Concept Of Soil Quality Research Articles

Reservations Regarding the Soil Quality Concept

We consider the appropriateness of institutionalizing soil quality as a defined parameter in soil science. The soil management research of land grant universities and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the mission and goals of state, federal, and private conservation agencies stand to be significantly affected. We feel that a non-advocalive examination of this concept could provide a positive contribution. The definition of soil quality has proven elusive and value laden. There is concern by some that the concept has developed arbitrary policy overtones. Our reservations stem from concerns regarding premature acceptance and institutionalization of an incompletely formulated and largely untested paradigm, potential unintended negative outcomes, promotion of a narrowly defined environmental policy in a context normally associated with value-neutral science, and taxonomic andlor regional bias in establishing the paradigm. To date, soil quality assessments have drawn from a relatively narrow crop production and ecological perspective to positively or negatively weight soil quality assessment factors. Although the soil quality paradigm acknowledges multi-defined soil functions, it has yet to operationally recognize and integrate the simultaneity of diverse and often conflicting functions and soil property requirements. Thus, we are attempting to articulate the concerns of many of our colleagues who are reluctant to endorse redefining the soil science paradigm away from the value-neutral tradition of edaphology and specific problem solving to a paradigm based on variable, and often subjective societal perceptions of environmental holism. Traditionally, it has been the soil science profession's role to perform the science to enable resource management policy and problem solving, not to establish relational-based value systems within the science. We suggest emphasizing quality soil management rather than soil quality management as a professional and scientific goal.

Monitoring Soil Quality of Arable Land: Microbiological Indicators

The aim of this review is to present a foundation of present knowledge and to describe existing strategies for the development and implementation of monitoring systems for soil quality of arable land, based on soil-quality indicators. In the review viewpoints are discussed on the soil-quality concept, suggested frameworks for its assessment, and possible methods for the selection and evaluation of quality indicators. These sections are in general terms, without emphasis on chemical, physical or biological soil properties. The potential value of including microbiological indicators in a monitoring system is discussed thoroughly. Several possible microbiological indicators are suggested, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Strategies for the selection and sampling of monitoring sites are reviewed, and the treatment of samples before analyses is also discussed. In conclusion, a framework for using microbiological indicators in a Swedish monitoring system is suggested.

Effect of straw management and nitrogen fertilizer on selected soil properties as potential soil quality indicators of an irrigated Dark Brown Chernozemic soil

Cereals grown under irrigation in the Canadian prairies produce large amounts of residues. An experiment initiated at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, in the fall of 1986, to investigate five straw management treatments (1, chopped straw/fall tillage [straw incorporated]; 2, chopped straw/spring tillage [straw incorporated]; 3, straw baled/fall tillage; 4, straw baled/spring tillage; 5, straw baled/direct seeding) and three fertilizer N rates (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha−1) on crop yields under irrigation, was sampled in April 1995 to examine the effect of straw management and fertilizer additions on selected soil chemical characteristics as potential soil quality indicators. If yield is not used, can we evaluate soil quality from a soil genesis baseline or is it crop growth driven? Differences among straw management and fertility treatments have already supplied information on the effects of these treatments after 8 yr. The treatment in which the straw was baled and the land not tilled had the highest soil bulk density. Total soil organic C and N were highest for the straw baled/no tillage treatment and the 200 kg N ha−1 application. Total C was higher for the fall than spring tillage treatments, while total N was lower for the spring than for the fall tillage treatments when straw was incorporated. Light fraction (mg kg−1 C) was highest for the chopped straw and zero fertilizer additions. For several biologically related characteristics, e.g., mineralizable N, biomass C, biological index N, and hydrolysable N, there were significant interactions between straw management treatments and fertility levels. Monosaccharides at the zero fertility level were generally of microbial origin, while plant-origin monosaccharides were more prevalent as the fertility level increased. It is concluded that the present use does not lead to soil erosion, does not pollute groundwater, and does grow plants; with the help of outside resources, any one straw management treatment can be considered as valid in the anthropocentric sense of soil quality. Since the interpretation of significant effects of treatment on soil properties must be carefully considered depending on the crop selected, the concept of soil quality is thus open to question and debate. Key words: Soil quality, straw management, intrinsic value, tillage, labile organic matter

Soil Quality: A Concept, Definition, and Framework for Evaluation (A Guest Editorial)

AbstractThis essay summarizes deliberation by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Ad Hoc Committee on Soil Quality (S‐581) and was written to spur discussion among SSSA members. Varying perceptions of soil quality have emerged since the concept was suggested in the early 1990s, and dialogue among members is important because, unlike air and water quality, legislative standards for soil quality have not been and perhaps should not be defined. In simplest terms, soil quality is “the capacity (of soil) to function”. This definition, based on function, reflects the living and dynamic nature of soil. Soil quality can be conceptualized as a three‐legged stool, the function and balance of which requires an integration of three major components — sustained biological productivity, environmental quality, and plant and animal health. The concept attempts to balance multiple soil uses (e.g., for agricultural production, remediation of wastes, urban development, forest, range, or recreation) with goals for environmental quality. Assessing soil quality will require collaboration among all disciplines of science to examine and interpret their results in the context of land management strategies, interactions, and trade‐offs. Society is demanding solutions from science. Simply measuring and reporting the response of an individual soil parameter to a given perturbation or management practice is no longer sufficient. The soil resource must be recognized as a dynamic living system that emerges through a unique balance and interaction of its biological, chemical, and physical components. We encourage SSSA members to consider the concept of soil quality (perhaps as a marketing tool) and to debate how it might enable us to more effectively meet the diverse natural resource needs and concerns of our rural, urban, and suburban clientele of today and tomorrow.

Clear-cut forest harvest impacts on soil quality indicators in the mixedwood forest of Saskatchewan, Canada

The concept of soil quality is relevant to a range of human-induced disturbances on soil; our objective was to examine the impact of clear-cutting on soil quality conditions in six Mixedwood ( Populus tremuloides-Picea glauca) stands in Central Saskatchewan, Canada. Soil quality conditions at two short-term (1 to 5 years) and four medium-term (6 to 20 years) clear-cut sites were compared to eight mature Mixedwood sites. All sites had a similar, albeit complex, distribution of soil and parent sediments. No major differences were observed between the short-term clear-cut sites and the mature Mixedwood sites. At the medium-term sites, substantial losses of soil organic carbon (24%), soil nitrogen (27%), and LFH thickness (28%) were observed, along with decreases in the soil surface (0 to 15 cm layer) of exchangeable calcium and magnesium (30%), soluble organic P (15%), and cation exchange capacity and base saturation (20%). The losses were much lower in the 15 to 45 cm layer of the soil. Overall, the levels of these soil components observed at the clear-cut sites were within the natural or undisturbed range as assessed at the mature Mixedwood sites; however the amounts of soil organic carbon and nitrogen at the clear-cut sites were lower than the natural range. Although the absolute levels of loss of soil organic carbon and nitrogen were much lower than in typical agricultural landscapes, the long-term ecological significance of the losses in these forested landscapes remains a concern.