Soil Quality and Conservation Planning

1
Soil Quality and Conservation Planning

• Lesson 6

2
Objectives

• Be able to point out the importance of soil
  quality to NRCS activities and programs.

3
Importance of Soil Quality to NRCS Activities

• Integrate Soil Quality into the planning process
• 9 steps of Conservation Planning
• Refer to Guidelines for Soil Quality Assessment
  in Conservation Planning

4
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 1 - Identify Problems Opportunities
• Identify resource problems, opportunities, and
  concerns.
• Determine which might be a result of a reduction
  in soil function.

5
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 2 - Determine Objectives
• Discuss Soil Quality improvements and
  maintenance as goals to be achieved in a
  Conservation Plan.

6
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 3 - Inventory Resources
• Perform a Soil Quality Assessment
• Dig a Hole
• Soil Quality Scorecard
• Soil Quality Test Kit
• General observation

7
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 4 - Analyze Resource Data
• Evaluate Soil Quality Assessment Data
• Look for Patterns resulting from management
• Compare Results from different assessment methods
• Evaluate Discrepancies between soil and plant
  observations
• Establish Baseline and Target Values

8
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 5 - Formulate Alternatives
• Suggest Management Solutions to Soil Quality
  Problems
• Explore possible management reasons for
  identified Soil Quality problems.
• Discuss practices or changes in management that
  would address identified Soil Quality problems.

9
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 6 - Evaluate Alternatives using tools
• Assessment tools
• soil quality test kit
• health card
• farmer observations
• RUSLE or Wind Erosion
• Soil Conditioning Index (SCI)
• Others

10
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 7 - Make decision
• Farmer makes decision
• Planner schedules implementation

11
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 8 - Implement plan
• Planner provides technical assistance to
  implement plan
• Planner available during implementation

12
Soil Quality and the Nine Steps of Conservation
Planning

• Step 9 - Follow-up
• Monitor progress (farmer can self assess, soil
  test on certain systems, e.g., organic matter,
  and/or modeling assistance from NRCS or crop
  consultant)
• many properties show improvement in 5-10 years
• Planner available for modifications of plan

13
Selecting Indicators of Soil Quality
14
Solutions To Problems

-from Guidelines for Soil Quality Assessment
in Conservation Planning)
15
Soil Quality in NRCS Practice Standards

• Resource concerns in FOTG
• Worded as components or indicators of soil
  quality
• Purpose
• Criteria

16
Residue Management, No Till/Strip TillCode 329A

• Purposes
• Reduce sheet and rill erosion
• Reduce wind erosion
• Reduce emissions of particulates and gases to
  improve air quality (draft)
• Maintain or improve organic matter
• Conserve soil moisture

17
Residue Management, No Till/Strip TillCode 329A

• Purposes
• Manage snow to increase plant available moisture
  or reduce plant damage from freezing or
  desiccation.
• Provide food and escape cover for wildlife

18
Residue Management, No Till/Strip TillCode 329A
Criteria e.g.

• Criteria to maintain or improve SOM
• Use SCI for residue needed
• Limit residue removal
• Calculation should account for other practices in
  management system
• Continuous use of the practice is needed for
  sequestering carbon

19
Importance of Soil Quality to NRCS Programs

• As a part of programs
• Soil survey
• CRP
• EQIP
• WRP
• Buffer Initiative
• CSP

20
Soil Survey

• Currently, soil surveys contain inherent soil
  quality information.
• Addition of dynamic soil quality information to
  soil surveys is currently underdevelopment.
• Record in soil databases (NASIS)

21
Soil Survey

• Advantages of dynamic SQ properties
• Greater flexibility in interpretations.
• Improved derivative property information.
• Greater utility at the field level.
• Greater utility at the regional and national
  level for use in modeling.

22
Interpretation Flexibility
Soil Uses
No-till Cropland (1)
Tilled Cropland (3)
Forest (2)
Pasture (4)
1, 2, 3, or 4
Dynamic Properties (Use-dependent)
Composite record
Inherent Properties (Use-invariant)
Grossman et al. (2000)
23
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

• Purpose
• Convert highly erodible land (HEL) to permanent
  cover (10 year contracts)
• Benefits
• reduces soil erosion
• enhances soil quality
• improves wildlife habitat
• protects surface and ground water quality

24
CRP Enhances Soil Quality

• Soil quality improvements include
• higher organic matter (quality quantity)
• better aggregation
• increased pore space
• soil structure improvements
• enhanced biological activity

25
Documented Effects of CRP

• CRP land gained 1.1 tons of carbon ha-1 yr-1
• Soil quality improvements after 4 -7 years of CRP
• CRP after wheat-fallow
• Positive soil quality effect
• fragile lands into CRP
• Soil C N improvements after 6 years of CRP

• Gebhart et al. (1994)
• Staben et al. (1997)
• Karlen et al. (1998)
• Robels and Burke (1998)

26
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

• EQIP can provide funding for a conservation plan
  with practices such as no-till that improve soil
  quality.

27
Restoration of soil quality in forested areas
using EQIP
28
Wetland ReserveProgram(WRP)

• Restores wetlands on private lands, thus
  restoring soil functions of wetlands
• Regulating water flow
• retards flooding
• Filtering and buffering

29
Biodiversity is improved or maintained in the WRP
30
Conservation Buffer Initiative

• Purpose
• To encourage use of conservation buffers to
• enhance soil quality
• prevent water pollution
• prevent soil erosion
• increase wildlife habitat
• enhance landscape diversity

31
Lack of Bio-diversity, loss of organic matter and
structure, with loss of habitat for soil microbes
Erosion/Lack of Ground Cover
32
Increased bio-diversity, retention of organic
matter, erosion controlled, development of
structure, and surface covered to retain moisture
and moderate soil microbe habitat
33
Conservation Security Program

• Purpose
• To support on-going stewardship on private
  agricultural lands by providing payments for
  maintaining and enhancing natural resources

• Addresses soil quality and water quality as
  minimum requirements for program eligibility

34
Conservation Security Program

• Screening and Assessment
• Soil quality is part of the screening process
• Do you grow high residue crops at least 1 in 3
  years in rotation, use a cover crop annually, or
  have hay/pasture in rotation?
• Soil Tillage Intensity Rating (STIR)

35
Soil Quality-Related Assessment Tools

• Approved Erosion Technology
• Soil Conditioning Index
• Soil Quality Test Kit
• Soil Management Assessment Framework

36
Approved Erosion Prediction Technology

• Any degree of water and wind erosion will limit
  soil quality improvements.

37
The Soil Conditioning Index

• Expresses organic matter trends as a primary
  indicator of soil condition
• Enables the land manager to Move beyond
  T, manage for C
• Now Part of RUSLE2

38
The Soil Quality Test Kit

• Very useful as an educational tool
• Can be used to
• monitor trends
• compare practice alternatives
• assess trouble spots

39
Soil Management Assessment Framework (a.k.a. SQ
Index)

• Tool to assess the relative effects of management
  on soil function
• Based on indicator measurement
• Part of USDA-ARS Soils National Program
• Applications for Test Kit interpretations, SWAPA
  Quality Criteria, performance measures, CEAP, and
  CSP

40
Soil Quality Framework
(Andrews et al., 2002)
41
2. Site-Specific Interpretation
GA Ultisols IA
Mollisols
42
SMAF Outcomesusing 1996 NRI dataCropped
Xerolls in MLRA 9
SQI value
- Andrews et al., 2004
43
Assignment

• Review
• Group presentations
• Discussion