Healthy soil is the foundation of food quality and food security. It also contributes to more resilient crops, cleaner water, sustainable production, greater biodiversity, and helps to store carbon and reduce CO2 emissions. These are all factors that help farmers and land managers run businesses that are more environmentally and financially sustainable.
A-B-C-D-E Score
A simple and powerful method to assess the health of your soil. The A-B-C-D-E score provides quick insight into the current soil health status and the impact of any actions taken or improvements made. Each letter represents a specific soil health condition.
Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
The cation exchange capacity (CEC), also known as the clay-humus complex, determines how well the soil retains and exchanges nutrients with the soil solution. A high CEC means that the soil can hold many essential nutrients such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), and potassium (K+). However, when the CEC is occupied by elements like aluminum (Al3+) and hydrogen (H+), it can negatively affect soil fertility. The size and occupation of the CEC with useful nutrients is a measure of soil fertility.
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are essential nutrients that plants and microorganisms need for growth and development. Elements such as zinc, copper, iron, and manganese play a crucial role in photosynthesis, enzyme activity, and the uptake of other nutrients. A balanced presence of micronutrients contributes to higher crop yields and makes plants more resilient to diseases and stress factors. However, an excess can be harmful. Therefore understanding both is important.
Soil Life
A diverse and active soil life is essential for healthy and resilient soil. Microorganisms play an important role in the buildup or breakdown of organic material, as well as in the release of nutrients and the improvement of soil structure. A rich soil life also helps make the soil more resilient against diseases and pests.
Heavy Metals
Soil contamination by heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and chromium can severely affect soil health. These metals can be toxic to beneficial soil organisms and disrupt the uptake of essential nutrients by plants. This can lead to reduced crop yields, deteriorated soil structure, and long-term damage to the soil ecosystem. Additionally, heavy metals can accumulate in crops and pose a risk to human and animal health through the food chain.
Soil and Crop-Based Advice
Crop-Based Advice
Fertilisation advice for up to six crops is generated based on all analysis results in the package. By working with expected yields, advice can be tailored and adjusted up or down if necessary. This ensures more efficient use of inputs and better-aligned fertilisation. There are also different recommendations for different varieties of crops.
Soil-Based Advice
These recommendations can help you to invest in healthy and resilient soil for the future. This includes improving pH, optimising soil fertility, balancing the nutrients bound to the CEC to improve soil structure, and guidelines to maintain or improve the soil’s organic matter status.
New Features in Soil Health Indicator
Salt Indices
Soil Health Indicator offers detailed salinisation indicators, not only ideal for soils in coastal areas but also indicating the risk of salinisation problems during dry periods. The report provides insight into various sodium indicators (plant-available sodium (Na), Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), and the percentage of exchangeable sodium (ESP)). In addition to sodium, other salts are also displayed, summarised in electrical conductivity (EC). All this data helps in taking measures such as crop selection or applying gypsum to prevent damage.
Phosphate Indices
New indicators for P-saturation and P-binding capacity. High phosphate saturation can lead to runoff and water pollution, while good phosphate binding is essential for nutrient availability to plants.
Soil Health Score A-B-C-D-E: Proof of Improvement at a Glance
- Excellent soil health: ideal for sustainable agricultural practices and soil management.
- Good soil health: minor improvements are possible.
- Average soil health: improvements are needed to achieve optimal yields.
- Moderate soil health: measures needed for recovery.
- Poor soil health: various improvements required to prevent further damage.
By regularly evaluating soil health using the Soil Health Indicator and assigning a score, you can monitor the effectiveness of your soil management practices and provide evidence of progress in soil improvement. The A-B-C-D-E score is thus a valuable tool for both making strategic decisions and demonstrating sustainable performance, for example in reports or certifications for the agri-food industry