Soil Valuation

a comparative evaluation of soils according to their most important agronomic properties.

In addition to the quality indicators which determine soil fertility, other conditions of great agricultural significance such as the terrain, moisture, and microclimate are also taken into account. The soil valuations are expressed in general relative indicators or points. Usually soil valuations are based on the materials from soil surveys which reflect the mechanical composition of the soil, the content of humus and plant nutritional elements in it, acidity (pH), and the most important physical properties.

Soil valuations are necessary for economic appraisal of lands, for carrying out land cadastres, for land reclamation, and for improving farming systems. In the USSR, experimental soil valuation research and a national procedure for land appraisal are being developed. In capitalist nations, the soil valuations are made chiefly for the purpose of differentiating land taxes.