“SOIL QUALITY : WHY AND HOW?

RASHMI C. M.1 AND PRADEEP2

Ph.D Scholar, Dept of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry

University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, Karnataka -560065.

Introduction
The soil quality concept evolved during1990s in response to increased global emphasis on
sustainable land use. Soil quality concept is important because of the multiple functions (e.g.
food and fiber production, recreation, and recycling or assimilation of wastes or other by-
products) that soil resources must provide. Soil is a key natural resource, with the
advancement of agriculture, soils are being degraded at an alarming rate by wind and water
erosion, desertification, salinization misuse and improper farming practices so maintenance
of soil quality is most precious.

Why soil quality is important?

 Because 10 % of the land area is soil
 Of the 13 billion ha of land area on Earth, cropland accounts for only 11%.
 70 -78% of the energy needs is met by crops grown directly on soil
 20% derived indirectly from soil (meat, eggs and milk) .
 This fragment competes with all other needs (housing, cities, industries, etc, etc ..)
 To Ensure equitable access to food and foster good health with economic growth.
 Environment regulatory function with particular reference to water quality and
greenhouse effect.

Definition of Soil Quality:

The capacity of a specific kind of soil to function, with in natural or managed ecosystem
boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air
quality, and support human health and habitation (Karlen et al. 1997) .

Features of soil quality

INHERENT SOIL QUALITY: resulting from natural soil forming factors e.g. Texture. Soil
forming factors are

 Climate
 Vegetation
 Parent material
 Relief
 Time
DYNAMIC SOIL QUALITY : resulting from changes due to human use and management
e.g. BD,SOM.

Soil amendments
Drainage or Irrigation
Cropping History and Rotation
Nutrient Management
Land Use Type
Residue Management
Tillage

Soil Quality Indicators

Soil quality indicator is a parameter which measures soil properties that influence the
capacity of the soil to perform a specific function.

Soil Quality Index: A set of aggregated or weighted soil quality parameters.

Criteria for selection of soil quality indicators

 Correlate well with natural processes in the ecosystem.
 Integrate soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and processes.
 Relatively easy to measure.
 Sensitive to variations in management and climate.

Types of Soil Quality Indicators:

1. Visual indicators: these are identified based on expert’s opinion and using
photographs.
e.g. soil colour
2. Physical indicators: bulk density, surface crust, surface soil depth, aggregation
etc.
3. Chemical indicators: pH, EC, OC, available nutrients.
4. Biological indicators: microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen,
phosphatase activity etc.

Key soil quality indicators for soil quality assessment:

Selected indicator Rationale for selection

Organic matter Defines Soil fertility & soil moisture

Topsoil- depth Estimate rooting volume for crop production

Aggregation Soil structure, erosion resistance

Texture Retention & transport of water & chemicals

2
Bulk density Plant root penetration, porosity

Ph Nutrient mobility

EC Crop growth, infiltration

Suspected pollutants Plant quality, & human & animal health

Soil respiration Biological activity

Extractable N, P & K Capacity to support plant growth

Assessment of soil quality:

The art and science of creating decision tools for sustainable land management.

Types of soil quality assessment:

1. Qualitative approach
2. Quantitative approach

Guiding Principles for Quantitative Soil Quality Assessment :

Soil health score card - a qualitative approach: Depicts the capacity of soil to
perform both soil function and its attributes. It is very informative and relatively easy to
measure also. In score card each soil indicator is rated as below:

3
 Scale rates Performance of soil Scale range

Healthy Optimum 3-4

Impaired Abnormal 1.5-2.5

Unhealthy Inability 0-1

Conclusion:

Assessment and monitoring of soil quality must also provide opportunity to evaluate and
redesign soil and land management systems for sustainability. We need standards of soil
quality to determine what is good or bad and to find out if soil management systems are
functioning at acceptable levels of performance. Assess the current status of the biological,
physical, and chemical properties of soil hence, support for ecological sustainability.

References :
BHADURI AND PURAKAYASTHA, T. J., 2014, Identification of indicators for the rice-
wheat cropping sequence of indo gangetic plains under semi-arid, sub-tropical climate. Soil
Tillage Res., 144: 83-95.

CHAUDHURY, J., MANDAL, U. K., SHARMA,V. H. AND MANDAL, K. L., 2005,

Assessing soil quality under long-term rice-based cropping system. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant
Anal., 36: 1141–1161.

DHARMENDRA, S., SHARMA, R. P., SANKHYAN, N. K. AND MEENA, S. C.,

2017,Influence of long-term application of chemical fertilizers and soil amendments on
physico chemical soil quality indicators and crop yield under maize-wheat cropping system in
an acid Alfisol. J. Pharmacognosy Phytochem., 6(3): 198-204.

GOWDA, R.C., VEERANAGAPPA, P., GAYATHRI, D.C., HANUMANTHAPPA AND

SINGH, M., 2017, Long-term application of fertilizers on chemical and biological properties
of an Alfisol. J. Appl. Nat. Sci., 9(4): 1970-1974.