Geography
Soil Quality
Soil quality refers to the ability of soil to perform its functions, including supporting plant growth, regulating water flow, and providing habitat for organisms. It is determined by factors such as texture, structure, nutrient content, and pH levels. Assessing soil quality is important for understanding its suitability for agriculture, conservation, and other land uses.
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12 Key excerpts on "Soil Quality"
eBook - PDFHandbook of Soil Sciences
Resource Management and Environmental Impacts, Second Edition
- Pan Ming Huang, Yuncong Li, Malcolm E. Sumner, Pan Ming Huang, Yuncong Li, Malcolm E. Sumner(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
26.4 Conclusions Soil Quality is a concept developed to characterize the useful-ness and health of soils because soils are fundamental to the well-being and productivity of agricultural and natural eco-systems. It is a compound characteristic that cannot be directly measured. Many definitions of Soil Quality can be found in the literature. Regional variation in soil properties and manage-ment ensures that no single set of soil characteristics can be universally adopted to quantify these definitions. Soil Quality is often equated with agricultural productivity and sustainability, and is most commonly defined as a soil’s potential to perform ecological functions in a system, for example, to maintain bio-logical productivity, partition and regulate water and solute flow through an ecosystem, serve as an environmental buffer, seques-ter carbon and cycle nutrients, water, and energy through the biosphere. Air and water quality standards are usually based on maximum allowable concentrations of materials hazardous to human health. A definition of Soil Quality based on this concept would encompass only a fraction of the important roles soils play in agriculture and the environment. To proceed from a definition to a measure of Soil Quality, an MDS of soil characteristics that relate to soil functions is com-monly selected and quantified. Many physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil have been suggested to distinguish soils of different qualities. These include desirable and undesir-able properties. In selecting characteristics, it is necessary to recognize that some soil properties are static—in the sense that they change slowly over time—and others are dynamic. In addi-tion, the spatial and temporal variability of soil properties must be considered when selecting the properties used to assess Soil Quality. Numerous approaches to Soil Quality assessment have been proposed.
eBook - ePubClimate Change Alleviation for Sustainable Progression
Floristic Prospects and Arboreal Avenues as a Viable Sequestration Tool
- Moonisa Aslam Dervash, Akhlaq Amin Wani, Moonisa Aslam Dervash, Akhlaq Amin Wani(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
et al., 1995;Lehman et al., 2015) as it more precisely expresses the concept that soil is a dynamic living system (Doran et al., 1996;Lehman et al., 2015). Contrarily, majority of the soil scientists provisionally approve the term ‘Soil Quality' because of its emphasis on quantitative soil characteristics and the quantitative relationships between the characteristics and diverse soil functions (Romig et al., 1995;Lehman et al., 2015). In a direct and simplistic approach, Soil Quality is the capacity of the soil to function (Karlen et al., 1997) and soil health is ‘the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land use boundaries, to sustain biological productivity, maintain the quality of air and water environments, and promote plant, animal, and human health' (Doran et al., 1996). In a nutshell, soil health is used to refer to ‘the condition of the soil as a result of its management and Soil Quality may refer to both permanent soil properties and soil condition' (Brady and Weil, 2007 ). Soil Quality indicators are the quantifiable soil characteristics which impact the potential of the soil to produce crops or environmental functions. The characteristics which are highly sensitive to management are preferred as indicators. In any agro-ecological region, the quantifiable characteristics which are considerably influenced by global change are organic matter, soil depth, aggregation, respiration, texture, infiltration, bulk density, availability of nutrients and retention capacity (Arshad and Martin, 2002 ;Barros et al., 2007). Soil health describes various functions and ecosystem services which are provided by the soil. The most important of these are sustaining biomass production, providing habitat for biota, elemental cycling and biomass transformation and moderating environment. Hence, soil health/Soil Quality is evaluated by recognising and measuring a number of crucial characteristics (Fig. 1a and Fig. 1b
- Eugenio Martinez-Falero, Susana Martin-Fernandez, Antonio D. Garcia-Abril(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
All these authors relate these soil functions to the need to identify soil-quality indicators (SQI). The increasing pressure on available land and the debate as to its proper use have brought about a parallel escalation in the move-ment to identify and set quality standards for both agricultural and forest soils. The Soil Science Society of America officially defines Soil Quality as “the capacity of a specific kind of soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support human health and habitation” (Karlen et al., 1997). Likewise, environ-mental indicators are “quantitative assessments informing of the state of conservation and health of the environment.” Some environmental indicators have a broad scope: for instance, greenhouse gas emissions, protection areas, biodiversity indices, propor-tion of forest land area, net annual forest growing stock volume, average condition of health and vigor, etc. All are useful to characterize the current status and track or pre-dict significant changes in the ecosystem (Blum, 1993; Ebel and Davitashvili, 2007). Soil Quality affects forestry, agricultural sustainability, and environmental qual-ity and consequently plant, animal, and human health (Bloem, 2003; Menta, 2012). A common criterion for evaluating the long-term sustainability of ecosystems is to assess the fluctuations in Soil Quality (Schoenholtz et al., 2000). Soil reflects eco-system metabolism; within soils, all the biogeochemical processes in the different ecosystem components are combined (Dylis, 1964). Maintaining Soil Quality is of the utmost importance for the preservation of biodiversity and for the sustainable man-agement of renewable resources (Menta, 2012). Based on the concept of Soil Quality, Andrews et al.
