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Research Project: Towards Resilient Agricultural Systems to Enhance Water Availability, Quality, and Other Ecosystem Services under Changing Climate and Land Use

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Title: Biological indicators of soil health in organic cultivation

Author
item Fortuna, Ann Marie
item BHOWMIK, ARNAB - Pennsylvania State University
item BARY, ANDY - Washington State University
item COGGER, CRAIG - Washington State University

Submitted to: Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture, Volume 2
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/19/2017
Publication Date: 8/6/2018
Citation: Fortuna, A., Bhowmik, A., Bary, A., Cogger, C. 2018. Biological indicators of soil health in organic cultivation. In: Reicosky, D. Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture. Volume 2: Monitoring and management. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. p. 43-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.19103/AS.2017.0033.19.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351114585

Interpretive Summary: This chapter reviews soil health indicators and analyses research conducted at the Long-Term, Organic Farming Systems Research and Demonstration Site at Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Puyallup, WA, USA. An accompanying chapter in this book reviews some of the broader findings from the project. Our objectives address the adaption and evaluation of soil health indicators in organic agriculture systems and research to assess seasonal and long-term shifts resulting from best management practices, varying organic management and climate.

Technical Abstract: Biological indicators of soil health have the potential to serve as metrics for comparison of a range of management practices that enhance pools of biologically available carbon and nitrogen. Despite the potential to use soil health as a dynamic measure there are few published studies that compare soil health across different organic management systems. Our objectives address the adaption and evaluation of soil health indicators in organic agriculture systems and research to assess seasonal and long-term shifts resulting from best management practices, varying organic management and climate. Current knowledge gaps relate to extreme climatic conditions and identification of best management practices for on-farm research.