Phosphorus and Soil Health Management Practices

Soil health has gained widespread attention in agronomic and conservation communities due to its many purported benefits, including claims that implementation of core soil health practices (e.g., conservation tillage, cover crops) will improve water quality by curtailing runoff losses of nutrients such as phosphorus (P). However, a review of the existing literature points to well-established findings regarding trade-offs in water quality outcomes following the implementation of core soil health practices. In fact, both conservation tillage and cover crops can exacerbate dissolved P losses, undermining other benefits such as reductions in particulate P (sediment-bound P) losses. Soil health management must be pursued in a manner that considers the complex interaction of nutrient cycling processes and produces realistic expectations. Achieving water quality goals through soil health practices will require adaptive management and continued, applied research to support evidence-based farm management decisions.