ABSTRACT
Soil health is the capacity of the soil resource to fulfill necessary soil functions. Two of those critical functions are to supply water and nutrients to the plant. The attributes of soil health directly linked to water encompass the ability of the soil to store water and to allow water to enter into the soil. Increases in soil organic matter increase water storage, while infiltration increases are a result of more resilient soil aggregates that can withstand the disruptive forces of water and protection of the soil surface from the direct impact of water drops onto surface aggregates. These two changes in the soil directly impact plant growth, because there is a reduction in water stress, which limits productivity. The result is an increase in water use efficiency in agronomic systems with enhanced soil health. Nutrient availability is increased as soil health increases because of the microbial processes in the soil and the continual release of nutrients from plant materials. Nutrient use efficiency increases with soil health because the increased plant productivity that is linked with the increased water supply allows the plant to more effectively utilize the nutrients in the soil profile, leading to an increase in nutrient content in the plant. These interactions are complex and have not been thoroughly investigated to the level necessary to provide quantitative relationships for a range of management practices linked to soil health and nutrient and water availability. As we continue to explore these interactions, the results of these studies will help us develop production systems that are more capable of meeting the quantity and quality requirements for an expanding world population.
