Excerpt
Scientists, conservation advisors, and producers recognize the need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to soil management that (1) considers the multiple production and ecological functions soil provides, (2) evaluates multiple factors of soil degradation, (3) provides standards or thresholds for managing soil to sustain its multiple production and ecological functions, and (4) results in more comprehensive recommendations for soil management and conservation.
The Soil and Water Conservation Society undertook a project to help accelerate the development of more comprehensive soil assessment, management, and planning tools. This article summarizes the results of an expert consultation held in Nebraska City, Nebraska, May 22-24, 2007, to recommend actions to move toward more comprehensive soil assessment, management, and planning tools.
MORE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM NEEDED
Soil conservation standards and tools that enable a more comprehensive assessment of management and conservation systems on multiple production and environmental endpoints are needed to meet the conservation challenges we face today.
The most widely used soil conservation standard in the United States is the Soil Loss Tolerance Standard (T). The most widely used soil conservation planning tools in the United States are the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation version 2 (RUSLE2) and the Wind …
Footnotes
Craig A. Cox was executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society at the time this article was prepared.
- © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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