Reservations Regarding the Soil Quality Concept

Sojka, R.E.; Upchurch, D. R.

doi:10.2136/sssaj1999.6351039x

Cited by 208 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(59 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

123

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This was especially evident for the numerically dominant medium textured soils. These findings counter the common notion that Midwestern soils are of superior quality for agriculture than those in other regions, as well as critiques that soil health assessments are inherently biased to favor Mollisols or similar soil orders (Sojka et al, 2003;Sojka and Upchurch, 1999). There are a few likely explanations for these findings.…”

Section: Overallmentioning

confidence: 57%

Statistics, Scoring Functions, and Regional Analysis of a Comprehensive Soil Health Database

Fine

Schindelbeck

2017

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

198

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil health (Sh) refers to the ability of a soil to function and provide ecosystem services. The Comprehensive Assessment of Soil health (CASh) is an approach that measures 15 physical, biological, and chemical soil indicators, which are interpreted through scoring functions. This study reports on the Sh status of 5767 samples from the mid-Atlantic, midwest, and northeast regions of the uSA as evaluated using CASh. descriptive statistics and AnOvAs of subdatasets by region and soil textural group for Sh indicators, in addition to correlation coefficients, principal component (pC) analysis, and best subsets regression (BSr) were performed. from these analyses, new CASh scoring functions were developed. Separate scoring functions by textural group (fine, medium, coarse) were necessary for Wet Aggregate Stability (WAS), Available Water Capacity (AWS), Organic matter (Om), Active Carbon (AC), and protein. differences existed among regions, especially for WAS, Om, protein, and respiration (resp), where the midwest had relatively lower mean values compared to the mid-Atlantic and northeast. Biological properties and WAS showed moderately strong correlations (r = 0.58-0.78) and the highest loadings for the first two pCs. BSr results using the overall soil quality index as the response variable indicated that AC accounts for 45% of the variation, with additional predictability from penetration resistance, resp, and WAS (68%). These four indicators are suggested for simplified Sh tests. We conclude that the CASh approach can be successfully applied to evaluate the health status of soils with differing pedogenetic histories. C onceptually, soil health (SH) represents the emerging understanding of soil quality. Both terms refer to the ability of a soil to function and provide ecosystem services based on its inherent characteristics (e.g., texture, mineralogy) and environmental conditions (Karlen et al., 1997;Andrews et al., 2004;Idowu et al., 2009). A soil's health status, within the context of land use and management goals, however, is consistent with the understanding of soils as a dynamic, complex, and living system (Doran and Zeiss, 2000). Intensive agriculture and poor land management practices have led to widespread soil degradation associated with increasing topsoil erosion, nutrient depletion, pollution, compaction, and loss of organic matter (Matson et al., 1997). A sustainable future with an ever-growing global population depends on healthy, well-functioning soils, which increase water and air quality, sup- Core Ideas• Summary statistics were developed from a robust multiregional soil health (Sh) dataset.• Active carbon, organic matter, and penetration resistance were most useful soil health indicators.• midwestern soils had relatively lower mean values for measured biological properties than northeast or mid-Atlantic soils.

show abstract

Section: Overallmentioning

confidence: 57%

Statistics, Scoring Functions, and Regional Analysis of a Comprehensive Soil Health Database

Fine

Schindelbeck

2017

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

198

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…High organic matter contents reduce pesticide efficiency, increasing the frequency of needed applications. Complexation with soluble organic matter facilitates pesticide sorption on organic fractions and transport through soil or groundwater (Sojka and Upchurch, 1999).…”

Section: Chemical Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil quality definition cannot be generalized for all kinds of soil and soil-use as criticized by Sojka and Upchurch (1999). Thus, indicators of soil quality must be selected according to soil use and management, soil characteristics and environmental circumstances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

Cardoso¹,

Vasconcellos²,

Bini³

et al. 2013

Sci. agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.)

