Definition of priority areas for soil protection at a continental scale

Abstract

Resources for achieving better soil protection are limited and need to be effectively targeted. Spatial variability is high for soil types and related quality and for the risk of degradation because of the threats of organic matter decline, erosion, compaction and salinization. A framework is presented for mapping priority areas for soil protection based on assessing where there is greater risk of degradation and evaluating its acceptability. A conceptual model is proposed which links anthropogenic hazards, threats and the risk of degradation with soil functions. It is recommended that a set of test areas is defined according to dominant soil types, and the probabilities of changes to soil properties relevant to soil functions are then estimated. The risk of exceeding a particular degradation threshold within these test areas can then be assessed and assigned to risk categories to provide the basis for the identification of priority areas.

Ecological importance of soil bacterivores for ecosystem functions

“…Unfortunately, soils are also among the most threatened environments in terms of biodiversity loss (Kibblewhite 2012). Many threats (soil erosion, land use change, overexploitation, pollution, biological invasion, etc.)…”

Soil Health Evaluation of Farmland Based on Functional Soil Management—A Case Study of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, China

“…Hence, it is ideal to select indicators with larger spatial variability for SH evaluation at different scales, such as the relatively stable factors at the macro scale, including slope and aspect, thickness of the soil layer, and soil barrier layer [92,93]. For county and field scales, the relatively variable factors such as soil organic matter, soil nutrient elements, soil aggregates, soil respiration, and soil microorganisms are taken into account [94,95]. It is worth noting that soil organisms directly participate in soil processes and profoundly affect soil ecosystem services.…”

Research Progress on Soil Security Assessment in Farmlands and Grasslands Based on Bibliometrics over the Last Four Decades

“…In terms of evaluation indicators, the index type primarily includes soil survey data and distributed sampling tests. Considering the low availability of soil quantity data at large spatial scales and the minimal dataset indicator filtering, the number of indicators selected in the empirical study ranged from 1 to 12 [97][98][99][100], more than half of which had fewer than seven index types. Therefore, 6-12 indexes can achieve a comprehensive evaluation of soil security at different scales, and certain commonalities are observed among the core evaluation indexes.…”