Intensive sugarcane cultivation has been carried out for more than 30 years in Indonesia and analysis of the Soil Quality Index (SQI) has not been widely carried out, especially on Entisols, ...Inceptisols, and Vertisols. This study aimed to assess SQI due to long-term monoculture periods in different soil orders. This study was conducted in multilocation design with two factors. The first factor was soil orders (Entisols, Inceptisols, and Vertisols), and the second one was monoculture periods (1-10, 11-20, and 21-30 years). The physical-chemical-biological properties of soil were analyzed. SQI score was calculated using Non-linear-Additive, Non-linear-Weighted Additive, Linear-Additive, and Linear-Weighted Additive scoring methods. The result show that SQI Linear-Additive method has the highest sensitivity level to observe the impact of the long-term sugarcane monoculture (2.210). SQI increased 28.2% in Inceptisols, decreased 25.8% in Vertisols and no clear pattern SQI in Entisols until monoculture 30 years monoculture periods. SQI has a greater effect on sugarcane productivity (R
2
= 0.4472), than the effect with sucrose content (R
2
= 0.1056). The long-term impact of sugarcane monoculture on SQI is highly dependent on soil order, so land management in a site-specific location is highly recommended based on the soil order so that sugarcane cultivation can be sustainable, resulting in optimal yields.
The conventional method of intensive tillage alters the soil environment, destroys soil aggregates, depletes soil organic carbon (SOC), emits more carbon, requires higher energy, alters microbial ...activities and ultimately degrades the soil health. These ill-effects of conventional tillage can be severe in rainfed soils with poor workability such as Vertisols of Central India. To minimize these negative effects of conventional tillage (CT), conservation agricultural (CA) practices such as reduced tillage (RT) and no-till (NT) with crop residue retentions are advocated as sustainable practices that can improve the soil health. Four cropping systems soybean+pigeonpea (CS1); soybean–wheat (CS2); maize–chickpea (CS3); maize+pigeonpea (CS4) were established as sub-plots under CT, RT and NT management. Soil samples were collected at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm depths. The effects of 8 years of continuous use of CA were evaluated on soil physical, chemical and biological properties in Vertisol of Central India. After that, 20 key soil properties were subjected to calculating soil quality indices (SQI) in each tillage systems. Results indicated that mean weight diameter (MWD) and water-stable aggregates (WSA) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in NT (1.57 mm and 79.4%) and RT (1.05 mm and 76.2%) than CT (0.71 mm and 63.8%) at 0–10 cm depth, respectively. The soil under NT had the highest SOC concentration (1.12%) followed by that under RT (1.02%), and the least was found in CT (0.91%) at 0–10 cm depth. The proportion of large macro-aggregates (LM) was the highest under NT than CT (P < 0.05) whereas that of micro-aggregates was highest under CT. The aggregate associated organic C (AOC) tended to decrease with the decrease of aggregate size. Soil dehydrogenase activity, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis activity, β-glucosidase activity and easily extractable glomalin content were significantly higher under NT than CT (P < 0.05). The soil quality index was significantly highest in NT, followed by RT and CT at all soil depths. CA based practices favoured carbon storage, lowered carbon emission, foot print and soil quality compared to conventional farming. Therefore, under Vertisols, 8 years of CA practices likely to improve several soil quality indicators, allowing a positive trend for soil preservation.
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•Higher C storage, lower C emission and foot print under CA practices than CT.•8 years of continuous CA practices had strong impact on soil properties in Vertisol.•Higher SOC in RT and NT than CT increased soil aggregation, and enzyme activities.•Aggregate associated C was greater in macroaggregates than other sizes.•Soils under the NT and RT had higher soil quality indices than CT.
