Fwd: [Healthy Soils] Soil Health Institute Announces Recommended Measurements for Evaluating Soil Health

[Seth Itzkan]

Fyi

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Seth Itzkan <seth....@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Healthy Soils] Soil Health Institute Announces Recommended Measurements for Evaluating Soil Health
To: Betsy Taylor <be...@breakthroughstrategiesandsolutions.com>
CC: Sequestering Carbon in Soil: Addressing The Climate Threat <sequestering-carbon-in-soil-...@googlegroups.com>, State Action for SCS <state-acti...@googlegroups.com>

Thank you Betsy,

That’s a good list of soil health indicators. I wonder if we can follow up with some discussion about them. My thesis will be that there’s really only one necessary indicator: fungal to bacterial ratios. 

First, to give away the SHI winners, here are the top three indicators they chose:

1) soil organic carbon concentration, 

2) carbon mineralization potential, and 

3) aggregate stability.

The first is rather obvious and I’m glad to see it. The latter two, however, create opportunities for further elaboration, particularly as we discuss fungal to bacterial ratios.

Starting with number 2, “carbon mineralization potential,” here is what they say,

“Carbon mineralization potential reflects the size and structure of microbial communities in soil, thereby influencing nutrient availability, soil aggregation, and resilience to changing climatic conditions.”

Note, firstly, that the indicator isn’t “carbon mineralization.”  It’s “carbon mineralization potential.” The key designator being the word “potential.”

Well, where does this potential come from? As they explain, “size and structure of microbial communities in soil.” The key phrase in this word mix is “microbial communities.” In other words, “life.” Well, what soil life helps in carbon mineralization. Can we say “fungus?” And one of the way it does this is by helping to evenly distribute water. See 

Redistribution of soil water by a saprotrophic fungus enhances carbon mineralization

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1514435112

In the webinar we just did with Dr. David Johnson, he talks extensively about the need for high fungal to bacterial ratios (F:B) in healthy soils and how in both experiments with AMP grazing and the Johnson-Su bioreactor demonstrated F:B increases. 

https://youtu.be/X6RDVIObgtU

So, getting back to the Soil Health Institute’s list of top indicators, one wonders if indicator 2, “carbon mineralization potential,” couldn’t just be reworded as “high fungal to bacterial ratios?” This puts the emphasis really where it should be, on the life in the soil, not just on the chemistry that the life helps mediate. 

Again, this is reflective of the soil science community still being dominated by the field of chemistry, as opposed to biology. 

Now, for indicator 3, aggregate stability. As they explain, “Aggregate stability describes how strongly soil particles group together. This influences whether a heavy rainfall will infiltrate into a soil or run off a landscape, taking with it valuable nutrients that become detrimental to water quality. Soil aggregates also influence erosion, aeration, root growth and, therefore, nutrient uptake by plants.”

Well, any guess as to what helps soil particles “group together?” Could the phrase “aggregate stability” simply be replaced with the word “sticky?” What makes soil sticky?

Do we even need to answer?

Obviously, it’s the results of life, and, particularly, in this case, root exudates and mycorrhizal hyphae. Well, the hyphae, obviously, are associated with the fungal ratios discussed earlier and the root exudates are a product of plant health which is influenced by the soil health that the fungi meditate through carbon, water, and nutrient availability. Ultimately, and, also, of course, even the organic carbon is a result of the fungal networks because that’s what helps the plants to pump the carbon rich exudates into the soil in the first place. 

Of course, again, this mosaic of living processes is obscured in the language of physics and chemistry. 

I would say there’s one indicator, fungal to bacterial radios. That will be an adequate predictor of everything else: soil organic carbon, mineralization potential, and aggregate stability. 

I might say a parallel indicator is simply infiltration rate. That will also be a predictor of all the rest. 

Thanks for allowing this rather impromptu dissertation. 

I think the takeaway is that we have to keep pushing words and phrases from biology into this discussion of soil health, or it will always be in the domain of physics and chemistry and thus, also, subject to the whims of those industries. 

Thank you,

- s

On Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 8:49 AM Betsy Taylor <be...@breakthroughstrategiesandsolutions.com> wrote:

Hi there,

This list has debated and discussed key measurements and approaches to evaluating soil health. I thought you might be interested in this message from the Soil Health Institute.

All the best,

Betsy Taylor

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Soil Health Institute <in...@soilhealthinstitute.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 12, 2022 at 1:00 PM
Subject: Soil Health Institute Announces Recommended Measurements for Evaluating Soil Health
To: <be...@breakthroughstrategiesandsolutions.com>