407

220

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil Health refers to the ecological equilibrium and the functionality of a soil and its capacity to maintain a well balanced ecosystem with high biodiversity above and below surface, and productivity. To understand and use soil health as a tool for sustainability, physical, chemical, and biological properties must be employed to verify which respond to the soil use and management within a desired timescale. Attributes with a rapid response to natural or anthropogenic actions are considered good indicators of soil health. Among the physical indicators, soil texture, aggregation, moisture, porosity, and bulk density have been used, while among chemical indicators total C and N, mineral nutrients, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, among others are well established. However, most of them generally have a slow response, when compared to the biological ones, such as microbial biomass C and N, biodiversity, soil enzymes, soil respiration, etc., in addition to macro and mesofauna. Thus, a systemic approach based on different kinds of indicators (physical, chemical and biological) in assessing soil health would be safer than using only one kind of attribute. Many human activities have caused desertification, loss of biodiversity, disruption of aggregates, loss of organic matter and nutrients, among others. Today, it is imperious to maintain soil health and productivity with increasing emphasis on reforestation and recuperation of degraded areas through the use of organic amendments, reintroduction of plants, soil fauna and microorganisms. This review focused on an integrative view on indicators of soil health to be used as tools for prediction of sustainability in production systems.

show abstract

“…Doran & Zeiss (2000) afirmaram que IQS é meramente "um meio para atingir o fim", e este fim, segundo os autores, é o manejo dos sistemas agrícolas com base nos princípios da sustentabilidade. Sojka & Upchurch (1999 foram enfaticamente contra a definição de atributos para compor um IQS. Estes autores julgaram que a simples indexação da diversidade das funções do solo é prematura para a tomada de decisão (em relação ao manejo empregado) nas infinitas condições em que o solo se encontra.…”

Section: Atributos Do Solo Como Indicadores De Sua Qualidadeunclassified

Uma visão sobre qualidade do solo

Vezzani

Mielniczuk

2009

Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Solo

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

RESUMONo início da década de1990, a comunidade científica, consciente da importância do solo para a qualidade ambiental e para a sustentabilidade agrícola, iniciou a abordagem sobre Qualidade do Solo (QS). Este trabalho teve o objetivo de analisar o estado da arte em QS e fazer uma reflexão sobre as propostas de avaliação. A maior parte dos estudos concentra-se na identificação de um índice que seja capaz de servir como indicador de QS (IQS), para auxiliar na avaliação de terras em relação à degradação, fazer estimativas de necessidades de pesquisa e de financiamentos e julgar práticas de manejo utilizadas. Alguns autores propõem os critérios para definição de um IQS. Das abordagens sobre QS, percebe-se que existem três linhas de pensamento: busca por atributos do solo como IQS; matéria orgânica do solo como IQS; e QS como resultado de processos no sistema soloplanta. Conclui-se que o grande avanço nessa área é a abordagem sistêmica do solo, razão pela qual é mais importante identificar como obter QS, do que identificar atributos para medi-la. Sob essa análise, o sistema solo só atinge qualidade quando integrado às plantas e à biota edáfica, e a avaliação do seu funcionamento, que é a própria QS, deve ter como base os princípios da termodinâmica do não-equilíbrio, ciência que rege os sistemas abertos. Os sistemas agrícolas que favorecem a QS são aqueles que cultivam plantas intensamente, de preferência de espécies diferentes, sem o revolvimento do solo.Termos de indexação: abordagem sistêmica, termodinâmica do não equilíbrio, fluxo de energia, estados de ordem.

show abstract

Reservations Regarding the Soil Quality Concept

Cited by 208 publications

References 81 publications

Statistics, Scoring Functions, and Regional Analysis of a Comprehensive Soil Health Database

Statistics, Scoring Functions, and Regional Analysis of a Comprehensive Soil Health Database

Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health?

Uma visão sobre qualidade do solo

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About