While there is no dispute that soil provides very important and useful services, there is no one way to categorize these services. Scientists have grouped these services in various ways, some of which are listed below.
Larson and Pierce, 1991
- Provide a medium for plant growth and biological activity
- Regulate and partition water flow and storage in the environment
- Serve as an environmental filter and buffer in the immobilization and degradation of environmentally hazardous compounds
Dailey, 1997
- Buffering & moderation of the hydrological cycle
- Disposal of wastes and dead organic matter
- Physical support
- Retention and delivery of nutrients
- Renewal of soil fertility
- Regulation of elemental cycles
Doran & Parkin, 1994
- Sustain plant & animal productivity
- Maintain or enhance water & air quality
- Support human health & habitation
Seybold et al., 1997
- Sustain biological activity, diversity, & productivity
- Providing support for socioeconomic structures
- Protection of archeological treasures associated with human habitation
- Water and solute flow
- Filtering & buffering of contaminants
- Nutrient cycling
Karlen et al., 1994
- Water entry, retention and supply
- Resistance to stress and disturbance
- Plant growth
Harris et al., 1996
- nutrient relations
- water relations
- toxicant relations
- pathogen relations
- rooting relations
- aesthetic relations
- physical stability
Also see Singer and Ewing, 2000. Section 11.2.1, p. G-276, in Handbook of Soil Science.
Dailey, G. 1997. Nature’s Services. Island Press, Washington DC.
Doran, J.W. and T.B. Parkin. 1994. Defining and assessing soil quality. In J.W. Doran, D. C. Coleman, D.F. Bezdicek and B.A. Stewart, eds. Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment. SSSA, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Harris, R.F., D.L. Karlen and D.J. Mulla. 1996. A conceptual framework for assessment and management of soil quality and health. In J.W. Doran and A.J. Jones, eds. Methods for Assessing Soil Quality. SSSA, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Karlen, D.L. and D.E. Stott. 1994. A framework for evaluating physical and chemical indicators of soil quality. In J.W. Doran, D.C. Coleman, D.F. Bezdicek and B.A. Stewart, eds. Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment. SSSA, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Larson, W.E. and F.J. Pierce. 1991. Conservation and enhancement of soil quality. Evaluation of Sustainable Land Management in the Developing World, International Board for Soil Research and Management, Bangkok, Thailand.
Seybold, C.A., M.J. Mausbach, D.L. Karlen and H.H. Rogers. 1997. Quantification of soil quality. In R. Lal, J.M. Kimble, R.F. Follett, and B.A. Stewart, eds. Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle. CRC Press. Washington, D.C., USA.
Singer, M.J., and S. Ewing. 2000. Soil Quality. In: M.E. Sumner (Ed.-in-Chief) Handbook of Soil Science. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.