U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory: Mandan, ND
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Employment
                        Work With Us
                                    ARS Vacancies at USDAJOBS
                    Local News
                        INTEGRATOR
                                    Bottom Line Ag SummitSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area Mandan, North Dakota Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications
- IACUC Executive Minutes

Title:   Author  item
                                            PRINTZ, JEFF - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)item
                                            Toledo, Daviditem
                                            BOLTZ, STAN - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
  Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2014
                                    Publication  Date: 5/1/2014
                                    Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/59046Citation: Printz, J., Toledo, D.N., Boltz, S. 2014. Rangeland health assessment - The key to understanding and assessing rangeland soil health in the Northern Great Plains. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 69(3):73A-77A.Interpretive Summary: The USDA has placed and increased emphasis on soil health and has developed a set of key principles to soil health:
1.	Use plant diversity to increase diversity in the soil.
2.	Manage soils more by disturbing them less.
3.	Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil.
4.	Keep the soil covered as much as possible.
These soil health principles were developed primarily for agricultural systems yet they are relevant to all soils and therefore also apply to rangelands. However, there are concerns regarding the application of these four soil health principles to rangeland ecology and management. This paper will attempt to clarify how each of these soil health principles applies to rangeland ecology and describe how existing science based inventory and assessment protocols can be used to assess not only the health of the rangeland soil resource but also the overall health of the rangeland resource.
                                Technical Abstract: As the science related to soil and rangeland health evolves, so do their protocols and assessment methodologies. Rangeland health assessments consist of evaluating how well ecological processes such as the water cycle, energy flow and nutrient cycling are functioning at a site. Soil health is the capacity of a soil to maintain its function and flow of ecosystem services given a specific set of physical, chemical and environmental boundaries. When soil health deteriorates, its capacity to support and regulate ecosystems is diminished affecting energy flows, nutrient cycling, and productivity among others. Soil health principles have been developed primarily for agricultural systems yet they are relevant to all soils and therefore also apply to rangelands. However, there are concerns regarding the application of soil health principles to rangeland ecology and management amongst resource professionals and managers of private/public rangelands. This paper will attempt to clarify how each of these principles applies to rangeland ecology and describe how existing science based inventory protocols can be used to assess not only the health of the rangeland soil resource but also the overall health of the rangeland resource. Our approach consists in explaining how each of the 4 soil principles listed above is relevant to rangeland health and we list the indicators of rangeland health that each soil health principle is related to.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov