ABSTRACT:
During the past decade, soil quality research and education programs have increased exponentially throughout the world. Educational and assessment approaches, ranging from simple scorecard and test-kit monitoring to comprehensive quantitative assessments and indexing using soils databases, have been pursued. The programs have emphasized that soil quality is not “an end in itself” but rather a tool for evaluating and understanding the effects of soil management on a specific soil resource. The approaches have stressed that to determine how well a soil is functioning, inherent and dynamic soil properties and processes must be evaluated using biological, chemical, and physical indicators. No soil quality researcher has ever envisioned the concept would replace modern soil survey programs or diminish the importance of scientifically based soil management strategies. Herein, we present the scientific merits of soil quality research.
Footnotes
Douglas L. Karlen is is research soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Susan S. Andrews is an ecologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Quality Institute in Ames, Iowa. Brain J. Weinhold and John W. Doran are research soil scientists with the U.S. Department of Agricultural-Agricultural Research at the University of Nebraska, Linscoln, Nebraska.
- Copyright 2003 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
