Major advances in soil resource management were made during the 20^th century. Advances in soil nutrient and water management; tillage; and weed, insect, and pathogen control have been coupled with improvements in plant genetics; planting and harvesting equipment; marketing strategies; and new uses for agricultural commodities. The result has helped to meet the food, feed, and fiber needs of a population that doubled in size during this period. However, these advances have not come without environmental and economic costs. An increased reliance on synthetic chemicals, fossil fuels, and other nonrenewable resources has created a need for more innovative and sustainable soil management strategies. This national program component focuses on developing those practices through a 'systems-based' research approach. Such an approach would integrate principles of soil biology, chemistry, and physics into soil management practices that optimize land use and are readily adoptable by landowners and operators.

A systems approach to agricultural research is characterized by a coordinated effort to balance all inputs and outputs. Systems can be defined at scales ranging from cellular to planetary, but within this national program component, the term is applied to soil resource management practices and decisions typically associated with fields, farms, or other defined land areas. Systems are also characterized by multiple goals that are used to measure progress over time. Individual goals for this program will focus on increasing productivity and profitability while minimizing environmental impact. In contrast to a systems approach, traditional research approaches often focused on optimizing a very limited number of input components and generally for only one or two potential outcomes. The net result was several 'optimum' strategies for individual components of soil management. Combining individual recommendations into more complete soil, plant, water, and animal management operations, however, was often left to the landowners, operators, or their advisors. This latter approach has created the need for science-based information examining the interaction of the components under different soil resource conditions. Anticipated outcomes using systems research include more sustainable crop rotation, use of cover crops, tillage, residue, water, nutrient, and pest management practices; tools, techniques, and indices to assess and monitor soil quality; and tools for education and technology transfer with regard to soil resource management.

The phrase 'sustainable soil management' can be defined in different ways. Within this national program, it refers to identification, development, and selection of cultural practices that protect and conserve our Nation's soil resources. The practices also must ensure an abundant supply of food, feed, and fiber, and economic viability for current landowners and future generations. Research focused on developing more sustainable practices is characterized by considering (1) all possible strategies through which soil management problems might be solved, (2) multiple scales of production and economic conditions of land owners and operators, and (3) potential effects on input suppliers, marketing strategies, product processors, and product uses. Potential impacts of alternative soil resource management strategies on productivity, profit, environment, and social acceptance will be projected.

Three specific problem areas have been delineated within this national program component. They include (1) developing more sustainable soil resource management strategies, (2) identifying soils information needed to implement site-specific management, and (3) determining the effects of soil management on the soil resource. Information from research projects at more than 50 U.S. locations will contribute to this national program. The results will benefit farmers, ranchers, public and private land managers, and consumers. The studies will address regional and national issues associated with feed, fiber, vegetable, or fruit production; pasture and rangelands; forests; and other agricultural and nonagricultural land uses that affect the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of our Nation's soil, water, and air resources.

Research projects associated with this national program component often will use fundamental information from the resource conservation, soil water, nutrient management, and soil biology program components. Multi-disciplinary, multi-location studies will implement and evaluate interactions among inputs and outputs at field and watershed scales. The effects of space and time variations on productivity, profitability, sustainability, and environment will be quantified. Customer input for research planning, implementation, and evaluation will help ensure that desired technology standards are being met. This systems research approach will minimize situations in which one set of recommendations conflicts with another. Understanding interactions also will prevent 'solutions' from having unintended or possibly more severe consequences than the original problem.

This Soil Resource Management National Program component will emphasize development, testing, and transfer of soil management technologies to clients and stakeholders. It will encourage partnerships with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Cooperative Extension, agribusiness, commodity groups, conventional press media, growers, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and other interested groups. Technologies such as worldwide web sites and approaches including on-farm participatory studies will be used. This component will link closely with other components within this national program by integrating basic information into improved soil management systems. The efforts will provide feedback to persons focusing on those components, especially when integration of the soil resource management components does not achieve an appropriate or acceptable outcome for clients and stakeholders. The use of systems research will also facilitate multi-component evaluations with specific attention to time and space variability associated with the soil resources, inputs, and outcomes. We project that this will lead to a better understanding of the linkages between soil resource management practices and the on- and off-site effects on downwind and downstream air, water, and human resources.

More productive, profitable, and environmentally sound soil management practices

To use a systems approach to integrate soil biological, chemical, and physical properties and processes into sustainable soil management practices that are profitably adopted or adapted to meet food, feed, and fiber needs while conserving, enhancing, or restoring our Nation's soil resources.

Table 1. ARS research locations conducting research contributing to specific problem areas within the Productive and Sustainable Soil Management Systems Component of the Soil Resource Management National Program.

State	Location	Problem Area
		Sustainable Soil Management Systems	Understanding Site- Specific Management	Soil Quality
AL	Auburn	X	X	X
AR	Booneville	X
AR	Fayetteville
AZ	Phoenix	X	X
AZ	Tucson
CA	Davis
CA	Fresno	X	X
CA	Riverside	X	X
CA	Salinas
CO	Akron	X		X
CO	Ft. Collins	X	X	X
FL	Gainesville
FL	Miami
GA	Tifton	X	X
GA	Watkinsville	X		X
IA	Ames	X	X	X
ID	Kimberly	X	X	X
IL	Urbana
IN	West Lafayette	X		X
KS	Manhattan
LA	Baton Rouge	X
ME	Orono	X		X
MD	Beltsville	X	X	X
MN	Morris	X	X	X
MN	St. Paul	X		X
MO	Columbia	X		X
MS	Oxford	X	X
MS	Stoneville	X
MT	Sidney	X		X
ND	Mandan	X		X
NE	Lincoln	X	X	X
NM	Las Cruces			X
NY	Ithaca
OH	Columbus
OH	Coshocton	X		X
OK	El Reno
OK	Stillwater	X
OR	Corvallis	X
OR	Pendleton	X		X
PA	University Park	X	X
PA	Wyndmoor
SC	Florence	X	X
SD	Brookings	X		X
TX	Bushland	X
TX	Lubbock	X	X
TX	Temple	X
TX	Weslaco	X
WA	Prosser	X	X
WA	Pullman	X		X
WA	Wenatchee
WI	Madison	X
WV	Beaver	X		X
WV	Kearneysville
WY	Cheyenne	X		X