Linking Soil Health and Ecological Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Agricultural Intensification under Climate Change

Authors: DAVIS, ALEXANDRA - Washington State University; Huggins, David; REGANOLD, JOHN - Washington State University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2022
Publication Date: 1/5/2023
Citation: Davis, A., Huggins, D.R., Reganold, J. 2023. Linking Soil Health and Ecological Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Agricultural Intensification under Climate Change. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 21(3):131-139. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2594.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2594

Interpretive Summary: Healthy soil is critical for global food security but is threatened by processes of soil degradation, with at least 33% of global croplands estimated to be moderately or highly degraded. Current soil health assessments provide insight into soil capabilities but often lack diagnostic criteria that assess management effects on soil capabilities over time. We propose integrating soil health assessments with ecological resilience theory to provide a conceptual framework for understanding management impacts on soil capabilities and sustainable agricultural intensification. We explore this conceptual framework using the Palouse River Watershed of the Pacific Northwest as a working example, with its soil degradation problems of erosion, organic matter loss, and acidification being relevant worldwide. We demonstrate how increasing management options, or adaptive capacity, can help reverse soil degradation and minimize effects of climate change. These results will be useful for farmers, NRCS and scientists interested in assessing soil health.

Technical Abstract: Healthy soil is critical for global food security and other essential ecosystem services but is threatened by processes of soil degradation, with at least 33% of global croplands estimated to be moderately or highly degraded. Current soil health assessments provide insight into soil functional performance but often lack diagnostic criteria that assess management effects on soil function over time. We propose integrating soil health assessments with ecological resilience theory, which includes concepts of latitude, resistance, precariousness, and panarchy, to provide a conceptual framework for understanding management impacts on soil function and sustainable agricultural intensification. Here we explore this conceptual framework using the Palouse River Watershed of the Pacific Northwest as a working example, with its soil degradation problems of erosion, organic matter loss, and acidification being relevant worldwide. We demonstrate how increasing management options, or adaptive capacity, can help reverse soil degradation and minimize effects of climate change.