71st SWCS International Annual Conference July 24-27, 2016 Louisville, KY

1. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Measuring the Effect That Soil
Conservation Treatments Have
on Soil Health Indicators
Alan Sundermeier
Sundermeier.5@osu.edu
419-354-9050

3. • A vibrant healthy soil consists of a matrix of
biology that directly links with the supply of
nutrients, soil structural integrity and plant
disease defense

4. Northwest Branch OARDC
Hoytville, Ohio
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

5. Five Soil Treatments
• Fescue Sod (Festuca spp)
• Tillage (30% residue, Disk Chisel)
• Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
• Winter Pea (Pisum sativium)
• Multispecies Mix: Winter Pea (Pisum sativium),
Sunn Hemp (Crotaleria junceau),
Cow Pea (Vignia unguiculata)
Daikon Radish (Raphanus sativius)
Oats (Avena sativa)
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

6. Correlations Between
• Commercial Soil Nitrate/Ammonium Test
(A & L Laboratory)
• Haney Soil Test (Ward Laboratory)
• Four Replications
• Soil Tests taken May 7-8, 2015
May 19-20, 2015
June 5-6, 2015
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

7. Objectives
• Compare/Correlate Standard Commercial Soil
Nitrate Test to Haney Soil Test
• Compare/Correlate Standard Commercial Soil
Ammonium Test to Haney Soil Test
• Compare/Contrast Economics of Commercial
Soil Nitrogen Tests to Haney Soil Test
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

8. Indicator of soil health – The rates of CO2
release is generally regarded as an indicator
of Soil Health and is favorably improved with
practices such as cover cropping

9. Solvita CO2 Burst Method‐ Haney
Standard Lab Protocol: . Dried, weighed samples
of soil are moistened with a specific amount of
water, triggering a flush or “burst” of carbon dioxide.
The magnitude of the burst is measured with the
Solvita Digital Color Reader. The CO2 Burst is
proportional to microbial biomass and directly tied to
potential carbon and nitrogen mineralization.

10. Solvita CO2 Burst Test
The Solvita CO2 Burst Test is a new tool which easily
and accurately measures soil biological CO2
respiration.
Cost = $25.00

12. Field Test – Testing on the Farm for the
Grower or Crop Consultant: Easily
measure basal CO2 respiration in the field
with the Solvita Field Test. Now in just 24
hours, you can have a barometer of your
soil’s biology – a soil basal respiration
result that gives you the power to make
better decisions on tillage, crop rotation
and fertilization. Results are provided in a
familiar per-acre basis, much like common
nutrient tests. The results give you a
general indicator of soil health and carbon
dioxide emissions per surface area. You
can use them to take advantage of your
soil’s natural fertility, and save on fertilizer
dollars.

13. Solvita Field Digital Color Reader

15. Solvita.com
Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0 to
6.5
4 color
Your average soil temperature 65 ° f
Number of days in your crop's growing
season
120 days
Adjusted CO2
-C based on the entered
soil temp above
19 LBS/Acre
Likely Organic Nitrogen Mineralized
over growing season
58 LBS/Acre
Dollars Saved due to Biological
Nitrogen Per Acre
$27.73

16. Solvita.com
Solvita Field Test Color Number, 0
to 6.5
5 color
Your average soil temperature 65 ° f
Number of days in your crop's
growing season
120 days
Adjusted CO2
-C based on the
entered soil temp above
52 LBS/Acre
Likely Organic Nitrogen
Mineralized over growing season
112 LBS/Acre
Dollars Saved due to Biological
Nitrogen Per Acre
$53.74

17. Pounds per acre of CO2 carbon

18. Haney soil test
The Haney Test is a dual extraction procedure that allows
the producer to assess overall soil health. The
test is used to track changes in soil health based on
management decisions. This test examines total organic
carbon and total organic nitrogen to determine a C:N ratio
used to make general cover crop recommendations.
This test also includes the Solvita CO2 Burst Test to look at
microbial activity and potentially mineralizable
nitrogen. The weak acid (H3A) extraction represents some
available plant nutrients.
Cost = $49.50

19. Haney

20. Microbial Biomass - Haney
Soil biological testing at Ward Laboratories is conducted by
analyzing phospholipid fatty acids, or PLFA. PLFA is a
snapshot of soil community structure and abundance at the
time of sampling. As environmental conditions such as
temperature and moisture change so does the microbial
community. This ability of the soil microbial community to
change provides producers with a tool to compare agricultural
management techniques with respect to overall better
microbial community health.

21. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Winter
Pea
Clover Multi F2
Tillage
F2 Rye F2
Check
T
o
t
a
l
B
i
o
m
a
s
s
(
n
g
/
g
)
Treatment Type
Total Living Microbial Biomass
Poor Rating
Haney

22. Soil Health Calculation -Haney
This number is calculated as 1-day CO2-C divided by the organic C: N ratio
plus WEOC/100 plus WEON/10 to include a weighted contribution of water
extractable organic C and organic N. It represents the overall health of your
soil system. It combines 5 independent measurements of your soil’s biological
properties. The calculation looks at the balance of soil C and N and their
relationship to microbial activity. This soil health calculation number can vary
from 0 to more than 50. We like to see this number above 7 and increase over
time. This number indicates your current soil health and what it needs to reach
its highest sustainable state. Keeping track of this Soil Health number will
allow you to gauge the effects of your management practices over the years.

23. Haney

24. Benefits of Haney Soil Test
More parameters to evaluate including:
• Bacteria, Fungus, Actinomycetes Total Biomass
• Microbial Diversity: Protozoa & Nematodes
• Active Carbon, Min Carbon,
• Soil Health Recommendations Plus
• Standard Soil Test: pH, Phosphorus, Potassium,
Calcium, Magnesium
• Economic Data & Probabilities on fertilizer
additions.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

27. Comparison of Soil Test Cost
Commercial Soil Nitrate Test: $11.00/sample
Commercial Soil Ammonium Test : $12.75/sample
Total Cost: $23.75/sample
Haney Soil Test: $50.00/sample
Haney test is 2x more expensive but the tester
gains 60 additional parameters plus in-depth
recommendations.
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

28. Acknowledgement
The author expresses appreciation to the staff at the Ohio Ag Research & Development
Center, Northwest Agricultural Research Station for assistance with this research, Matt
Davis manager.

29. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Measuring the Effect That Soil
Conservation Treatments Have
on Soil Health Indicators
Alan Sundermeier
Sundermeier.5@osu.edu
419-354-9050

30. Treatment Cover Crop Type of
seeding
Date of
seeding
Yield
bu/ac
1 None 147.2 BC
2 None, strip till 148.2 BC
3 Soybean drill 8-13-14 120.6 A
4 Oilseed Radish,
Winter Pea
Planted, 15
inch rows
8-13-14 161.8 C
5 3 way, Annual
Ryegrass, crimson
clover, oilseed radish
drill
8-13-14
137.6 AB
6 Red Clover Overseed 4-24-14 163.4 C
7 Crimson Clover Drill 8-13-14 134.6 AB
8 Multi-species 8 way
mix
drill 8-13-14 151.3 BC
9 Winter Pea Drill 8-13-14 145.8 BC