User:Paleorthid/Sandbox/Article Nursery/Soil Use Efficiency

Soil Use Efficiency (SUE) is the use of individual and inter-related factors (inherent and dynamic) related to soil quality, soil nutrient availability and nutrient uptake potential to gain an interpretation of soil condition and land stability. This interpretation guides improvement of crop productivity in individual and varying soil types.

Assessing SUE involves a site evaluation of the land and pit excavation to examine the soil profile. This process measures chemical, physical, and biological properties, and identifies impairments to biomass productivity and the provisioning of ecosystem services.

Inherent impairments are from limits inherent to the land and soil such as steep slope, and claypan.

Dynamic impairments are the result of land degradation, such as soil acidification, loss of soil carbon, water erosion, and wind erosion. Understanding these relationships informs land management decisions needed to restore land productivity. The determination of Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) in agricultural production systems is governed primarily by the boundary conditions of Soil Use Efficiency (SUE).

In the context of SUE, use efficiency is a measure of crop yield per unit of water, nutrient, or soil dedicated to supporting that yield.