Evaluating Haney Soil Health Test on Diverse Agroecosystems of Tennessee.

Agroecosystem sustainability and environmental quality rely on protection of soil resources. Thus, it is essential to quantify impacts of agricultural management on soil health for making informed sustainable management decisions in production systems. The Haney Soil Health Test (HSHT) has recently been emerged as a new approach for soil health assessment, which is exclusively based on soil biological activity. In particular, soil parameters included in HSHT are 24-hr cumulative CO₂-C emission, measured using Solvita^®, water extractable organic C (WEOC) and water extractable organic N (WEON). These soil parameters are empirically integrated into a soil health score. This study aims to evaluate the sensitivity of HSHT on three ongoing field experiments in Tennessee with different tillage, cover crop and N rate treatments. Soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-15 cm from each treatment and analyzed for quantifying HSHT scores. In a continuous soybean (Glycine max L.) system, HSHT scores were significantly higher under no-till with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cover crop than moldboard plowing. Results showed that CO₂-C, WEOC, WEON and HSHT scores did not differentiate among long-term tillage treatments including chisel plow, disc plow, moldboard plow and no-tillage under continuous soybean (Glycine max L.) system. In addition, HSHT scores did not differ significantly among long-term N, tillage and cover crop treatments under continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) system. Similarly, HSHT scores were not different among various cover crop treatments in a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean rotation system. Overall, HSHT was not found to be promising to detect management-induced changes in soil health in various agroecosystems of Tennessee.