From steved@ncatark.uark.ed Fri Jan 29 00:05:53 1999 Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 18:36:33 From: Steve Diver Reply-To: SOIL QUALITY To: SOIL QUALITY Subject: [soil-quality] Soil Quality Resources and Web Links Let's get this new web on forum rolling! Here are some soil health resources for your information. They are listed in the ATTRA publication "Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories." See: "Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories" http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soil-lab.html Gempler's 100 Countryside Drive PO Box 270 Belleville, WI 53508 800-382-8473 608-424-1544 608-424-1661 Fax URL: http://www.gemplers.com Gempler's carries a full line of soil testing equipment and IPM supplies including the Complete Soil Quality Test Kit, which provides insight to biological and physical soil parameters in addition to soil nutrients. "Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment" (1994), SSSA Special Publication No. 35, is the proceedings of a symposium sponsored by Soil Science Society of America. It reviews ideas and practices and methods that have emerged from the land-grant, USDA, and non-profit sectors since the sustainable agriculture movement began in the late 1980s. Available for $35 through: American Society of Agronomy, SSSA, CSSA Headquarters Attn: Book Order Department 677 South Segoe Rd. Madison, WI 53711-1086 608-273-8080 "Method for Assessing Soil Quality' (1996), SSSA Special Publication No. 49, builds on two previous publications, "Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment" (SSSA Special Publication No. 35) and "Soil Health and Sustainability" (Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 56). It reviews ideas and practices that have emerged as viable methods for assessing soil health. In light of what information existed on this topic when the USDA-LISA program was initiated in 1988, it is a remarkable achievement. Available for $35 through ASA: See address above. Gempler's "Soil Management Guide" (1998) is a 41-page booklet in Gempler's IPM Catalog. It accompanies Gempler's Complete Soil Quality Test Kit, which was modeled after the USDA Soil Health Test Kit developed in the early 1990's by Dr. John Doran, a USDA soil scientist, in collaboration with the Rodale Institute. The Guide describes testing procedures for: pH, conductivity, soil compaction, water infiltration, nutrients, soil moisture & bulk density, biological activity, and organic matter. The Appendix includes eight different USDA Soil Quality Information Sheets. The booklet sells alone for $4.95. Contact: See address above "Building Soils for Better Crops: Organic Matter Management" (1992) by Fred Magdoff. Magdoff is a soil scientist at the University of Vermont. This 176-page book provides a concise summary of the important functions and practices associated with soil organic matter management. Building Soils for Better Crops is part of the Our Sustainable Future series published by University of Nebraska Press: The University of Nebraska Press 312 N 14th Street, Box 880484 Lincoln, NE 68588-0484 800-755-1105 402-472-6214 Fax Web Sites on Soil Health: Soil Quality Information Sheets - USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service URL: http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/sqiinfo.shtml Soil And Health Library URL: http://www.soilandhealth.org/index.html The Health of Our Soils: Toward sustainable agriculture in Canada URL: http://res.agr.ca/CANSIS/PUBLICATIONS/HEALTH/_overview.html Soil Quality^×Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada URL: http://res.agr.ca/lond/pmrc/faq/soilqual.html Soil quality and financial performance of biodynamic and conventional farms in New Zealand. 1993. J.P. Reganold, A.S. Palmer, J.C. Lockhart and A.N. Macgregor. Science 260: 344-349. URL: http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/newsltr/v6n2/sa-13.htm Please send additional soil health resources and web links to Steve Diver at steved@attra.org Thanks! Steve Diver Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) Hotz Hall, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas --- You are currently subscribed to soil-quality as: london@metalab.unc.edu To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-soil-quality-78164P@franklin.oit.unc.edu