Agricultural sustainability indicators associated with soil properties, processes, and management

Abstract

Sustainability assessments are the most appropriate mechanism to determine if a crop production method, alternative, or tendency is environmentally, economically, and socially viable. These assessments are carried out using indicator-based tools; some are associated with soil properties, composition, processes, and management practices. This review provides an overview of the effect of soil management practices on agricultural system sustainability and describes the soil indicators used in agricultural sustainability assessments. We analyzed 28 indicators divided into soil-inherent indicators (16) and process indicators related to soil-water (3), soil-atmosphere (5), and soil-plant (4) systems. We suggest measuring at least one indicator per soil indicator group associated with soil properties and processes, including indicators considering future climate change scenarios, and adapting current tools to evaluate the sustainability of various production alternatives.