Embedded Files
COMET Farm is a whole farm accounting tool to measure GHGs
Evaluating methods to test soil health
Cambridge Institute tool to help farmers monitor soil health
Soil Health Goal Setting "Well-structured soils feature a wide range of micro-habitats and, consequently, can support a greater diversity of soil organisms... assessing soil health is a fundamentally multifaceted task."
Physical
Physical
The Slake Test enables you to see how well a small clump of soil holds together in water over 24 hours. Microbially-strong soil will hold together; more inert soil will collapse. See the positive potential of the soil aggregates in providing a more resilient soil.
Hydrophobicity testing Soil water repellence is almost always tested with the water droplet penetration time (WDPT) test first because of the simplicity of the test.[8] This test is executed by recording the time it takes for one droplet of water to infiltrate a specific soil, indicating the stability of repellency.[2]
VSA Visual Soil Assessment FAO for range of crops
VES Visual Evaluation One of the most accepted methods is that of Peerlkamp, cited in Ball et al. (2007). It has a conjoint scale referring to type and size of aggregates and pores. The main advantages of this method are speed and minor soil disturbance, providing comparative statistical analyses both in large fields and also in small plots of long-term trials.
Aggregate - above
Temperature Measuring soil temperature
Soil Nutrient Health Scheme for Northern Ireland. "This is a soil sampling and carbon analysis scheme aimed at putting an increasing emphasis on improved soil nutrient health and farm carbon."
Soil Health Measurement "assess the ability of over 30 soil health indicators to detect differences in soil health indicators that have been managed in different ways for at least 10 years. "
Chemical
Chemical
NPK
Other Essential Elements Carried out by LANCROP near York - pH to test acidity. Classic litmus papers.
Carbon
New near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measures organic matter to help farmers make more accurate decisions.
Cawood Scientific Soil Tests includes Carbon Check Plus "Carbon (Organic, Inorganic and Total), Nitrogen (C:N ratio) and density to calculate the Carbon stock and soil Organic Matter. Plus active Carbon to assess the portion of Organic Matter readily available to soil Microbes. "
Practical Guide for assessing soil carbon "In the lab, there are a couple of options for testing organic matter and soil carbon – Loss on Ignition (LOI) and DUMAS. Jasper Newman, researcher at the University of Plymouth, said: “LOI provides a rough idea of the soil organic carbon content and is generally slightly cheaper."
Remote Sensing Techniques for Soil Organic Carbon Estimation
SOC measured by spectral imaging
Framework recommends separating SOM into particulate (POM) and mineral-associated (MAOM) forms.
Assessing potential of airborne and spaceborne optical soil sensing
New Guide from Iowa on how to measure Soil Organic carbon
The graph below shows the variability among laboratories analysing soil organic carbon
Root Imaging The architecture of plant roots influences many important functions, such as water and nutrient uptake. Root system architecture reflects the interaction of the genetic makeup of the plant with its environment.
You'll learn the how to assess and evaluate samples of soil microbes for quality and for actions to take next in the launching of a new public database for soil, so we ALL can learn more
Electronic
Electronic
Increasingly we are seeing that the 'Redox Potential' - the ability for transfers of electrons - of reductive and oxidative conditions - is important. We can measure this by determining the electronic activity (Eh). Eh and pH could be interactively used as relevant primary parameters to characterise a soil and to define 'ideal' soils. They showed that Conservation Agriculture cropping practices positively alter the protonic and electronic characteristics of aerobic soils, as compared to conventional systems."
Microbial
Microbial
Harvest Agri, a UK firm that sells a device called a microbiometer soil test. Farmers take a soil sample, and add it to a test tube with a special solution, which is then transferred to paper. With a free app available on both Android and iPhone, the sample can be scanned to reveal a number that designates how many fungal and bacterial microbes are present.
Respiration
Respiration
Soil respiration is measured using the Draeger-Tube® method described in the Soil Quality Test Kit Guide, Chapter 2, p 4 - 6. See Section II, Chapter 1, p 52 - 54 for interpretation of results.
Draeger-Tubes® are used to measure CO2 released from the soil surface as an indicator of decomposition and soil respiration.
Standards
Standards
Since the publication of the SSA December 2022 report: Recommendations on minimum requirements for high-integrity soil carbon markets in the UK, the British Standards Institute has been tasked with developing a new, consensus-based, UK-wide standards' framework.
As a starting point, the BSI is looking to establish an overarching standard, setting out the principles for high-integrity nature markets. This standard will be applicable across nature markets and establish common principles that provide a benchmark for existing and emerging schemes to be recognised as sufficiently robust and credible.
This work is currently undergoing a discovery phase, which will conclude with the publication of a roadmap identifying a set of formal standards to be developed to establish the framework and address other key gaps in the current landscape.
The SSA and other members of the Advisory Board are feeding into this process through participation in BSI hosted workshops which consider the parameters of carbon markets (including soil) and the application of principles (permanence, additionality etc), as well as technical challenges around the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of Farm Soil Carbon projects.
In parallel, the SSA Farm Soil Carbon Advisory Board members continue to meet regularly to discuss and publish materials relating to critical barriers to the establishment of robust, viable farm soil carbon markets, including:
How to align public and private investment in farm soil carbon
The potential and limitations of existing models and measurement technologies
The research evidence gap that needs filling for projects to scale up in the UK
How to address widespread misinformation about the environmental and economic scope of farm soil carbon markets
If you would like to contribute to the debate around these subjects, or just learn more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Tara Smith +44 (0) 7432 663543 | tara@sustainablesoils.org
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