02252nam a2200181 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000150006024500950007526000160017030000110018650001360019752016310033365300340196465300390199865300080203765300250204520648662017-02-21       2016    bl uuuu  m   00u1 u    #d1 aMIZUTA, K.  aNew soil index development and integration with econometric theory.h[electronic resource]  a2016.c2016  a138 f.  aThesis (Master of Science) - University of Florida, Florida. Adviser: Sabine Grunwald. Co-adviser: Gustavo de Mattos Vasques, CNPS.  aThe quantitative assessment of soil quality, health, and security is critically important to sustain soil resources at regional and global scales. Numerous indicators (In) and indices (Ix) have been developed to quantify soil resources over the past decades. Our extensive literature review revealed that the traditional In/Ix metrics are still primitive and a new alternative approach is required. We identified a novel approach based on econometric theory using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to overcome those limitations of conventional methods. The DEA has not been applied in soil science yet. Our first objective was to construct a prototype DEA to assess the Soil Carbon Sequestration (SCseq) Capability In/Ix (SCI) based on the soil carbon sequestration (SCseq) rate and climatic, biotic, and hydrologic factors in Florida. The SCseq was calculated based on lab-measured soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the top soil (~ 20cm). We also estimated the SCI based on spectral-predicted SOC stocks as our second research objective. The observed SCI scores were consistent with the literature reporting on the relationships between soil carbon and climatic, biological, and hydrological factors. Interestingly, the observed and estimated SCI showed a good fit with an R2 of 0.7 suggesting that spectroscopy data is well-suited to infer on SCI scores across Florida saving costs, time and labor. The successful DEA prototype application to derive SCI for a large multi-use, subtropical region demonstrated the extraordinary benefits which can quantitatively assess the soil concepts, such as quality, health and security.  aAnálise envoltória de dados  aÍndice de desenvolvimento do solo  aSCI  aTeoria econométrica