SOIL – Your Very Important Natural Resource

Ross H. McKenzieMcKenzie Ag Consulting

KEPA ConferenceTaking Care of the Land

Standoff, ABNov 20, 2014

Outline:

• Introduction to Soil

• Soils – How soils have formed and developed

• Discuss important soil and land conservation issues

• Provide my thoughts and comments

How many soil micro-organisms are in a handful of fertile soil?

Soil is alive and teeming with life!

More than 1,000,000,000

Soils have developed as a result of various soil forming factors :

1. Parent Geologic Material:

2. Climate:

3. Vegetation:

4. Topography:

5. Drainage:

Northern Great Plains – 10,000 years ago!

After that last glacial period – the Prairie landscape was transformed leaving behind varying types of parent material and topography.

Glacial Ice Sheet

HummockyMoraine

GroundMoraine

Outwash

FluvialLacustrine(Loam-CL)

Lacustrine(Clay)

Melt Water

FluvialLS-SL

Types of Soil Parent Material

Types of Soil Parent Material1. Glacial Till Deposits2. Outwash (Gravel and sand deposits)3. Fluvial (stream deposited; moving

water).4. Lacustrine (Glacial lakes; fine

sediments)5. Fluvial-Lacustrine (slow moving water)6. Aeolian (Loess) (Wind deposited)

Dark Gray & Gray Luvisolic Soils in North Central & Northern AB

Brown Soils in SE Alberta

Black Soils in Central Alberta

Dark Brown Soils in Southern Central Alberta

Major Zonal Soil or Agro-Ecological Areas of Alberta

Black Soils Dark Brown

Soils

Major Soil Zones of Alberta

Major Agro-ecological Areas on the Blood Reserve• F1 - Dark Brown soil,

slopes <5%, medium to fine texture with 2A climate class

• J1- Black soil, slopes <5%, medium to fine soil texture with 2AH climatic class

• J3- Black soil, slopes 5 to 15%,medium to fine soil texture with 4H to 5H climatic class

My Comment #1.

• Soils on the Blood Reserve have formed and developed over the past 10,000 years–Dark Brown soils – in the Northern

portion of the reserve–Thin Black soils – in the Central &

Southern portion of the reserve

Soil Survey in Alberta

• Initiated in the early 1920’s with the Report #1 published in 1925 of the Ft MacLeod Sheet by Wyatt and Newton

• The last report, #56 was published in 1996 of the Gleichen Sheet by Walker and Pettapiece

AGRASIDAgricultural Region of Alberta Soil Inventory

DatabaseA G R I C U L T U R E , F O O D A N DR U R A L D E V E L O P M E N TC o n s e r v a t i o n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t B r a n c h

Alberta Land Resource Unit

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/asic

Example of Soil Survey Info

Comment #2

• Forward thinking soil scientists ensured that soil survey’s were conducted across Alberta including the Blood Reserve.

• Soil classification information is readily available via the internet using AGRASID!

Agricultural Land Suitability Rating-Spring seeded small grains

Classification Limitations to Cropping1 None to slight2 Slight3 Moderate4 Severe5 Very severe6 Extremely severe7 Not suitable

Question:

How much Class 1 Agricultural land is: -On the Blood Reserve?-In Alberta?

Class 1 – No to slight soil or climaticlimitations for agriculture

Comment #3:

• NONE - on the Blood Reserve!!

• NONE - in Alberta!!

• Alberta does not have any “Class 1 Land” for annual crop production!

Class 2: 478,000 ha

Comment #4

• Much of the land on the Blood Reserve is Class 2 and 3 which is suitable for annual crop production!

• Limitations:–Limited precipitation – more

frequently in the northern part of the reserve.

–Shorter growing season – more frequently a concern in the southwestern part of the reserve.

First Nations People• Lived in harmony with the land for +10,000

years.• Fur traders began venturing into the western

prairies in the late 1700’s

• By the 1870’s the native way of life was changing dramatically – the land and the landscape was undergoing major changes!

Land Development

1880 to 1900Cattle ranching &grazing dominated the landscape

1900 to 1920Dramatic Shift – to land breaking & cultivated agriculture dominated the landscape

Wheat-Summerfallow Rotation

Land was seeded to spring wheat and fallowed every other year.

The land was left bare and cultivated to kill weeds and store moisture!

Cropping SystemWheat - Fallow

• Advantages–Land was left in fallow every second

year–Store moisture for the next crop year –Used for weed control

• Disadvantages–No protective soil cover–Land prone to soil erosion–Decreased organic matter–Increased salinity

Soil cultivation + summerfallow led to severe wind erosion by the dry 1930’s

Wind Erosion - Impacts• Wind erosion physically removed the most fertile

part of the soil - the lighter, less dense soil: – organic matter– clays– silts which lowered the soil productivity

• Wind erosion:– Reduced soil productivity – Reduced crop yields– Reduced economic returns.

Wind erosion:–Major topsoil losses in the 1930’s, 60’s

and to a lesser extent in 80’s

Effects of Cropping and Cultivation on Soil Quality• Summerfallowed land was tilled 3 to 4

times -–Combination of cultivation, oxygen and

moisture stimulated soil microbial activity

• Result: Soil Organic Matter decomposition by microbes occurred- –Organic Matter levels declined by

about 40% in first 40 years of cultivation.

