Assessing the Quality of the Soil by Stochastic Simulation

Abstract

For the assessment of soil quality, this chapter proposes a methodology relying on the stochastic simulation and co-simulation of relevant variables representing soil quality. Taking into consideration possible quality thresholds for each variable, we applied loss functions to the simulated maps and combined them to identify areas with different soil quality dynamics. This methodology was applied to an area in the southeast of Portugal, to the left margin of the Guadiana River, classified with a high susceptibility index to the desertification phenomenon.