Determining Attribute-Response Relationships of Soils under Different Land Uses: A Case Study

Soil researchers are interested in a gaining better understanding of the soil system state by analyzing its properties and their dynamics in time as well as in relation to land use change. Tilled, abandoned, and forest soils were assessed regarding attribute-response relationships for the bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), volumetric moisture (& theta;v), and penetration resistance (PR) with the use of the interquartile ratio (IRI) integrated into a resilience formula and Shannon entropy indices. The IRI results differentiated soil properties according to agrotechnics (wheel track vs. between wheels) and the state of the system (tilled vs. abandoned vineyard). Entropy (En) indicated a high level of uncertainty for PR. The linear regression applied to the pairs of BD-TP, TP-& theta;v, and PR-& theta;v showed better results for the IRI weight (IRIweight) compared to the entropy weight (Enweight) for the soil between the wheels. The soil of the abandoned vineyard showed a faster tendency toward resilience that was more pronounced in the tilled wheel tracks than in the area between the wheels. The IRI can thus be an alternative to entropy in the evaluation of the response of some soil properties according to their use. When integrated into a resilience formula, the IRI can estimate the dynamics of soil properties for abandoned land compared to reference soil.

Automated summary

Soil researchers analyze the properties and dynamics of soil in relation to land use change to gain a better understanding of the soil system state. Their evaluation of tilled, abandoned, and forest soils using interquartile ratio and entropy indices revealed differences in soil properties based on agrotechnics and the state of the system. The study also suggests that the interquartile ratio can be an alternative to entropy in assessing the response of soil properties.