New Soil Index Development and Integration with Econometric Theory

Abstract

Soil scientists have worked on the conceptualization and contextualization of soil-related notions, such as soil quality, soil health, and soil security, over the past few decades. We reviewed the massive amount of literature regarding those major concepts, and summarized definitions, visions, and constraints. Indicators (In) and indices (Ix) are well suited to aggregate soil and environmental data to assess soil quality, health, and security quantitatively. Our literature review showed that (i) more sophisticated quantification methods are necessary; (ii) often only a single soil property and/or class is modeled rather than more complex soil functions, risks, or services; (iii) there is a lack of harmonization, standardization, and reference frameworks that allow soil comparisons across regions and time; and (iv) methods frequently used to calculate soil In/Ix, such as ordination and factor analysis, do not consider rigorous axiomatic criteria of scientific sound indication systems. In summary, the complex soil concepts stand in sharp contrast to the applied indication methods in the soil science discipline. We investigated the potential to apply econometrical methods to assess soil quality, health, and security that serve as alternatives to more traditional In/Ix in soil science. A case study demonstrated the profound transformative potential of linking econometricssoil-environmental sciences.

Emergence of the Pedo-Econometric Approach

“…The produced scores are used to evaluate the efficiency of functions for decision-making-units (DMUs). DMUs may include soil pedons, forests, agricultural fields under different managements, and other (3,13).…”

The Search for the Meaning of Soil Health: Lessons from Human Health and Ecosystem Health

“…While soil health, soil fertility and soil quality are used loosely and interchangeably in this paper, soil quality and soil fertility have longer histories of use and are particularly closely associated with agriculture. The definition of soil health has been relatively stable since the 2000s as indicated by the list of definitions collected by Mizuta et al [6], and efforts are now focused more on operationalising it in terms of developing an integrative approach to capturing soil health in its entirety and complexity despite the questions remaining about the concept itself. Given the developments in ecosystem health and human health, we believe it is worth revisiting the concept using lessons learnt from these two research areas.…”

“…To be clear, we are focused on how we think conceptually about soil health through the lens of human health and ecosystem health. The current debate over the merits of using the term soil quality over the term soil health has many similarities to the debates over the concept of the term soil quality in the 1990s, and we refer our readers to Sojka and Upchurch [7], Karlen et al [8], Karlen et al [9], Mizuta et al [6] and Bünemann et al [10] for in-depth explanations of the evolution of this terminology and the related concepts. We share the opinion expressed by Sojka and Upchurch [7] and Karlen et al [8] that we must not let disagreement about terminology stand in the way of keeping our children and grandchildren fed, safe and healthy within the planetary boundary.…”

Developmental History of Soil Concepts from a Scientific Perspective

“…Various soil concepts have been discussed over time in the soil science community, and narrative descriptions of these concepts have been developed to capture the increasing complexity of soil-environmental issues. Many of these have helped to raise awareness of the need to protect limited soil resources [1], but some are used inconsistently or interchangeably due to the shared semantics of their definitions, aims, and/or scopes [2]. Soil quality and soil health are examples of concepts that improve public awareness of the importance of soil resources, with short-and long-term soil management that influence soil functions and processes in practice [3,4].…”

“…Soil concepts seem to arise from a combination of various pathways: researchers in the scientific community (top-down); dialogue in professional organizations (top-down and bottom-up); and communication with stakeholders (bottom-up). Mizuta et al (2018) summarized diverse definitions of soil concepts, including soil quality, soil health, and soil security [2]. These definitions were proposed by scientists and professional organizations, such as the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA).…”