Open Access
Review
Table I
Evaluation criteria and scheme of some existing methods for assessing overall agricultural soil quality (evaluation numbers 0 = none/false/worse; 1 = low/few/slow; 2 = medium; 3 = high/many/much/fast/good; 3 is always the best rating).
| Criterion ↓ | Storie index (1) | German BS (2) | AEZ (3) | VSA (4) | M-SQR (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose of method | |||||
| Overall soil rating | 3 | 3 | 0–1 | 0 | 3 |
| Capability rating potential | 3 | 0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3 |
| Crop suitability rating | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Tool for soil monitoring | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2–3 |
| Tool for soil management/extension | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2–3 |
| Tool for land use planning | 2–3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Performance in spatial scales | |||||
| Field to regional level | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Large regional to nation level | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2–3 | 3 |
| Trans-National | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1–2 | 3 |
| Indicator criteria | |||||
| Number of inherent SQ(6) indicators (a) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Number of dynamic SQ indicators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Climate inclusion | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Interactions between indicators considered | 0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0 | 0–1 |
| Potential for assessing soil functions other than productivity | 1–2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2–3 |
| Further key criteria | |||||
| Simplicity in the field | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Applicable without soil test kits | 2–3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2–3 |
| Speed of field rating (b) | 2–3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2–3 |
| Changes with soil depth included? | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Correlation of scores with crop yields | |||||
| Field to regional level | 2 | 2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2 |
| Large regional to nation level | 1–2 | 1 | 3 | 1–2 | 2 |
| Trans-National | 1 | 0–1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |