USTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT
SOIL SYSTEMS GUIDE
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
www.attra.ncat.org
Abstract: This publication covers basic soil properties and management steps toward building and maintaining
healthy soils. Part I deals with basic soil principles and provides an understanding of living soils and how they work.
In this section you will find answers to why soil organisms and organic matter are important. Part II covers manage-
ment steps to build soil quality on your farm. The last section looks at farmers who have successfully built up their soil.
The publication concludes with a large resource section of other available information.
By Preston Sullivan
NCAT Agriculture Specialist
May 2004
©2004 NCAT
Table of Contents
Part I. Characteristics of
Sustainable Soils ....................................... 2
Introduction ................................................. 2
The Living Soil: Texture
and Structure ............................................ 2
The Living Soil: The Importance of
Soil Organisms .......................................... 3
Organic Matter, Humus, and the Soil
Foodweb .................................................... 7
Soil Tilth and Organic Matter ................... 8
Tillage, Organic Matter, and Plant
Productivity ........................................... 10
Fertilizer Amendments and
Biologically Active Soils ....................... 13
Conventional Fertilizers .......................... 14
Top$oil – Your Farm’$ Capital .............. 15
Summary of Part I .................................... 18
Summary of Sustainable
Soil Management Principles ............... 19
Part II. Management Steps to
Improve Soil Quality ............................ 20
Part III. Examples of Successful
Soil Builders (Farmer Profiles) ............ 25
References .................................................. 27 Photo by Preston Sullivan
Additional Resources .............................. 28 Soybeans no-till planted into wheat stubble.
ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information service operated by the National Center
for Appropriate Technology, through a grant from the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorse products,
companies, or individuals. NCAT has offices in Fayetteville, Arkansas (P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville,
AR 72702), Butte, Montana, and Davis, California.
PART I. Characteristics of SUSTAINABLE SOILS
Table 4. Weights of soil organisms in the The benefits of a topsoil rich in organic matter
top 7 inches of fertile soil. and humus are many. They include rapid de-
composition of crop residues, granulation of soil
Organism Pounds of liveweight/acre into water-stable aggregates, decreased crust-
Bacteria 1000 ing and clodding, improved internal drainage,
Actinomycetes 1000 better water infiltration, and increased water
Molds 2000 and nutrient holding capacity. Improvements
Algae 100 in the soil’s physical structure facilitate easier
Protozoa 200 tillage, increased water storage capacity, re-
Nematodes 50 duced erosion, better formation and harvesting
Insects 100 of root crops, and deeper, more prolific plant
Worms 1000 root systems.
Plant roots 2000
Soil organic matter can be compared to a bank
From Bollen (10).
account for plant nutrients. Soil containing 4%
organic matter in the top seven inches has
80,000 pounds of organic matter per acre. That
Or ganic Matter
Organic Matter,, Humus, 80,000 pounds of organic matter will contain
and the Soil Foodweb about 5.25% nitrogen, amounting to 4,200
pounds of nitrogen per acre. Assuming a 5%
release rate during the growing season, the or-
ganic matter could supply 210 pounds of nitro-
Like cattle and other farm animals, soil live-
gen to a crop. However, if the organic matter is
stock require proper feed.
allowed to degrade and lose nitrogen, pur-
chased fertilizer will be necessary to prop up
crop yields.
Understanding the role that soil organisms play
is critical to sustainable soil management. Based All the soil organisms mentioned previously,
on that understanding, focus can be directed except algae, depend on organic matter as their
toward strategies that build both the numbers food source. Therefore, to maintain their popu-
and the diversity of soil organisms. Like cattle lations, organic matter must be renewed from
and other farm animals, soil livestock require plants growing on the soil, or from animal ma-
proper feed. That feed comes in the form of nure, compost, or other materials imported from
organic matter.
