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Oregon Department of Agriculture Fertilizer Research Grant Natural Resources Conservation Service Benton Soil

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.

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Oregon Department of Agriculture Fertilizer Research Grant Natural Resources Conservation Service Benton Soil

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  1. WELCOME & THANKS • Oregon Department of Agriculture Fertilizer Research Grant • Natural Resources Conservation Service • Benton Soil & Water Conservation Dist. • Soil & Water Conservation Society Oregon Branch

  2. Soil Quality Assessments Teresa Matteson

  3. 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.

  4. Why Soil Quality?

  5. 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

  6. Management and Soil Quality Organic Matter Soil Organisms Soil Quality Vegetation Soil Structure Water Infiltration

  7. Soil Quality Assessment • Field Observations • Laboratory Tests

  8. 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!!!

  9. NRCS SQ Test Kit http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/assessment/test_kit.html

  10. Do this at HOME!!! A simple set of tools to measure infiltration.

  11. Infiltration = Pore Space = Compaction

  12. Water Infiltration • Reduces erosion • Minimizes water pollution • Increases irrigation efficiency • Prevents flooding • Is cost effective

  13. Soil Quality Project • Field Observations • Laboratory Tests Get to know your soil better!

  14. Sample Collection 10 shovels of soil = composite sample 10 compaction readings

  15. Lab Assessments Answer is in the BAG!

  16. SQPReport$100/sample • Weeds • Bare soil • Hx: Intensive till • No OM inputs

  17. SQP Report • Row crop rotation • 20 yr OM • Cultivation

  18. SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: Compaction Dickey-john compaction tester Maximum pressure in two depth ranges: 0-6 inches 6-18 inches

  19. Field Assessment Compaction Decrease in pore spaces are where plants get air, water, and nutrients. Adapted from Sulzman and Frey, 2003

  20. Field Observations Compaction Less Greater

  21. Try this at home! • Test your • compaction! • Use what you have: • Fingers • Shovel • Pin flag • Rod

  22. Why Compaction? • EROSION! • 500 yrs = 1 in. top soil • INFILTRATION! • CO$T!!!! • Production • Environment

  23. Three steps of water erosion Most erosion is initiated by the impact of raindrops, NOT by the flow of running water

  24. 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.”

  25. Ways to Improve Soil • Reduce disturbance • Work soil when dry • Avoid compaction • Add organic materials • Mulch soil surface • Cover crops

  26. Soil Quality Network Get on the Map! June 2013

  27. Betsiboka River, Madagascar Via Space Shuttle The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.~Marcel Proust

  28. Thanks for attending this Soil Health Workshop! Teresa Matteson Benton SWCD 541-753-7208 tmattson@bentonswcd.org

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