Evaluation of a Farmer-Friendly Tool for Predicting Soil Organic Matter and Ecosystem Services in Ohio Soils.

This study presents results of evaluation and validation of a spreadsheet-based decision tool, developed to help farmers (and farm advisors) make decisions that affect Soil Organic Matter (SOM). The SOM calculator was developed by Shedekar et al. (2014) for predicting SOM changes in agricultural soils in Ohio. The user-friendly tool calculates and predicts total, active and passive soil organic matter, and nitrogen and phosphorus availability as well as CO2 emissions and/or sequestration due to SOM changes on annual basis. The SOM calculator is further expanded to include prediction of ecosystem services and overall soil health indicators. Data from multiple long-term studies in Ohio will be used to evaluate the performance of the SOM calculator for Ohio. Studies representing different climatic regions, soils and different farming practices (viz. Hoytville, Wooster and Piketon) will be selected in order to assess the sensitivity of the decision tool to different parameters. In addition to performance evaluation, we also intend to present a set of guidelines for calibration and validation of the newly developed tool.