DEVELOPING THE RATING CRITERIA FOR SOILS AS AN AGRICULTURAL WASTE RECEIVER SYSTEM BASED ON SOIL SURVEY DATA (original) (raw)

Soil science is taught in college as one of the sub-disciplines of agricultural sciences, hence, soil survey and classification practitioners are taught of soil data interpretation for agricultural use. There is however, more to soil data interpretation other than the traditional agricultural interpretation. Outside the agricultural application of soil resources information, as we move to the environmental applications, the impact is less on profit and economics but more on safety and human lives. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate how the principles of agricultural land evaluation can be applied for environmental interpretation of soil survey data, specifically to assess the soil's capacity to absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter pollutants. The emphasis is on rating the limiting or restrictive features which are soil properties that restrict or limit management alternatives. A sample rating guide of wastes hazardous to the ground and runoff water, specifically nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter are cited. This rating is then applied to the soil survey data of Iligan City.