Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research
Title: Advancements in soil health assessmentAuthor
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Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2020 Publication Date: 12/10/2020 Citation: Veum, K.S. 2020. Advancements in soil health assessment [abstract]. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 1-17, 2020, virtual. Available: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/708360?clearcache=1 Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Recognition of the role of soil health in ecosystem function, particularly in agricultural production systems, has led to renewed interest in linking soil properties to ecosystem services. In general, ecosystem services are inherently difficult to measure directly due to high cost and high spatial and temporal variability. Resolving this challenge requires 1) improved techniques for real-time measurement of soil processes or outcomes related to ecosystem services, or 2) measurement of surrogate indicators that can serve as proxy measurements. Furthermore, in applied soil health assessment, there is still a need for a strong, quantitative interpretation framework. Ongoing work by a team of USDA and University of Missouri scientists includes development of the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE) that simultaneously accounts for inherent site-specific factors at the continental scale and is sensitive to anthropogenic activities. |
