Reservations Regarding the Soil Quality Concept

We consider the appropriateness of institutionalizing soil quality a defined parameter in soil science. The soil management research land grant universities and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) the mission and goals of state, federal, and private conservation stand to be significantly affected. We feel that a non-advocative of this concept could provide a positive contribution. definition of soil quality has proven elusive and value laden. is concern by some that the concept has developed arbitrary overtones. Our reservations stem from concerns regarding premature and institutionalization of an incompletely formulated largely untested paradigm, potential unintended negative, promotion of a narrowly defined environmental policy in a normally associated with value-neutral science, and taxonomic/or regional bias in establishing the paradigm. To date, soil quality have drawn from a relatively narrow crop production and perspective to positively or negatively weight soil quality factors. Although the soil quality paradigm acknowledges-defined soil functions, it has yet to operationally recognize and the simultaneity of diverse and often conflicting functions soil property requirements. Thus, we are attempting to articulate concerns of many of our colleagues who are reluctant to endorse the soil science paradigm away from the value-neutral of edaphology and specific problem solving to a paradigm on variable, and often subjective societal perceptions of environmental. Traditionally, it has been the soil science profession's to perform the science to enable resource management policy problem solving, not to establish relational-based value systems the science. We suggest emphasizing quality soil management than soil quality management as a professional and scientific.