Soil Health

Soil Health Concerns in South Dakota.
Jeff Hemenway
NRCS – Soil Quality Specialist

What are we talking about
• Soil Salinitization
• Sodification
• Loss of Soil Organic matter
• Loss of Biological diversity
• Soil Compaction
• Erosion
• Others (etc.)

Soil Health in South Dakota
• “Activities”
• National “Soil Health Campaign”
• Soil Health “Website”
• Soil Health Teams
• Soil Educational Opportunities
• “Projects”
• Dynamic Soil Properties
• Soil Salinity

Soil Salinity
The “Real Problem” Surface Salts
• Inhibit seed germination
• Retard plant growth and development
• Limit yield
Current Issues
• Soil salinity appears to be intensifying on certain landscapes
5-30 % on some fields - reducing or eliminating any kind of
production on these areas
• Surface salinity is extreme
• Remediation is difficult to uncertain
• Crop insurance - prevent plant is extending the period before
remediation

Why do soils become salt
affected
• Inherent in the parent material
• Lateral movement or capillary flow
• Rising water table
• Irrigation with water high in salts

Water movement and Salt
Accumulations
Saline seeps
Evaporation
Salt concentration
Groundwater
14

• Typically
measured by the
indicator,
electrical
conductivity (EC)
Salinity
• EC meter in use
15

Salinity and Sodicity
• Definitions
– The amount of excess salts present in the
soil.
– The amount of excess sodium present in the
soil.
• Why is it important
– Affects plant available water
– Affects microbial processes
– Affects plant growth
– Others
16

Salts commonly found to affect
crop growth in South Dakota
• Calcium sulfate (gypsum, CaSO 4 )
• Magnesium sulfate (epsom salts, MgSO 4 )
• Sodium sulfate (Na 2 SO 4 )
• Sodium chloride (NaCl) and
• Calcium, and magnesium chloride.
• South Dakota’s saline soils are usually a
mixture of salts, with sulfates being the
most dominant form.

What is the answer
• “Simple” move the salts out of the rooting
zone
• Intercept the water moving through the soil
profile
• Lower the water table
• Reduce surface evaporation
• In other words – Move the salts back into
the soil profile.

Ideas -
• Amendments -
• Cover crops -
• Tiling –
Methods
• Issues – Adequate outlets, water to move salts, regulation,
cost, time, water quality
• Perennial vegetation - vegetation establishment and many
of these areas are moving into CRP
• Issues: Extremely difficult to physically seed and establish
into vegetation, lack of species specific information
especially establishing native species

Table 5. Relative crop yields at increasing
levels of soil EC.
Electrical conductivity, Ece dS/m, saturated
paste method 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Crop Percent (%) of maximum yield potential
Barley 100 100 100 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20
Canola (napus) 100 100 100 100 100 87 61 35 9 0 0 0
Corn 96 72 48 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dry bean 81 43 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Flax 96 72 48 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Soybean 100 100 90 50 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sugarbeet 100 100 100 97 85 73 61 49 37 25 13 0
Sunflower 100 100 97 87 77 67 57 47 37 27 17 7
Wheat, durum 100 100 100 96 88 80 72 64 56 48 40 32
Wheat, semidwarf 100 100 100 92 84 76 68 60 52 44 36 28
20

Project Initiated in 2009
Divided into 3 Sections
• 1) Collect soil samples periodically on several
saline areas to document salinity conditions
• 2) Seed saline tolerant species on several saline
areas to determine establishment potential and
tolerance
• 3) Review the germination and emergence
information available of saline tolerant species

Site #1
Site #2

Site #1

Site #2

Saline Seeding
Beadle County Section 4 T-111-N R-62-W
25
20
15
10
5
0-1 in S#1
1 - 6 in S#1
6 - 12 in S#1
0 - 1 in S#2
1 - 6 in S#2
6 - 12 in S#2
0
6_26_09 7_24_09 10_26_09
Change in EC over time for Site 1 sample and Site 2

Proposal
Divided into 3 Sections
• 1) Collect soil samples periodically on several
saline areas to document salinity conditions
• 2) Seed saline tolerant species on
several saline areas to determine
establishment potential and tolerance
• 3) Review the germination and emergence
information available of saline tolerant species

Seeded 11/17/09
3 reps., Split plot east side
double seeded

Seeded 11/17/09
3 reps., Split plot east side
double seeded

Spatial Variability
EC mmhos/cm

Proposal
Divided into 3 Sections
• 1) Collect soil samples periodically on several
saline areas to document salinity conditions
• 2) Seed saline tolerant species on several saline
areas to determine establishment potential and
tolerance
• 3) Review the germination and emergence
information available of saline tolerant
species

Common Name
Scientific Name
Salt
Tolerance
Theshold
EC (dS/m
Slope%
per dS/m
Native/
Introduced
Full
Seeding
# PLS
Basin Wildrye Elymus cinereus MT Native 8
Beardless Wildrye “Shoshone” Leymus triticoides T 2.7 5.9 Native 8.5
Canada Wildrye Elymus canadensis MT 6.0 5.6 Native 7.5
Creeping Foxtail Alopecurus arundinaceus T Introduced 3.5
Inland Saltgrass Distichlis spicata T Native 2
Meadow Barley Hordeum Brachyantherum MT Native 12
NewHy hybrid wheatgrass Elytrigia repens & Pseudoroegneria T spicata 4.8 4.3 Introduced 8
Nutall Alkaligrass "Quill" Puccinellia nuttallii T Native 1
Prairie Cordgrass Spartina pectinata MT Native 7
Russian Wildrye Psathyrostachys Junceus T Introduced 7.5
Slender wheatgrass Agropyron trachycaulum T Native 5.5
Steambank Wheatgrass "Sodar" Agropyron riparium MT Native 8.5
Strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum T Introduced 3.5
Switchgrass (Sunburst) Panicum virgatum MS Native 4.5
Tall Wheatgrass Agropyon elongatum T 7.5 4.2 Introduced 12.5
Virgina Wildrye Elymus Virginicus S Native 13.5
Western Wheatgrass Agropyon Smithii MT 6.0 5.6 Native 10

