Table 1: Qualitative Soil Health Indicators
|
INDICATOR
|
BEST
CONDITIONS FOR ASSESSING
|
Quality
Rating
|
||
|
POOR
|
MEDIUM
|
GOOD
|
||
| Earthworms | Spring/Fall. Good soil moisture. |
0-1
worms in shovelful of top foot of soil. No casts or holes. |
2-10
in shoveful. Few casts, holes, or worms. |
10+
in top foot of soil. Lots of casts and holes in clods. Birds behind tillage. |
| Organic Matter Color | Moist soil. | Topsoil color similar to subsoil color. | Surface color closer to subsoil color. | Topsoil clearly defined, darker than subsoil. |
| Organic Matter Residues | Anytime. | No visible residues. | Some residues. | Residues on most of soil surface. |
| Root Health | Late
spring (rapid growth stage). |
Few,
thick roots. No subsoil penetration. |
Off color (staining) inside root. | Roots
fully branched and extended, reaching into subsoil. Root exterior and interior is white. |
| Subsurface Compaction | Pre-tillage
or post harvest. Good soil moisture. |
Wire breaks or bends when inserting flag. | Have to push hard, need fist to push flag in. | Flag goes in easily with fingers to twice the depth of plow layer. |
| Soil Tilth, Mellowness, Friability | Good soil moisture. | Looks dead. Like brick or concrete, cloddy. | Somewhat cloddy, balls up, rough pulling seedbed | Soil crumbles well, can slice through, like cutting butter. Spongy when you walk on it. |
| Erosion | After heavy rainfall. | Large gullies over 2 inches deep joined to others, thin or no topsoil, rapid runoff the color of soil. | Few rills or guillies, guillies up to 2 inches deep. Some swift runoff, colored water. | No gullies or rills, clear or no runoff. |
| Water Holding Capacity | After
rainfall. During growing season. |
Plant stress two days after a good rain. | Water runs out after a week or so. | Holds water for a long period of time without signs of drought stress. |
| Drainage Infiltration | After rainfall. | Water lays for a long time, evaporates more than drains, always very wet ground. | Water lays for a short period, eventually drains. | No ponding, no runoff, water moves through soil steadily. Soil not too wet, not too dry. |
| Crop Condition (How well it grows) | Growing
season. Good soil moisture. |
Problem growing throughout the season, oor growth, yellow or purple color. | Fair growth, spots in field different, medium green color. | Normal healthy dark green color, excellent growth all season, across field. |
| pH | Anytime, but at same time of year each time. | Hard to correct for desired crop. | Easily correctable. | Proper pH for crop. |
| Nutient Holding Capacity | Over a five-year period always at same time of year. | Soil tests dropping into "low" category. | Little change or slow down trend. | Soil tests trending up in relation to fertilizer applied and crop harvested but not into "very high" category. |
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