Funding support North Central Region SARE Partnership Grant

Funding support North Central Region SARE Partnership Grant Program Soil health assessment for decision making 2020 Annual Project Report - ONC 18 -047 Making sense of Soil Health Reports – A partnership to develop recommendations for soil health testing, interpretation Alan Sundermeier, Wood County Extension, OSU, (Sundermeier. 1@osu. edu) Vinayak Shedekar, Food, Ag. Biol. Engineering Dept. , OSU (shedekar. 1@osu. edu) April 28, 2020

Data disclaimer Ø Most of the data in this presentation are UNPUBLISHED. Ø Please DO NOT USE these slides without the prior permission of authors (shedekar. 1@osu. edu, sundermeier. 1@osu. edu)

Overview of available tests 1. Solvita CO 2 Burst Test 2. PLFA test 3. Haney soil test

Solvita CO 2 Burst Test The Solvita CO 2 Burst Test is a new tool which easily and accurately measures soil biological CO 2 respiration. Cost = $25. 00

Indicator of soil health – The rates of CO 2 release is generally regarded as an indicator of Soil Health and is favorably improved with practices such as cover cropping

Solvita Nitrogen Mineralization, no cover crop Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6. 5 Your average soil temperature 3. 64 color 65° f Number of days in your crop's growing season 120 days Adjusted CO 2 -C based on the entered soil temp above 13 LBS/Acre Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 44 LBS/Acre Dollars Saved Per Acre for 200 Bushel Per Hectare for 12. 5 metric tons Corn* $21. 32

Solvita Nitrogen Mineralization, Multi-species cover crop Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to 6. 5 Your average soil temperature 5. 66 color 65° f Number of days in your crop's growing season 120 days Adjusted CO 2 -C based on the entered soil temp above 101 LBS/Acre Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized over growing season 158 LBS/Acre Dollars Saved Per Acre for 200 Bushel Per Hectare for 12. 5 metric tons Corn* $76. 00

PLFA test Soil biological testing at Ward Laboratories is conducted by analyzing phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). It allows us to identify various functional groups of interest through known PLFA biomarkers with respect to microbial community. Cost = $ 59. 50

2497 2500 PLFA Bacteria 2000 1569 1395 976 1000 500 PLFA Fungi 584 165 125 0 clay + cover loam + cover site 1 285 loam + cover+ manure site 2

Haney soil test The Haney Test is a dual extraction procedure that allows the producer to assess overall soil health. The test is used to track changes in soil health based on management decisions. This test examines total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen to determine a C: N ratio used to make general cover crop recommendations. This test also includes the Solvita CO 2 Burst Test to look at microbial activity and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. The weak acid (H 3 A) extraction represents some available plant nutrients. Cost = $49. 50

WEOC water extract organic carbon, ppm 150 WEON water extract organic nitrogen , ppm 16 143 140 15 130 14 119 120 109 110 14. 9 13 12 11. 3 100 11 90 10 80 9 73 70 10. 4 8. 9 8 clay + cover loam + cover+ manure site 1 site 2 60 1 2 3 4

In-field assessment q q Infiltration Soil temperature Soil moisture Penetrometer

Infiltration The downward entry of water into the soil. The velocity at which water enters the soil is infiltration rate.

Water Infiltration, Wood County Conv. Soybean 1 hour Wheat 16 minutes Organic Clover 15 seconds 0 Time in seconds 2000 2 nd test 1 st test 4000

Case study How to use soil health data for decision making?

Site Summary Five Different Fields with different history of tillage & Cover crops 1. CT no. CC: Conventionally tilled – no Cover Crops 2. 2 Yr CC: Recently transitioned to Cover Crops 3. 10 Yr Hay: Under hay for 10 years 4. LT CC: 20 to 30 years of cover crops 5. LT CC: 30 to 40 years of cover crops

Chemical Indicators Ward Lab 140 lbs/acre 100 Avail N Avail P 2 O 5 Avail K 2 O 100 80 lbs/acre 120 80 60 40 0 0 10 Yr Hay LT CC bray P 40 20 2 Yr CC NO 3 -N+NH 4 -N 60 20 CT no. CC A&L Lab 120 CT no. CC 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC

Physical Indicators Bulk Density (g/cm 3) 1. 6 1. 4 1. 2 1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 A 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC B LT CC C

Biological Indicators SMB (lbs/ton) A B 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC Total Soil Microbial Biomass C BR (lbs/ton/day) A B C q. CO 2 (mg/g/day) 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 0 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC Microbial basal respiration 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC A B C LT CC Specific maintenance respiration (C catabolized per unit of microbes) Analysis by OSU Lab

Analysis by Ward Lab Biological Indicators Bacteria PLFA 4 60% 40% 20% 0% 84 CT no. CC 324 378 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay 2757 80% 1738 5 2578 100% 1581 6 739 120% 489 620 LT CC 3 2 1 0 PLFA (ng/mg) Fungi

Active Carbon (ppm) – in Field Soil Organic Matter 1400 1200 SOM (%) – from Labs 5 1000 800 Ward. Lab A&Llab OSULab 600 4 400 200 3 2 1 2. 3 2. 7 3. 0 4. 3 0 304 1229 1112 1039 1181 CT no. CC 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC www. Soil 1. com 0 CT no. CC 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC Active C analysis conducted using a pre-commercialized version of Soil-1 Field Kit

Analysis by Ward Lab Overall Soil Health Score 10 8. 8 8 6 4 5. 1 6. 1 8. 1 5. 5 2 0 CT no. CC 2 Yr CC 10 Yr Hay LT CC

Analysis by Ward Lab Overall Soil Health Score 12 10 9. 76 7. 6 8 6 4. 16 4 4. 98 2 0 clay + cover loam + cover+ manure site 1 site 2 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 8. 8 8. 1 5. 1 Tillage Sod No-till

Analyzing Soil Health This is overall Soil Health Score from Ward Lab. You can see, that in general this shows the contrast between the Tillage System versus a No-till, Cover Cropped system. But, this may or may not tell you the whole story. The only way to know more about the overall health of your soil is – to dig a little! More than these lab results – you know your soils better – and with some experience, you should be able to figure out how a “healthy soil” looks and feels and smells.

Funding support North Central Region SARE Partnership Grant Program Healthy Soil Healthy Environment Extension Signature Program Soil health assessment for decision making For more information, contact: Alan Sundermeier, Wood County Extension, OSU (Sundermeier. 1@osu. edu) Vinayak Shedekar, Food, Ag. Biol. Engineering Dept. , OSU (shedekar. 1@osu. edu)