- Maria C. Hernandez Soriano(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
In recent decades the Cerrado has undergone various transformations as to its land use, mainly due to the high investments in soil correctives, fertilizers and various crop varieties adapted to this biome. This generated a disordered occupation of the land, with a rampant increase of © 2013 de Freitas et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 de Freitas et al.; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. deforestation that contributed to the loss of species diversity and, concomitantly, some inadequate soils management techniques propitiated the fast degradation of that resource [2], erosion, aquifer pollution, ecosystem degradation, alteration of the soil physical, chemical and biological attributes and consequent reduction of the Soil Quality. In that context, according to [3], the Soil Quality is expressed when the soil works within the limits of a natural ecosystem, so as to sustain biological production, promote animal and plant health, and to maintain the quality of the environment. It is usually determined by a group of physical, chemical and biological attributes, that represents the different soil characteristics and that influences its various functions. Each one of these edaphic attributes, in turn, may or may not perform well, which will influence agricultural production in a significant way. The direct evaluation of the soil properties seems to be the most appropriate way to measure or to monitor its conservation or any degradation process underway [4].
eBook - ePubEcology, Soils, and the Left
An Ecosocial Approach
- Kenneth A. Loparo, Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Palgrave Macmillan(Publisher)
(Karlen et al. 1997, 4)Finally, Lal et al. (2004, 18) view it more succinctly as “determined by the interrelationships among soil properties, soil type, land use and management,” where apparently land use and management simply happen and require no further analysis.10Regardless of the respective weaknesses of these definitions of Soil Quality, they contrast one another in ways that suggest a progressive admission that humans are the ultimate protagonist in this pedological play. It is not just any biological productivity, but productivity that also promotes human health, and then finally the needs associated with habitation, as if it could be independent of human health. Even the spatial aspect is specified, so that it becomes evident that places have some sort of extent (boundaries). Eventually, it is made evident that it is all relative to a combination of decisions over what to use soils for and what the soils themselves are like.There are many problems with these views on Soil Quality and they largely stem from subsuming political questions under external biophysical processes. There is no relational understanding (high Soil Quality for one species can be poor Soil Quality for another), no discussion of the social context of Soil Quality knowledge production, no consideration for the possibility of contradictions between human species-specific needs (or even those of other species) and overall biomass productivity, no explication about what count as legitimate uses of soil (who is to decide on land use and management, for instance), no regard for conflicting soil uses, and no recognition of boundaries as socially constructed rather than given.
eBook - ePub- Raj Ratta, R. Lal, Raj Ratta, R. Lal(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
Soil chemical quality is also important for plant nutrition and growth and providing the essential plant nutrients. Soil chemistry and its effect on plant growth are well known and have been the subject of study in edaphology for hundreds of years. In fact, humans have been amending the soil for fertility purposes for thousands of years. But soil chemical quality also affects the physical quality and the environment for the plant; therefore, physical Soil Quality cannot be completely separated from the chemical aspects. Those processes that restrict water exchange also affect air exchange for plant roots that may limit yield. The chemistry effect on soil physical quality and its effect on plant production received little study. Poor structural stability in the field causes runoff in some places on the landscape and flooding in others. Both may limit yield in the respective landscape areas. The chemistry of the eroding soils also affects the water quality of the runoff. Runoff production and erosion affect both the on-site quality of the soil and the off-site quality of surface waters and sediment.The ability of the soil to remain open and have a high saturated hydraulic conductivity is controlled by the stability of aggregates, which is affected by type of saturating cations, surface charge balances, and the electrical conductivity of rainwater. Soil composition is difficult and unpractical to change, and if the component can be changed, such as organic matter, the change is very slow. Soil chemical composition can be changed much quicker and therefore should be considered as an amendable practice to be used to improve soil chemical and physical quality. Understanding how soil chemical properties affect structural instability will result in management practices and strategies to amend the soil to improve its quality and control erosion while potentially improving yield.
