IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i22p9754-d449514.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Development of a Soil Quality Index for Soils under Different Agricultural Management Conditions in the Central Lowlands of Mexico: Physicochemical, Biological and Ecophysiological Indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Héctor Iván Bedolla-Rivera

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • María de la Luz Xochilt Negrete-Rodríguez

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico
    Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • Miriam del Rocío Medina-Herrera

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • Francisco Paúl Gámez-Vázquez

    (Campo Experimental Bajío, INIFAP, Carretera Celaya San Miguel de Allende Kilómetro 6.5, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • Dioselina Álvarez-Bernal

    (Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Michoacán, Justo Sierra No. 28, Centro, Jiquilpan 59510, Michoacán, Mexico)

  • Midory Samaniego-Hernández

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • Alfredo Josué Gámez-Vázquez

    (Campo Experimental Bajío, INIFAP, Carretera Celaya San Miguel de Allende Kilómetro 6.5, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

  • Eloy Conde-Barajas

    (Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico
    Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental, TNM/IT de Celaya, Ave. Tecnológico y A García Cubas No. 600, Celaya 38010, Guanajuato, Mexico)

Abstract

The Bajío—Mexico’s central lowlands—is a region of economic importance because of its agricultural industry. Over time, agricultural practices have led to soil deterioration, loss of fertility, and abandonment. In this study, six agricultural soils were analyzed: AGQ, CTH, CTJ, JRM, CRC, and CYI, and used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) that includes the use of physicochemical, biological, and ecophysiological indicators to differentiate soil quality. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used, reducing the indicators from 46 to 4, which represents 80.4% of data variability. It was implemented the equation of additive weights using the variance of the principal components as a weight factor for the SQI. The developed SQI was according to the indicators WHC, SLT, N-NO 3 − , and qCO 2 , differentiating the quality of soils from the agricultural management in low quality (JRM < CYI < AGQ) and moderate quality (CTJ < CRC < CTH). The use of biological and ecophysiological indicators added to the PCA and the equation of additive weights allowed establishing an SQI with a minimum of indicators, sensitive to agricultural management, facilitating its interpretation and implementation for the Mexican Bajío region and soils in similar conditions around the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Héctor Iván Bedolla-Rivera & María de la Luz Xochilt Negrete-Rodríguez & Miriam del Rocío Medina-Herrera & Francisco Paúl Gámez-Vázquez & Dioselina Álvarez-Bernal & Midory Samaniego-Hernández & Alfred, 2020. "Development of a Soil Quality Index for Soils under Different Agricultural Management Conditions in the Central Lowlands of Mexico: Physicochemical, Biological and Ecophysiological Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-24, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9754-:d:449514
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9754/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9754/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Johannes Lehmann & Markus Kleber, 2015. "The contentious nature of soil organic matter," Nature, Nature, vol. 528(7580), pages 60-68, December.
    2. Manuel López-Vicente & Elena Calvo-Seas & Sara Álvarez & Artemi Cerdà, 2020. "Effectiveness of Cover Crops to Reduce Loss of Soil Organic Matter in a Rainfed Vineyard," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-16, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Felipe Gallardo-López & Fernando Landini & Mario Alejandro Hernández-Chontal, 2022. "The Productive Orientation of Rural Extensionists in the Regions of Mexico: A Key Element for Agroecological Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Mohamed S. Shokr & Mostafa. A. Abdellatif & Ahmed A. El Baroudy & Abdelrazek Elnashar & Esmat F. Ali & Abdelaziz A. Belal & Wael. Attia & Mukhtar Ahmed & Ali A. Aldosari & Zoltan Szantoi & Mohamed E. , 2021. "Development of a Spatial Model for Soil Quality Assessment under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elena A. Mikhailova & Garth R. Groshans & Christopher J. Post & Mark A. Schlautman & Gregory C. Post, 2019. "Valuation of Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in the Contiguous United States Based on the Avoided Social Cost of Carbon Emissions," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Rolinski, Susanne & Prishchepov, Alexander V. & Guggenberger, Georg & Bischoff, Norbert & Kurganova, Irina & Schierhorn, Florian & Müller, Daniel & Müller, Christoph, 2021. "Dynamics of soil organic carbon in the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan under past and future climate and land use," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 21(3).
