What can we learn about agricultural practices from soil archives?

Long-term studies, enabled by the work of previous generations, help today’s scientists understand impacts of practices over time.

Soil Matters
May 1, 2021

Excerpt:

Have you ever matched a paint sample to an older color? Paint stores keep quite a variety of color samples. Crop scientists keep seeds in seed banks for comparison and research. Soil scientists do the same with soil samples, stored in archives.

Soil changes with time. In fact, soil is a dynamic source of nutrients, stability, and life. But changes in some soil properties can be slow, requiring decades or even centuries before differences can be detected. This is where soil archives can help. Soil archives provide ‘time capsules’ for determining how soil changes over time.

Archived soil samples are also particularly valuable as references. As new analytical capabilities and research questions form, the stable materials in soil archives help researchers because their characteristics are known.

A soil archive located in North Dakota has provided scientists an opportunity to embark on research that would be impossible without the foresight of Howard Haas. Dr. Haas led an ambitious project in the 1940s to understand soil change throughout the Great Plains. The 1940s were a time of great changes in agriculture. They brought forth the advent of hybrid crop varieties, increased mechanization, and greater use of nutrient inputs such as nitrogen. How did this drastic change in agricultural practices impact soils?

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