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Soil health is a state of a soil meeting its range of ecosystem functions as appropriate to its environment. In more colloquial terms, the health of soil arises from favorable interactions of all soil components (living and non-living) that belong together, as in microbiota, plants and animals.
In soil science, soil gradation is a classification of a coarse-grained soil that ranks the soil based on the different particle sizes contained in the soil. [1] Soil gradation is an important aspect of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering because it is an indicator of other engineering properties such as compressibility , shear strength ...
The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) is a soil classification system used in engineering and geology to describe the texture and grain size of a soil. The classification system can be applied to most unconsolidated materials, and is represented by a two-letter symbol. Each letter is described below (with the exception of Pt):
Soil quality in agricultural terms is measured on a scale of soil value (Bodenwertzahl) in Germany. [6] Soil quality is primarily measured by chemical, physical, and biological indicators because soil function cannot easily be measured directly. [7] Each of these categories comprises several indicators that provide insight into overall soil ...
Soil texture triangle showing the USDA classification system based on grain size Map of global soil regions from the USDA. For soil resources, experience has shown that a natural system approach to classification, i.e. grouping soils by their intrinsic property (soil morphology), behaviour, or genesis, results in classes that can be interpreted for many diverse uses.
About 1,000 soil subgroups are defined in the United States. [6] A soil family category is a group of soils within a subgroup and describes the physical and chemical properties which affect the response of soil to agricultural management and engineering applications. The principal characteristics used to differentiate soil families include ...
The AASHTO Soil Classification System was developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and is used as a guide for the classification of soils and soil-aggregate mixtures for highway construction purposes.
Tilling the soil, or tillage, is the breaking of soil, such as with a plough or harrow, to prepare the soil for new seeds. Tillage systems vary in intensity and disturbance. Conventional tillage is the most intense tillage system and disturbs the deepest level of soils. At least 30% of plant residue remains on the soil surface in conservation ...