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Cited by 52Soil Science and Environmental ManagementSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsSoil Management and Crop Yield

Validating the effectiveness and sensitivity of two soil quality indices based on natural forest soils under Mediterranean conditions

Zornoza, R., Mataix-Solera, J., Guerrero, C., Arcenegui, V., Mataix-Beneyto, J., Gómez, I.·2008·Soil Biology and Biochemistry
DOI 10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.01.014
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Abstract

Soils from natural ecosystems have specific physical, chemical and biochemical properties determined by the conditions in which these soils have developed. These soils that develop without external disturbance reach a balance amongst their properties. Thus, the creation of a model that represents the established balance of different soil properties from stable ecosystems can be used as a soil quality index, thus any perturbation must lead to modifications in this natural balance. Two regression models with soils from undisturbed forest regions in eastern Spain were previously developed, representing the balance between organic carbon and some physical, chemical and biochemical properties. For undisturbed forest soils, the prediction of soil organic carbon (SOCc) with the calibrated models should be similar to the actual value of this variable (SOCa) (SOCc [almost equal to] SOCa). Consequently, the residuals (SOCc - SOCa) should be around 0. On the contrary, disturbance practices cause a disruption in the balance defined between the different properties and SOC. As a consequence, residuals must be < or >0. Furthermore, the more the degree of degradation increases, the more the values of SOCc must differ from the values of SOCa. According to this, two soil quality indices (SQI) were defined, one for each model, by the calculation of the model residuals (SQI = SOCc - SOCa). The SQIs have been applied to different undisturbed forest soils to evaluate their validity. In addition, they have also been applied to severely altered soils, like agricultural soils, and abandoned agricultural fields, to assess the sensibility of this index to perturbations. After applying the soil quality indices to eleven undisturbed forest soils, it has been verified that a balance exists between organic matter content and different physical, chemical and biochemical properties in forest soils from SE Spain, and the proposed calibrated models are capable of reflecting that balance (SQI [almost equal to] 0). Our results confirm that our models are sensitive to soil perturbation, because agricultural and abandoned agricultural soils have shown an imbalance between organic carbon content and the physical, chemical and biochemical properties (SQI > 0). Moreover, soils from abandoned fields showed lower deviation in the natural equilibrium, indicating a recovery of soil quality.

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  • Most studies indexed soil quality employing only one method, with a few exceptions.

    “Most studies indexed soil quality employing only one method, with a few exceptions [8], [15], [16].”

    From Comparison of Soil Quality Index Using Three Methods (2014) · cites this paper as [16]

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Authors
Zornoza, R., Mataix-Solera, J., Guerrero, C., Arcenegui, V., Mataix-Beneyto, J., & Gómez, I.
Affiliations
Universitat de Miguel Hernández d'Elx (ES)
Corresponding author
Zornoza, R.
ORCID
Venue
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-09
Volume
40
Issue
9
Pages
2079-2087
ISSN
0038-0717 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.01.014
OpenAlex
W2113410591
Cited by
52
References
45
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
FWCI
3.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
Soil Biology and Biochemistry (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
  • Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Science and Environmental Management
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Management and Crop Yield
Keywords
soil quality index, soil organic carbon, natural forest soils, soil disturbance, soil degradation, agricultural soils, abandoned farmland, Mediterranean soils

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