eBook - ePub- Graham Stirling, Helen Hayden, Tony Pattison, Marcelle Stirling(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- CSIRO PUBLISHING(Publisher)
Fig. 2.6 ), and because these characteristics also influence a soil’s ability to function, they must be considered in any discussion of soil properties.Fig. 2.6. Soil has physical, chemical and biological properties, and, if soil is to be healthy and productive, all three components must be nurtured.Soil physical properties
The proportion of sand, silt and clay in a soil, and the arrangement of these particles, greatly influence a soil’s physical properties. Soil structure refers to the way sand, silt and clay particles group together to form aggregates. Fungal hyphae help initiate aggregate formation by providing a framework on which organic matter collects, and then fungi and bacteria produce gluing agents that bind soil particles together. The aggregates formed (sometimes referred to as ‘peds’) vary in size and shape from small crumbs to large blocks, and their presence determines whether water and air can move through the soil, and whether excess water can drain away. Sandy soils have little or no structure because sand grains do not cling together. In contrast, clay soils with a lot of organic matter are likely to aggregate readily. In a well-structured soil, aggregates are separated by a mixture of macropores and micropores that allow free movement of water and air. In degraded or compacted soils, these pore spaces disappear and the environment becomes anoxic (i.e. the oxygen content is negligible).Soil texture is concerned with the size and type of particles that make up a soil, and their relative proportions. It is an important characteristic of a soil, because it influences its nutrient-holding capacity, water-holding capacity, porosity and aeration, and affects the rate of water movement through the soil profile. For example, sandy-textured soils drain readily but retain only small amounts of water and nutrients, whereas clay soils have good water- and nutrient-holding capacities but often suffer from waterlogging problems.
eBook - PDF- Eric C. Brevik, Lynn C. Burgess, Eric C. Brevik, Lynn C. Burgess(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
23 1.9 Soil Classification ................................................................................................................... 24 1.10 Soil Health/Quality ................................................................................................................. 27 1.11 Additional Readings ............................................................................................................... 27 References ........................................................................................................................................ 28 4 Soils and Human Health include calcium in their chemical composition. Likewise, the proportions of sand, silt, and clay in a soil are determined largely by the sand, silt, and clay contents of the parent materials. Topography refers to the slope, aspect, and landscape position of a given soil. The steeper a slope is, the greater erosion tends to be, which limits the depth of the soils on those steep slopes (Figure 1.1). Gentler slopes allow more water infiltration and less runoff, leading to more developed soils. Aspect refers to the direction the slope faces, which influences the amount of solar energy that hits the slope. South-facing slopes in the northern hemisphere get more incoming solar energy than north-facing slopes, thus warming and drying soils on the southern slopes relative to the north-ern slopes (Figure 1.2). The same relationship holds in the southern hemisphere, with north-facing slopes getting more solar energy than south-facing slopes. Landscape position refers to where, on a slope, a soil is formed: at the top, along the side, or at the bottom. Landscape position is important in determining whether a soil will be subjected to slight erosion, intense erosion, slight deposition, or intense deposition. The processes influenced by slope, aspect, and landscape position influence the final soil formed at any given location. Climate primarily refers to precipitation and temperature.
Available until 27 Jan |Learn more- D. I. Jarvis, Christine Padoch, H. D. Cooper, D. I. Jarvis, Christine Padoch, H. D. Cooper(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- Columbia University Press(Publisher)
OM restoration). Increasingly, traditional knowledge systems on how to maintain and restore a healthy soil and sustainable crop, crop–livestock, or agroforestry system are being lost. For intensive systems, alternatives must be demonstrated that make better use of ecological processes and reduce the mediumto long-term risks and potential damage of conventional practices such as monocultures, deep and frequent plowing, and high chemical inputs.IDENTIFICATION AND USE OF Soil Quality INDICATORSThe identification of local conditions and the resources available, both biotic (e.g., human, plants, organic materials, soil biota) and abiotic (e.g., draft or mechanical traction, cash or credit, external inputs, soil nutrient contents), is essential for determining which soil biological management practices realistically can be used. This diagnostic process (Step 3, figure 9.3 ) should create an understanding of potential constraints, opportunities, and needs at various levels.Reflecting increased attention to ecological principles and to human management considerations, several minimum datasets for assessing soil and environmental resources and their quality have been proposed (Doran and Jones 1996). These generally include characterization of the current farming system and practices of different farmer groups, such as the available human resources, organic resources, and biological indicators of Soil Quality and function (box 9.4
- Gero Benckiser, Sylvia Schnell, Gero Benckiser, Sylvia Schnell(Authors)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
Thus, sometimes several and conflicting soil qualities have to be assessed. For example, if we intensify production from extensive grassland to intensive grassland, nutrient content probably will increase. As a consequence biological activity and carbon content may also increase. If this site is intended as productive grassland, then these increasing soil properties show an improvement of Soil Quality. On the other hand, diversity of soil organisms and probably diversity of plants on this site might decrease, which indicates a clear deterioration of the habitat function of the soil. In this case it is not a matter of Soil Quality assessment to weight these two converse effects, but a decision based on the conflicting interests of land use. With respect to Soil Quality assessment based on the production function of the soil, the following principle is valid: the higher is soil biological activity, the better is the Soil Quality. However, when the water balance function and the filtering capacity of the soil are more important (e.g., in drinking water catchment areas), Soil Quality has also to be defined with respect to groundwater contamination and soil properties have to be assessed and evaluated differently. In figure 20.3 soil qualities for plant production and for groundwater quality are schematically presented as a function of the total nitrogen FIGURE 20.3 Hypothetical relation between total nitrogen (N t ) or soil microbial biomass (C mic ) and Soil Quality (SQ) with respect to groundwater quality (water, continuous lines) or plant production (broken lines) for arable land (black) or grassland (grey). Arrows indicate optimal ranges of the soil parameters.
