Development and application of a soil organic matter-based soil quality index in mineralized terrane of the Western US

Soil quality is the capacity of soil to sustain biological productivity and environmental quality. Assessment of soil quality in different land use systems is essential as inappropriate land use management can degrade and deteriorate its function and stability. In this regard this study was carried out to evaluate soil quality of different land use types in Chure region of central Nepal. Soil quality index (SQI) was determined on the basis of the soil physiochemical parameters. Soil properties like soil pH, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), available potassium (AK), and available phosphorous (AP) were significantly affected by land uses types. Forest soil had the highest soil quality index (0.82) followed by bari (0.66), khet (0.64), and degraded land (0.40). Of the soil properties studied, total nitrogen and soil organic matter had the determining role in making significant impacts in the SQI among the different land uses. Hence, the results of this study can be important tool for planner, policy makers, and scientific community to frame appropriate land use management strategy.

Download Full-text

Soil vital signs: A new Soil Quality Index (SQI) for assessing forest soil health

10.2737/rmrs-rp-65 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Michael C. Amacher ◽

Katherine P. O'Neil ◽

Charles H. Perry

Keyword(s):

Forest Soil ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Quality Index ◽

Soil Health ◽

Vital Signs ◽

Soil Quality Index

Download Full-text

A new approach to elaborate a multifunctional soil quality index

Journal of Soils and Sediments ◽

10.1007/bf02991142 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 201-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giancarlo Barbiroli ◽

Giovanni Casalicchio ◽

Andrea Raggi

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Quality Index ◽

Soil Quality Index ◽

New Approach

Download Full-text

Assessment of Potato Farmland Soil Nutrient Based on MDS-SQI Model in the Loess Plateau

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13073957 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 3957

Author(s):

Yingying Xing ◽

Ning Wang ◽

Xiaoli Niu ◽

Wenting Jiang ◽

Xiukang Wang

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Soil Fertility ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Soil Nutrients ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Matter Content ◽

Soil Organic Matter Content ◽

Farmland Soil

Soil nutrients are essential nutrients provided by soil for plant growth. Most researchers focus on the coupling effect of nutrients with potato yield and quality. There are few studies on the evaluation of soil nutrients in potato fields. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soil nutrients of potato farmland and the soil vertical nutrient distributions, and then to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the fertilizer management practices for potatoes in Loess Plateau. Eight physical and chemical soil indexes were selected in the study area, and 810 farmland soil samples from the potato agriculture product areas were analyzed in Northern Shaanxi. The paper established the minimum data set (MDS) for the quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland by principal component analysis (PCA), respectively, and furthermore, analyzed the soil nutrient characteristics of the cultivated layer adopted soil quality index (SQI). The results showed that the MDS on soil quality diagnosis of the cultivated layer for farmland soil included such indicators as the soil organic matter content, soil available potassium content, and soil available phosphorus content. The comprehensive index value of the soil quality was between 0.064 and 0.302. The SPSS average clustering process used to classify SQI was divided into three grades: class I (36.2%) was defined as suitable soil fertility (SQI < 0.122), class II (55.6%) was defined as moderate soil fertility (0.122 < SQI < 0.18), and class III (8.2%) was defined as poor soil fertility (SQI > 0.186). The comprehensive quality of the potato farmland soils was generally low. The proportion of soil nutrients in the SQI composition ranged from large to small as the soil available potassium content = soil available phosphorus content > soil organic matter content, which became the limiting factor of the soil organic matter content in this area. This study revolves around the 0 to 60 cm soil layer; the soil fertility decreased gradually with the soil depth, and had significant differences between the respective soil layers. In order to improve the soil nutrient accumulation and potato yield in potato farmland in northern Shaanxi, it is suggested to increase the fertilization depth (20 to 40 cm) and further study the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer.

Download Full-text

Land Degradation Vulnerability Mapping in a Newly-Reclaimed Desert Oasis in a Hyper-Arid Agro-Ecosystem Using AHP and Geospatial Techniques

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11071426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1426

Author(s):

Ahmed S. Abuzaid ◽

Mohamed A. E. AbdelRahman ◽

Mohamed E. Fadl ◽

Antonio Scopa

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Quality Index ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Western Desert ◽

Soil Quality Index ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Sensing Data

Modelling land degradation vulnerability (LDV) in the newly-reclaimed desert oases is a key factor for sustainable agricultural production. In the present work, a trial for usingremote sensing data, GIS tools, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was conducted for modeling and evaluating LDV. The model was then applied within 144,566 ha in Farafra, an inland hyper-arid Western Desert Oases in Egypt. Data collected from climate conditions, geological maps, remote sensing imageries, field observations, and laboratory analyses were conducted and subjected to AHP to develop six indices. They included geology index (GI), topographic quality index (TQI), physical soil quality index (PSQI), chemical soil quality index (CSQI), wind erosion quality index (WEQI), and vegetation quality index (VQI). Weights derived from the AHP showed that the effective drivers of LDV in the studied area were as follows: CSQI (0.30) > PSQI (0.29) > VQI (0.17) > TQI (0.12) > GI (0.07) > WEQI (0.05). The LDV map indicated that nearly 85% of the total area was prone to moderate degradation risks, 11% was prone to high risks, while less than 1% was prone to low risks. The consistency ratio (CR) for all studied parameters and indices were less than 0.1, demonstrating the high accuracy of the AHP. The results of the cross-validation demonstrated that the performance of ordinary kriging models (spherical, exponential, and Gaussian) was suitable and reliable for predicting and mapping soil properties. Integrated use of remote sensing data, GIS, and AHP would provide an effective methodology for predicting LDV in desert oases, by which proper management strategies could be adopted to achieve sustainable food security.

Download Full-text