Soil Quality

Should you be concerned?

Dr. Joel Gruver WIU Agriculture j-gruver@wiu.edu

Of approximately 40 trials that we have conducted over the past three years, in no instance was more than 1.2 lbs of N per bushel of grain needed to optimize productivity, and in most cases, considerably less was required. Averaged over locations and years, our economic optimum N rates averaged slightly less than 1.0 lbs per bushel (with a range of almost none to 1.2 lbs). Somewhat surprising were the relatively high yields produced without any supplemental N (generally >>100 bushels per acre), and the fact that the highest optimum N rates were typically associated with the lowest-yielding environments.
http://agronomyday.cropsci.illinois.edu/2001/tours/nitrogen-need/index.html

Relationship between corn yield and most profitable N rate (72 site years)
Only 13 out of 72 site-years in IL required more than 1 lb of N per bushel

1 : 1 line
too high 82% of the time

Relationship between corn yield and most profitable N rate (72 site years)

too high 96% of the time

1.2 : 1 line

Why do some sites have lower optimal N rates?

Where does the N come from that enters a corn crop ?

N uptake (lbs/a)

Magdoff and Weil (2003)

Where does the come fromobtains that A well-fertilized cornN crop typically a corn ? SOM more enters than half of its crop N from

N uptake (lbs/a)

Less N tie-up !

Why more N uptake?

Magdoff and Weil (2003)

What happens to fertilizer N ?

100 90 80

Measured after harvest

http://agronomyday.cropsci.uiuc.edu/2001/tours/n-fate/index.html

What happens to fertilizer N ?

100 90 80

So how were the scientists able to track the fate of fertilizer N?

They used fertilizer spiked with N15!

Leaching, denitrification, volatilization

Measured after harvest

http://agronomyday.cropsci.uiuc.edu/2001/tours/n-fate/index.html

WHY??

Timber soil

Prairie soil

How much of Illinois was originally Illinois once wascovered covered by tall by grass forest prairie ? ? covered by a complex mix of prairie and forest Prairie dominated the Old growth flat expanses forest in Forest dominated the hilly land

Info about inherent SQ

Soil texture does not normally change with management. USDA Textural triangle 12 textural classes

http://www.oneplan.org/Images/soilMst/SoilTriangle.gif

What are these crazy people doing ?

Location: Laurenburg, NC Date: 1961

Unsuccessfully attempting to create deep Midwest like soils in the Southeastern US

Nov/Dec 2011 issue of J of Soil and Water Conservation

Are you familiar with the concept of tillage erosion?

Soil Changes After Sixty Years of Land Use in Iowa

Jessica Veenstra, Iowa State University, 1126 Agronomy Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010

Soils form slowly, thus on human time scales, soil is essentially a nonrenewable resource. Therefore in order to maintain and manage our limited soil resources sustainably, we must try to document, monitor and understand human induced changes in soil properties. By comparing current soil properties to an archived database of soil properties, this study assesses some of the changes that have occurred over the last 60 years, and attempts to link those changes to natural and human induced processes. This study was conducted across Iowa where the primary land use has been row crop agriculture and pasture. We looked at changes in A horizon depth, color, texture, structure, organic carbon content and pH.

Hill top and backslope landscape positions have been significantly degraded. Catchment areas have deeper topsoil.

http://www.swcs.org/documents/filelibrary/BeyondTreport.pdf

NRCS SQ webpage

Keeping soil in place is only the beginning of soil conservation. Soil also has to function well. It must hold nutrients and pesticides in place and keep them out of surface water. Soil must deliver nutrients and water to plants as they need them. Soil should minimize the effects of floods and droughts.
By addressing conservation issues from the perspective of soil quality instead of erosion, the focus is on enhancing the soil as opposed to managing for tolerable degradation.

Have you observed the impact of management on your farm?

Soils from sites mapped as the same soil type but rated as high and low quality by farmers did not differ significantly with respect to standard soil test parameters (P, K, Ca, Mg, pH). In contrast, most of the higher rated soils had higher levels of OM, better structure and more biological activity.

SQ tests in the tool box

Soil Respiration Test - indicates the soil's biological activity. Infiltration Test - measures the soil's ability to take in water. Bulk Density Test - measures the soil's compaction or pore space. Electrical Conductivity (EC) Test - measures the salt concentration in the soil. pH Test - measures the soil's acidity or alkalinity Soil Nitrate Test - measures the soil's nitrate levels Aggregate Stability Test - measures the amount of water stable aggregates. Slake Test - estimates the stability of soil fragments in water Earthworm Test - measures the number of earthworms in the soil Water Quality Tests estimates salinity and nitrate/nitrite levels in water

Soil Quality is Not an End in Itself The ultimate purpose of researching and assessing soil quality is not to achieve high aggregate stability, biological activity, or some other soil property. The purpose is to protect and improve long-term agricultural productivity, water quality, and habitats of all organisms including people.

