Enhancing the Saskatchewan Soil Health Assessment Protocol – Phase 2
Term: 3 years, beginning in 2020
Status: Ongoing
Funding Amount: $143, 558
Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Kate Congreves (University of Saskatchewan)
Funding Partners: Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission
Project Description
This project builds of the recently completed Saskatchewan Soil Health Assessment Protocol (SSHAP) Phase 1 studies funded by Sask Wheat along with other industry funders. It is necessary to build off this research to expand the soil dataset with the goal of adjusting the SSHAP, so that the output will be soil zone-specific scores. This will be performed by increasing the sample size for each soil zone (Brown, Dark Brown, Black, and Gray soil) and provide zone specific soil health scores to enhance the SSHAP. This project will also incorporate novel biological indicators of soil health and will evaluate the contribution of biological properties including microbial abundance and community structure and enzyme activities to the overall soil health assessment. Biological indicators may have the greatest utility in these comparisons due to their sensitivity and because the rationale for adopting regenerative agricultural practices is founded on increasing biological diversity. In this research, they will compare the soil health scores from conventional and regenerative-type fields in each soil zone, to determine which soil health attributes point towards early-change and improvement of soil, and how much change might be expected. Thus, the main goal of this Phase 2 study is to deliver a user-friendly online tool that shows growers the soil health curves and where their sample falls on the soil health scoring curve and to provide recommendations to improve the soil health status over time.