Assessment Of Soil Quality Using Gis & Rs

Soil is the fundamental basis for agricultural production. Soil quality is not only one of the most important environmental factors in developing sustainable agricultural practices, but concerning the safety of agricultural produces. As a result of the increasing awareness of food security, soil quality becomes a hot topic and attracts the attention of the entire world. A study was initiated in E-Zhou City, Hubei Province, China to quantitatively evaluate soil quality with the method of integrated soil quality index (QI). In this paper, Remote sensed imagery was used to derive land use plots. The assessment units were created by overlaying soil map with land use map in GIS spatial analysis module. Soil samples, positioned by GPS, were taken in each assessment unit and examined in laboratory. AHP and experts' knowledge were used to determine soil quality indicators and their weights. According to this method, 13 indicators, organic matter, available potassium, available phosphors, soil texture, pH, CEC, thickness of arable layer, ground water level in winter, mother material of soil, slope aspect, cropping system, drainage capacity and soil obstacles, were selected. Fuzzy membership function was employed to standardize indicators. QI was subsequently calculated for each assessment unit and soil quality map was drawn accordingly. The result could help to promote the production of non-harmful produces, provide scientific information for adjusting agricultural structure and maintaining sustainable development in agriculture.