Towards a soil quality field test kit guide of soil indicators for end-land users: a litterature approach

The most important goal of the activities of each agricultural producer is to achieve a sufficiently high yield, of the desired quality for consumption, storage or processing. Among the many factors determining success in achieving such goals, are the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soils on which the production is conducting. These properties, on the one hand, determine the level of soil fertility, i.e. the ability to meet the nutritional needs of plants at an appropriate level throughout the growing season, and, on the other hand, determine its role in shaping the natural environment or climate. The role of soil in shaping the natural environment or climate change iscurrently not perceived strongly enough by producers. It is therefore justified to carry out activities that will introduce some changes in this respect. Taking this into account, the Into-Dialogue project provides for the development of a soil guide, the aim of which will be, among other things, to make producers aware of the role they can play in shaping soil quality parameters, with particular emphasis on those effects that have not been the object of their special concern so far. The research shows that the treatments that most strongly shape the quality of the soil environment include: proper crop rotation with considering the use of catch crops, proper tillage (in particular not plow), fertilization (especially organic), liming, but also the correct selection of other agrotechnical factors. This is proven by numerous scientific studies determining the role of the above-mentioned agrotechnical factors or their interactions in shaping the quality of the soil. This quality of soil is determined in the research using various indicators that will be included in the guide. One of the most widely described indicator in the soil guide will be the the content of organic carbon, which can even be significantly increased (or maintained at a sufficiently high level), but also, through improper actions, cause its rapid reduction, associated with the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.