Visual assessment of the impact of agricultural management practices on soil quality

Abstract

The intensification of agricultural practices to increase food and feed outputs is a pressing challenge causing deterioration of soil quality and soil functions. Such a challenge demands provision of empirical evidence to provide context‐sensitive guidance on agricultural management practices (AMPs) that may enhance soil quality. The objectives of this study are to identify the most promising AMPs (and their combinations) applied by farmers with the most positive effects on soil quality and to evaluate the sensitivity of the soil quality indicators to the applied AMPs. The effect of selected AMPs on soil quality was assessed using a visual soil assessment tool in a total of 138 pairs of plots spread across 14 study site areas in Europe and China covering representative pedo‐climatic zones. The inventory and scoring of soil quality were conducted together with landowners. Results show that 104 pairs show a positive effect of AMPs on soil quality. Higher effects of the AMPs were observed in lower fertile soils (i.e., Podzols and Calcisols) as opposed to higher fertile soils (i.e., Luvisols and Fluvisols). For the single use applications, the AMPs with positive effects were crop rotation; manuring, composting, and no‐tillage; followed by organic agriculture and residue maintenance. Cluster analysis showed that the most promising combinations of AMPs with the most positive effects on soil quality are composed of crop rotation, mulching, and min‐till. The agreement between scientific skills and empirical knowledge in the field identified by the farmers confirm our findings and ensures their applicability.

Assessment of the Impact of Distinct Vineyard Management Practices on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties

“…Highest values of SOM were recorded in inter-row (median of 2.5% and interquartile range of 0.5%) which can be a consequence of manure application, as recorded in studies elsewhere. 13 Likewise, highest values of NO 3 were also recorded in inter-row (median of 18.7 mg/kg), possibly due to the type of mineral fertilizer applied on the soil inter-row, leading to susceptible losses through runoff and leachate 53 which may explain the high spatial variability in the inter-row results. Also, Ni was higher in the inter-row (49 mg/kg), perhaps driven by manure application.…”

An Overview of Sustainability Assessment Frameworks in Agriculture

“…The comparison and contextualization helps to understand the current state or trend [41] and to support the interpretation/significance of the results [39]. Criteria to select indicators include: (i) coverage of environmental, economic and sociocultural dimensions of sustainability [1]; (ii) practicability and simplicity considering field measurements and data availability (e.g., historical data), which should consider spatial and temporal data coverage, reliability, accuracy and consistency [38,42]; (iii) the meaningful use of the indicators to take into consideration the differences in culture and geography to match them to locally relevant problems [39]; (iv) the system's sensitivity to both anthropogenic and natural stresses [1]; (v) meaningfulness to end-users in order to respond to stakeholders' expectations and support policy decisions [40]; and (vi) costeffectiveness, since the costs to produce the information should justify the benefits of the knowledge produced [40].…”

“…Selected indicators can be assessed by qualitative or quantitative techniques [41]. Qualitative techniques are typically based on visual evaluations applied at the field scale and have been increasingly used to evaluate the soil quality (e.g., soil structure and texture, rooting depth and slope) and farm management information [42]. Ball et al [43] summarized the visual assessment techniques that can be used to monitor soil structure, soil quality and fertility as impacted by land management.…”

A New Framework to Assess Sustainability of Soil Improving Cropping Systems in Europe

“…Regarding the measured soil properties, some farmers suggested to include methods of visual assessment of soil structure, e.g., as in a shovel test, as this method is easy to perform for practitioners and it gives relevant information for practitioners [52]. Participants with a more academic background suggested the measurement of greenhouse gases to cover this important aspect of sustainability.…”