Approaches to Soil Health Analysis, Volume 1. Группа авторов

Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Approaches to Soil Health Analysis, Volume 1 - Группа авторов страница 7

Approaches to Soil Health Analysis, Volume 1 - Группа авторов

Скачать книгу

Quality for a Sustainable Environment and Methods for Assessing Soil Quality that were published by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) in the 1990s. In reality, the project was completed in 2020 as the United States and world were reeling from the Covid‐19 coronavirus pandemic, wide‐spread protest against discriminatory racial violence, and partisan differences between people concerned about economic recovery versus protecting public health.

      Many factors have contributed to the global evolution of soil health as a focal point for protecting, improving, and sustaining the fragile soil resources that are so important for all of humanity. Building for decades on soil conservation principles and the guidance given by Hugh Hammond Bennett and many other leaders associated with those efforts, soil health gradually is becoming recognized by many different segments of global society. Aligned closely with soil security, improving soil health as a whole will greatly help the United Nations (UN) achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consistent with soil health goals, the SDGs emphasize the significance of soil resources for food production, water availability, climate mitigation, and biodiversity (Bouma, 2019).

      Advancing around 1500 yr, science was again introduced into agriculture through Joannes Baptista Van Helmont’s (1577–1644 CE) experiment with a willow tree. Although the initial data were misinterpreted, Justice von Liebig (1803–1873 CE) eventually clarified that carbon (C) in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) came from the atmosphere, hydrogen and oxygen from air and water, and other essential minerals to support plant growth and development from the soil. Knowledge of soil development, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, biology, and biochemistry as well as the impact of soil management (tillage, fertilization, amendments, etc.) and cropping practices (rotations, genetics, varietal development, etc.) evolved steadily throughout the past 150 yr. SO, what does this history have to do with these 21st Century Soil Health books?

      Second, just like the Blue and Green books published just twenty years after the soil health concept was introduced, these volumes, written after two more decades of research, continue to reflect a “work in progress.” Change within the soil science profession has never been simple as indicated by Hartemink and Anderson (2020) in their summary reflecting 100 yr of soil science in the United States. They stated that in 1908, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) established a committee on soil classification and mapping, but it took 6 yr before the first report was issued, and on doing so, the committee disbanded because there was no consensus among members. From that perspective, progress toward understanding and using soil health principles to protect and preserve our fragile soil resources is indeed progressing. With utmost gratitude and respect we thank the authors, reviewers, and especially, the often‐forgotten technical support personnel who are striving to continue the advancement of soil science. By developing practices to implement sometimes theoretical ideas or what may appear to be impossible actions, we thank and fully acknowledge all ongoing efforts. As the next generation of soil scientists, it will be through your rigorous, science‐based work that even greater advances in soil health will be accomplished.

      Third, my co‐authors and I recognize and acknowledge soil health assessment is not an exact science, but there are a few principles that are non‐negotiable. First, to qualify as a meaningful, comprehensive assessment, soil biological, chemical, and physical properties and processes must all be included. Failure to do so, does not invalidate the assessment, but rather limits it to an assessment of “soil biological health”, “soil physical health”, “soil chemical health”, or some combination thereof. Furthermore, although some redundancy may occur, at least two different indicator measurements should be used for each indicator group (i.e., biological, chemical, or physical). To aid indicator selection, many statistical tools are being developed and evaluated to help identify the best combination of potential measurements for assessing each critical soil function associated with the land use for which an evaluation is being made.

      Some, perhaps many,

Скачать книгу