Table Of ContentSoil Health and Intensification
of Agroecosystems
Soil Health and Intensification
of Agroecosystems
Edited by
Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi
Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States
Birl Lowery
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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List of Contributors
Abdullah Alhameid South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States
Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States
Francisco J. Arriaga University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
Kipling S. Balkcom USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL, United States
Marisol Berti North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States
Caroline Colnenne-David INRA Research Center at Versailles, Versailles, France
Christian Dold National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, United States
Mathew E. Dornbush University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, United States
Yucheng Feng Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
Clark J. Gantzer University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
Mohammad H. Golabi University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
Greta Gramig North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States
Jose Guzman The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
Jerry L. Hatfield National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, United States
John Hendrickson USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Mandan, ND, United States
Randall D. Jackson University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
Claudia Pozzi Jantalia Embrapa Agrobiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Virginia L. Jin USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NE, United States
Jane M.-F. Johnson USDA-ARS, Morris, MN, United States
Shibu Jose University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
Robert J. Kremer University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
Sandeep Kumar South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States
Rattan Lal The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
Yvonne Lawley University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Mark Liebig United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Northern
Great Plains Research Laboratory, Mandan, ND, United States
Birl Lowery University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
Amadou Maiga South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States; University of
Sciences, Technics and Technologies of Bamako, Mali
Kenneth R. Olson University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
Shannon Osborne USDA-ARS, Brookings, SD, United States
Matt Sanderson USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Mandan, ND, United States
Thomas Schumacher South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States
Bobby A. Stewart West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX, United States
xiii
xiv List of Contributors
Catherine E. Stewart USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO, United States
Colin Tobin South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States
Ranjith P. Udawatta University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
Adam C. von Haden University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
Sharon L. Weyers USDA - ARS, North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab, Morris, MN,
United States
Abbey Wick North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States
Zhengqin Xiong Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Preface
There is considerable awareness these days about how people worldwide are concerned about
their personal health. It is equally important that the world population should have even
greater concern about soil health as the soil is the medium where most of our food, and fiber,
is derived/produced. Human health is directly related to the food we eat and water we drink.
Not only is soil health related to food safety, but it is also directly related to food production
and security, and water quality in some settings. Good or healthy soil results in much greater
and sustainable food production than degraded soil. Thus, soil health is key to future human
health and a sufficient food supply.
The terms soil health and soil quality are closely linked and often used interchangeably as a
reference or benchmark for the functionality of soil systems. Attempts to define soil health
or quality by scientists all focus on the same fundamental building units of what defines a
well-functioning soil ecosystem (good biological, physical, and chemical properties). There
have been numerous definitions proposed for soil health by various scientists, but Doran et al.
(1996, 1999) have been credited with providing the most widely cited one. Accordingly, one
of the most recent definitions associate with Doran is: “Soil quality or health can be broadly
defined as the capacity of a living soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem
boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air
quality, and promote plant and animal health” (Doran et al., 1999). The definition by Doran
et al. (1999) characterizes the soil as (1) a medium that supports and promotes the growth
and development of plants, animals, and humans, while regulating water processes in the
ecosystem, (2) an environmental buffer that regulates and degrades hazardous compounds in
the ecosystem, and (3) a medium that provides food and fiber services for sustaining animal
and human lives. While it would be good if soils were all highly productive, and stagnant
with respect to this abundant production, and as such in good health, this is not the case. Soils
are very dynamic, ever-changing both chemically, physically, and biologically. Thus, soil
health is in a state of constant flux since these characteristics impact soil health. Soil health
is of concern for both managed and nonmanaged ecosystems. However, of most concern is
the managed agroecosystem. When soils are managed in a manner such that soil erosion and
other degrading causes and practices are reduced, or if possible eliminated, good soil health
xv
xvi Preface
is maintained. In addition to human influence on soil health, the weather, including climate
change, plays an important role in affecting soil functions.
