This chapter provides a basic description of soil properties and processes, stressing the concept that the soil is a dynamic entity where complex interactions among its biological, chemical and physical components take place. All these components and properties determine the functioning of the soil for different purposes; this functioning is included in the concept of “soil quality”. One of the most used definitions of soil quality is the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health (https://www.soils.org/publications/soils-glossary). Land use and management can have a profound impact on many soil properties, thus indirectly affecting soil quality which can result in improvements or constraints for productivity of agricultural lands and for agricultural sustainability in the long term.
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