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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #94462
Title: ASSESSING SOIL QUALITY ON A REGIONAL SCALE USING THE NATIONAL RESOURCE INVENTORY

Author
item BREJDA, JOHN - USDA-NRCS
item MAUSBACH, MAURICE - USDA-NRCS
item Moorman, Thomas
item Karlen, Douglas
item ALLAN, D - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/22/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Protecting soil quality is a fundamental goal of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The objective of this study was to select a set of soil quality indicators for use on a regional scale with the National Resource Inventory. Eighteen soil attributes from the Northern Mississippi Loess Hills and Palouse and Nez Perce Prairies were evaluated as potential indicators. In the Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, soil attributes that were most sensitive to land-use were soil aggregate mean-weight diameter (MWD), C:N ratio, metabolic quotient (qCO2), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), and Mehlich extractable P. In the Palouse and Nez Perce Prairies, soil attributes that were most sensitive to land-use were MWD, C:N ratio, PMN, and soil pH. The data indicates there are soil attributes that can serve as soil quality indicators over a large geographic region. However, each region may also require additional indicators unique to that region.