Indices of Soil Quality: A Multicriteria Value Functions Approach

E. Beinat
P. Nijkamp
P. Rietveld

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DOI: 10.2190/X6V5-1GBN-5B7X-TF4R

Abstract

This article addresses the estimation of soil quality for evaluating clean-up alternatives for polluted soils. In many practical applications the goal of a high soil quality after clean-up cannot be reached due to technical or budget constraints. The selection of the cleaning-up technique requires trade-off analyses between soil quality and other features. Soil quality measures are based on dose-effect functions, which translate contaminant concentrations into effects. Since dose-effect functions are not available for most common pollutants, substitute evaluations based on expert judgements are used. The article addresses the substitution of soil quality indices with multicriteria value functions assessed through expert judgement. It describes a method and a software package designed for this purpose and shows the use of the system in real applications.

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