POSTER SESSION 4th Annual Meeting July 16, 2019 Hyatt Regency • Sacramento, California USA POSTER SESSION 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 16 PRESENTER: Guihua Chen describe, and illustrate by a limited example, the concepts and assessment of soil’s capacity POSTER 1 measured through its capability, and condition as contributors to an overall soil security framework. The links to other notions such as threats to soil and soil functions are made. California Healthy Soils Program: Promoting Adoption 1 1 2 of Conservation Agricultural Management Practices on Authors: Alex McBratney , Damien Field , Cristine Morgan California Agricultural Lands Affiliations: 1) The University of Sydney, School of Life and Environmental Sciences & Sydney Research Description: Institute of Agriculture, NSW, Australia; 2) Soil Health Institute California is the national leader in agricultural production and exports. Among 100 million acres of California land, about 40% is used for agriculture. Conventional management practices PRESENTER: Alex McBratney and intensive production systems may result in soil degradation such as loss of soil organic POSTER 4 matter and biodiversity, nutrient depletion, and salinity. Healthy soils are crucial to support agricultural production, increase resilience to natural disasters such as drought and pests, Tea-Bag Index: A Method for Promoting Soil Health and and maintain sustainability in the long term. Healthy soils also play a key role in mitigating Security in Schools greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions through carbon sequestration. Research Description: California Department of Food and Agriculture leads the Healthy Soils Program (HSP) that Soil organic matter (SOM) is critical for soil health. However, the SOM quality is variable stems from California Healthy Soils Initiative (HSI), a collaboration of state agencies and and indicates its potential for long-term storage. This quality can be defined as a balance departments that promotes the development of healthy soils on California’s farms and between the rate of SOM formation and its stabilization and these both are controlled by ranchlands. The program has two components: Incentives Program and Demonstration Projects the soil environment. The tea bag index (TBI) method makes estimates of the breakdown of a that aim to build soil organic carbon and reduce atmospheric GHGs by (1) providing financial newly introduced organic substrate which is a function of biological and chemical activity and incentives to California growers and ranchers for implementing conservation management physical condition. By using two substrates (two kinds of tea leaves) with different degrees practices that sequester carbon, reduce GHGs and improve soil health, (2) funding on-farm of recalcitrance an assessment of the soil’s SOM stabilization (S) and rate of decomposition demonstration projects that showcase conservation management practices that mitigate GHG (k) can be made in a few weeks. The k and S values have shown to be meaningful indicators emissions and increase soil health, and (3) creating a platform promoting widespread adoption to characterize and compare carbon decomposition dynamics between different soil types and of conservation management practices throughout the state. conditions. The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the method make it suitable for educational In 2017, the program received $7.5 million from California Climate Investments to fund purposes. We have been using the method as a way of introducing High School students 100 projects on about 7,200 acres of agricultural lands to implement various conservation to the soil, soil functioning, condition, health and security. We have engaged approximately management practices to improve soil health. The estimated reduction in atmospheric GHGs 2,000 students for applying TBI alongside field decomposition experiments. They are providing from implementing these projects is around 14,300 MT CO2 equivalent per year. The program a contribution in comparing decomposition rates and stabilization between different soil will continue funding more agricultural lands to improve statewide soil health. ecosystems leading to new insights into the health and quality of those Australian soils. The poster outlines the method, rollout and some early results, as well as an assessment of the Author: Guihua Chen impacts on High School students into the concepts of soil health and security. Affiliation: California Department of Food and Agriculture Authors: Alex McBratney, Vanessa Pino Affiliations: The University of Sydney, School of Life and Environmental Sciences & Sydney PRESENTER: William Salas Institute of Agriculture, NSW, Australia POSTER 2 Mapping the Adoption of Conservation Practices and PRESENTER: Jae E. Yang Associated Soil Health Outcomes Across The Corn Belt POSTER 5 Research Description: Integrated Web-GIS Portal System for Management of Soil Management decisions made by growers - including those around tillage, cover cropping, and Ecosystem Services and Threats crop rotations - can affect soil health and environmental outcomes. In this project, we map Research Description: changes in adoption rates of no-till, cover cropping, and crop rotations across Land Resource Region M (the corn belt) between 2005 and 2017, and then use a modeling approach to Soil health is one of the key components of the ecosystem services that provide various investigate soil health and environmental outcomes associated with changes in these adoption benefits to humanity and environment. The sustainable soil management should consider the rates. The Operational Tillage Information System (OpTIS), a satellite-based system for ways how to enhance the soil ecosystem services and how to minimize the soil threats. We mapping tillage practices and cover cropping, is combined with DeNitrification DeComposition have developed the WEB GIS-based portal system as a tool for soil management by integrating (DNDC), a soil biogeochemical model, to extract and combine details of practice adoption and both ecosystem services and soil erosion (threats). The system uses various big datasets such associated outcomes region-by-region through time. Preliminary results indicate significant as those that give soil properties, climate, hydrology, topography, and land uses. Through the increases in cover crop adoption in many areas in the corn belt and suggest beneficial soil portal system, soil health (quality) and erosion can be predicted, and soil ecosystem services health outcomes. can be assessed based on soil function indicators, such as biomass production, groundwater recharge, biodiversity and organic carbon storage. Both soil ecosystem services and soil Authors: William A. Salas1, Stephen C. Hagen1, Ian R. Cooke2, Justin Fisk1, Peter Ingraham1, erosion are integrated to designate the priority areas for soil conservation. Soil conservation Grace Delgado2, David Gustafson3, Pipa Elias4 planning can be formulated using the specific best management practices (BMP) at designated Affiliations: 1) Applied Geosolutions, 2) Dagan, Inc., 3) CTIC, 4) TNC areas, followed by the assessment of BMP effects on soil erosion and ecosystem services. The system suggests the framework for policy makers to develop a strategy and policy for soil conservation to enhance soil ecosystem services and minimize soil threats. We will PRESENTER: Alex McBratney also introduce in this poster presentation about the recent research projects to advance the POSTER 3 prediction technology for monitoring the changes of soil ecosystem services and threats. On Soil Capability, Capacity and Condition Authors: Jae Yang, K.J. Lim, S.C. Kim, H.S. Kim and S.P. Lee Research Description: Affiliation: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, There are several approaches to what soil can do functionally for humanity and/or the Korea ecosystem. Sometimes this is called soil capability, sometimes soil quality or soil health. We 2 POSTER SESSION 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 16 PRESENTER: Jennifer Moore-Kucera Authors: Katherine A. Dynarski1,2, Deborah Bossio2, Kate M. Scow1 POSTER 6 Affiliations: 1) UC Davis Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, 2) The Nature Agricultural Policy and Practices to Support USCA Conservancy States’ Climate Mitigation Goals Research Description: PRESENTER: Eric Bendfeldt The US Climate Alliance (USCA) is comprised of 24 member states, who have each committed POSTER 8 to implementing policies to advance the goals of the Paris Agreement and reduce greenhouse Promotion and Adoption of Soil Health in Virginia: The gas (GHG) emissions by at least 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. As part of their Power of a Simple Demonstration and Story participation in the USCA, states are investigating opportunities to reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon through their natural and working lands, of which agriculture plays a key Research Description: role. Alliance states have requested more information on a number of agricultural policy and Soil is a foundational resource for farming, natural resource conservation, and health in the practice topics including: what agricultural policies and programs exist in USCA states (and at 21st century, particularly in relation to Virginia’s water quality improvement and restoration the federal level) to reduce GHGs and sequester carbon; how have states been successful in efforts in the Chesapeake Bay region. Finding common ground can often be difficult within the implementing and financing