INTRODUCTION TO

SOIL HEALTH
August 29, 2019
Carl Koch
Special Projects Coordinator
USDA-NRCS, Soil Health Division
 Advances in Soil Health
Management Systems for
Sustainable Production:
The role of USDA – NRCS

Carl Koch
Special Projects Coordinator
NRCS - Soil Health Division, Washington, DC
What is Soil Health?

Randy Mayers
Soil Health is:
The continued capacity of a soil to function as a vital
living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and
humans (NRCS).

Physical Chemical
Soil
Health

Biological
 What Functions Would We
Like our Soil to Provide?
_______________________
• Produce food, feed, fiber, • Detoxify pollutants
biofuels & medicine
• Store C and moderate
• Capture, filter, and store release of gases
water
• Resist erosive forces
• Cycle and recycle nutrients

• Resilience to drought, flood

& temp extremes
• Protect plants from pests
and stress
 An Aggregate is like a House
The interesting stuff is happening in the “empty” spaces!

small pore large pore Intermediate

pore

Aggregate (crumb)
 Soil Organisms Physically
Stabilize Soil Aggregates
• Plant roots enmesh soil
particles
• Earthworm casts
• Fungal and bacterial filaments
physically enmesh soil particles

SEM photo source (accessed on 6/2/2016): Eickhorst, Thilo & Tippkoetter, Rolf. Micropedology – The hidden world of
soils. University of Bremen, Germany. http://www.microped.uni-bremen.de
 Soil Organisms Chemically
Stabilize Soil Aggregates
• Polysaccharides released by bacteria
bind particles
• Soil proteins and other biochemicals
bind soil particles

Image source: Aaron Roth,

Bacteria (ovals) with ‘sticky’

polysaccharides (red arrows)
SEM photo source: Eickhorst, Thilo & Tippkoetter, Rolf.
Micropedology – The hidden world of soils. University of
Glycoproteins on soil aggregates Bremen, Germany. http://www.microped.uni-bremen.de
 Healthy Soil Compacted Soil
Organic
Organic Matter
Biota Matter Biota

Water
Water
Mineral Air

Mineral
Air
Before Adding Water
After Adding Water

Water stable
aggregates

25 yrs of 20 yrs of bluegrass,

conventional then 5 yrs conventional
corn corn
Soils Host Vast Numbers, Mass,
and Diversity of Organisms
Soil Organisms Key Ecosystem
3 Functional Groups Functions
Decomposition &
C Cycling Ecosystem
Resiliency
Ecosystem
Engineers Building soil,
creating
aggregates &
pores
Biological
Regulators Population
Regulation

Nutrient Cycling
Biochemical
Engineers Plant
Productivity
Turbe et al., 2010;
Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. 2016. Orgiazzi, Bardgett, Barrios et al.
 Soil Fauna Awaken Soil Microbes
15 week time lapse

Without soil fauna With soil fauna

(only microbes) and microbes

Made by: Wim van Egmond

https://vimeo.com/222168889
Soil Organisms Key Ecosystem
3 Functional Groups Functions
Decomposition &
C Cycling Ecosystem
Resiliency
Ecosystem
Engineers Building soil,
creating
aggregates &
pores
Biological
Regulators Population
Regulation

Nutrient Cycling
Biochemical
Engineers Plant
Productivity
Turbe et al., 2010;
Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. 2016. Orgiazzi, Bardgett, Barrios et al.
 Belowground Competition
Nematode-trapping Fungi Protection from Rhizoctonia solani Mite preying on a nematode

Roots with Roots without

springtails springtails

A single
protozoan can
eat billions of Soybean cyst nematode
Vampyrellids (protist) eating a bacteria each parasitized by the fungus
fungal root pathogen involved in day! Hirsutella minnesotensis
take-all disease
Soil Organisms Key Ecosystem
3 Functional Groups Functions
Decomposition &
C Cycling Ecosystem
Resiliency
Ecosystem
Engineers Building soil,
creating
aggregates &
pores
Biological
Regulators Population
Regulation

Nutrient Cycling
Biochemical
Engineers Plant
Productivity
Turbe et al., 2010;
Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. 2016. Orgiazzi, Bardgett, Barrios et al.
Microbes help Plants Deal with Stress

Image: Mrs. Shelby Berg, Ph.D. candidate, The University of Queensland;

What are the Principles of
Healthy Soil Management?
The 4 Principles that Conserve
the Soil Ecosystem

