The Soil Health Institute (SHI) has announced that the first publication on the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM) is now available, open-source, in Agronomy Journal.
“Introducing the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements” describes the rationale, approach, and methods used in this continental-scale, collaborative soil health research project conducted by SHI. The paper documents the core strategic design, soil health measurements being evaluated, methods used, and sites participating in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
The overall goal of the project is to identify the most effective measures of soil health across a wide range of climates, production systems, management practices, and inherent soil properties. The paper also provides other researchers and stakeholders a clear roadmap for obtaining results relevant to the database being developed and offers a reference for protocols used by SHI.
The paper was co-authored by Charlotte E. Norris, G. Mac Bean, Shannon B. Cappellazzi, Michael Cope, Kelsey L.H. Greub, Daniel Liptzin, Elizabeth L. Rieke, Paul W. Tracy, Cristine L.S. Morgan, and C. Wayne Honeycutt.
SHI would like to thank the NAPESHM Scientists for spearheading the effort, as well as more than 80 Partnering Scientists from across academia, federal agencies, and the private sector who are making this project possible. SHI also thanks the project’s funders: The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and General Mills, for their generosity.
Future papers will describe the results of SHI’s evaluation of approximately 30 soil health indicators across North America.
The publication can be accessed through the Agronomy Journal.