Effect of Wheat Fallow on Crop Production

Comment #5:Wheat-Fallow cropping system and cultivation resulted in: Serious Soil Degradation on the Blood Reserve and millions of acres across the Northern Great Plains Region!

Dryland Agriculture

• Wheat-Fallow system was not sustainable–Million acres of land were seriously eroded

• For farming to be sustainable - New ways of farming had to be developed–Researchers and innovative farmers took

on the challenge!

Soil Management

A. E. Palmer (1888-1984) “Trash Cover Palmer”• 1921–1953 at Lethbridge Experimental Station• Made great efforts to address the soil drifting

crisis in the 1930’s• Collaborate with innovative farmers, such as

Charles Noble, to develop new practices such as strip farming and sub-tillage

• Undertook technology transfer to farmers – that was against Ottawa’s directives

• Strong advocate for conservation tillage

Soil ConservationCharles Noble (1873-1957) - Farmer

• Concerned with dryland farming problems.• Developed the Noble Blade, a cultivator that

cut off roots below ground, leaving the soil-holding "trash" intact on the surface.

• He tested and began producing the cultivators in 1936 – by 1940 a manufacturing shop was set up in Nobleford.

Comment #6

Forward thinking scientists and farmers led the way to strip farming and “trash cover” farming to conserve the soil in the 1940’s and 1950’s !

Effects of cropping practices in the past 100 yrs on the prairies.

Rotation A-B-C AAFC Lethbridge

• nnn

Long-term dry land crop rotation established in 1911 WF -CW-WWF rotation – 103 years old!

(Rotation A-B-C, Lethbridge - Janzen et al. 1986)

Lessons:

• Soil quality declined as a result of cultivation, summerfallow and no fertilizer additions

• Lessons:–Continuous cropping is best - minimize

summerfallow–Soil nutrients must be replaced for

farming to be sustainable in the long-term•Maintain good soil fertility with adequate fertilization

Comment #7 - Long-term studies are invaluable!

• Long term studies have shown that annual cropping is best for the soil – summerfallow should not be part of a crop rotation!

• Nutrients removed by crops must be replaced – –When fertilizers are used – soil quality

improves!

Advanced Soil Conservation Efforts

• Since the 1930’s agricultural scientists and leading farmers have strived to develop and adopt conservation tillage !

• Dr. Wayne Lindwall – led no-till cropping research in the 1970’s into 1990’s at Lethbridge

Direct Seeding SeedbedDirect Seeding Seedbed

Thatch Layer Stubble

Direct seeding is now common- Land is only tilled at seedingResult:- Soil quality is improving- Crop yields are higher

Zero till – Direct Seeding

• Widespread adoption began in the 1990’s as equipment manufacturers developed and improved seeding equipment.–Seeding equipment–Harvest – straw management–Weed control

• Today – most of the dryland fields are direct seeded on the Blood Reserve

Benefits of Conservation Tillage

• Soil organic matter levels have improved• Soil structure has improved• Increased soil fertility • Residue cover has greatly reduced soil

erosion• More soil water is conserved for crop growth• Summerfallow has been mostly eliminated• Greater crop diversification

–Reduced production risk–Increased farm income–Improved soil health

Comment #8Farmers have excelled at adoption of direct-seeding technology which has led to improved soil quality and crop productivity!

Blood Reserve and lands across Alberta have significant oil and gas reserves!

Well sites – on north end of ReserveNote – land fragmentation

Abandoned Wells

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

#

1905 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

1905

1915

1925

1935

19451955

1965

1975

1985

1995

2005

Area scale of actual to shown dot features; 113:1

Area scale of actual to shown linear features; 26:1

Source: Dr. B. Stelfox, 2005

Pipelines can affect soils and crop production well into the future

Soil cannot be fully reclaimed to be as productive as it was prior to disturbance.

Comment #9:

Should well sites and pipelines have greater restrictions on the Blood Reserve on amount of land that is disturbed?

Should drilling sites and pipelines have higher land reclamation standards!– presently companies reclaim back to 80% of production potential!

Electrical transmission lines, windmills and other developments

permanently occupy land and cause challenges!

Comment #10:In the Future - consider have limitations on transmission lines, windmill sites and other industrial developments to preserve land and protect very sensitive lands from fragmentation and degradation?

Soil Salinity

-Soils that are affected by soluble salts

-Some saline areas occur naturally

-Expanding areas are caused by agricultural practices

Saline Soils

ACarmangaySite

Comment #11Soil salinity is an issue on the Blood Reserve – cropping systems to control Soil Salinity should be considered

Final Comments - SOIL and LAND are essential to sustain human life and provide economic sustainability to the people of the Blood Reserve.

Final Comments:• Work with agricultural land users to use

sustainable crop rotations and cropping practices to conserve your soil for future generations.

• Carefully consider the long term effects of developments including rural residences, roads, oil and gas wells, pipelines, transmission lines, wind mills etc to protect your land for future generations.

Questions ?

Ross H. McKenzieLethbridge, Alberta

Phone: 403-328-1001

rossmckenzie@shaw.ca