Summary
This paper by Karlen and colleagues, published in Soil and Tillage Research in 2017, reviews the principal approaches used to measure and quantify soil health, with a focus on indicator selection, scoring methodologies, and the practical utility of soil health assessment frameworks. The authors likely draw on long-term research experience, including work associated with the USDA Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF), to evaluate strengths and limitations of existing methods. The paper makes a contribution to standardising how soil health is conceptualised and operationalised across diverse agricultural contexts.
UK applicability
Although this paper is likely grounded in North American research contexts, the indicator frameworks and scoring approaches discussed are broadly applicable to UK soil health assessment, and are relevant to ongoing efforts by bodies such as AHDB and Natural England to develop practical soil health monitoring tools for UK farmers.
Key measures
Soil health indicators (biological, chemical, physical); scoring functions; minimum data sets; soil quality indices
Outcomes reported
The study reviews and evaluates approaches used to measure and assess soil health, likely comparing indicator frameworks, scoring methods, and minimum data sets. It examines how different biological, chemical, and physical soil properties can be integrated into practical soil health assessments.
Topic tags
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