Climate change is a threat to Earth as we know it, and to human existence. The reason
being that it is one of the greatest threats of the modern era to soil, the most fundamental
of all natural resources on Earth. Soil is the beginning and end all for agricultural
production and food security. The threat of climate change to soil includes soil health and
sustainability, because as the climate warms biological activity will increase and this will
result in a reduction in soil organic carbon, which is key to good soil health. The threat of
climate change to soil heath can be accelerated by the degree of agriculture intensification.
Intensified agriculture evokes more of a process, rather than an explicit method of production.
Over millennia, a variety of technological advances in agricultural practices have led to
intensification of agriculture. In this sense, intensification of agriculture can be defined as
“increasing productivity on a set area of land.” This definition distinguishes intensification
from extensification, which can be defined as “increasing productivity by increasing land area
under production.” In both cases, these approaches present detrimental effects to soil health
and sustainability. However, with agricultural intensification, genetic and chemical advances
in agricultural technologies have led to both stabilization and destabilization of the biological,
physical, and chemical nature of soils. The required system inputs and management practices
have had a global devastating impact on soil resources, where soil erosion, soil organic
matter loss, and decline in soil biodiversity to name a few, are endemic in modern agriculture
systems. The link between agroecosystem intensification and soil health is magnified by
management practices that led to desertification, deforestation, erosion, and other forms of
soil degradation. These dynamics, along with weather variability, such as frequent wet and
drought events, are prevalent in different parts of the world and are expected to increase with
climate change.
The decline in soil productivity as a result of soil erosion and other forms of degradation is
manifested in the deterioration of soil health/quality or functionality, where soil chemical,
physical, and biological properties are severely degraded. These soil characteristics are the
foundation for a productive soil and its ecosystem services. These soil functions are critical
to food and fiber production, including nutrient provision and cycling, protection against
pests and pathogens, production of growth factors, water availability, and the formation
of stable soil physical structure capable of reducing the potential risks of soil erosion and
increasing water processing. These functions are strongly affected by climate variability and
extreme weather conditions. Therefore, without stable agricultural conservation systems that
encompass practices that mitigate extreme climatic conditions, these soil health functions
can be degraded. The adoption of such conservation practices within production fields and
on marginal lands can provide solutions to combat natural and anthropogenic management
effects on soil resiliency. The task through this book is to identify and present management
practices, systems, and alternatives within the confines of intensified agricultural systems
Preface xvii
to transform such systems into sustainable intensified systems that can provide food, fiber,
and animal feed to meet the challenge of increased human population, yet preserving soil
resources and ecosystem services.
An attempt has been made in this book to provide an overview of basic or fundamental
soil properties and relationships, and climate impacts to complex and wide-ranging and
contrasting management systems that will influence soil health under dryland to humid
environments. An effort has been made to cover all potential soil and crop management
practices for maintaining good soil health under many different environmental conditions
including a global prospective where possible. This includes different cropping systems,
cover crops, perennial cover crops, livestock integration with cropping, managing intensified
agroecosystems, agroforestry, low input systems to intensification, nutrient cycling, and
biotechnology use in modern agriculture production role in affecting soil health.
The hope is that this book will contribute to and provide insight to the current dialogue about
the importance of soil health and sustainability, by building on the accomplishments and
contributions of countless numbers of scientists regarding the concept of soil health/quality
during the past few decades.
The editors express their sincere thanks and appreciation to all chapters’ authors and the
publisher for their excellent cooperation and contributions to this book. As with any scientific
endeavor, the extension of knowledge is based on a body of scholarly and discovery work by
past and present scientists that we feel indebted to for their contribution.
Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi and
Birl Lowery
References
Doran, J.W., Sarrantonio, M., Liebig, M., 1996. Soil health and sustainability. Adv. Agron. 56, 1–54.
Doran, J.W., Jones, A.J., Arshad, M.A., Gilley, J.E., 1999. Determinants of soil quality and health. In: Lal, R.
