Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Author(s):
Sandip Kumar Gautam, Satender Kumar, Amit Kumar and Kautilya Chaudhary

Abstract:
The soil quality concept emerged in the 1990s in response to the growing worldwide focus on sustainable land use and a holistic approach that highlights that sustainable soil relevant planning more than just soil erosion control. The concept focuses on two areas: education and assessment, both of which are based on sound soil science principles. Many people lack the knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of soil resources, so educational materials such as soil quality test kits, farmer-based scorecards, visual assessment procedures, fact sheets, and video presentations were created. To demonstrate the various functions (e.g. nutrient and water cycling, contaminant filtering and buffering, decomposition of crop residues and other organic matter sources, and recycling of essential plant nutrients) that soils provide as the foundation for sustainable land management, assessment tools for indexing soil quality at various scales were pursued. From plot to national scales, soil sampling and analysis, as well as visual examination, are widely used to assess its status and use potential. Because of the complexity and site-specificity of soils, legacy effects of previous land use, and trade-offs between ecosystem services, selecting relevant soil attributes and interpreting measurements is not easy. In this article, we look at how to define soil quality and related concepts, as well as how to assess it, and how to choose and interpret indicators. Under agricultural land use, we identify the most commonly used soil quality indicators. We also look at new indicators that address important soil properties and processes that are currently overlooked. This necessitates a much greater level of participation from the relevant actors, stakeholders, and end-users than has previously been the case. Soil quality assurance and education seeks to raise awareness and understanding of soil resources as living bodies with biological, chemical, and physical properties and processes that provide wide range of ecosystem services.