3500
3000 Residue from wheat crop
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Mb. plow Mb.+ 2 Disc Chisel Pl. No-till
disc
Tillage type
Reicosky & Lindstrom, 1995
Calcium 60—70%
Excessive nitrogen stimulates Magnesium 10—20%
increased microbial activity, Potassium 2—5%
which in turn speeds organic Sodium 0.5—3%
matter decomposition. Other bases 5%
Albrecht’s ideas have found their way onto Not all conventional fertilizers are alike. Many
large numbers of American farms and into the appear harmless to soil livestock, but some are
programs of several agricultural consulting com- not. Anhydrous ammonia contains approxi-
panies. Neal Kinsey, a soil fertility consultant mately 82% nitrogen and is applied subsurface
in Charleston, Missouri, is a major proponent as a gas. Anhydrous speeds the decomposition
of the Albrecht approach. Kinsey was a stu- of organic matter in the soil, leaving the soil
dent under Albrecht and is one of the leading more compact as a result. The addition of an-
authorities on the base-saturation method. He hydrous causes increased acidity in the soil, re-
teaches a short course on the Albrecht system quiring 148 pounds of lime to neutralize 100
and provides a soil analysis service (21). His pounds of anhydrous ammonia, or 1.8 pounds
book, Hands On Agronomy, is widely recognized of lime for every pound of nitrogen contained
as a highly practical guide to the Albrecht sys- in the anhydrous (22). Anhydrous ammonia
tem. ATTRA can provide more information on initially kills many soil microorganisms in the
Albrecht Fertility Management Systems. application zone. Bacteria and actinomycetes
recover within one to two weeks to levels higher
Several firms—many providing backup fertilizer than those prior to treatment (23). Soil fungi,
and amendment products—offer a biological- however, may take seven weeks to recover.
farming program based on the Albrecht theory. During the recovery time, bacteria are stimu-
Typically these firms offer broad-based soil lated to grow more, and decompose more or-
analysis and recommend balanced fertilizer ganic matter, by the high soil nitrogen content.
materials considered friendly to soil organisms. As a result, their numbers increase after anhy-
They avoid the use of some common fertilizers drous applications, then decline as available soil
and amendments such as dolomite lime, potas- organic matter is depleted. Farmers commonly
sium chloride, anhydrous ammonia, and oxide report that the long-term use of synthetic fertil-
forms of trace elements because they are con- izers, especially anhydrous ammonia, leads to
sidered harmful to soil life. The publication How soil compaction and poor tilth (23). When bac-
to Get Started in Biological Farming presents such terial populations and soil organic matter de-
a program. See the Additional Resources sec- crease, aggregation declines, because existing
tion for ordering information. For names of com- glues that stick soil particles together are de-
panies offering consulting and products, order graded, and no other glues are being produced.
the ATTRA publications Alternative Soil Testing
Urea 75 1.6
Sulfate-potash-magnesia 43 2.0
Gypsum 8 .03
When erosion by water and wind occurs at a Protecting the soil from erosion is the first step
rate of 7.6 tons/acre/year it costs $40 per acre toward a sustainable agriculture. Since water
each year to replace the lost nutrients as fertil- erosion is initiated by raindrop impact on bare
izer and around $17/acre/year to pump well soil, any management practice that protects the
irrigation water to replace the soil water hold- soil from raindrop impact will decrease erosion
ing capacity of that lost soil (26). The total cost and increase water entry into the soil. Mulches,
of soil and water lost annually from U.S. crop- cover crops, and crop residues serve this pur-
land amounts to an on-site productivity loss of pose well.
approximately $27 billion each year (2).
