red Clover Overseed 4-24-14 163.4 C7 Crimson Clover Drill 8-13-14 134.6 AB8 Multi-species 8 way

mixdrill 8-13-14 151.3 BC

9 Winter Pea Drill 8-13-14 145.8 BC

measuring the effect soil conservation sundermeier

Environment