View this email in your browser Enriching Soil, Enhancing Life FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Soil Health Institute Announces Recommended Measurements for Evaluating Soil Health Morrisville, North Carolina – Aug. 12, 2022. The Soil Health Institute (SHI) today announced its recommended measurements for assessing soil health. These recommendations answer the No. 1 question about soil health that farmers, ranchers, and their advisers have been asking since the soil health movement began.   With support from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, and General Mills, the Soil Health Institute led a 3-year, $6.5-million project to identify effective measurements for soil health across North America. SHI partnered with over 100 scientists at 124 long-term agricultural research sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico where conventional management systems were compared with soil health-improving systems. “This allowed us to evaluate over 30 soil health measurements at each site where they had the appropriate experimental design to allow us to come to the appropriate statistical conclusion about the effectiveness of each measurement,” said Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, President and CEO of the Soil Health Institute. “Evaluating each measurement across such a wide range of climates, soils, cropping systems, and management practices also provided the scientific rigor we needed to identify which measurements could be widely used.” The concept of soil health is basically about how well a soil is functioning. Such functions include cycling water, carbon, and nutrients. Whether a heavy rain infiltrates into the soil or runs off the soil reflects how well that soil is functioning. Soil health can be improved through management, but farmers need practical, effective measurements for assessing the current status of their soil and evaluating progress at improving its health. The Soil Health Institute found that many measurements are effective for assessing soil health from a research perspective. “While this is good news for the science, we also wanted to identify a minimum suite of measurements that is practical and affordable for all land managers,” said Dr. Cristine Morgan, Chief Scientific Officer of SHI, “so we also evaluated these measurements through the lens of cost, practicality, availability, redundancy, and other filters.” Based on these results, SHI recommends a minimal suite of three measurements to be widely applied across North America (and likely beyond). Those measurements include: 1) soil organic carbon concentration, 2) carbon mineralization potential, and 3) aggregate stability. Soil organic carbon is a key component of a soil’s organic matter that influences available water holding capacity, nutrients, biodiversity, structure, and other important soil properties. Carbon mineralization potential reflects the size and structure of microbial communities in soil, thereby influencing nutrient availability, soil aggregation, and resilience to changing climatic conditions. Aggregate stability describes how strongly soil particles group together. This influences whether a heavy rainfall will infiltrate into a soil or run off a landscape, taking with it valuable nutrients that become detrimental to water quality. Soil aggregates also influence erosion, aeration, root growth and, therefore, nutrient uptake by plants. While these three metrics provide a minimum suite of widely applicable measurements for assessing soil health, additional measurements may be included depending on the landowner’s or researcher’s objectives. “We have found that adding soil texture to this list of measurements allows us to calculate a soil’s available water holding capacity,” said Dr. Dianna Bagnall, Research Soil Scientist with SHI. “We can then show a farmer how much more water they can store by increasing their organic carbon and improving soil health.” Because management does not change soil texture (sand, silt, and clay), it only needs to be measured once. “Providing a scientifically rigorous, yet practical approach for assessing soil health should increase adoption of regenerative soil health systems because farmers and their advisers can now measure the impact of their management choices with confidence,” said Dr. LaKisha Odom, FFAR’s Scientific Program Director for Soil Health. “This will in effect bring more on-farm and environmental benefits to scale for agriculture and society.” To facilitate use of these measurements, details on SHI’s recommended protocols for sampling and analyzing soils are described on its website. Specific details on the underlying research and data analyses are described in several peer-reviewed publications and interpretive summaries. Additional manuscripts are currently in peer-review.   About the Soil Health Institute The Soil Health Institute is a global non-profit with a mission of safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils through scientific research and advancement. Our vision is a world where farmers and ranchers grow quality food, fiber, and fuel using soil health systems that sustain farms and rural communities, promote a stable climate and clean environment, and improve human health and well-being. Accordingly, the Institute brings together leaders in soil health science and the industry to conduct research and empower farmers and other landowners with the knowledge to successfully adopt regenerative soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. The Institute’s scientific team holds doctorates in various soil science and related disciplines, with specialties in carbon cycling, nutrient cycling, water cycling, nutrient management, soil microbiome, farmer/adviser education, ecosystem services, soil-plant relationships, on-farm economics, and others. The team follows a comprehensive strategy for advancing adoption of regenerative soil health systems. Healthy soils are the foundation for restoring our land. Together, we can create a secure future for all, mitigate the effects of climate change, and help farmers and organizations meet production and environmental goals at scale. Visit www.soilhealthinstitute.org to learn more, and follow us on YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.   PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR NETWORKS Copyright © 2022 Soil Health Institute, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a friend of the Soil Health Institute. Our mailing address is: Soil Health Institute 2803 Slater Rd. Suite 115 Morrisville, North Carolina 27560 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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Seth J. Itzkan

Cofounder, Soil4Climate Inc.

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Seth J. Itzkan

Cofounder, Soil4Climate Inc.

Join the global movement of scientists, practitioners, and engaged citizens working to make soil a climate solution
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[Gillian Julius]

Hi Seth, I would argue that F:B ratio can kind of be gamed by recent amendments, but the structural measures can not.

Saw this just now too which has me wondering if there’s something here to consider…bioacoustics as a measure for biodiversity…could it apply for soil I wonder? Listening in on fungi conversations…

https://twitter.com/sebjwallace/status/1557826265796820993?s=21

Hope you are well.

Gillian 

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[Seth Itzkan]

"Listening in on fungi conversations" works for me.

Wonderful concept. Thank you.

- s

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[Gillian Julius]

💚

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/soil-age/CAPcP%2BaL9Ep%3DtfWQd5kPX4%3D--xPfQtQTkuSb1H2ZmjwWFoTZUFA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Gillian Julius]

Something like this perhaps…?

https://youtu.be/efSXd56gMCg

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/soil-age/CAPcP%2BaL9Ep%3DtfWQd5kPX4%3D--xPfQtQTkuSb1H2ZmjwWFoTZUFA%40mail.gmail.com.