Identification and predictability of soil quality indicators from conventional soil and vegetation classifications

Simfukwe, Paul; Hill, Paul W.; Emmett, Bridget; Jones, Davey L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248665

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Ferralsols, Acrisols, Nitosols, Anthrosols, and Greyzems exhibited significantly lower SQI values than the other soil types ( p < 0.05). SQ is measured by comprising soil indicators, the influence of soil types on SQ was therefore inferred from its indicators (Simfukwe et al, 2021). The one‐way ANOVA results showed that the scores of silt, TP, TK, Ca++, and vermiculite were generally lower of these five soil types than of other soil types (Table S5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil quality assessment of cropland in China and its relationships with climate and topography

Chen

et al. 2022

Land Degrad Dev

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Assessing soil quality (SQ) of cropland is fundamental for food security and sustainable land management. However, there is limited information regarding SQ assessment on a national scale, which is vital to answer important SQ-related questions in quantitative terms on that scale. Here, the SQ of cropland in China was assessed by constructing a minimum data set (MDS) from 23 soil physicochemical properties based on principal component analysis. The interaction roles and relative contributions of climate and topography on SQ was evaluated by a structural equation model.The MDS comprised eight indicators: proportion of silt, bulk density, total phosphorus, total potassium, available nitrogen, exchangeable calcium, chlorite, and vermiculite. The soil quality index (SQI) varied from 0.245 to 0.705 and showed a clear pattern of decreasing quality from the north to the south of the country. Of the total cropland area in China, the largest share (27.91%) was of soils of high quality, followed by those of moderate quality (24.63%), low quality (20.37%), very high quality (14.18%), and very low quality (12.91%). The north and the south differed significantly in terms of total potassium, exchangeable calcium, chlorite, and vermiculite, which are the four most important indicators of SQ. Climate and elevation explained about 2.2%-30.1% of the variation in SQ on the national and regional scales. These findings suggest that croplands in southern China will benefit from potassium and calcium fertilizers, which will contribute to enhance food security and promote sustainable land management in China.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil quality assessment of cropland in China and its relationships with climate and topography

Chen

et al. 2022

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Since micro-organisms could act directly or indirectly on organic matter decomposition and the promotion and maintenance of several soil properties, some characteristics of soil microbial communities have been used as ecological indicators of ecosystem disturbances and plant cover restoration (Gama-Rodrigues et al, 2008 ; Muñoz-Rojas et al, 2016 ); e.g., the microbial biomass is considered one of the most sensitive and effective indicators because it is directly influenced by biotic and abiotic factors (Karlen et al, 2019 ; Nunes et al, 2020 ). Soil microbial and biochemical properties, such as the metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ) (ratio basal respiration: microbial carbon C) and microbial quotient (qMIC) (ratio microbial C: organic C), are also cited in the literature as efficient properties to evaluate the soil health (Maini et al, 2020 ; Simfukwe et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, soil biochemical properties are already established indicators of soil health, but there is still no consensus as to how they should be used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on effective soil health bio-indicators for ecosystem restoration and sustainability

Sihi

Bhowmik

Verma³

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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Preventing degradation, facilitating restoration, and maintaining soil health is fundamental for achieving ecosystem stability and resilience. A healthy soil ecosystem is supported by favorable components in the soil that promote biological productivity and provide ecosystem services. Bio-indicators of soil health are measurable properties that define the biotic components in soil and could potentially be used as a metric in determining soil functionality over a wide range of ecological conditions. However, it has been a challenge to determine effective bio-indicators of soil health due to its temporal and spatial resolutions at ecosystem levels. The objective of this review is to compile a set of effective bio-indicators for developing a better understanding of ecosystem restoration capabilities. It addresses a set of potential bio-indicators including microbial biomass, respiration, enzymatic activity, molecular gene markers, microbial metabolic substances, and microbial community analysis that have been responsive to a wide range of ecosystem functions in agricultural soils, mine deposited soil, heavy metal contaminated soil, desert soil, radioactive polluted soil, pesticide polluted soil, and wetland soils. The importance of ecosystem restoration in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals was also discussed. This review identifies key management strategies that can help in ecosystem restoration and maintain ecosystem stability.

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“…Healthy soil is a key for sustaining the health of plants and the environment . The microbial community (also known as the microbiome) is one of the dominant factors in soil health, in addition to the soil organic matter, soluble and reduced nitrogen, soil topography, water holding capacity, and climate . Therefore, any perturbation in the microbiome population can lead to serious health effects on plants and the environment .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron-Carbon Nanofibers Coated with Acylated Homoserine Lactone Enhance Plant Growth and Suppress Fusarium Wilt Disease in Cicer arietinum by Modulating Soil Microbiome

Pandey

Verma

Gupta

2022

ACS Agric. Sci. Technol.

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The agricultural soil microbiome plays a key role in crop productivity, nutritional quality, and suppressing soil-borne plant pathogens. In the current study, a nanocomposite biofertilizer based on acylated homoserine-coated iron-carbon nanofibers is developed that potentially improves the soil rhizomicrobiome. The 16S RNA-based metagenome sequencing of soil bacteria shows that the abundance of specific bacterial genera (e.g., Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas) is potentially improved in the nanocomposite (1 g/kg)-treated plant−soil system after 30 days. As a result, the prepared nanocomposite promotes growth, nutritional quality, and suppresses the fungal infection (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cicero) in chickpea plants. In addition, the data show an increased total nitrogen content in nanocomposite-amended soil collected after 30 days of plant growth, which is the indicator of an increase in soil nitrogen fixation potential. Commonly, nitrogen content in soil is maintained by rhizobacteria; therefore, the increased soil nitrogen content is linked to the improved soil microbiome. In the plant growth experiment, a statistically significant (p < 0.05) increase is observed in the wet biomass, root length, shoot length, and chlorophyll-protein contents of the plants. The developed nanocomposite biofertilizer in this study has novel implications in sustainable agriculture production.

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Identification and predictability of soil quality indicators from conventional soil and vegetation classifications

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Soil quality assessment of cropland in China and its relationships with climate and topography

Soil quality assessment of cropland in China and its relationships with climate and topography

A review on effective soil health bio-indicators for ecosystem restoration and sustainability

Iron-Carbon Nanofibers Coated with Acylated Homoserine Lactone Enhance Plant Growth and Suppress Fusarium Wilt Disease in Cicer arietinum by Modulating Soil Microbiome

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