Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Call for Research Editor
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Call for Research Editor
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleA Section

Making soil health a part of rangeland management

Joel R. Brown and Jeffrey E. Herrick
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 2016, 71 (3) 55A-60A; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.71.3.55A
Joel R. Brown
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jeffrey E. Herrick
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Excerpt

Soil health describes the ability of a soil to function at its potential, specifically “the capacity of a soil to function as a vital, living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans” (USDA NRCS 2014). There is a long history of thoughtful consideration of the soil by philosophers, political leaders, and scientists. Political leaders from Chief Seattle to Franklin Roosevelt and philosophers from Homer to Aldo Leopold have referred to the health of the soil as a basis for sustaining civilizations. Clearly, an appreciation of the importance of soil is a part of the ethos of most modern societies. However, that philosophical and cultural commitment frequently is lost among other, more expedient desires as agricultural and land management policies are developed and implemented. Ensuring that soil and ecosystem health are essential components of land use and management decision making remains a challenge. The renewed emphasis on the concept of soil health as an indicator of healthy agricultural ecosystems is one step toward answering that challenge.

While there are a host of definitions for soil health (Doran 2002; Cornell 2009; FAO 2014), they all have three major points in common: capacity to function, sustainability, and meeting human needs. The idea of…

  • © 2016 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 71 (3)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 71, Issue 3
May/June 2016
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Making soil health a part of rangeland management
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
19 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Making soil health a part of rangeland management
Joel R. Brown, Jeffrey E. Herrick
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 2016, 71 (3) 55A-60A; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.71.3.55A

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Making soil health a part of rangeland management
Joel R. Brown, Jeffrey E. Herrick
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation May 2016, 71 (3) 55A-60A; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.71.3.55A
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

A Section

  • Climate and pest interactions pose a cross-landscape management challenge to soil and water conservation
  • Sustainable and regenerative agriculture: Tools to address food insecurity and climate change
  • Climate change impacts on soil, water, and biodiversity conservation
Show more A Section

Features

  • Youth water education: Programs and potential in the American Midwest
  • Working toward sustainable agricultural intensification in the Red River Delta of Vietnam
  • Stimulating soil health within Nebraska's Natural Resources Districts
Show more Features

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2023 Soil and Water Conservation Society