Additionally, well-aggregated soils resist crust- The researchers commented that subsoil had
ing because water-stable aggregates are less been mixed with topsoil in the continuous corn
likely to break apart when the raindrop hits plots from plowing, making the real topsoil
them. Adequate organic matter with high soil depth less than was apparent. In reality, all the
biological activity leads to high soil aggregation. topsoil was lost from the continuous corn plots
in only 100 years. The rotation lost about half
Many studies have shown that cropping sys- the topsoil over 100 years. How can we feed
tems that maintain a soil-protecting plant future generations with this type of farming
canopy or residue cover have the least soil ero- practice?
sion. This is universally true. Long-term crop-
ping studies begun in 1888 at the University of In a study of many different soil types in each
Missouri provide dramatic evidence of this. of the major climatic zones of the U.S., research-
Gantzer and colleagues (28) examined the ef- ers showed dramatic differences in soil erosion
fects of a century of cropping on soil erosion. when comparing row crops to perennial sods.
They compared depth of topsoil remaining af- Row crops consisted of cotton or corn, and sod
ter 100 years of cropping (Table 9). As the table crops were bluegrass or bermuda grass. On
shows, the cropping system that maintained the average, the row crops eroded more than 50
highest amount of permanent ground cover times more soil than did the perennial sod crops.
(timothy grass) had the greatest amount of top- The two primary influencing factors are ground
soil left. cover and tillage. The results are shown in Table
10.
Table 9. Topsoil depth remaining after 100 So, how long do fields have before the topsoil is
years of different cropping practices. gone? This depends on where in the country
Crop Sequence Inches of topsoil the field is located. Some soils naturally have
remaining very thick topsoil, while other soils have thin
topsoil over rock or gravel. Roughly 8 tons/
Continuous Corn 7.7
acre/year of soil-erosion loss amounts to the
6-year rotation* 12.2
thickness of a dime spread over an acre. Twenty
Continuous timothy grass 17.4
dimes stack up to 1-inch high. So a landscape
*Corn, oats, wheat, clover, timothy with an 8-ton erosion rate would lose an inch
From: Gantzer et al. (28). of topsoil about every 20 years. On a soil with a
thick topsoil, this amount is barely detectable
within a person’s lifetime and may not be no-
Soil type Location Slope Row crop soil loss Sod soil loss
State % Tons/ac Tons/ac
ticed. Soils with naturally thin topsoils or top- systems, such as no-till and cover crops, are our
soils that have been previously eroded can be best alternative until perennial systems are de-
transformed from productive to degraded land veloped.
within a generation.
Manure is an excellent soil amendment, provid- Composting farm manure and other organic
ing both organic matter and nutrients. The materials is an excellent way to stabilize their
amount of organic matter and nitrogen in ani- nutrient content. Composted manure is also
mal manure depends on the feed the animals easier to handle, less bulky, and better smelling
consumed, type of bedding used (if any), and than raw manure. A significant portion of raw-
whether the manure is applied as a solid or liq- manure nutrients are in unstable, soluble forms.
uid. Typical rates for dairy manure would be Such unstable forms are more likely to run off if
10 to 30 tons per acre or 4,000 to 11,000 gallons surface-applied, or to leach if tilled into the soil.
of liquid for corn. At these rates the crop would Compost is not as good a source of readily avail-
get between 50 and 150 pounds of available ni- able plant nutrients as raw manure. But com-
trogen per acre. Additionally, lots of carbon post releases its nutrients slowly, thereby mini-
would be added to the soil, resulting in no loss mizing losses. Quality compost contains more
of soil organic matter. Residues from crops humus than its raw components because pri-
grown with this manure application and left on mary decomposition has occurred during the
the soil would also contribute or- composting process. How-
ganic matter. ever, it does not contribute as
A common problem with us- much of the sticky gums and
However, a common problem ing manure as a nutrient waxes that aggregate soil par-
with using manure as a nutrient source is that application ticles together as does raw
source is that application rates are rates are usually based on the manure, because these sub-
usually based on the nitrogen nitrogen needs of the crop. stances are also released dur-
needs of the crop. Because some ing the primary decomposi-
manures have about as much phosphorus as tion phase. Unlike manure, compost can be
they do nitrogen, this often leads to a buildup used at almost any rate without burning plants.
of soil phosphorus. A classic example is chicken In fact, some greenhouse potting mixes contain
litter applied to crops that require high nitro- 20 to 30% compost. Compost (like manure)
gen levels, such as pasture grasses and corn. should be analyzed by a laboratory to determine
Broiler litter, for example, contains approxi- the nutrient value of a particular batch and to
mately 50 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus ensure that it is being used effectively to pro-
and about 40 pounds of potassium per ton. duce healthy crops and soil, and not excessively
so that it contributes to water pollution.