The effects of degraded soil quality are far reaching!

25 years of corn with moldboard tillage

20 years of bluegrass sod followed by 5 years of corn with moldboard tillage

After adding water

Water stable aggregates

Only 20 0.4% 25 yrs of yrs of bluegrass, then 5 conventional corn yrs in conventional difference OM corn

How do these soils differ ??

crop residues

manure cover crops crop residues

Also less than 1% difference in OM

20 years of similar tillage and total organic input but different types of organic inputs
Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial

Contrasting stands of corn in the NC 9 tillage systems experiment

> 3%OM
Continuous No-till

< 1%OM
Fall plow/ spring disk

Many soils in IL can take a lot of abuse !

Physical changes are happening

Long term sod

crop field

Same soil type very different water holding capacity

But this much divergence is rare.

unless severe erosion has occurred

Artificial drainage has greatly increased the number of days when soils in the Upper Midwest are suitable for field operations

Pollution of water resources

but has also contributed to environmental problems

Loss of SOM

"But with the removal of water through furrows, ditches, and tiles, and the aeration of the soil by cultivation, what the pioneers did in effect was to fan the former simmering fires of acidification and preservation into a blaze of bacterial oxidation and more complete combustion. The combustion of the accumulated organic matter began to take place at a rate far greater than its annual accumulation. Along with the increased rate of destruction of the supply accumulated from the past, the removal of crops lessened the chance for annual additions. The age-old process was reversed and the supply of organic matter in the soil began to decrease instead of accumulating."

William Albrecht 1938 Yearbook of Agriculture

5-10% OM
~50% ancient OM ~30% slowly decomposable OM ~20% active OM

2-5% OM
~75% ancient OM ~20% slowly decomposable OM ~5% active OM

Intensive tillage

Long term no-till Clearly more OM

Does this profile contain more SOM?

Ontario Ministry of Ag and Food

It is widely believed that soil disturbance by tillage was a primary cause of the historical loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) in North America, and that substantial SOC sequestration can be accomplished by changing from conventional plowing to less intensive methods known as conservation tillage. This is based on experiments where changes in carbon storage have been estimated through soil sampling of tillage trials. However, sampling protocol may have biased the results. In essentially all cases where conservation tillage was found to sequester C, soils were only sampled to a depth of 1 foot or less

Many studies were only sampled ~6 deep! Very few tillage studies have been sampled deeper than 1

Effect of tillage on microbial activity

+ SOM

CT NT

Soil respiration in CT system

Havlin et al. (1999)

Effect of tillage on microbial activity

+ SOM

Which tillage system has more microbial activity ?

CT NT

Soil respiration in NT system

Havlin et al. (1999)

Effect of tillage on microbial activity

Which tillage system has more microbial activity when plants can use the CO2?

+ SOM

CT NT

Soil respiration in NT system

Havlin et al. (1999)

Ecological Applications 2009

The quantity of inputs was the best predictor Increases inbelowground decay ratesorganic with N fertilization offset gainsof long-term soil C storage. This soil indicates that, these systems, in in carbon inputs to the in such ain way that soil C comparison with increased N-fertilizer additions, selection of sequestration washigh minimal in 78% of the systems crops/cover crops with root production is a more effective studied, despite up to 48 years ofCN additions. management practice for increasing soil sequestration.

Ecological Applications 2009

Increases in decay rates with N fertilization offset gains in carbon inputs to the soil in such a way that soil C sequestration was minimal in 78% of the systems studied, despite up to 48 years of N additions.

Broadbalk continuous wheat experiment

Data modelled by RothC-26.3 (solid lines)
100

Organic C in soil (t C ha-1)

80

Farmyard manure annually

Soil C (tons/ha)

60

Why has the NPK program resulted in so little increase in SOM?

40

NPK

20

unfertilized Unmanured

0 1820

1840

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

Year

Why does the system with the highest residue production have the lowest OM content?

This is an impressive accomplishment!

vs.

Acute root disease

Chronic root = major cause of above ground deficiency symptoms malfunction

Root health an excellent integrative indicator of SQ

Optimal root health requires more than the latest BT trait, seed treatment or drainage technology.