CGMS soil Suitability Criteria
Analysis of distribution of limiting single soil factors
In Europe in general the major field crops are not grown on soils which have one or more of the following properties: rocky, thick peat layers, very shallow (less than 20 cm), steep slope (over 25 %), very wet (drainage class very poorly drained), highly saline or highly alkaline. This forms a set of soil unsuitability criteria. We first analyzed the individual soil properties rooting depth, texture, drainage, volume of stones and slopes to find out how an ‘unsuitable’ class of a soil property contributes to the overall unsuitability map. This analysis helped us to get better grip on the unsuitability criteria. The soil properties salinity and alkalinity did not require this analysis. Soils are unsuitable when the class is ‘High’.
