We identify and classify the soils based on their genetic properties. Is there any possible way to assess / quantify the effect of crop cultivation (say for 30 years, 50 years, 100 years, >100 years) on the signature genetic characteristics of soils?
First identify some key pedogenic processes that are quantifiable. Then search and assemble large commercial farms of different soil orders with crop records for several years; then go and sample and analyze key pedogenic processes as well as other physico-chemical and mineralogical properties (if finance permits). Assemble the data and use step-wise regression analysis to model the dependent and independent variables.You can further refine the multiple regression analysis subsequently.
In Indian context we have some examples of change of soil classifications of sodic Indo-Gangetic alluvial soils (IGP) (Typic Natrustalfs), sodic deep black shrink-swell soils (Sodic haplusterts) and OC-rich IGP soils (Typic Hapluolls) that after long-term agricultural management interventions (anthropogenic activities) phased towards to Typic Haplustalfs, Typic Haplusterts , and Typic Haplustalfs repectively. Such changes did occur at some key soil physical and chemical properties levels which can be easily obtained following the latest methodologies of soil analysis. Systemic studies in this direction may help us to propose modelling such antropogenic soils. An updated account on these issues based on limited data, is available in a book ' A treatise of Indian and tropical soils' published by Springer International Publishing AG 2017.
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