Soil and crop management effects on soil quality indicators

Abstract

People are becoming more aware that our soil resources are as vulnerable to degradation as air or water, but criteria are needed to learn how soil quality is changing. Our objectives in this review are: (1) to illustrate that interactions between human and natural factors determine soil quality; (2) to identify indicators that can be used to evaluate human-induced effects on soil quality; and (3) to suggest soil and crop management strategies that will sustain or improve soil quality. The physical, chemical, and biological processes and interactions within the soil are critical factors affecting all indicators of soil quality. The biological processes are especially important because they provide much of the resiliency or buffering capacity to ameliorate stress. Presumably, no single soil or crop management practice will guarantee improved soil quality, but conservation tillage, cover crops, and crop rotations are practices that may be effective. Alley or narrow-strip cropping may facilitate adoption of several of those agronomic practices and increase temporal and spatial diversity across the landscape. To maintain or possibly improve soil quality and simultaneously address a growing waste disposal problem, we suggest that urban lawn and newspaper waste be evaluated as carbon sources. We conclude that the most critical factor, regardless of the soil and crop management strategy, is to recognize that carbon is an essential element for improving soil quality in the U.S. and around the world.