- E.G. Gregorich, M.R. Carter(Authors)
- 1997(Publication Date)
- Elsevier Science(Publisher)
Soils as Components of Ecosystems 117 III. Spatial and Temporal Dimensions 119 A. Interactions among multiple scales in time or space 119 B. ScaHng up to assess sustainability 120 IV. Interactions among Soils and Other Ecosystem Components 121 A. Ecosystems as self-organized, cybernetic systems 122 B. Human controllers 124 C. Ecosystem management based on an understanding of interactions 124 V. Ecosystem Stability, Diversity, and Complexity 125 A. Ecosystem equilibria and dynamics 126 B. Relationship between complexity and stability 126 C. Complexity of agroecosystems 127 VI. Indicators of Soil Quality and Ecosystem Health 129 A. Quality defined as the capacity to provide services 130 B. Health as a measure of fitness 130 C. Natural versus agricultural systems 131 D. Broad-scale indices 133 VII. Sustaining Humans 135 VIII. Summary and Conclusions 136 References 137 I. INTRODUCTION Soils are critical components of terrestrial ecosystems, which also include the atmosphere, water, plants, and other organisms. Healthy or good quahty soils are essential for ecosystems to remain intact or recover from disturbances, such as drought, climate change, pest infestation, pollution, and human exploitation, including agriculture. Most concepts of Soil Quality have been based on the premise that various soil components influence the capacity of soils to fulfill specified functions. These functions are interrelated and often include support of plant growth (e.g., regulation of water and nutrient availabihty), environmental bufifering (e.g., regulation of element fluxes and of air and water composition), and serving as a reservoir of genetic information (especially microbes and seeds). 116 B.H. ELLERT, M.J. CLAPPERTON and D.W. ANDERSON A. The big picture Soil, or the pedosphere, is an intersection among the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and noosphere (Fig. 5.1).
eBook - PDF- Frank R. Spellman(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
• pH— The degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Also referred to as soil reaction, this measurement is based on the pH scale where 7.0 is neutral, values from 0.0 to 7.0 are acid, and values from 7.0 to 14.0 are alkaline. The pH of soil is determined by a simple chemical test where a sensitive indica-tor solution is added directly to a soil sample in a test tube. • Photosynthesis— The process by which green leaves of plants, in the pres-ence of sunlight, manufacture their own needed materials from carbon dioxide in the air and water and minerals taken from the soil. • Porosity, soil— The volume percentage of the total bulk not occupied by solid particles. • Profile, soil— A vertical section of the soil through all its horizons and extending into the parent material. • Reduction— The gain of electrons and therefore the loss of positive valence charge by a substance. 399 Soil Quality Economics • Regolith— The unconsolidated mantle of weathered rock and soil material on the Earth’s surface; loose earth materials above solid rock. • Rock— The material that forms the essential part of the Earth’s solid crust, including loose incoherent masses such as sand and gravel, as well as solid masses of granite and limestone. • Rock cycle— The global geological cycling of lithospheric and crustal rocks from their igneous origins through all or any stages of alteration, deforma-tion, resorption, and reformation. • Runoff— The portion of the precipitation in an area that is discharged from the area through stream channels. • Salinization— The process of accumulation of salts in soil. • Sand— A soil particle between 0.05 and 2.0 mm in diameter; a soil textural class. • Silt— A soil separate consisting of particles between 0.05 and 0.002 mm in equivalent diameter; a soil textural class. • Slope— The degree of deviation of a surface from horizontal, measured in a numerical ratio, percent, or degrees.
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