Reading Soils: Using Easily Obtainable Soil Information to Assess Soil Functioning
- ISBN-10
- 9463439420
- ISBN-13
- 9789463439428
- Pages
- 170
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2019
Description
Soils have many functions, such as producing crops, filtering water by binding nutrients and solutes, serving as a carbon pool and providing a habitat for all kinds of soil fauna. Soil quality can be assessed using easily obtainable soil information, such as soil maps and visual soil evaluation (VSE). The aim of this thesis is to evaluate whether easily obtainable soil information (soil maps and visual soil evaluation) can be used to assess soil functions. To reach the thesis aim and to bridge the knowledge gaps, three research questions were formulated: 1) to what extent does the required spatial scale in nutrient balances depend on the level of soil variation, 2) to what extent are quantitative visual soil observations reproducible, and do they correlate with standard field or laboratory measurements, and 3) can quantitative visual soil observations be used to assess soil functioning? This thesis thereby contributes to the assessment of soil quality in agricultural land, which can contribute to environmentally sustainable crop production.
