Soil quality of a Dutch soil series as influenced by long-term farm management practices

The sustainability analysis of land use is an important topic for soil in the next decade. A combined procedure using (i) soil survey information, (ii) management information, and (iii) organic matter content as a soil quality indicator, was used for a sustainability analysis. Organic matter contents and management information were obtained from fifteen fields in loamy, mixed, mesic, Fluvaquents in the Netherlands. Management, present and past, was defined in terms of five factors: tillage, crop rotation, chemical fertiliser, organic fertiliser and biocides. Results from interviewing farmers show that only four different management systems occurred: conventional arable, conventional grass, ecological arable and ecological grass. Organic matter contents were in the range from 1.7% to 5.0%. Crop rotation, i.e. arable or grass, affected organic matter contents, while conventional vs. ecological had no effect. A regression equation was developed to be used in a pro-active exploratory way to recommend management practices which may lead to a desired organic matter content. The presented methodology demonstrates the combined use of soil survey, management information, and soil quality indicators, in a sustainability analysis.