Soil Quality / Soil Health Management

Grazing Lands

Go to the Publications page for a complete list of NRCS Soil Quality documents, including Technical Notes, Information Sheets, and Conservation Briefs.

Grazing Lands Soil Quality Posters

Print to raise awareness about the importance of soil quality on rangelands.

Pastureland Soil Quality (PDF, 8.9MB)

Rangeland Soil Quality (PDF, 20MB)

Contact the Soil Quality Webmaster for additional image options.

Pastureland Conservation Continuum

Print as a photo-based conservation tool and handout.

Conservation Continuum - Management Options for Pastureland photo essay (PDF, 13MB)

Grazing Lands Soil Quality Information Sheets

Soil Quality Information Sheets for pastureland and rangeland describe soil properties that change in response to management and provide information that is related to the indicators used in soil health assessments. They support inventories and monitoring and provide management strategies for conservation planning.

Pastureland

1. Pastureland Soil Quality - Introduction (PDF, 120KB)
2. Pastureland Soil Quality - Indicators for Assessment and Monitoring (PDF, 170KB)

Rangeland

Rangeland Soil Quality Information Sheets Flyer
1. Rangeland Soil Quality - Introduction (PDF, 1MB)
2. Rangeland Soil Quality - Indicators for Assessment and Monitoring (PDF, 1MB)
3. Rangeland Soil Quality - Aggregate Stability (PDF, 2MB)
4. Rangeland Soil Quality - Compaction (PDF, 1.5MB)
5. Rangeland Soil Quality - Infiltration (PDF, 1MB)
6. Rangeland Soil Quality - Organic Matter (PDF, 2MB)
7. Rangeland Soil Quality - Physical and Biological Soil Crusts (PDF, 1MB)
8. Rangeland Soil Quality - Soil Biota (PDF, 2MB)
9. Rangeland Soil Quality - Water Erosion (PDF, 2MB)
10. Rangeland Soil Quality - Wind Erosion (PDF, 2MB)

Printed copies of the Pastureland and Rangeland Information Sheets can be ordered from the NRCS Distribution Center by phone at 515-289-0325 or e-mail at NRCSDistributionCenter@ia.usda.gov.

Additional Resources

State and Transition Models and Dynamic Soil Properties Databases

The following document provides information on state and transition models and their application to rangelands of the western United States. How the model can provide a framework for an information system that includes dynamic soil properties is included.

State and Transition Ecosystem Models (PDF, 145KB)

Citation for the proceedings is: Tugel, A.J. and J. R. Brown. 2001. State and transition ecosystem models: Application to soil survey and dynamic soil properties. p194-201. In Building for the future: Science, new technology & people. Proc. National Cooperative Soil Survey Conf., Ft. Collins, CO. 2001. USDA-NRCS, Washington, DC.

Microbiotic Crusts

This pamphlet discusses microbiotic crusts, including what they are, where they occur, what their role is, and how they are affected by disturbances.

Introduction to Microbiotic Crusts (2MB)