(Ed.), Soil Quality and Soil Erosion. CRC Press, pp. 17–36.
CHAPTER 1
Fundamentals and Functions of
Soil Environment
Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi1, Rattan Lal2, Kenneth R. Olson3 and Birl Lowery4
1Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States 2The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH,
United States 3University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States 4University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Madison, WI, United States
1.1 Introduction
The soil system is complex and dynamic. The definition of soil varies widely, as it is dictated
by its use and how we perceive soil as a society for providing services, food, habitat, and
enjoyment, where these functions are essential to soil health or quality. One well-established
definition of soil is a medium that includes minerals, organic matter, countless organisms,
liquid, and gases that together support life on earth through many services. Soil is the
foundation for early and modern agriculture, and for human civilization. Most people think
of farming or gardening when they think of soils (Brevik, 2005). However, the definition
of soil depends on the multiple uses of this medium for different purposes such as farming,
engineering, and environment. To a farmer, soil is a medium to produce food, which differs
from that of a geologist, who considers soil a natural medium and unconsolidated materials
above bedrock. An engineer defines soil as a naturally occurring surface layer formed by
complex biochemical and physical weathering processes that contains living matter. Soil
is considered capable of supporting plant, animal, and human life by agronomists and
pedologists (Brevik, 2005). Soil environment and functions are influenced by the parent
materials and forming factors that contribute to the physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics of soils. The inorganic fractions of mineral soils generally consist of sand,
silt, and clay. The proportion of these different fractions determines soil texture, along with
its subsequent chemical, physical, and biological properties. Soil formation progresses in
steps and stages that are not distinctly separated. These processes are overlapping, and it may
not be possible to know when one stage in soil formation stops and another starts (Huggett,
1998). Soil characteristic depends primarily on the parent materials, and secondarily
on the vegetation, the topography, and time. These are the five variables known as the
factors of soil formation (Jenny, 1941). The typical development of a soil and its profile
Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805317-1.00001-4
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© 2017Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2 Chapter 1
is called pedogenesis, which includes physical and chemical processes and disintegration
of the exposed rock formation as the soil’s parent material (Hillel, 1998). These loosened
materials are colonized by living organisms (plant and animal, micro- and macroorganisms).
This process leads to accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) at and below the soil
surface resulting in the formation of an A horizon. Important aspects of soil formation and
development include two processes of eluviation (washing out) and illuviation (washing
in), where clay particles and other substances, including calcium carbonate, emigrate from
the overlay surface, eluvial A horizon, and accumulate in the underlying illuvial B horizon
(Jenny, 1941). The formation of the soil profile and its physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics through these processes differ from location to location and region to region.
In arid regions, for example, salt movement from upper to lower horizons may create
physical, chemical, and biological conditions that are different from those in humid areas
and the tropical, where there is more of a tendency for leaching of minerals and chemicals
through the soil profile because the driving force for this reaction being water, is greater in
these environments. Therefore, different soil properties, such as color or SOM concentration,
occur in the top soil layer and at subsequent depths of the soil profile (Weil and Brady, 2016).
These processes influence soil fertility, water availability, and SOM content, which limit the
choice of type of crops and management practices that are essential for sustaining soil health
and productivity. Therefore, the level of soil health is different for different soil types.
1.2 Soil Properties and Interrelationships
1.2.1 Soil Physical Environment
The soil physical environment is generally characterized by three distinct phases that include
the solid phase that forms the soil matrix, the liquid phase comprised of water in the soil system,
called the soil solution, and the gaseous phase or the soil atmosphere. The soil matrix (mineral
component) consists of soil particles varying in size, shape, and chemical properties (Fig. 1.1).
The formation of the soil matrix through the grouping of different particles with amorphous
substances, particularly SOM, when attached to the surface of different mineral particles,
Figure 1.1
Schematic representation of pore spaces between soil aggregates.
