Explaining the Soil Quality Using Different Assessment Techniques

Table 1

SQI evaluation based on assigned range values of soil parameters.

Parameters	Ranking values
	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.8	1
Soil textural class	C, S	CL, SC, SiC	Si, LS	L, SiL, SL	SiCL
Soil pH	<4	4.1–4.9	5–5.9	6–6.4	6.5–7.5
N, P, and K	Very low	Low	Moderate	High	Very high
SOC	Very low	Low	Moderate	High	Very high
Weighted values	a = 0.2	b = 0.1	c = 0.4	d = 0.3
SQI	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Best

Source: Bajracharya et al. [24], where C-clay;S-sand;CL-clay loam; SC-sandy clay; SiC-silty clay; Si-silt;LS-loamy sand; L-loam;SiL-silty loam; SL-sandy loam; LS-loamy sand; SiL-silty loam; SL-sandy loam; SiCL-silty clay loam; SCL-sandy clay loam; SQI-soil quality index. Note. The ranges for which each of the parameter values are assigned are based upon corresponding ratings from low to high levels following the appropriate standard rating.