The indicators selected to assess soil quality in SINDI reflect the idea that soil quality is not a single concept, but encompasses aspects of the soil physical structure, chemical fertility, nutrient storage, organic matter resources, and the biological life in the soil. Statistical techniques were used to determine a key set of seven indicators that together describe soil quality.
Target ranges have been defined by a small group of experts for each of these indicators on a variety of soil types and land uses. These target ranges form the basis of the graphical interpretation used in SINDI. The user enters in values for the seven indicators, the soil type and land use, and each value is then graphically compared with the appropriate target range.
