Relating soil chemical properties to other soil properties and dryland crop production

Authors: Sainju, Upendra; LIPTZIN, DANIEL - Soil Health Institute

Submitted to: Frontiers in Environmental Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/28/2022
Publication Date: 12/7/2022
Citation: Sainju, U.M., Liptzin, D. 2022. Relating soil chemical properties to other soil properties and dryland crop production. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 10. Article 1005114. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1005114.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1005114

Interpretive Summary: A common measure of soil fertility used to relate with crop yields is soil chemical properties. An extensive evaluation of these properties is needed to consider them as soil health indicators by relating them with other soil properties and long-term crop yields. Scientists at ARS, Sidney, MT and Soil Health Institute found that soil electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, inorganic phosphorus and potassium concentrations were related to most of the physical, chemical, biological and biochemical properties at two dryland farming sites in eastern MT. The cation exchange capacity, inorganic phosphorus and potassium concentrations were also related to long-term crop yields at both sites. Producers may use cation exchange capacity, inorganic phosphorus and potassium concentrations as chemical indicators of soil health in dryland cropping systems in the semiarid region in the northern Great Plains.

Technical Abstract: Soil chemical properties have often been related to some other soil properties and crop yields, but extensive evaluation of the relationships of soil chemical properties with other properties and long-term crop yields in dryland cropping systems is lacking. We related six soil chemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity [EC], cation exchange capacity [CEC] and inorganic P [IP], K, and Al concentrations) with 62 other soil physical, chemical, biological, and biochemical properties and crop yields at two long-term (14- and 36-yr old) dryland farming sites in the semiarid region of the northern Great Plain, USA. Treatments were rotations of no-tillage and conventional tillage spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and fallow with or without N fertilization. Soil samples collected to a depth of 0-15 cm in April 2019 were analyzed for soil properties and long-term crop yields determined. Soil chemical properties were mostly correlated to each other at the short-term than the long-term site. Based on the principal component analysis, EC, CEC, and IP and K concentrations were associated with most of the physical, chemical, biological and biochemical properties at both sites. The CEC, IP, and K concentrations were related to mean yields across years at individual or combined sites, but other chemical properties were not related to yields. We conclude that CEC, IP, and K concentrations may be used as potential chemical indicators of soil health that were related to most soil properties and crop yields in dryland cropping systems in the semiarid region.