ABSTRACT

Although farmers are the key actors in managing soil health, we have little understanding of what farmers know about soil health, how they define the term, and how they manage for it on their farms. Interviews with 34 farmers in Maritime Canada revealed their perceptions about soil health, their methods for assessing their own soils, and their reactions to a comprehensive soil health assessment based on the Cornell Soil Health Assessment (CSHA). Farmers primarily assessed soils using aboveground indicators such as plant health and yield, as well as physical indicators such as texture or water-holding capacity. Most farmers (91%) had heard of soil health, and their definitions focused on biological and productivity aspects of the soil. Organic farmers tended to be more open to the CSHA results and were more likely to give a holistic definition of soil health than conventional farmers. Depending on what frame is invoked about soil, farmers think of soil health differently. Despite differences between farmers’ perceptions and CSHA results, most farmers found CSHA results useful (71%) and planned to undertake management changes (74%) based on them. Soil health could be an ‘inclusive’ common ground for farmers and soil scientists to think about and manage soils.

抽象的

尽管农民是管理土壤健康的关键角色，但我们对农民对土壤健康的了解，他们如何定义该术语以及如何在农场中对其进行管理等了解甚少。对加拿大海事部的34位农民的访谈显示，他们对土壤健康的看法，评估自己的土壤的方法以及对基于康奈尔土壤健康评估（CSHA）进行的全面土壤健康评估的反应。农民主要使用植物健康和产量等地上指标以及质地或持水量等物理指标来评估土壤。大多数农民（91％）听说过土壤健康，他们的定义集中在土壤的生物学和生产力方面。有机农户倾向于对CSHA的结果持开放态度，并且比传统农户更可能对土壤健康做出全面定义。根据对土壤的调用框架，农民对土壤健康的看法有所不同。尽管农民的看法与CSHA的结果之间存在差异，但大多数农民发现CSHA的结果有用（71％），并计划根据这些结果进行管理更改（74％）。土壤健康可能是农民和土壤科学家思考和管理土壤的“包容性”共同基础。