PAGE 22 //SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT
Composting also reduces the bulk of raw or- cover crops, see ATTRA’s Overview of Cover
ganic materials—especially manures, which of- Crops and Green Manures. This publication is
ten have a high moisture content. However, comprehensive and provides many references
while less bulky and easier to handle, composts to other available information on growing cover
can be expensive to buy. On-farm composting crops.
cuts costs dramatically, compared with buying
compost. For more comprehensive information Humates
on composting at the farm or the municipal
level, see the ATTRA publication Farm-Scale Humates and humic acid derivatives are a di-
Composting Resource List. verse family of products, generally obtained
from various forms of oxidized coal. Coal-de-
Cover Crops and Green Manures rived humus is essentially the same as humus
extracts from soil, but there has been a reluc-
Many types of plants can be grown as cover tance in some circles to accept it as a worth-
crops. Some of the more common ones include while soil additive. In part, this stems from a
rye, buckwheat, hairy vetch, crimson clover, belief that only humus derived from recently
subterranean clover, red clover, sweet clover, decayed organic matter is beneficial. It is also
cowpeas, millet, and forage sorghums. Each of true that the production and recycling of organic
these plants has some advantages over the oth- matter in the soil cannot be replaced by coal-
ers and differs in its area of adaptability. Cover derived humus.
crops can maintain or increase soil organic mat-
ter if they are allowed to grow long enough to However, while sugars, gums, waxes and simi-
produce high herbage. All too often, people get lar materials derived from fresh organic-matter
in a hurry and take out a good cover crop just a decay play a vital role in both soil microbiology
week or two before it has reached its full poten- and structure, they are not humus. Only a small
tial. Hairy vetch or crimson clover can yield up portion of the organic matter added to the soil
to 2.5 tons per acre if allowed to go to 25% bloom will ever be converted to humus. Most will re-
stage. A mixture of rye and hairy vetch can turn to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide as it
produce even more. decays.
In addition to organic matter benefits, legume Some studies have shown positive effects of
cover crops provide considerable nitrogen for humates, while other studies have shown no
crops that follow them. Consequently, the ni- such effects. Generally, the consensus is that
trogen rate can be reduced following a produc- they work well in soils with low organic mat-
tive legume cover crop taken out at the correct ter. In small amounts they do not produce posi-
time. For example, corn grown following two tive results on soils already high in organic mat-
tons of hairy vetch should produce high yields ter; at high rates they may tie up soil nutrients.
of grain with only half of the normal nitrogen
application. There are many humate products on the mar-
ket. They are not all the same. Humate prod-
When small grains such as rye are used as cover ucts should be evaluated in a small test plot for
crops and allowed to reach the flowering stage, cost effectiveness before using them on a large
additional nitrogen may be required to help off- scale. Salespeople sometimes make exaggerated
set the nitrogen tie-up caused by the high car- claims for their products. ATTRA can provide
bon addition of the rye residue. The same would more information on humates upon request.
be true of any high-carbon amendment, such
as sawdust or wheat straw. Cover crops also Reduced Tillage
suppress weeds, help break pest cycles, and
through their pollen and nectar provide food While tillage has become common to many pro-
sources for beneficial insects and honeybees. duction systems, its effects on the soil can be
They can also cycle other soil nutrients, making counter-productive. Tillage smoothes the soil
them available to subsequent crops as the green surface and destroys natural soil aggregations
manure decomposes. For more information on and earthworm channels. Porosity and water
4) Edwards, Clive A., and P.J. Bohlen. 1996. 15) Land Stewardship Project. 1998. The
Biology and Ecology of Earthworms. Monitoring Toolbox. White Bear Lake,
Chapman and Hall, New York. 426 p. MN. Page number unknown.
