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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Rangeland Resources & Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319049
Title: Usable science: soil health

Author
item Derner, Justin
item STANLEY, CHARLES - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item ELLIS, CHAD - Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2019
Publication Date: 4/30/2016
Citation: Derner, J.D., Stanley, C., Ellis, C. 2016. Usable science: soil health. Rangelands. 38:64-67.

Interpretive Summary: Soils area often under-appreciated and taken for granted by land managers. However, benchmark events such as the Dust Bowl or erosion from water following high intensity rain events bring attention to soils for the general public. Here, information is presented on how soil health is important for sustainability of rangelands. Land management practices (e.g., grazing), climatic changes and extreme events (e.g., downpours and droughts) are important considerations or maintaining/improving soil health on rangelands. Understanding the potential effects of conservation practices and adaptive management on soil health (the chemical, physical and biological components) should benefit land managers with usable science that can be used in science-informed decision-making to increase resilience of working lands to weather variability and changing climate.

Technical Abstract: Healthy soils are fundamental to sustainable rangelands, but soils toil in obscurity and this is reflected in the belowground “black-box” mentality often attributed to soils. Transformational changes get attention for land managers and public. For example, soil erosion associated with Dust Bowl of 1930s. This provides benchmarks for context of importance in maintaining healthy soils for productive capacity of rangelands. Co-benefits of soil health include enhanced soil water holding capacity and increased nutrient cycling, which increases resilience of rangelands to weather variability and predicted climate change. Future directions of usable science for soil health include: 1) characterization of soil health indicators for sensitivity levels that affect transitions/thresholds of state-and-transition models, 2) influences of management practices, predicted climate change and extreme events, and 3) is soil health affected by prescribed fire and wildfires?