At the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), soil and ecological maps and data are at the core of our conservation tools and planning. Yet, the way people manage land can cause soil properties to change in ways that have not traditionally been captured by these data products—until now. Dynamic soil property (DSP) inventories within the Soil Survey Program are advancing the next generation of soil survey to reflect how soils and vegetation change with land use and management.

DSPs are properties that change with land use, management, and natural disturbance on the human time scale. They can change with a single event or over decades, as opposed to inherent soil properties that change over millennia. Some examples of DSPs include roots and pores, soil bulk density, and aggregate stability—properties often associated with soil health.

DSPs connect soil health to soil survey products.

DSP inventories help us interpret soil health through the lens and constraints of geology, climate, and other factors that govern inherent soil properties. However, DSP inventories aren’t only concerned with soil health; they examine plant-soil feedbacks, which shed light on ecological processes. By understanding changes in nutrients, water, and energy processes, we can manage systems holistically and address the root cause of ecosystem degradation, as opposed to the symptoms.

How do DSPs relate to soil health?

The SPSD is uniquely poised to leverage existing soil and ecological data stored in comprehensive databases to develop inventories with scientific rigor and to integrate high quality, targeted data collection into new and existing products, such as soil maps.

DSP inventories unite conservation efforts across NRCS.

DSP inventories are planned, executed, and completed by SPSD soil survey office (SSO) staff in collaboration with NRCS State offices, the Soil Health Division (SHD), and local partners. SSO staff lead DSP inventories and ensure product standards are met. State, SHD, and local partners participate in SSO technical team meetings to prioritize proposed inventory activities, ensure inventories are relevant to customers, and deliver results in meaningful ways.

DSP inventories will lead to delivery of new and improved conservation tools.

The data resulting from DSP inventories will be used for more than just local outcomes. By integrating this data into our soil survey maps and other data products, we can deliver predictions of soil functions as a result of management and land use change. Potential future data products include improved interpretive tools, such as land use dependent—

• soil health property reports in Web Soil Survey;
• soil interpretations; and
• soil health properties integrated into the—
  • Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool, or CART;
  • Conservation Desktop, or CD;
  • Wind Erosion Prediction System, or WEPS;
  • Water Erosion Prediction Project, or WEPP;
  • Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation – Version 2, or RUSLE2; and
  • Tool for Environmental Resource Results Assessment, or TERRA.

DSP inventories will help conservation planners.

The mission of NRCS is to deliver conservation solutions so agricultural producers can protect natural resources and feed a growing world. NRCS accomplishes much of its mission through the hard work of its conservation planners. DSP inventories and future data tools will make conservation planners more effective by helping them—