5) Edwards, Clive A., and Ian Burrows. 16) Allison, F.E. 1968. Soil aggregation—some
1988. The potential of earthworm com- facts and fallacies as seen by a microbiolo-
posts as plant growth media. p. 211-219. gist. Soil Science. Vol. 106, No. 2. p.
In: Earthworms in Waste and Environmen- 136–143.
tal Management. C.A. Edwards and E.F.
Neuhauser (eds.). SPB Academic 17) Reicosky, D.C., and M.J. Lindstrom. 1995.
Publishing, The Hague, The Netherlands. Impact of fall tillage on short-term carbon
dioxide flux. p. 177-187. In: R.Lal, J.
6) Graff, O. 1971. Stikstoff, phosphor und- Kimble, E. Levine, and B.A. Stewards
kalium in der regenwormlosung auf der- (eds.). Soils and Global Change. Lewis
wiesenversuchsflche des sollingprojektes. Publisher, Chelsea, MI.
Annales de Zoologie: Ecologie Animale.
Special Publication 4. p. 503–512. 18) Nation, Allan. 1999. Allan’s Observa-
tions. Stockman Grass Farmer. January.
7) Anon. 1997. Product choices help add to p. 12-14.
worm counts. Farm Industry News.
February. p. 64 19) Sanderson, M.A., et al. 1999. Switchgrass
cultivars and germplasm for biomass feed-
8) Kladivko, Eileen J. No date. Earthworms stock production in Texas. Bioresource
and crop management. Agronomy Guide, Technology. Vol. 67, No 3. p. 209–219.
AY-279. Purdue University Extension Ser-
vice, West Lafayette, IN. 5 p. 20) Sachs, Paul D. 1999. Edaphos: Dynam-
ics of a Natural Soil System, 2nd edition.
9) Soil Foodweb. 1228 NE 2nd Street. The Edaphic Press. Newbury, VT. 197 p.
Corvallis, OR.
22) Tisdale, S.L., W.L. Nelson, and J.D. Beaton. 31) Bowman, Greg. 1994. Why soil health
1985. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers, 4th matters. The New Farm. January. p. 10–
Edition. Macmillian Publishing Company, 16.
New York. 754 p.
32) Magdoff, Fred. 1992. Building Soils for
23) Francis, Charles A., Cornelia B. Flora, and Better Crops, 1st ed. University of Ne-
Larry D. King. 1990. Sustainable Agri- braska Press, Lincoln, NE. 176 p.
culture in Temperate Zones. John Wiley
and Sons, Inc., New York. 487 p. 33) Sickman, Tim. 1998. Building soil with
residue farming. Tennessee Farmer.
24) Parker, M.B., G.J. Gasho, and T.P. Gaines. August. p. 32, 34.
1983. Chloride toxicity of soybeans grown
on Atlantic coast flatwoods soils. 34) Dirnburger, J.M., and John M. Larose.
Agronomy Journal. Vol. 75. p. 439–443. 1997. No-till saves dairy farm by healing
the harm that tillage has done. National
25) Schertz. 1985. Field evaluation of the ef- Conservation Tillage Digest. Summer.
fect of soil erosion on crop productivity. p. 5–8.
p. 9–17. In: Erosion and Soil Productivity.
Proceedings of the National Symposium
on Erosion and Soil Productivity. Ameri- Additional Resources
can Society of Agricultural Engineers. De-
cember 10–11, 1984. New Orleans, LA. Videos
ASAE Publication 8-85.
No-till Vegetables. By Steve Groff. 1997.
