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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #376982
Research Project: Sustainable and Resilient Cropping Systems for Midwestern Landscapes

Location: Agroecosystems Management Research

Title: Soil health impacts on water and nutrient use efficiency

Author
item HATFIELD, JERRY - Retired ARS Employee
item O'Brien, Peter
item WACHA, KENNETH - Orise Fellow

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2020
Publication Date: 3/5/2023
Citation: Hatfield, J.L., O'Brien, P.L., Wacha, K.M. 2023. Soil health impacts on water and nutrient use efficiency. In: Bakhru A., editor. Nutrition and Integrative Medicine for Clinicians. Boca Raton, Florida. CRC press. p.279-286.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/b23304-19

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil health is the capacity of the soil resource to fulfill the necessary soil functions. Two of those critical functions are to supply water and nutrients to the plant. The attributes of soil health directly linked to water encompass the ability of the soil to store water and to allow water to enter into the soil. Increases in organic matter increase water storage, while infiltration increases are a result of more resilient soil aggregates that can withstand the disruptive forces of water and protection of the soil surface from the direct impact of water drops onto surface aggregates. These two changes in the soil directly impact plant growth because there is a reduction in water stress that limits productivity. The result is an increase in water use efficiency in agronomic systems with enhanced soil health. Nutrient availability is increased as soil health increases because of the microbial processes in the soil and the continual release of nutrients from plant materials. Nutrient use efficiency increases with soil health because the increased plant productivity that is linked with the increased water supply allows the plant to more effectively utilize the nutrients in the soil profile leading to an increase in nutrient content in the plant. These interactions are complex and have not been thoroughly investigated to the level necessary to provide quantitative relationships for a range of management practices linked to soil health and nutrient and water availability. As we continue to explore these interactions, the results of these studies will help us develop production systems that are more capable of meeting the quantity and quality requirements for an expanding world population.