For soil health to be a quantitative concept, choices need to be made about what indicators to measure and how to interpret these measurements. The Soil Health Institute has proposed a minimum suite of soil health indicators that is practical and affordable for all landmanagers based on research at long-term agricultural experiments. Building on the work to select indicators,we are developing our benchmarks approach to have a scalable method to interpret the absolute value of these indicators across a range of cropping systems in the United States. This approach provides an evaluation of the current state of soil health and can provide guidance for stakeholders to set goals to improve soil health.

Dr. Daniel Liptzin is a Research Soil Scientist at the Soil Health Institute with a background in biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling. Health Measurements. His research interests currently focus on greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, and soil health methods.

Crabtree Hall Conference Room 311.