What is agricultural soil?

 Elements Agricultural Testing and Soil Analysis provide valuable information about soil conditions that can help maximize yields and crop quality. Agricultural soil scientists are developing practices that will improve land use and increase food crop and fiber production. An agricultural soil scientist can develop a plan that can maximize production using sustainable methods and solutions, and to do this, he must study a number of scientific fields, including agricultural sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, meteorology, and geology. Knowing the state of nutrients available to plants and other soil chemistry for crop production is essential for proper fertilizer recommendations and for avoiding growing practices that can have a negative impact on the environment. 

The purpose of this study was to determine and characterize the chemical, physical, and biological soil parameters on tomato farms in Northern and Central California, and to evaluate the impact of soil chemistry on tomato cultivation, health, and yield. Numerous individual soil analyzes (including those obtained from routine soil analysis) can be used to assess soil conditions; however, a full assessment should include a number of additional tests to measure the chemical, physical and biological properties of the soil. The inclusion means that soil tests used to guide modification methods that can change properties within days or months are not important indicators of soil quality, even though they provide important information about the soil's ability to support plant growth. Many of the studies included in our systematic map were not primarily aimed at quantifying the impact of agricultural practices on SOC, but are included because they provide basic carbon data, for example as part of a study of soil microbial activity. 

It is in this capacity that we comment on the scientific evidence that supports soil quality and the associated assessment of soil health for farmland in order to accelerate progress in this important area. 

Several sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) have been proposed to address these issues as they will improve soil physical properties and biodiversity, potentially contributing to pest suppression and higher yields. Such issues include the beneficial reuse of human and animal waste using crops; aspects of agricultural land management to prevent water pollution and the accumulation of chemical pesticides in agricultural soils. Monoculture or even the "simple" crop rotation mentioned above causes a cascade of problems requiring not only the use of synthetic fertilizers (because the soil is depleted) but also the application of pesticides to control pests such as soil fungi, insects, and other agricultural nuisances. 

Industrial agriculture negatively impacts soil and atmospheric health by reducing organic matter and releasing carbon. Before becoming a sedentary people dependent on agriculture, we were largely dependent on wild plants and animal products, not using soil and water resources for food. Human use and management of soil and water resources have shaped the development, sustainability, decline, and rebirth of human civilizations supported by agriculture (Harlan 1992, Hillel 1992). When humans sowed the first crop seeds at the dawn of the Neolithic, the soil provided the plants with essential nutrients and provided the basis for human agriculture. 

For example, the burning of crop residues is currently banned in Europe due to cross-regulation under the Common Agricultural Policy (EC 1306/2013), but the database on the effects of burning on soil carbon is rather limited, especially in Europe.