The soil quality is measured through the use of indicators that measure or reflect the environmental status or sustainability condition of the ecosystem. Microbial attributes are classified as ...biological indicators. The use of these indicators in the soil analysis routine are promising. In this research, the effect of two land uses (paddy or upland field) with two different soil management (conventional system or conventional system with previous organic matter applied) on soil microbial properties was evaluated in a farmer’s field. The soil enzymatic activities (urease, glucosidase and arylsulfatase), with exception of acid phosphatase, showed sensitive and consistent responses to the effect of soil management. The results showed higher soil enzymatic activity in paddy than upland field. Total C and N were 1.3-1.8 times increased by organic amendments as well as N mineralization 1.8-2.4 times, while enzyme activities in upland soil 1.5-2.4 times, although 0.7-1.3 times in paddy soil. In both land-uses, the large amount of organic fertilizer applications in previous organic amendments contributed to improve the soil chemical properties and soil microbiological activities.
Soil quality degradation is a recent concern of climate change effects in semi-arid regions of India. Soil degradation is a major threat in developing cities; hence the assessment of soil quality ...plays a key role in evaluating urbanization's impact on soil quality. Thus, a study was carried out to address the selection of the most suitable soil quality indicators to determine the current status of soil quality in Bangalore. Around 248 geo-referenced surface soil samples were collected from rural, peri-urban, and urban areas and exposed to several physical, chemical, and biological properties to assess the soil quality. Selective parameters were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA), which screened out the three principal components (PCs), with an eigenvalue of > 1, and explained 57.2% of the variance in the data set using varimax rotation. The results indicated that a soil quality index (SQI) was computed using four key indicators, viz. pH, dehydrogenase activity (DHA), available potassium (K
2
O), and electrical conductivity (EC). In rural, peri-urban, and urban soils, dehydrogenase activity contributed the most to soil quality (59.69, 51.71, & 47.88%) > pH (20.41, 21.87, & 29.30%) > available K
2
O (14.93, 15.86, & 14.72%) > EC (4.97, 10.56, & 8.11%). The soil quality index recorded in rural soil was very high (0.61), moderate in peri-urban soil (0.52), and low in urban soil (0.44). The results revealed that the evaluation of the soil quality index is the best to understand the soil quality for sustainable agriculture practices.
•Improving soil quality is necessary for ecological balance.•There are many biological and mechanical ways to improve soil quality.•We compared the effects of microorganism application on soil ...quality in plot scale.•The microorganism effectively improved soil quality under different conditions.
Biological soil crusts on bare land have undeniable roles in reducing soil degradation through improving soil quality. Enriching soil crusts biological properties by increasing soil microorganisms’ population can be an effective strategy to improve soil chemical properties. Accordingly, native nitrogen-carbon fixing cyanobacteria and bacteria were individually and combined inoculated on 0.25m2-plots filled by an erosion-prone, bare, and low quality soil collected from Marzanabad Region, Northern Iran. The important soil chemical properties, viz., total organic nitrogen, total organic carbon, soil organic matter, and total organic carbon-to-total organic nitrogen ratio were measured at time spans of 7–8 days for a period of 60 days. The results indicated that the total organic nitrogen, total organic carbon and soil organic matter increased significantly (p<0.01) in all treatments. The total organic nitrogen and, total organic carbon and soil organic matter in the cyanobacteria, bacteria, and combined inoculated treatments increased up to 240, 188, and 172%; and, 40, 39, and 33%, respectively, compared to the control conditions. Additionally, the total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon in the study treatments were 46, 32, and 37%; and 40, 33, and 33% higher than those reported for the control plots. The rate of nitrogen fixing in all inoculated treatments had an increasing trend up to 38days after which it declined. Nonetheless, carbon and organic matter storage increased throughout the experimental period. Meanwhile, the ratio of carbon-to-nitrogen were not significantly (p>0.17) changed during the study period. Based on the study results, the positive role of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria, was demonstrated in improving the chemical properties of the study soil.
