Abstract
Soil quality assessment is based on the concept of soilfunctions. The performances of three soil functions, cropproduction, biological decomposition and matter exchange withthe atmosphere and groundwater, are used as quality criteria.Soil properties that can be used as indicators for the degreeof functional performance were identified. Each soil propertyselected was graded into five classes – from best (class 1) toworst (class 5). Grading was based biological on boundaryconditions as well as on statistical distribution. The systemoutlined can be used to interpret the quality state ofagricultural soils, provides for a relative comparison betweensoils, and may be helpful in an environmental monitoringprogram to assess trends in data.
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Kirchmann, H., Andersson, R. The Swedish System for Quality Assessment of Agricultural Soils. Environ Monit Assess 72, 129–139 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012048124858
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012048124858