Use of archived data to derive soil health and water quality indicators for monitoring shifts in natural resources

Abstract

Current gaps impeding researchers from developing a soil and watershed health nexus include design of long‐term field‐scale experiments and statistical methodologies that link soil health indicators (SHI) with water quality indicators (WQI). Land cover is often used to predict WQI but may not reflect the effects of previous management such as legacy fertilizer applications, disturbance, and shifts in plant populations) and soil texture. Our research objectives were to use nonparametric Spearman rank‐order correlations to identify SHI and WQI that were related across the Fort Cobb Reservoir experimental watershed (FCREW); use the resulting rho (r) and p values (P) to explore potential drivers of SHI‐WQI relationships, specifically land use, management, and inherent properties (soil texture, aspect, elevation, slope); and interpret findings to make recommendations regarding assessment of the sustainability of land use and management. The SHI values used in the correlation matrix were weighted by soil texture and land management. The SHI that were significantly correlated with one or more WQI were available water capacity (AWC), Mehlich III soil P, and the sand to clay ratio (S:C). Mehlich III soil P was highly correlated with three WQI: total dissolved solids (TDS) (0.80; P < 0.01), electrical conductivity of water (EC‐H2O) (0.79; P < 0.01), and water nitrates (NO3‐H2O) (0.76; P < 0.01). The correlations verified that soil texture and management jointly influence water quality (WQ), but the size of the soils dataset prohibited determination of the specific processes. Adoption of conservation tillage and grasslands within the FCREW improved WQ such that water samples met the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards. Future research should integrate current WQI sampling sites into an edge‐of‐field design representing all management by soil series combinations within the FCREW.

Intercropping prairie cordgrass with kura clover had little effect on soil biogeochemistry

“…In this study, we specifically measured labile C and N pools (i.e., hot and cold-water extractable C and N and microbial biomass C and N), phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), enzymatic activities (i.e., β-glucosidase, urease, and fluorescein diacetate [FDA] hydrolysis), soil TC, N, C/N ratio, biomass yield, and tissue analysis as they are important for the assessment of soil health and agricultural productivity (Bagnall et al, 2023;Cardoso et al, 2013;Fortuna et al, 2023). Labile C and N pools, representing readily decomposable organic matter, serve as immediate nutrient reservoirs crucial for influencing nutrient cycling and soil fertility (Ge et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2021).…”

Enhancing the Soil Health–Watershed Health Nexus: Introduction

“…Finally, there is a need to continue and possibly implement modifications to long-term collection of soil and water data to obtain observational datasets that represent ranges of soil health measurements to calibrate and validate watershed-scale statistical and hydrologic models. Fortuna et al (2023) analyzed historical data from a CEAP watershed with the goal of linking soil point measurements to water quality parameters using nonparametric Spearman rank-order correlation analyses with the goal of identifying soil and water quality measurements that represented effects of land use, management, soil texture, and terrain. These statistical approaches could be applied to other long-term datasets within longterm research watersheds including CEAP and LTAR network sites.…”

The influence of soil-drying inputs on the soil and the productivity of crops

“…Ecological problems of soils take place not only in RK, but also on a world scale, as can be seen from the data of world congresses in Europe, America, Turkey, China and near abroad, devoted to degradation, pollution, desertification, soil and environmental protection. A.M. Fortuna et al (2023) report that soil is a unique natural resource that is utilized by mankind in agriculture and forestry for food independence, livestock rearing and industrial raw materials. Indicators of soil analysis include percentage of organic matter, biotic and microbial biomass, carbon amount, enzymatic activity, pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur available to plants, porosity, aggregate stability, infiltration, bulk density, water available in soil.…”