Screening Germplasm for Salt Tolerance
Considerations:
• Soil Characteristics – pH and EC
• Germplasm to be evaluated
• Bioassay Arena
• Promotes germination
• Imposed EC stress treatment
• Interpretation of results

Germplasm: Species/Varieties
Basin Wildrye
Beardless Wildrye “Shoshone”
Canada Wildrye
Russian Wildrye
Virginia Wildrye
NewHy Hybrid Wheatgrass
Slender Wheatgrass
Steambank Tall Wheatgrass
"Sodar" Wheatgrass
Western Wheatgrass
Creeping Foxtail
Inland Saltgrass
Meadow Barley
Nutall Alkaligrass "Quill"
Prairie Cordgrass
Strawberry Clover
Switchgrass
• Sunburst
• Pathfinder
• Dacotah
• Cave-In-Rock
• Nebraska 28
• Forestburg
• BoMaster
• Timber
• High Tide
• Alamo
• Kanlow
• KY1625
• Summer
• Performer
Sources:
Millborn Seeds (Brookings)
SDSU (Arvid Boe)

Preliminary Results
Plot Work

Plot 7 Nutall Alkaligrass
Plot 29

Plot 4 Tall Wheatgrass

PLOT 27 NewHy

Preliminary Results
In the Lab.(Cont.)

Soil Surface EC (mmhos/cm - 1:1 soil slurry method)
May 9, 2011
June 13, 2011
September 6, 2011
October 26, 2011

Soil Surface EC (mmhos/cm - 1:1 soil slurry method)
April 18, 2012
June 22, 2012

Answers (Not All)
But we have a start
• Are there differences in EC over the year Any
generalities How does that effect management
• What species have the best chance for survival
• Is Tall the best choice Are some of the natives
better
• Are there a difference in switchgrass varieties
• Are there some mixtures better than others

What is NRCS in SD doing right
now on soil salinity
• Monitoring 9 saline areas in the James River
valley.
• Soil Saline Grass evaluation in Hutchinson County
• Soil salinity Fact sheet
• Working with USDA-ARS - on publishing several
lab and greenhouse studies.
• SDSU initiating salinity grass tolerance breeding
study.
• Funded a $900,000 CIG with SDSU and NDSU

What are we talking about
• Soil Salinitization
• Sodification
• Loss of Soil Organic matter
• Loss of Biological diversity
• Soil Compaction
• Erosion
• Others (etc.)

Insert Video 5:11 – 22:56

Dynamic Soil Properties-
(i.e. Soil Change with Management)

Kube Soil – Native
Range site
Infiltration Rates
SD002-1 30 sec.
SD002-2 2 min.25 sec.
SD002-3 34 sec.
SD002-4 50 sec.
SD002-5 6 min. 47 sec.
Average - 2 min. 13 sec.
Kube Soil – Cropland site
Infiltration Rates
SD001-1 3hr. 57 min.
SD001-2 34 min.
SD001-3 37 min.
SD001-4 52 min.
SD001-5 2 hr. 29 min.
Average - 1hr. 41 min. 48 sec.

Soil Dynamic Properties

Barnes soil
Invaded State
89% Introduced
species (5 species)
11% Native grasses
and forbs (6
species)
(by weight)
Native / Invaded
State
88% Native grasses,
forbs & shrubs
(19 species)
12% Introduced
species (3 species)
(by weight)

Bulk Density
Bulk
Density
(g/cm 3 )
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
Native
Invaded
0
0-3" 3-6"
Horizon

Soil Aggregate Stability
Stability
Rating
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Surface 0-3" 3-8" 8-12"
Native
Invaded
Horizon

Elapsed Time (min.)
120.0
109.2
100.0
80.0
60.0
1st Inch
2nd Inch
40.0
20.0
0.0
1.2
Native
27.6
21.0
Invaded
Infiltration – There were dramatic differences between
the two states in infiltration rates. On the invaded grass
state, the second inch of water took more than 5 times
longer to enter the soil. After the initial wetting, the
infiltration rate was approximately 2.17 inches/hour for
the native state, and 0.55 inches/hour for the invaded.

Dr. Jimmy
Richardson and Dr.
Jay Volk

Infiltration Rates on Enet Soils
No-Till 14 years
Corn- Bean – Wheat –CC
45 seconds
Conventionally Tilled
Spring Disk Corn –
Bean
18min 30 seconds

NRCS TR-62 (1955)
Example: Runoff Curve Number (RCN)
Using a 10 Year storm Frequency of 3.7
inches
RCN of 81 SR no residue = 1.87 in.
RCN of 75 SR w/ residue = 1.45 in.
RCN of 72 SR No-till = 1.25 in.
Saving 0.62 in. or a 33% reduction in
runoff.

What is the Future
Climate Change
Higher Energy Costs

For Additional Information
Contact: NRCS Web Site –
http://www.sd.nrcs.usda.gov
•Jeffrey Hemenway
USDA-NRCS
Federal Bldg.
200 4th St SW
Huron, SD 57350-2475
(605) 352-1239
jeffrey.hemenway@sd.usda.gov