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| Terry, that is because the BS MS PhD PDF information is for feeding the crop/yield not soil building or feeding the soil to feed the crop for plant health....no where in the academia that I know do they tell you how to trasition a timbered soil into that of a prairie soil as you have donee...I am stil in awe of your root pits! But nature does the same thing here where we trasition timber to native range, so I just try to learn from what she does and try to apply that to crop/forage soil.
erestf,
Intertesting....contibution of VAM to drought tolerace has been demonstrated.....but I think there is a 'false impression' in the literature about that. Take pecan trees, for example, a known host to MF but also a tree with physiology which will prune it's roots and go dormant in response to severe drought....it may take 3 yrs to get those roots back..and I do wonder the importance there of MF.
Ed,
What I have found interesting is the contribution of legumes to soil N bank above what manure alone will do....an example of the soil data from 2012 which Rick Haney ran for us....we could see a visual difference in grass forage with and without the legume despite the same manure treatment over both.
Avg of four test plot soil composite with 2-3 yr white clover history and 3 yr litter history 0-4" depth:
Organic N........% Organic N..........Organic C:N
35.16.............75.10...................9.91
3 test plot soil tests with no prior clover history, only 1-3 yr litter 0-4" depth
Organic N........% Organic N..........Organic C:N
22.07.............47.08...................11.85
13.76.............21.58...................15.49
18.16.............25.84...................14.41
In my simple mind that is not all clear quite yet, but I do know a winter cover of crimson clover will grow a good sweetcorn crop without much synthetic N needed and perhaps a benefit to the soil not yet fully realized. Soil condition is alos a big reason I think we see a large flush of native legumes the first 2 growing season after converting timber to native range.
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Some thoughts on fungi and nutrients
