Global Soil Survey : 2014 Report

September 20, 2014

The Global Soil Survey was launched in August, 2013 to enlist turf managers from around the globe in the development of new, more sustainable turf nutrient guidelines, and we have just issued our first report on the Global Soil Survey. A summary of the report appears below:

• We received 84 soil samples from four different countries (Canada, Japan, Thailand and U.S.A.) and one Crown dependency (Isle of Man) (Figure 1). All samples came from good performing areas of turf, with fourteen different turf types represented.
• A complete nutrient analysis of each soil sample was conducted by Brookside Laboratories. The results were added to the existing MLSN (Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition) dataset, which is comprised of thousands of soil samples from good performing turf. The Survey data was also analyzed separately, so it could be compared with the already existing MLSN dataset.
• The Global Soil Survey data showed what we have seen in the past — that good performing turf can be produced at nutrient levels that are much lower than conventional guidelines suggest.
• As more Global Soil Survey data becomes available, we will continue to evaluate and re-analyze soil nutrient information, to incorporate the data into the MLSN database, and to make any adjustments in the MLSN Guidelines that the data indicate are necessary. All reports will continue to be made publicly available in a variety of public locations, including the websites of the Asian Turfgrass Center and of PACE Turf.

Thanks to the Global Soil Survey participants, the MLSN guidelines are now more robust and more broadly applicable than ever before. You can join the growing number of turf managers who have participated in the Global Soil Survey, by signing up here. You’ll find out how rewarding and interesting it is to compare your own nutrient programs with the MLSN Guidelines, as well as to contribute to the development of the new, more sustainable MLSN Guidelines that will be used by turf managers everywhere.