Abstract
<p>Soil quality is a measure of the condition of soil. The goal of sustainable agriculture is to maintain a non-negative trend in productivity while maintaining soil quality. Susukan is an area in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, which has developed organic farming to increase rice productivity and quality. The main objective was to determine the sustainability of organic rice cropping systems. The organic farming system at the research location has been conducted for 8 years. Appropriate agricultural management can maintain the quality of soil, environment and improve the health of plants, animals and humans. This research aims to know the soil quality and determine the minimum data set (MDS) in organic and non-organic paddy field with a technical irrigation system. Paddy soil samples were analyzed in the laboratory. The parameters are porosity, permeability, hydrogen potential (pH), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOC), total-N (nitrogen), carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, available-P (phosphorus), available-K (potassium), base saturation (BS), electric conductivity (EC), soil respiration (qCO2), redox potential (Eh) with 3 repetitions. The value of soil quality index (SQI) in the organic paddy field is 3.216 with bad soil quality criteria, while the non-organic paddy field is 0.147 with very bad criteria. The soil quality values are based on the key factors or MDS that is potential redox (EH), soil respiration (qCO2), potential hydrogen (pH), porosity, soil organic matter (SOC), total-N (nitrogen), C/N ratio, available-P (phosphorus).</p>
Highlights
Many activities occur in the soil and on the ground indicating that the soil is very important for life
Evaluation of soil quality combining physical, chemical and biological (Cmic, Nmic, worms, enzyme, pest and soil microbial respiration) properties can be used as an indicator of land health
The properties can be determined as minimum data set (MDS) that can be used as a quantitative indicator in determining soil quality (Dang 2007)
Summary
Many activities occur in the soil and on the ground indicating that the soil is very important for life. Good soil quality will maintain the production of food, ecosystems, environment and human health (Doran and Parkin 1994). The soil quality combines physical, chemical and biological properties. Evaluation of soil quality combining physical (fill weight, porosity, permeability, root depth, infiltration water rate, water holding capacity, and aggregate stability), chemical (pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, organic matter, N, K and Ca can be exchanged) and biological (Cmic, Nmic, worms, enzyme, pest and soil microbial respiration) properties can be used as an indicator of land health. The properties can be determined as minimum data set (MDS) that can be used as a quantitative indicator in determining soil quality (Dang 2007). MDS is a very influential indicator of soil quality testing (Larson and Pierce 1991)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