    3. Berazneva, Julia & McBride, Linden & Sheahan, Megan & Güereña, David, 2018. "Empirical assessment of subjective and objective soil fertility metrics in east Africa: Implications for researchers and policy makers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 367-382.
    4. Jakub Bekier & Elżbieta Jamroz & Karolina Walenczak-Bekier & Martyna Uściła, 2023. "Soil Organic Matter Composition in Urban Soils: A Study of Wrocław Agglomeration, SW Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Carine Naba & Hiroshi Ishidaira & Jun Magome & Kazuyoshi Souma, 2024. "Exploring the Potential of Soil and Water Conservation Measures for Climate Resilience in Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Liudmila Tripolskaja & Asta Kazlauskaite-Jadzevice & Eugenija Baksiene & Almantas Razukas, 2022. "Changes in Organic Carbon in Mineral Topsoil of a Formerly Cultivated Arenosol under Different Land Uses in Lithuania," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, March.
    7. José Manuel Rato Nunes & António Bonito & Luis Loures & José Gama & Antonio López-Piñeiro & David Peña & Ángel Albarrán, 2017. "Effects of the European Union Agricultural and Environmental Policies in the Sustainability of Most Common Mediterranean Soils," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Jianghua Tang & Lili Su & Yanfei Fang & Chen Wang & Linyi Meng & Jiayong Wang & Junyao Zhang & Wenxiu Xu, 2023. "Moderate Nitrogen Reduction Increases Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Positively Affects Microbial Communities in Agricultural Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, March.
    9. Saskia Keesstra & Saskia Visser & Margot De Cleen, 2021. "Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality: A Robust Soil System Forms the Basis for Nature-Based Solutions," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-4, November.
    10. Zheng, Haijin & Nie, Xiaofei & Liu, Zhao & Mo, Minghao & Song, Yuejun, 2021. "Identifying optimal ridge practices under different rainfall types on runoff and soil loss from sloping farmland in a humid subtropical region of Southern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    11. Guillermo Martínez Pastur & Marie-Claire Aravena Acuña & Jimena E. Chaves & Juan M. Cellini & Eduarda M. O. Silveira & Julián Rodriguez-Souilla & Axel von Müller & Ludmila La Manna & María V. Lencinas, 2023. "Nitrogenous and Phosphorus Soil Contents in Tierra del Fuego Forests: Relationships with Soil Organic Carbon, Climate, Vegetation and Landscape Metrics," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, April.
    12. He, Qinsi & Liu, De Li & Wang, Bin & Li, Linchao & Cowie, Annette & Simmons, Aaron & Zhou, Hongxu & Tian, Qi & Li, Sien & Li, Yi & Liu, Ke & Yan, Haoliang & Harrison, Matthew Tom & Feng, Puyu & Waters, 2022. "Identifying effective agricultural management practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation: A win-win strategy in South-Eastern Australia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    13. Steffen Schlüter & Frederic Leuther & Lukas Albrecht & Carmen Hoeschen & Rüdiger Kilian & Ronny Surey & Robert Mikutta & Klaus Kaiser & Carsten W. Mueller & Hans-Jörg Vogel, 2022. "Microscale carbon distribution around pores and particulate organic matter varies with soil moisture regime," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Chao Chen & Yinglin Liang & Zhilong Chen & Changwu Zou & Zongbo Shi, 2024. "Black Carbon in Climate Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends and Topics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-20, October.
    15. Yue Zhang & Guihua Liu & Zhixing Ma & Xin Deng & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2022. "The Influence of Land Attachment on Land Abandonment from the Perspective of Generational Difference: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    16. Miriam Githongo & Lucy Ngatia & Milka Kiboi & Anne Muriuki & Andreas Fliessbach & Collins Musafiri & Riqiang Fu & Felix Ngetich, 2023. "The Structural Quality of Soil Organic Matter under Selected Soil Fertility Management Practices in the Central Highlands of Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, April.
    17. Ludovic Henneron & Jerôme Balesdent & Gaël Alvarez & Pierre Barré & François Baudin & Isabelle Basile-Doelsch & Lauric Cécillon & Alejandro Fernandez-Martinez & Christine Hatté & Sébastien Fontaine, 2022. "Bioenergetic control of soil carbon dynamics across depth," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Shuai Wang & Nan Wang & Junping Xu & Xi Zhang & Sen Dou, 2019. "Contribution of Microbial Residues Obtained from Lignin and Cellulose on Humus Formation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-12, September.
    19. Duyen Minh Pham & Arata Katayama, 2018. "Humin as an External Electron Mediator for Microbial Pentachlorophenol Dechlorination: Exploration of Redox Active Structures Influenced by Isolation Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Lenka Pavlů & Jiří Balík & Simona Procházková & Petra Vokurková & Ivana Galušková & Ondřej Sedlář, 2023. "Soil organic matter quality of variously managed agricultural soil in the Czech Republic evaluated using DRIFT spectroscopy," Soil and Water Research, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 18(4), pages 281-291.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9754-:d:449514. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.