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Soil organic C (SOC) content is one of the most dynamic of soil properties. In this study, we examined the effects of land use change on SOC pools for a single soil series and developed a mapping approach to relate SOC dynamics to land use change. Six paired sites, consisting of adjacent agricultural field and forest within a single delineation, were sampled and the SOC pools determined. The average forest SOC pool (157 Mg [ha.sup.-1]) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the field pool (103 Mg [ha.sup.-1]), supporting the importance of land use on SOC pools. We propose the development of a SOC phase based on land use to map such differences. Master O and A horizon data should be used to establish SOC phases. Data can be obtained from existing soil surveys, updates, or C accounting activities. Land use classes can be identified with digital imagery and SOC phases can be assigned to all mapping units. Mapping units sampled for C accounting can be resampled to detect patterns and rates of change. This approach provides a robust data set to effectively map and model SOC pools and change across the landscape, doi: 09.0228/sssaj2009.0326N

The opening of 'Dig It!: The Secrets of Soil;' a 5000-[ft.sup.2] exhibit on soil at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, presented an opportunity to reflect on the development process. The project generated important and new ways of thinking about soils education, and taught the SSSA much about itself and how to manage a project of this size and scope. While early struggles in organization and financing of the exhibit presented challenges never before faced by SSSA at this scale, persistence, flexibility, and some unconventional thinking won out in the end, and SSSA achieved its most significant educational success to date. Most importantly, the process taught many soil scientists that achieving greater visibility for soil science meant partnering with professionals outside of soil science, and trusting that they could convey the message delivered by the exhibit with the same enthusiasm they might have in the classroom. The lessons learned from the project, in the scope of its history, can help others further SSSA, soils education, and soil science as a respected, scientific field. We suggest six goals for the future of soil science that, if embraced with whole-heart dedication and support, can help to embed the importance of soil in world thinking and policy. Our suggested goals are unconventional, like the experiences we faced in creating the exhibit, and thus perhaps will seem beyond the capability of most soil scientists. Hence our reminder: unconventional and bold thinking are what helped create the exhibit and will be what leads SSSA forward as a society best serving the world. Abbreviations: ASE Agronomic Science Foundation; NMNH, National Museum of Natural History. doi: 10.2136/sssaj2009.0017

BACKGROUND Water is critical to the production of crops, especially when faced with seasonal drought or freshwater scarcity. We compared the effect of negative pressure irrigation (NPI) on water use efficiency (WUE), nutrient uptake, yield and quality of Brassica chinensis L. using a greenhouse plot experiment. Three different water supply pressures (−5, −10 and −15 kPa), and a conventional irrigation (CK) treatment, were arranged in a randomized design with three replications. RESULTS: Our results suggest that plant height, leaf area, number of leaves and ratio of root to shoot were significantly correlated with water supply pressure. Specifically, our results show that B. chinensis L. yield was increased 50% with NPI versus CK. Water supply pressure had a significant effect on N and P nutrient uptake and no significant effect on K. The average concentration of vitamin C was greatest with −5 kPa treatment and consecutively declined. According to our results, NPI can save up to 36.8% of water used and improve WUE by 61.3% during growth of B. chinensis L. Our results suggest that the optimum irrigation management strategy is −5 kPa treatment. CONCLUSION: NPI versus CK can provide more stable irrigation water and retain soil moisture during plant growth, resulting in an increased WUE and yield with suitable water supply pressure. While our results suggest that NPI can enhance B. chinensis L. yield and perhaps also quality, future research should explore the mechanism of NPI in relation to yield and water use efficiency. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Reclamation of highly disturbed lands typically includes establishing fast‐growing, non‐native plants to achieve rapid ground cover for erosion control. Establishing native plant communities could achieve ecosystem functions beyond soil erosion, such as providing wildlife habitat. Pipelines, or other disturbed corridors through a landscape, present unique challenges for establishing native plant communities given the heterogeneity of soil environments and invasive plant propagule pressure. We created two structural equation models to address multiple related hypotheses about the influence of soil pH on plant community composition (current diversity and vegetative cover of the original restoration seed mix and background flora, and invasive plant density during mix establishment and current density) of a highly disturbed landscape corridor restored with native species. To test our hypotheses we conducted a plant survey on a gas pipeline crossing two state forests in the north‐central Appalachians that had been seeded with a native‐based mixture 8 years prior. Low soil pH was a strong predictor of density of the invasive annual plant, Microstegium vimineum, and had resulted in lower species diversity and cover of the seeded mix. Overall, our data provide evidence that native‐based grass and forb mixtures can establish and persist on a wide range of soil environments and thrive in competition with invasive plants in moderately acidic to neutral soils. Advancing knowledge on restoration methods using native species is essential to improving restoration practice norms to incorporate multifunctional ecological goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]