Quality soils
there is no clear definition of a good soil nor is there an index to measure the quality of such soil. Researchers in the us now claim that fractal geometry may provide an answer. The structure of soil, which is made up of soil grains and air spaces, determines how much water a soil can hold and how much air can get to the roots of plants. But scientists cannot precisely quantify this structure. Fractals can help resolve all these factors into a single index known as the fractal dimension.
Researchers sampled several soils by saturating the ground with epoxy resin, which fills all the pores and sets the soil solid. Then they cut out a block of soil and shaved off a thin slice, which they photographed and scanned into a computer. A program then calculated the fractal dimension from measurements of the ratio of the perimeter of the particles to their area. The researchers found that the best orginically farmed soils had fractal dimensions of around 2:6, while for less well nurtured soils the figure was about 2:4.
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