Global threats to soils remain one of the greatest concerns and challenges of the 21st century. Built landscapes have profound local and global effects because they create urban heat islands, ...increase habitat fragmentation, and reduce biological diversity. Additionally, impervious surfaces alter natural watersheds and reduce infiltration increasing runoff that leads to erosion and soil degradation. To combat these effects, green infrastructure (GI) practices, like water harvesting rain gardens, are implemented in the Southwest United States to restore natural ecological function, yet little is known about how GI impacts soil health. Soil health can be measured using indicators that include physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that support ecosystem processes. This study aimed to evaluate changes in water holding capacity, bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, Gibbs free energy, species richness and Shannon diversity in response to rain gardens that received different inputs (frequency and amount) and sources of harvested water (rain, municipal, greywater) one year after installation. We hypothesized that soil health indicators in GI diverge from the unaltered control treatment one year following installation. Although physical and chemical indicators were comparatively less sensitive to GI treatments than biological indicators, they varied within treatments after one year of GI management (pH increased: H = 36.37; p-value = 0.00; electrical conductivity decreased: H = 33.94; p-value = 0.00). Overall, we observed significantly higher soil microbial diversity (F = 4.29; p-value = 0.015) and richness (F = 4.02; p-value = 0.019) in surface soils in GI treatments after one year of management. Our findings suggest GI practices enhanced soil biological health which may lead to positive feedbacks that assist gradual changes in the abiotic environment thus enhancing soil health over time. These findings have broad implications for effectively assessing the success of GI management practices over short time periods using soil biological health indicators.
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•Green infrastructure management practices enhanced soil health.•Soil biological indicators were more sensitive than physical and chemical indicators.•Microbial richness and diversity increased with more frequent soil moisture events.•Biological indicators are important for monitoring short-term ecological impacts.
Partial substitution of chemical fertilizers by organic manure is essential for improving the soil quality and crop production. However, there is limited information regarding the complex ...microbial-microfaunal interactions derived from different organic or inorganic fertilizer application rate in the rhizosphere of jackfruits. Therefore, the objective was to compare the effects of organic/inorganic fertilizers on the soil food web of microbes and nematodes. Filed and greenhouse studies were set up with six treatments, including CK (no fertilizer), 100CF (100% chemical fertilizer), 30OM (30% organic manure plus 70% chemical fertilizer), 50OM (50% organic manure plus 50% chemical fertilizer), 70OM (70% organic manure plus 30% chemical fertilizer) and 100OM (100% organic manure). After 4 years application of organic manure under field conditions, there was higher soil organic matter (SOM), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nematode diversity and jackfruit yield. Moreover, the number of total nematode, microbivorous nematodes and omnivores-predators were positively correlated with organic manure, while plant-parasites did the opposite in greenhouse experiment. Organic manure increased the abundance, richness and Shannon diversity of bacteria and fungi as well as maturity indices (MI), Shannon index (H′), Pielou evenness index (J), enrichment index (EI), structural index (SI) and nematode channel ratio (NCR) of the nematode community in greenhouse experiment. Soil pH and SOM were significantly correlated with the variation of soil microbial-microfauna. Network analysis indicated that soil amended with organic manure presented more positive correlation between beneficial nematodes and microorganisms, but a negative correlation between plant-parasites Pratylenchus and dominant fungal taxon Chytridiomycota. These results indicated the feasibility of organic manure for soil quality improvement with high SOM and pH, suggesting that the correlation between microbes and nematodes constructed by organic fertilizer may play a key role in the improvement of soil quality.
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•Long-term application of organic manure in field lead to higher SOM, MBC, nematodal diversity of soil and jackfruit yield.•The high application of organic manure increased the diversity of microbial and nematodal community.•Higher SOM and pH may have selected for some plant growth-promoting microorganism and microbivorous nematodes.•High organic manure strengthened network connectivity between beneficial nematodes and microorganisms.•Soil pH and SOM were the key characteristics that were correlated with the variation of soil microbial-microfauna.
