Soil quality vs. environmentally-based agricultural management practices

Soil is a key natural resource and soil quality is one of the most important properties, which determines crop productivity and sustainability. Good soil quality not only produces good crop yield, but also maintains environmental quality and consequently plant, animal, and human health. The physical, chemical, biological, and ecological factors of a soil form its quality and determine crop productivity. These soil quality factors or properties can be modified or improved in favor of better soil quality through adoption of appropriate management practices. However, there are some permanent soil properties inherent to the soil like soil depth, slope, climate, texture, stoniness, and mineralogy contribute significantly to soil quality and are little affected by management. Selected soil management practices to improve soil quality are discussed.