Hi, I am not sure if this would be of help. In this paper we proposed 2 soil quality indices based in the relationships between different soil properties. But they are complicated to use since you need to analyze several properties and compare the soil organic carbon estimated by the equations with the real soil organic carbon present. Anyway maybe can give to you new ideas..

Cheers, Jorge

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229150092_Soil_properties_under_natural_forest_in_the_Alicante_Province_of_Spain

Article Soil properties under natural forest in the Alicante Province of Spain

If you want to evaluate soil functions it is better to change your research to soil quality. Soil quality expresses soil's capability to function within a certain frame for a certain purpose. Soil quality indicators such as Bulk density, porosity, Ph, CEC, soil organic carbon, soil active carbon are widely used for agronomic purposes. If you want further help I will be glad to help you since I just love talking about soil.

Dear Jorge,

Thank you very much for your reply and for the article, it is very important to me since one of the soil functions is the carbon pool function.

Dear Thanos,

My research is about the lost soil functions because of soil sealing. that's why I need to measure each soil function in a comparable way to show the value of the lost soil.

so in this case soil quality is one parameter in the study but not the main one.

For example, I need to measure the soil function as a Biological habitat and gene pool. in this case I don't know how it is possible to calculate or measure this function ???

The functions mentioned are quite broad and indeed, as stated, except for #4 (carbon pool) they need further definition before you can start measuring. To start with #4, simply measure total C content. Probably organic C is meant so do not measure carbonate-C.

For #1, the suitability to grow a food or non-food crop is meant. My advice would be to perform a standard soil analysis by a lab that also provides an advise for growing e.g. arable crops. From that advice you will see what the current status is of your sealed soil. What usually is excluded from such an analysis is soil compaction. If you think your sealed soil is compacted, you would need to determine also a soil density measurement.

#2, I have to guess what is meant, but usually with storage, water is meant. There are numerous tests for performing this, which you can easily find on the internet or in standard books. Perhaps a pF curve would bea good idea, some laboratories can do such a test. With filtering is meant the abililty of a soil to filter certain pollutants, e.g. pesticides. I am not aware of any commercially available test for that and much depends of course on which pollutants are going to be involved in such a study. The filtering capacitiy of a soil is a function of its water storage capacity, soil biodiversity (which is a function of organic matter content) and the pollutant involved. With transformation I guess it is meant the ability of a soil to decompose pollutants.

Certainly #3 needs more definition. Probably the soil biodiversity is meant but currently there is no single method by which this could be measured. Here in the NL there are reference values for certain soil uses for groups of soil organisms, including earthworms, protozoa, fungi, bacteria and nematodes. If numbers are much lower than the lower values of the references, than you can start thinking that things are not normal. In addition increasingly nematode biodiversity is used as a measure for soil biodiversity. The reason is practical: nematode biodiversity is relatively easy to quantify and nematode species clearly respond differently to various stresses.

Concerning #1, #2 (pF curve), #3 (especially nematodes but also other soil organisms) and #4 I could help you with analyses our lab performs.

Dear Ahmed Rabia .,

My best regards .,

I think Soil Quality is main topic which included (Soil health, Current and potential land capability and suitability). According to these topics you have to do more parameters (Climate, water. soil, economic…etc). If some thing change in soils could be change land suitability classes too.

Ahmed

Uni-Hamburg