Applying the diagnostic approach for the definition of soil functions – a pilot example on carbon sequestration and storage
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Abstract
Diagnostic units (horizons, properties and materials) are commonly applied in a number of
international and national classification systems, including WRB, Soil Taxonomy, Hungarian and
Irish systems. Diagnostic units can be established in the field, with laboratory analyses or derived
from existing soil survey databases. These diagnostic units are designed to support the process
of objective soil classification. The soil diagnostic units however carry important information by
themselves and can be mapped and provide a better visualisation of the soil -landscape continuum,
as and have been demonstrated in different projects (such as the e_SOTER).
The LANDMARK project (EU 2020) has applied the diagnostic unit approach to explain five
key soil functions evident in agricultural systems; 1) primary productivity, 2) water purification
and regulation, 3) carbon storage and regulation, 4) provision of a habitat for biodiversity and 5)
cycling of nutrients. Modelling the capacity of a soil to deliver multiple of these soils functions is the
main approach of the LANDMARK project, with a focus at farm, regional and European scales.
The diagnostic unit classes is one application currently being considered to define the functional
behaviour of our soils. This presentation will use the e_SOTER database and maps to provide
an example of how the diagnostic approach can be applied. The procedure will be demonstrated
on a pilot area in Hungary exemplified for carbon related (sequestration and storage) and primary
productivity functions