WELCOME & THANKS
• Oregon Department of Agriculture
Fertilizer Research Grant
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Benton Soil & Water Conservation Dist.
• Soil & Water Conservation Society
Oregon Branch
Soil Quality Assessments
Teresa Matteson
Define Soil Quality
The capacity of a soil to:
• Sustain plant and animal productivity.
• Maintain or enhance water and air quality.
• Support human health and habitation.
Why Soil Quality?
Take Home Messages
1. Land management impacts Soil Quality
- for better or for worse.
2. Field & Lab assessments encourage
informed management decisions that:
• Lower production costs
• Reduce environmental impacts
• Build soil capital
Management and Soil Quality
Organic Matter
Soil Organisms
Soil Quality
Vegetation
Soil Structure
Water
Infiltration
Soil Quality Assessment
• Field Observations
• Laboratory Tests
WV Soil Quality Card
Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card
(EM 8711)
Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card
Guide (EM 8710)
Online at OSU Extension publications
Do this at HOME!!!
NRCS SQ Test Kit
http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/assessment/test_kit.html
Do this at HOME!!!
A simple set of tools to measure infiltration.
Infiltration = Pore Space = Compaction
Water Infiltration
1. Reduces erosion
2. Minimizes water pollution
3. Increases irrigation efficiency
4. Prevents flooding
5. Is cost effective
• Field Observations
• Laboratory Tests
Get to know your soil better!
Sample Collection
10 shovels of soil = composite sample
10 compaction readings
Lab Assessments
Answer is in the BAG!
Soil Quality Assessment Report
Name of Farmer
SQP
Report
Farm name
23
Farm Location
Field ID per farmer
GPS Coordinates
Field Agent
Last Crops Grown
Field Soil Texture
weeds and bare soil
sandy loam
Management fallow
Indicators
Physical
Biological
Range for
SQP soils
Value
Units
73
% sand
16
% silt
11
% clay
Aggregate Stability
10
%
5-89
Surface Hardness
545
psi
9-575
Subsurface Hardness
628
psi
55-628
Organic Matter
1.1
%
1.0-11.5
Active Carbon
145
Potentially Mineralizable
Nitrogen
0.0
Soil Textural Class
sandy loam
Constraints
n/a
aeration, infiltration, rooting, crusting
root growth, water transmission
rooting at depth
energy, C storage, water and nutrient
holding
mg/kg soil
organic material to support biological
98-901
functions
(ppm)
ppm N
per day at 0.04 - 0.66 ability to supply N
22 oC
Recom m ended ranges w est of the
Cascades - check crop fertilizer guide.
Chemical
Weeds
Bare soil
Hx: Intensive till
No OM inputs
Sampling Date
OR
$100/sample
•
•
•
•
Sample ID#
low < 20; medium 20-40;
high 40-100; excessive >100
Extractable Phosphorus
17
ppm
4-242
Extractable Potassium
129
ppm
102-1070
Extractable Calcium
1400
ppm
1400-4739
Extractable Magnesium
391
ppm
123-874
low <60; medium 60-180; high >180
pH
6.7
4.8-7.4
Most crops grow best in
soil pH between 6.0-7.5
low <150; medium 150-250;
high 250-800; excessive >800
low <1000; medium 1000-2000;
high >2000
Soil Quality Assessment Report
Name of Farmer
Farm name
Sample ID#
GOOD SQ DEMO
SQP
Report
1
Farm Location
OR
Field ID per farmer
Management
Physical
Field Agent
Field Soil Texture
mixed vegetable crops
loam
subsoil 1 x per year; disk; rotovate; veg residues left standing; garlic undercutter; deep tillage
passes 1-2/year
Soil Textural Class
Biological
GPS Coordinates
Last Crops Grown
Indicators
loam
Value
Units
36
% sand
39
% silt
Range for
SQP soils
n/a
25
% clay
Aggregate Stability
27
%
5-89
Surface Hardness
38
psi
9-575
Subsurface Hardness
178
psi
55-628
Organic Matter
6.6
%
1.0-11.5
Active Carbon
1151
Potentially Mineralizable
Nitrogen
1.6
Constraints
mg/kg soil
98-901
(ppm)
ppm N
per day at 0.04 - 0.66
22 oC
Recom m ended ranges w est of the
Cascades - check crop fertilizer guide.
Chemical
• Row crop rotation
• 20 yr OM
• Cultivation
Sampling Date
low < 20; medium 20-40;
high 40-100; excessive >100
Extractable Phosphorus
201
ppm
4-242
Extractable Potassium
1260
ppm
102-1070
Extractable Calcium
3700
ppm
1400-4739
Extractable Magnesium
542
ppm
123-874
low <60; medium 60-180; high >180
pH
7.1
4.8-7.4
Most crops grow best in
soil pH between 6.0-7.5
low <150; medium 150-250;
high 250-800; excessive >800
low <1000; medium 1000-2000;
high >2000
SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
Compaction
Dickey-john
compaction tester
Maximum
pressure in two
depth ranges:
0-6 inches
6-18 inches
Field Assessment
Compaction
Pores spaces are where plant roots get air, water, and nutrients.
Decrease
invaluable
pore pore
spaces
where
Soil compaction
decreases
space are
between
soil particles.
plants get air, water, and nutrients.
soil
particles
Uncompacted soil
pore
space
Compacted
soil
Adapted from Sulzman and Frey, 2003
Adapted from Sulzman and Frey, 2003
Field Observations
Less
Compaction
Greater
Try this at
home!
Test your
compaction!
Use what you have:
• Fingers
• Shovel
• Pin flag
• Rod
Why Compaction?
• EROSION!

500 yrs = 1 in. top soil
• INFILTRATION!
• CO$T!!!!


Production
Environment
Three steps of water erosion
Most erosion is initiated by the impact of
raindrops, NOT by the flow of running water
USA 1930’s Dust Bowl
Wikipedia… “The phenomenon was caused
by severe drought coupled with decades of
extensive farming without crop rotation,
fallow fields, cover crops or other techniques
to prevent wind erosion.[1] Deep plowing of
the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains had
displaced the natural deep-rooted grasses that
normally kept the soil in place and trapped
moisture even during periods of drought and
high winds.”
Ways to Improve Soil
•
•
•
•
Reduce disturbance
Work soil when dry
Avoid compaction
Add organic materials

Mulch soil surface

Cover crops
Betsiboka River, Madagascar
Via Space Shuttle
The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
~Marcel Proust
Thanks for attending this
Soil Health Workshop!
Teresa Matteson
Benton SWCD
541-753-7208
tmattson@bentonswcd.org