ABSTRACT
Department of Soil-Plant-Atmosphere System Sustainability, Institute for Natural Resources and
Agrobiology, Seville, Spain
CONTENTS
48.1 Seeking Large-Scale Optimization over Time for Soil-System Productivity......... 684
48.2 Development of a Soil Assessment System................................................................ 685
48.3 Data Warehousing........................................................................................................... 686
48.4 Land Evaluation Modeling ........................................................................................... 686
48.5 Modeling Approaches.................................................................................................... 688
48.5.1 Empirical or Statistical Modeling ................................................................... 688
48.5.2 Expert Systems, Simulation Modeling, and Land Evaluations ................. 689
48.5.3 Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence ................................................ 690
48.6 Geographic Information Systems................................................................................. 690
48.7 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 691
References ................................................................................................................................... 691
As seen throughout the previous chapters, almost all soils can be used for the growth of
crops provided that beneficial soil biological processes are sustained and sufficient
nutrients and water are supplied. However, understanding the complex mechanisms of
land use change above the plot level so as to make more intelligent resource
management decisions requires the integration of scientific data and knowledge from
multiple disciplines and diverse landscapes. Planning and management of land
resources to maintain sustainable soil systems should be buttressed with tools for
assessment and evaluation that permit broad, interactive and informed participation in
decision-making processes.
