Soil Health Scorecard
The “Blue Card for the Blue Crab Program” initiated locally by the Ocean County Soil Conservation District, with technical assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Services, is designed to train specific target audiences to evaluate existing soil conditions utilizing easily measured indicators, and to offer management suggestions to improve and sustain healthy, functioning soils. The premise of the program is that healthy, functioning soils can improve both water quality and quantity. Ocean County lies nearly completely within the Barnegat Bay watershed, where blue crabs (Callinectus sapidus) are an important economical species both commercially and recreationally. Thus, healthy and viable blue crab harvests depend on healthy soil throughout the watershed.
The Blue Card Program is formatted in 1-2 day training sessions which present basic soil information and management issues to specific audiences. Workshops typically entail both presentations and hands-on, field experiences. Biological, chemical and physical soil characteristics determine the behavior of soils; understanding and managing these characteristics requires a base of knowledge.
The Soil Health Card for Barnegat Bay is the latest initiative and is a simple assessment tool to provide a relative “soil health” evaluation. Utilizing easily measurable indicators, the card uses is a relative scoring scale to give a “soil health overview.” The Soil Health Card is not meant to replace soil testing from an accredited lab, nor to provide specific data that may be necessary for proper soil evaluation.
Please take a moment to evaluate the assessment sheet and scorecard below.
Please email your comments to NRCS Resource Conservationist, Eileen Miller.
Soil Health is the capacity of a soil to function,
to sustain plant and
animal
productivity and
to maintain or improve water quality.
A healthy functioning soil will:
Reduce nutrient leaching into groundwater
surface water
How do you use the Soil Health Scorecard?
Focus on physical indicators to provide information related to aeration and hydrologic status of soil, such as water entry into the soil profile and the capacity of soil to hold water in the root zone. Since soil physical properties influence rooting depth and volume, they also affect nutrient availability and plant growth. Physical properties also provide information related to the soil’s ability to withstand physical forces associated with splashing raindrops or rapid water entry into soil that contribute to aggregate breakdown, soil dispersion and erosion.
Soil Health is a concept that integrates the physical, chemical and biological properties of a soil for improved productivity and environmental quality. This soil health scorecard provides a baseline from which to measure subsequent human induced changes in soil function.
Soil health degradation may be caused by compaction, surface crusting, low organic matter, damage from diseases, soil erosion, excessive pesticide use, as well as reduced amounts and diversity of beneficial organisms. Soil health can be improved over time by reducing or alleviating compaction, adding organic matter in the form of compost, manure, or crop residues, reducing tillage, keeping the soil covered with vegetation at all times and by not working the ground with heavy machinery when the soil is wet. By making these changes, the soil will function as the living ecosystem that it is, and act as a sponge to filter nutrients and recharge groundwater supplies for future generations.
Print the Soil Health Assessment page below.
Please ensure you select "Page Scaling: -> Fit to Printable Area"
Print the Suggested Management Solutions page below (Page 2).
Go to the USDA NRCS Soil Quality Website for more information.
This publication has been a joint effort between the Ocean County Soil Conservation District and the USDA NRCS New Jersey.
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