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Soil Resources and Publications

Resources and publications offering information on soil health are provided below.

Soil Resources and Publications

Education and Outreach-National
The son of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employee kneels amongst a cover crop of clover at the People’s Garden on Friday, Apr. 9, 2010. USDA photo 10di1300-94

Soil Health Educators Guide

Soil Health Education and Outreach-National
Students listen to Environmental Science teacher, Patrick Earl, as he talks about the section of the community garden that T. C. Williams High School is responsible for maintaining. This is T. C. Williams Project Discovery for green gardening. USDA and its partners visited the school on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009.

Soil Health Education and Outreach-National

Soil Health Assessment-National
soil dirt hands

Soil Health Assessment-National Page

Soil Health Technical Notes

  1. Recommended Soil Health Indicators and Associated Laboratory Procedures (TN-TCH-450-03)
     
  2. The Basics of Addressing Resource Concerns with Conservation Practices within Integrated Soil Health Management Systems on Cropland (TN-TCH-450-04)
     
  3. Full-Scale Rainfall Simulator Guide (TN-TCH-450-05)
     
  4. Cropland In-Field Soil Health Assessment Guide (TN-TCH-450-6)

Soil Quality Technical Notes

Guidelines for Soil Quality Assessment in Conservation Planning (708.05 KB)

Pastureland Information Sheet

Pastureland Soil Quality (288.39 KB)

Rangeland Soil Quality Information Sheets

Rangeland Soil Quality Introduction (4.75 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Compaction (7.91 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Soil Biota Fact Sheet (5.33 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Assessment and Monitoring (12.93 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Infiltration (19.39 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Aggregate Stability (44.85 MB)
Rangeland Soil Quality Organic Matter (13.04 MB)

Soil Quality - Urban Technical Notes

Urban Technical Notes (links to Box)

Soil Quality - Agronomy Technical Notes

Cover Crops (95.58 KB)
Conservation Crop Rotation Effects on Soil Quality (266.42 KB)
Effects of Residue Management, No-Till on Soil Quality (103.7 KB)
Effect of Soil Quality on Nutrient Efficiency (112.9 KB)
Herbicides (173.72 KB)
Legumes and Soil Quality (28.67 KB)
Effects of Soil Erosion on Soil Productivity and Soil Quality (21.02 KB)
Liming to Improve Soil Quality in Acid Soils (36.82 KB)
Managing Conservation Tillage (22.94 KB)
Sunn Hemp a Cover Crop for Southern and Tropical Farming Systems (28.47 KB)
Agricultural Management Effects on Earthworm Populations (196.18 KB)
Long-Term Agricultural Management Effects on Soil Carbon (168.13 KB)
The Knife Roller (Crimper): An Alternative Kill Method for Cover Crops (1.23 MB)
Improving Soil Quality on the Southern Coastal Plain: One Farmer's Experience (815.52 KB)
Soil Quality and Vegetable Production (519.28 KB)
Interpreting the Soil Conditioning Index: A Tool for Measuring Soil Organic Matter Trends (282.1 KB)
Soil Compaction: Detection, Prevention, and Alleviation (326.38 KB)
Crop Residue Removal For Biomass Energy Production: Effects on Soils and Recommendations (247.08 KB)
Sod-Based Rotations: A Proven Old Practice to Improve Soil Productivity (349.84 KB)
Managing Cool, Wet Soils (400.95 KB)

Soil Quality - Soil Biology Technical Notes

Soil Biology Primer

Soil Biology and Land Management (595.36 KB)
Introduction to Microbiotic Crusts (1.93 MB)