Evaluation of β-Glucosidase Activity as a Soil Quality Indicator for the Soil Management Assessment Framework

The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.

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Participatory soil quality assessment: The case of smallholder farmers in Ethiopian highlands

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr04021 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 42 (7) ◽

pp. 793 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Teklu Erkossa ◽

Karl Stahr ◽

Thomas Gaiser

Keyword(s):

Quality Assessment ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Soil Management ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Soil Functions ◽

Yield Data ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Soil Quality Assessment

The study was conducted at Caffee Doonsa (08°88′N, 39°08′E; 2400 m asl), a small watershed in the central highlands of Ethiopia, in order to identify farmers’ goals of soil management and the indicators they use in selecting soils for a certain function, and to categorise the soils in different quality groups with respect to the major functions. Thirty-six male farmers of different age and wealth groups participated in a Participatory Rural Appraisal technique. They listed and prioritised 12 soil functions in the area and itemised the soil quality indicators (characteristics). Based on the indicators, the soils in the watershed were classified into 3 soil quality (SQ) groups (Abolse, Kooticha, and Carii). The SQ groups have been evaluated and ranked for the major soil functions. For crop production, Abolse was graded best, followed by Kooticha and Carii, respectively. The grain and straw yield data of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) taken from the SQ groups confirmed the farmers claim, in that Abolse gave the highest grain yield (4573 kg/ha), followed by 4411 and 3657 kg/ha for Kooticha and Carii, respectively. Local insights should be included in systematic soil quality assessment, and in planning and implementation of various soil management interventions.

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Applying Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) on short-term sugarcane straw removal in Brazil

Industrial Crops and Products ◽

10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.12.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 129 ◽

pp. 175-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Izaias P. Lisboa ◽

Maurício R. Cherubin ◽

Lucas S. Satiro ◽

Marcos Siqueira-Neto ◽

Renato P. Lima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Management ◽

Assessment Framework ◽

Short Term ◽

Sugarcane Straw

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Soil quality indicator of oxisols grown with sugarcane and native forest in northeastern São Paulo state, Brazil

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-018-7830-7 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 77 (18) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ludmila de Freitas ◽

Marcílio Vieira Martins Filho ◽

José Carlos Casagrande ◽

Ivanildo Amorim de Oliveira ◽

Luiz Gabriel da Silva

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Quality Indicator ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Native Forest ◽

São Paulo ◽

Paulo State ◽

São Paulo State

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Soil quality indices for evaluation of long-term land use and soil management practices in semi-arid sub-tropical India

Land Degradation and Development ◽

10.1002/ldr.857 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 516-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

R. E. Masto ◽

P. K. Chhonkar ◽

T. J. Purakayastha ◽

A. K. Patra ◽

D. Singh

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Management ◽

Quality Indices ◽

Semi Arid

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Selecting soil quality indicators for different soil management systems in the Brazilian Cerrado

Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira ◽

10.1590/s0100-204x2016000900064 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (9) ◽

pp. 1643-1651 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Diane Cristina Stefanoski ◽

Cícero Célio de Figueiredo ◽

Glenio Guimarães Santos ◽

Robélio Leandro Marchão

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Quality Indicators ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Principal Component ◽

Soil Management ◽

Biological Indicators ◽

Management Systems ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Soil Quality Indicators ◽

Physical Chemical

Abstract The objective of this work was to assess soil quality indicators obtained with different datasets to compare soil management systems in the Brazilian Cerrado. Three criteria were used to select soil physical, chemical, and biological indicators: the full set of indicators obtained, with 36 parameters, for which all the physical, chemical, and biological soil properties were determined; a subset of indicators selected by principal component analysis (20 parameters); and a subset of indicators with some frequency of use in the literature (16 parameters). These indicators were obtained from the following management systems: no-tillage, conventional tillage, and native cerrado vegetation. Soil samples were collected at 0.0-0.1-m soil depth, and soil quality indicators were subjected to analysis of variance and their means were compared. The incorporation of soil native cerrado into agriculture decreased soil quality. The most commonly used indicators in the scientific literature are sensitive enough to detect differences in soil quality according to land use. Therefore, the selection of a minimum set of representative data can be more useful than a complex set of properties to compare management systems as to their soil quality.

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