•Soil quality index (SQI) was formed based on total nitrogen, clay, urease, and pH.•Vegetation restoration resulted in improved soil quality.•SQI significantly increased with increasing mean annual ...precipitation (MAP).•Improvements in soil quality decreased with increasing MAP.•The change of SQI was greater in forestland than those in shrubland and grassland.
Vegetation restoration can control soil erosion and improve soil quality; however, these positive effects on soil quality can be challenged with inceasing aridity. It is vital to understand the mechanisms affecting soil quality along aridity gradients and to determine the appropriate revegetation types for soil restoration. In this study, we selected three revegetation types (forest, shrub, and grass) along four precipitation gradients (365, 452, 507, and 600 mm mean annual precipitation MAP) to analyze the changes in soil properties from two soil layers (0–10 and 10–20 cm). To quantify the variations in soil quality, a soil quality index (SQI) combining the chemical, physical, and biological properties was developed. The results showed that the SQI was formed based on total nitrogen, clay, urease, and pH. In both soil layers, SQI values increased significantly (P < 0.05), and the stage-dependent increase in rates of SQI were 0.24%–0.38%, 0.18%–0.26%, and 3.04%–5.23% for 452 mm, 507 mm, and 600 mm of MAP, respectively. Significant differences in SQI values were observed among the three revegetation types under the same precipitation gradients (P < 0.05), and Caragana korshinskii Kom (CK) and abandoned farmland (AL) had similar patterns of SQI response to altered precipitation, which were different from those of Pinus tabuliformis (PT). The increased rates of SQI at PT (0.67%–3.40%) sites were higher than those at CK (0%–2.74%) and AL (0.05%–3.01%) sites, suggesting that the magnitude of soil quality reduction in forestlands was larger than that in shrub/grasslands with a decrease in precipitation.
This article is based on the bibliographic review of the topics associated with the indicators formed by the following physical, chemical, and biological parameters, in which these indicators help us ...to analyze the quality and health of the soil for agriculture. Soil is an irreplaceable life resource that allows plants, animals, and humans to thrive, so not all of its functions are recognized; the general concept of fertile soil refers to its chemical properties, especially with the availability of the main macronutrients. However, there is still no universal standard to evaluate changes in soil quality, which uses indicators sensitive to the management and characteristics of soil properties, such as soil climatic conditions to assess its condition. This research aims to present an efficient methodology to analyze the evaluation of processes and costs when implementing or putting into practice the indicators in a certain locality such as the “San Isidro” parish of the “Morona” canton. Therefore, it is essential to allude to aspects such as advantages, disadvantages, definitions, characteristics, and elements that make up the indicators clearly and concisely. Keywords: soil quality, indicators, agriculture, physical, chemical and biological parameters. Resumen Este artículo está basado en la revisión bibliográfica de los temas asociados con los indicadores conformados por los siguientes parámetros físicos, químicos y biológicos, en las cuales estos indicadores nos ayudan a analizar la calidad y salud del suelo para la agricultura. El suelo es un recurso de vida insustituible que permite que las plantas, los animales y los seres humanos prosperen, de tal manera no se reconocen todas sus funciones, por lo que el concepto general de suelo fértil se refiere a sus propiedades químicas, especialmente con la disponibilidad de los principales macronutrientes. Sin embargo, todavía no existe un estándar universal para evaluar los cambios en la calidad del suelo, en la cual utilice indicadores sensibles al manejo y características de las propiedades del suelo, como las condiciones climáticas del suelo para evaluar su condición. Resultados, se presenta una metodología eficiente para analizar los procesos y costos al momento de implementar y poner en práctica los indicadores en una determinada localidad como es de la parroquia “San Isidro” del cantón “Morona”. Por lo tanto, es fundamental aludir aspectos como ventajas, desventajas, definiciones, características y elementos que componen los indicadores de forma clara y concisa. Palabras Clave: Calidad del suelo, indicadores, agricultura, parámetros físicos, químicos, biológicos.
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