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Volume 17
Issue 24
10.3390/rs17244039
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

A Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI): Bridging Soil Health, Management, and Socioeconomic Factors

by
Gabriel Pimenta Barbosa de Sousa
1,
José Alexandre Melo Demattê
1,2,
Sabine Chabrillat
3,4,
Robert Milewski
3,
Raul Roberto Poppiel
1,2,
Merilyn Taynara Accorsi Amorim
1,
Bruno dos Anjos Bartsch
1,
Jorge Tadeu Fim Rosas
1,
Maurício Roberto Cherubin
1,
Yuxin Ma
5,
Roney Berti de Oliveira
6,
Marcos Rafael Nanni
6 and
Renan Falcioni
6,*
1
Department of Soil Science, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Pádua Dias Av., 11, P.O. Box 09, Piracicaba 13416-900, SP, Brazil
2
Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON), University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13416-823, SP, Brazil
3
Section Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
4
Soil Science Section, Institute of Earth System Science, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany
5
New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water, Parramatta 2150, Australia
6
Graduate Program in Agronomy, State University of Maringá, Av. Colombo, 5790, Maringá 87020-900, PR, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(24), 4039; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244039
Submission received: 9 October 2025 / Revised: 9 December 2025 / Accepted: 11 December 2025 / Published: 16 December 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Soil Health (SH) is a key concept in discussions on sustainable land use, with implications that extend beyond agriculture. To address the need for integrated assessments, this study developed a Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI) by combining the Soil Health Index (SHI) with socioeconomic and management indicators. The analysis was conducted across Germany using 3300 soil analysis sites and environmental covariates, including climate, topography, vegetation indices, and bare soil reflectance. From this foundation, SADI was designed to evaluate agricultural sustainability across German states based on three dimensions: Management (Bare Soil Frequency), Environment (SHI Maps), and Economy (Profit per Hectare). Results revealed that SHI correlated significantly with land surface temperature (R = −0.47), bare soil frequency (R = −0.40), and vegetation indices (R = 0.43). Soil organic carbon also played a key role in explaining degradation patterns. While economically stronger states tended to achieve higher SH scores, environmentally sound and well-managed regions also performed well despite lower economic returns. These findings emphasize that sustainable agriculture depends on balancing economic growth, environmental integrity, and management efficiency. The SADI provides a comprehensive framework for policymakers and land managers to evaluate and guide sustainable agricultural development.
Keywords: soil quality; soil degradation; agricultural effectiveness; digital soil mapping; artificial intelligence; environmental sustainability soil quality; soil degradation; agricultural effectiveness; digital soil mapping; artificial intelligence; environmental sustainability

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sousa, G.P.B.d.; Demattê, J.A.M.; Chabrillat, S.; Milewski, R.; Poppiel, R.R.; Amorim, M.T.A.; Bartsch, B.d.A.; Rosas, J.T.F.; Cherubin, M.R.; Ma, Y.; et al. A Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI): Bridging Soil Health, Management, and Socioeconomic Factors. Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 4039. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244039

AMA Style

Sousa GPBd, Demattê JAM, Chabrillat S, Milewski R, Poppiel RR, Amorim MTA, Bartsch BdA, Rosas JTF, Cherubin MR, Ma Y, et al. A Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI): Bridging Soil Health, Management, and Socioeconomic Factors. Remote Sensing. 2025; 17(24):4039. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244039

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sousa, Gabriel Pimenta Barbosa de, José Alexandre Melo Demattê, Sabine Chabrillat, Robert Milewski, Raul Roberto Poppiel, Merilyn Taynara Accorsi Amorim, Bruno dos Anjos Bartsch, Jorge Tadeu Fim Rosas, Maurício Roberto Cherubin, Yuxin Ma, and et al. 2025. "A Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI): Bridging Soil Health, Management, and Socioeconomic Factors" Remote Sensing 17, no. 24: 4039. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244039

APA Style

Sousa, G. P. B. d., Demattê, J. A. M., Chabrillat, S., Milewski, R., Poppiel, R. R., Amorim, M. T. A., Bartsch, B. d. A., Rosas, J. T. F., Cherubin, M. R., Ma, Y., Oliveira, R. B. d., Nanni, M. R., & Falcioni, R. (2025). A Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI): Bridging Soil Health, Management, and Socioeconomic Factors. Remote Sensing, 17(24), 4039. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17244039

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