Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Analysis

Analyzing, comparing, and understanding soil health data

The maintenance of healthy soil resources is instrumental to the success of an array of global efforts and initiatives. Whether they are working to combat food shortages, conserve our ecosystems, or mitigate the impact of climate change, researchers and agriculturalists the world over must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential resource. These new volumes have been designed to meet this need, addressing the many dimensions of soil health analysis in chapters that are concise, accessible and applicable to the tasks at hand.

Soil Health, Volume Two: Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Analysis provides explanations of the best practices by which one may arrive at valuable, comparable data and incisive conclusions, and covers topics including:

• Sampling considerations and field evaluations
• Assessment and interpretation of soil-test biological activity
• Macro- and micronutrients in soil quality and health
• PLFA and EL-FAME indicators

Offering a practical guide to collecting and understanding soil health data, this volume will be of great interest to all those working in agriculture, private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-, state-, and federal-research projects, as well as state and federal soil conservation, water quality and other environmental programs.

Douglas L. Karlen, Retired ST Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS
Doug is internationally recognized for his soil health and sustainable agricultural research and technology transfer program. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), editor/co-editor for seven books, and author or co-author of more than 425 refereed journal, book chapter, and proceedings publications.

Diane E. Stott, Retired Soil Scientist, USDA-NRCS-SHD; Professor Emerita, Purdue University
Diane conducted internationally recognized research focused on crop and soil management impacts on soil health, soil organic matter cycling, enzyme activities and soil erodibility and soil health. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and author or co-author of more than 115 refereed journal, book chapter, and proceedings publications.

Maysoon M. Mikha, Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS
Maysoon is nationally and internationally recognized for her agronomic research addressing soil quality/health and land sustainability. She received The Conservation Research Award from the SWCS and recognized by the SSSA for her excellent editorial skills. She authored and co- authored more than 100 refereed journals, book chapters, and proceedings.