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OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Measuring the Effect That Soil Conservation Treatments Have
on Soil Health IndicatorsAlan Sundermeier
• 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
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)
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
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
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
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
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
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.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
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.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
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.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
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.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Measuring the Effect That Soil Conservation Treatments Have
on Soil Health IndicatorsAlan Sundermeier
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