26) Troeh, F.R., J.A Hobbs, and R.L. Donahue.
1991. Soil and Water Conservation. This video leads you from selection of the
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. proper cover crop mix to plant into, through
how to control cover crops with little or no
27) Sullivan, Preston G. 1998. Early Warn- herbicide,as shown on Steve Groff’s Pennsyl-
ing Monitoring Guide for Croplands. Cen- vania farm. You will see mechanical cover-
ter for Holistic Management, Albuquerque, crop-kill and vegetables being planted right
NM. 22 p. into this mulch using a no-till transplanter.
You’ll also hear comments from leading re-
28) Gantzer, C.J., S.H. Anderson, A.L. Thomp- searchers in the no-till vegetable area. Order
son, and J.R. Brown. 1991. Evaluation of this video for $21.95 + $3.00 shipping from:
soil loss after 100 years of soil and crop
management. Agronomy Journal. Vol. Cedar Meadow Farm
83. p. 74–77. 679 Hilldale Road
Holtwood, PA 17532
29) Shiflet, T.N., and G.M. Darby. 1985. Table 717-284-5152
3.4: Effect of row and sod crops on runoff
and erosion [from G.M. Browning, 1973]. Books and Periodicals
p. 26. In: M.E. Heath, R.F. Barnes, and
D.S. Metcalfe (eds.). Forages: The Science The Farmer’s Earthworm Handbook: Manag-
of Grassland Agriculture, 4th ed. Iowa ing Your Underground Money Makers. 1995.
State University Press, Ames, IA. By David T. Ernst. Lessiter Publications,
Brookfield, WI. 112 p.
Covers soil basics, nutrients, pH, acidity This excellent Web site includes brief
and alkalinity, and principles of the LaMotte overviews of many subjects, including
soil testing system. Has relative nutrient nutrient transformation, biological degra-
and pH requirements for common crops and dation, soil structure, crop rotation,
plants. To order this handbook ask for ref- tillage, soil testing for microbes, and
erence # 1504 and send $4.85 to: organic matter turnover. Color photos of
many soil critters with short descriptions
LaMotte Company appear on the main Web page. Other
P.O. Box 329 drawings and black and white photos of
Chestertown, MD 21620 soil microbes and their effects on soil are
410-778-3100 on other pages at this site.
800-344-3100 (toll-free)
410-778-6394 FAX The Pedosphere and its Dynamics: A Systems
ese@lamotte.com Approach to Soil Science
http://www.lamotte.com/ University of Alberta’s Soil Science
http://www.pedosphere.com/main.html
How to Get Started in Biological Farming. No
date. Gary F. Zimmer. 11 p. A complete on-line soils textbook covering
what soil is, ecological functions of soil, soil
To order this publication, send $3 + $1 ship- texture, structure and color, soil formation,
ping to: Canadian soil classification system, mineral-
ogy, soil reaction, soil water, soil air, soil ecol-
Midwestern Bio-Ag ogy, soil organic matter, and soil survey. To
Highway ID, Box 160 view this textbook click on the textbook icon
Blue Mounds, WI 53517 at the homepage. Much more information is
608-437-4994 available from the homepage, including edu-
cational resources, tutorials, workshops, pub-
Glomalin, a Manageable Soil Glue. 1999. lications, etc.
Sara Wright. 1-page brochure.
Soil Biological Communities
To order this free publication contact: Idaho state office of the Bureau of Land Man-
agement
Sara Wright http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/
USDA-ARS-SMSL
Bldg. 001, Room 140, BARC-W For drier areas, the Idaho state office of the
10300 Baltimore Avenue Bureau of Land Management has an interest-
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350 ing Web site on soil biological communities
301-504-8156 that covers biological crusts, fungi, bacte-
http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/sasl/ ria, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, the soil
research/glomalin/brochure.pdf food web, and mammals. The site has many
photographs that bring to life many of the soil
inhabitants.