Abstract
In the past decade soil health has been intensively studied as a science and practiced as a means to help improve the global social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This paper reviews the recent advances of the scientific soil health system. The current understanding and interpretation of soil health from the perspectives of soil functions, processes, and properties is summarized. Multi-tier soil health indicators were selected from relevant soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters. A suite of soil health assessment methods have been developed, such as soil health card, Solvita soil health tests, Haney soil health test, and comprehensive assessment of soil health. An array of soil health management practices have been recommended, including proper land use, crop rotation, cover crops, conservation tillage, soil organic amendment, crop-range-livestock integration, and rotational grazing. Overall, the recommended soil health indicators and assessment methods need further validation and improvement in relevance, scientific validity, practicality, and local adaptation. Continuous research, education, and outreach efforts are warranted to promote localized development, adoption, and implementation of soil health assessment and management.
Highlights
Soil Syst. 2021, 5, 61. https://doi.org/Natural soil is an ecosystem consisting of minerals, organic matter (OM), living organisms, water, and air and maintaining an unceasing flow of matter and energy within and with the surrounding environment via various physical, chemical, and biological processes [1]
This paper is to review the development in science and practices of soil health assessment and management, with the aim to better understand the soil health system for sustainable agriculture
Soil OM content is typically measured by the loss-on-ignition method; water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) by 24 h, room temperature, 1:5 solid/water ratio extraction and subsequent C analysis; aggregate stability by the wet sieving methods; basal respiration by 24 h lab incubation of a fresh, undisturbed field soil sample; Sovita CO2 burst by 24 h lab incubation of a rewetted dry soil sample; and soil labile amino-N (SLAN) by 24 h lab incubation and subsequent NH4 -N analysis [13,63,64]
Summary
Natural soil is an ecosystem consisting of minerals, organic matter (OM), living organisms, water, and air and maintaining an unceasing flow of matter and energy within and with the surrounding environment via various physical, chemical, and biological processes [1]. The capability of a soil to provide these environmental functions (e.g., ecosystem services), is determined by the efficiency of the soil to perform the intrinsic physical, chemical, and biological processes under particular geographic and climate conditions and is indicated by the emerging term “soil health.”. A lengthier version of the definition is “the capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land-use boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and promote plant and animal health” [3]. This paper is to review the development in science and practices of soil health assessment and management, with the aim to better understand the soil health system for sustainable agriculture
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