Soil serves as the foundation of your woodlands, supporting trees, plants, fungi and other organisms. In fact, it can be considered an entire ecosystem of its own, as it provides habitat for thousands of species of microbes. These microbes transform nutrients in the soil into a form that is accessible for trees and plants to use, a process essential for tree health and growth.
Soils vary in their chemical and physical composition across an individual site and the state, and the soil health directly influences the health of trees and the forest as a whole. Like in agricultural settings, understanding the fertility of the soils in your backyard woods and woodlands is important for selecting, planting, and growing trees that will be healthy in the long-term.
However, soil health is not often as large of a focus in forested settings compared to agricultural settings, where soil testing is a common practice. It can be helpful for small woodland owners to understand the state of their soil prior to tree planting since tree species vary in their preferred pH, nutrient profile, and moisture availability for optimal growth. For example, most trees in northern hardwood communities prefer moist, richer soils, while jack pine can thrive on nutrient-poor, dry, sandy soils.
By learning more about the soil on your land through soil testing and the Web Soil Survey, you can be confident that you have a clear representation of the capacity of your soil to grow healthy trees.