1. Minimize Disturbance
2. Maximize Soil Cover
FOUR
SOIL HEALTH 3. Maximize Continuous Living
PRINCIPLES Roots
4. Maximize Biodiversity
How Soil Health Principles Support
Soil function – PROTECT

• Maintain stable
Minimize
Disturbance aggregates
• Manage erosion
• Buffer temperature
Maximize • Reduce evaporation
Soil Cover • Maintain soil organic
matter
 How Soil Health Principles Support
Soil Function – FEED

• Stimulate below-ground
Maximize diversity
Living Roots
• Increase SOM
• Improve nutrient cycling
• Enhance plant growth
Maximize • Break pest cycles
Biodiversity • Increase predator &
pollinator populations
Soil Health at NRCS
• Agency is uniquely positioned to assist producers in
adopting soil health management systems
• NRCS Soil Health Activities
– Fundamental Shift beyond simply reducing erosion to
building a healthy agroecosystem. Practices to Systems
– Raised awareness, expanded adoption
– Encountering and addressing knowledge gaps
– Growing customer demand for system adapted soil
health management support
– Predicted demand: catalyzed new division formation
to meet needs in training, tech transfer, policy,
technical and strategic leadership
• Key advancements in the science of soil health are needed:
opportunities to partner with NRCS
 Goal: Soil Health Management Systems become
Common Place on US Working Lands

✓ Soil Health Awareness

✓ Soil Health Training and Technical Assistance
✓ Science of Soil Health
✓ Soil Health Integration in the Agency’s Processes
Awareness
• Media
• Videos and case
studies
• Demonstrations
Training: Conservation
Planning Soil Health
Certification
3 day Soil Health Training for NRCS
Conservation Planning Certification
o Concepts and management principles
o Planning and implementation
o In-field experience
o Overcoming barriers to change

Learn from the Experts:

Learning new ideas and
changing paradigms
In field assessments
and developing an eye
for soil health
NRCS Science of Soil Health
Key Goals

• Standardized soil health measures

• Nationwide data sharing
• Faster, better interpretation development, soil-specific at a
national scale
• Public availability and adoption
• Protocol in development for updating methods with new science with partners
• Actionable, easily understood results for management decisions
• Integration of acquired findings into Conservation Planning and
Implementation
• Mobile apps and databases to leverage partner resources
• Broad collaboration
• Consistent message to farmers from across Ag Service Providers
• Benefits to Society at large
• Through a multi-organizational effort, government agencies
and private partners have agreed on the current best
available methods for measuring soil health indicators.

• Soil Health Tech Note # 450-03 can be found @

• https://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebConten
t.aspx?content=43754.wba
• Or browser search for: “Soil Health Tech Note #450-03”
Soil Health Integration in the
Agency’s Processes
Coming in FY 2020:

• New Soil Health Resource Concerns

• National in Field Assessment Guidance
• Conservation Practice Standards Soil Health Update
• Soil Health Testing Activity (cost share)
• Soil Health Conservation Activity Plan (CAP)
• Technical Note on Soil Health Management Systems
• Soil Health Demo Trials and Development of a Soil Health Database

- ALL of these will help will help in attaining our goal of making Soil Health
Management Systems commonplace on US working lands.
Soil Was Meant to be Covered
Central Indiana in the summer of 2011:
Farm on left uses cover crops and no-till. Farm on the right is in traditional chisel/disk

J. Maloney, 2011
Soil Health Production & Conservation Benefits:
• Water quality – improved water infiltration
• Less runoff, erosion, flooding
• Water quantity - storage and availability
• Air quality, energy savings
• Wildlife, pollinator habitat
• Soil organic matter
• Nutrient cycling & pest suppression
• Resilience, lower risk, lower cost
• Long-term economic viability
• & Sustained reliable productivity – to feed 9 billion
 Thank you!
Contact the Soil Health Division
Science and Technology Webinar Portal

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through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish).
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

For any other information dealing with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) issues, persons should either contact the USDA SNAP Hotline
Number at (800) 221-5689, which is also in Spanish, or call the State Information/Hotline Numbers. Carl Koch, Special Projects Coordinator,
All Other Inquires Soil Health Division
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Washington, D.C.
This information is provided as a public service and constitutes no endorsement by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Natural Resources
Conservation Service of any service, supply, or equipment listed. While an effort has been made to provide a complete and accurate listing of services, carl.koch@wdc.usda.gov
supplies, and equipment, omissions or other errors may occur and, therefore, other available sources of information should be consulted.