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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418555
Research Project: Transdisciplinary Research that Improves the Productivity and Sustainability of Northern Great Plains Agroecosystems and the Well-Being of the Communities They Serve

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: Soil health and community well-being: A case study of social sustainability indicators, relational values and intangible benefits

Author
item Friedrichsen, Claire
item Wilmer, Hailey
item Hammond Wagner, Courtney
item DELONG, ALIA - Archbold Biological Station

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/2025
Publication Date: 6/18/2025
Citation: Friedrichsen, C.N., Wilmer, H.N., Hammond Wagner, C.R., Delong, A. 2025. Soil health and community well-being: A case study of social sustainability indicators, relational values and intangible benefits. Journal of Environmental Quality. Article e70049. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70049.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70049

Interpretive Summary: Agricultural systems need to provide desired environmental, economic, and social outcomes. However, we often have not measured social community well-being effects. To understand how agriculture affects community well-being, researchers talked to 42 farmers across the United States in 2021. These farmers shared their thoughts on how soil health practices impact their communities. The study found three main ways soil health helps communities: by improving connections, skills, and resources. These findings will help researchers, conservationists, policy makers and farmers better understand the benefits of soil health practices and support efforts to make farming more diverse, fair, and sustainable.

Technical Abstract: In order to respond to complex social-ecological challenges within the agriculture community well-being outcomes of agricultural management and innovations needs to be evaluated. This study was conducted to determine domains and attributes of how producers perceive agricultural management impacts on community well-being. Semi-structured interviews via Zoom with forty-two under-represented producers across the United States during the winter of 2021 captured producers' perceived broader community well-being outcomes of soil health management. Producers were selected to represent LTAR sites and interests. Three rounds of coding, first inductive and then deductive, were based on the community well-being framework and the 4Cs of ecosystem assessment. The data revealed three major themes of how soil health management contributes to the conditions, capabilities, and connections that underlie community well-being. The domains of connections, capabilities, and capacity were identified, along with 16 attributes. These newly identified domains and attributes will contribute to understanding the range of outcomes of soil health practice adoption. We discuss how this new data contributes to the adoption behavior, social sustainable indicators, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within agricultural innovation. Additionally, this research provides an empirical, theoretical framework for LTAR's social sustainability indicators.