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Soil quality reflects how well a soil performs the functions of maintaining biodiversity and productivity, partitioning water and solute flow, filtering and buffering, nutrient cycling, and providing support for plants and other structures. Soil management has a major impact on soil quality. Soil quality relates to soil functions. Unlike water ...
Soil may be regarded as waterlogged when it is nearly saturated with water much of the time such that its air phase is restricted and anaerobic conditions prevail. In extreme cases of prolonged waterlogging, anaerobiosis occurs, the roots of mesophytes suffer, and the subsurface reducing atmosphere leads to such processes as denitrification ...
where R is the rainfall erosivity factor, K is the soil erodibility, [3] [4] L and S are topographic factors representing length and slope, and C and P are cropping management factors. Other factors such as the stone content (referred as stoniness ), which acts as protection against soil erosion, are very significant in Mediterranean countries.
Soil water content can be measured as volume or weight. Soil moisture levels, in order of decreasing water content, are saturation, field capacity, wilting point, air dry, and oven dry. Field capacity describes a drained wet soil at the point water content reaches equilibrium with gravity. Irrigating soil above field capacity risks percolation ...
Soil bulk density, when determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction. [3] Soil porosity consists of the void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining.
The best management approach to these soils is simply to avoid their disturbance. Maintaining vegetation cover of the soil is also important to minimize soil dispersion. [5] In agricultural systems, this may mean making an effort to prevent surface soil loss and/or damage, as the surface soil and ground cover form a protective barrier.
They are representative of the level of contamination above which a serious case of soil contamination is deemed to exist. The target values for soil are adjusted for the organic matter ( humus ) content and soil fraction <0.2 μm ( Lutum - Latin, meaning "mud" or "clay").
The definition of soil health may vary between users of the term as alternative users may place differing priorities upon the multiple functions of a soil. Therefore, the term soil health can only be understood within the context of the user of the term, and their aspirations of a soil, as well as by the boundary definition of the soil at issue.